Olga Iszczyszyn (Alexandra)

Story

Germans invaded Zaporozhye, Ukraine 1942 where mother and father worked on Dneiper Dam. Father Mykola Iszczyszyn, mother Ekaterina Shuvalova (Russian), sister Ludmilla (Lucy), and I Olga (1939) were taken to work in Schweinfurt, Germany for Fichtel und Sachs, a ballbearing factory. Lucy and I sorting nuts and bolts. 500 young Soviet girls suffocated in the camp when bombs fell on their building and they were locked in.

Carried to Germany by freight/cattle trucks with munitions, soldiers. Many died and thrown out. Miracle we survived as a family. Young sister Vera born 1946. Americans freed us. Lived in Aschenburg until taken to Australia. Could not go back to homeland during Stalin’s reign. Our loved ones did not know if we were dead or alive until after Stalin died.

General House, American warship took us on its last voyage in 1950. A horror trip; women and children separated from men, sleeping in HOLD, stifling, stinking, suffering from seasickness. Broke down mid ocean; nowhere to hide from sun, water cut off; if too sick to eat at sitting, then went hungry. Wonderful experience of going through Suez Canal. Flyer on board telling us we were heading to a country of cannibals, snakes, spiders, crocodiles and kangaroos jumping in main streets.

Drizzly weather when arrived in Melbourne, but many people excited and thankful. Taken to Bonegilla Migrant Camp in middle of nowhere; nissan huts too hot during day and freezing at night. Women and children separated from men again. Horrible food of greasy chops, sausage rolls, pies, pasties, mashed potatoes all covered in gravy. Mildura Migrant Camp was next, a small airforce base later museum.

Father allocated job in Adelaide for Water Supply digging holes and trenches (he, electrical engineer). He found us room in house of migrants; 3 in one room, single owner in sleepout, married owner in another bedroom, 4 of us in 3rd. Lucy had to live in Infectious Disease Hospital as Nurse’s Aid. No room for her.

No Australians wanted families especially the odd New Australians who did not speak English. Adult Displaced Persons (us) were indentured to work for 2 years to pay off our grim passage to freedom, hence father digging holes; mother in jam factory and Lucy 16 (adult age then 21) could not study, had to work. At 12, I had to feed and look after little sister and father, as mother worked long hours. Father bought block of land with two roomed shed for sleeping and small wooden hut as kitchen/dining room. Toilet was hole in back of block, small tub to wash us and clothes. Life was still a struggle. Father started building house without any previous experience. The digging and hard work took their toll and father ruined his back.

In my first school, I failed last three months. Children took me outside to teach me English. Next year determined, I came second and thereafter was always first or second. Little Vera in junior primary was crying. I came to sit with her, was told off, but ignored it and they left me alone. I have always been very determined in my life, especially at any injustices. Goodwood Primary School was wonderful and I was a favourite with teachers, even though my teacher would sneeze Ah-choo at my Surname. In 1950 was a lot of racism, intolerance, unfair treatment of migrants at work. It was WOG then, now it is the black races which are suffering from small minded, bigoted, intolerant and ignorant people.

Australian government asked us to change our Surname. The first section Iszczy meant Search so that is what we became although my parents hated it. If the translations used on migrant Surnames were not derived from Polish, our Surname could have been Ischchishin, which may have made it easier. When father died in car accident at 60 years, mother went back to maiden name Shuvalova. Mother saw her remaining relatives in St. Petersburg after she had a stroke, a momentous achievement for a woman who could not speak English. Poor father never saw his homeland again. Mother died at 80 years from Alzheimers.

Lucy married and has five girls. She was a very intelligent and bright person, became prominent in her Ukrainian church and community. Vera also bright and intelligent became a teacher and had two girls, now mothers themselves. I only had one son. I went back as mature aged student and obtained degree in Social Work and only just retired at 68. I have written the first section of Autobiography about my father and mother and now working on my migrant story about our life in Australia.

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