My grandfather, Pavel Andreevich, Cherkasov, became a prisoner of war in 1943 in a place not far from Belgorod. He was in a (or in several) concentration camp(s) on West-German territory. Unfortunately, he was unable to recall the name of the camp(s) or any nearby hamlet, village or town, for he told the family only one time about his being a prisoner of war (I was 7 years old at that time), about what he experienced and that he only survived because of a girl who saved his life. Meanwhile, grandfather has passed away, but he was unable to forget this girl. Several times he was even on the point of writing a letter to her, and he mentioned that she lived in the Federal Republic of Germany. And now I would like to satisfy his last wish.
His second attempt to escape from the concentration camp seemed to be
successful, but then, enexpectedly, he was discovered by German linesmen, who
pursued him. Not far from the place there was a settlement. The grandfather ran
into one of the houses, for he found the door gaping wide open. The girl in the
room threw a short glance at the prisoner of war, who apparently tried to seek
shelter from his pursuers. Without hesitating the girl opened a trapdoor and the
grandfather jumped down into the dark. The trapdoor was slammed, covered by a
rug, and then the girl pushed a table on top, on which she placed a vase of
flowers.
Afterwards the girl opened the window that showed into the garden.
The grandfather stayed in the dungeon for three days and nights. During this time the girl shared her scanty food ration with him – a thin slice of bread, flimsily applied with a puny quantity of margerine and – a papirossi. The girl’s name was Elsa Moise (Meuse?). On the forth day Elsa took the grandfather to the place where her uncle, a farmer, lived.. There he took care of the pigs. He cooked potatoes, and then fed the animals. He himself always got food from his boss’s table. The farmer was a very ....(illegible) man.
...
As far as I am able to remember he was finally released by Americans; afterwards he fought with them against the enemy for a certain time.
Grandfather was in possession of a couple pf photos showing Elsa Moise, as well as one of her handkerchieves; unfortunately, he was unable to preserve these objects. In his notebook he mentioned Elsa’s name several times, but his records do not contain any reference to her address.
I would like to address myself to German students requesting them to try to seek out my grandfather’s life-saver. Due to her support he managed to live for another 20 years, never ever forgetting about who he owed his life.
The question is, whether she is still alive. And if so, would she recall their encounter? Maybe, she has relatives or even children, who know about this story. Maybe, someone will respond to my request and send me a reply.
Valentina Yeremeeva