66

p End of May 1942

p They crucified me like Jesus Christ. They beat me with sticks and ramrods, stuck needles into me.

May 3, 1942. Yesterday had a session with the S.D. Let go for now. Live in stinking conditions. No bread, potatoes, nothing. Beginning to swell. Bruises pain me, all the same want to live. Live for the future.

When the Soviet Army retreated eastwards, underground groups were formed in the Zaporozhye Region. One such group was formed in the village of Chapayevka under the leadership of the local headmaster Ivan Medvedovsky, a Y.C.L. member. He conducted a campaign among the villagers and taught the young people how to combat the nazi invaders.

Ivan Medvedovsky

p In May 1942, he was arrested for the fourth time by the Gestapo and shot.

Just before he met his end he got his last note through to his wife in which he expressed his profound faith in Soviet victory. "For all the vile deeds, the people of our country will pay the fascist swine back in full. The time is not far off when bloodthirsty Hilter and his gang will be wiped off the face of the earth.”