Davy`d Budny`k

04.08.2011

Davy`d Budny`k

September 21, 1941 I was arrested by the country constabulary on the street and put into the cinema building number 5, and then sent to a temporary prison for prisoners of war, which was located on the Kerosy`nna Str.

We did not have any food or drink during 5 days there. On the sixth day we had got one bailer of diluted in water flour a person without any dishes. As a result, mass prisoners extinction began.
Then the Germans began to evacuate older prisoners and adolescents, and we thought them to be sent home. Near the Babyn Yar shots rang and the gas vans came back to the camp with the clothes of removed prisoners. We understood that they shot prisoners.
300 people, young and healthy, including me, were moved to the camp on Instytutska street. During two or three months I witnessed the Germans took the piss out of prisoners and killed them.
From the camp, which was located on Instytutska Street, I was removed to perform a common labour at the Ukrainian police hostel and the Gestapo on Miller Street.
Along with Ostrovs`ky`j Leonid, Vilkis Py`ly`p and Yakiv Kaper (prisoners) I was taken to the concentration camp Sy`recz` by gas van round September, 1942. Conditions were even worse there.
For any delinquency and without it every fifth or third prisoner was shot. We eat only "skilly" cooked from potato jacket and hot water. Prisoners were beaten and forced to do “morning exercises”—to crawl on belly, knees and to go in “goose step” . All of these executions went with clubbing.
In August 1943 with a group of prisoners I was taken to the Babyn Yar. We were shackled and forced to pull corpses out from the pits, and cremate them in special burners. Burners were laid of tombstones and rails, layers of wood and corpses were on the top of them.
Special German instructors supervised installation of burners.
some of this work (corpses removaling and crude oil charge) was mechanized.
We were forced to build those burners in different places and afire them one-by-one.
At most 2000 corpses were placed in one burner.
After cremation of corpses, we crushed survivors bones with beetles and bolted them.
At the same Nazis picked found out gold crowns of a teeth out. Cremains was placed on the ravine bottom.
During the period of burning cropses, at least twice a week and 8-9 times a day, Nazis brought prisoners of war in the gas vans and gased them there. Then we were forced to plce cropses into the burners.
In addition, we removed the corpses from the antitank ditch near Babyn Yar, as well as on the territory of the Pavlov Psychiatric Hospital and burned them in the same burners. Some prisoners of our group were shot and burned on the spot.
About 120 000 - 125 000 corpses were cremated during one and half month.
There were 327 prisoners in the camp Babyn Yar. Living conditions were subhuman so we were cosigned to death.
Radoms’kyj (former commander of the concentration camp Sy`recz` ) and his interpreter-translator Ivan Rhine supervised prisoners shooting.We were ready to escape to freedom. Among the corpses we found different tools and keys, and put them into the dugout, were we were sleeping. Yakiv Kaper found the key that fits to the lock of our dugout, some of us broke the shackles, rushed out, flied at the guard and channeled off. The chief of the preparing was our comrade and prisoner Fedir Yershov.
However, only 15 of us survived.