Evening star., 1942-11-05
Russians, Robbed by Nozis,
Share What's Left With Writer
Breakdown Of Auto Behind Red Lines
Brings Night Of Adventure for Stowe
BY LELAND STOWE,

brings NI9nt OF AoV
BY LELAND STOWE,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and
Chicago Daily News.
WITH THE RED ARMY ON THE
RZHE,V FRONT.-It's all very well
to scratch a Russian and flnd
Tartar, but who's going to be so rash
as to scratch q Tartar? Ivan the
Terrible, who must be about as can
tankerous and provocative a Tartar
as ever lived, seemed to operate on
this assumption.
So, of course, during all the time
we remained at Gen. Dmitri Lelius-,
henko's headquarters, Ivan neglected
to patch up the gasoline feed line in
our car. And that's how we dropped
in so Unexpectedly, about 10 o'clock
that night, upon Mama 1katerlna
Roubtsova and her two daughters,
1t must nave been written in the
stars, because we had abandoned our
original route only an hour earlier
and were still riding parallel to the
front when the cars engine coughed
into supreme silence. We were in
one of those small frontzone viii
lagos. Maj. Arapov went to the first,
log cabin in sight and Immediately
summoned us inside.
Heat Samovar for Tea.
A smiling, blond, young woman OF
about % stood at the door. When
We stepped into the cabins main,
room, Mama Roubtsova lay curaedl
up in an iron poster bed. She didn't
get up. She just chirped cheerfuAy,
come IN, come in" Two soldiera
were also in the room and anotHe
plain-faced young woman wearing
a gray sweater and blue beret. She
was Mama Roubtsova's daughter,
Antonina, and the blond woman, we
learned, was Galina, Mama's daugh-.
ter-in-law, from German-occupied
Smolensk. ~
Antonina and Galina started
heating the samovar for tea and
collected all the chairs in the house
so Ilya Ehrenburg, Maj. Arapov, the
two soldiers and I could sit down.
Meanwhile, Mama Roubtsova rolled
over on one side, with her head
cooked up on a pillow 50 she could
hear everything. She had typically
Slavic peasant features, q slightly
turned-up nose and plenty Of wrin-
kles, although she didn't look much
more than So.
No Bombing on Sunday.
"They didn't bomb today" said
Mama Roubtsova from her corner
bed. Probably because It's Sun
day."
Then she cackled gaily at the idea
that the Germans would think OF
sparing people on Sunday. Mean
while, Ehrenburg and I were pufnng
at our pipes and Antonina was tell
| ing us about the Germans when
they took this village.
THE Germans came in October
and stayed until December 81" An
tonina said. "They took all the
chickens, pigs and cows and they
searched every house and took
everything they wanted. Look.
You see, we've no furniture left. We
only got this table after they had
gone. You see, there are only =
few plates in the cupboard-every-
thing else they smashed or stole.
They shot my father. They killed
many people in this village ana
everywhere in this district"
Many Civilians Killed.
Antonina told 1t without emotion,
like an old story that has been told
too many times. But Galina inter-
rupted passionately:
when I came with those who
came back in, January everybody
here met us, sobbing, with tears
running down their faces. Almost
every one had had some member OF
the family killed by Germans and
almost everything they owned had
been smashed or stolen. 1t was ter
rible. Mama and Antonina were
here all the time" 2
IT wish we could receive you bet
ter" said Antonina. Then, tn re-
Spouse to our questions, she told US
more.
"one woman, who lived Just down
the street, became . partisan. The
Germans killed her. Another young
woman-she was 4 very good friend
Of ours-was locked up BY the Ger
mans. I don't know what they did to
her-she committed suicide with .
razor"
/ asked how many civilians the
Germans had killed In this neigh
borhood. - ~
Cut on Giri's Tongue.
"In this district they killed 12o
people Antonina said. Eighteen q
| these were hAnged--&nd most q
/ those killed were not partisans. They
had done nothing at all. One man,
by the name of Uchkin, they hanged
| six times. Each time they cut him
down before he was dead-tf1en they
hanged him again. And there VA
one girl who Vas 4 partisan. 6he
Ekepts shouting. Long live Russta
IThey cut Oh hsr tcngus beiore they
tshot her.
aThatss truei. exclaimed Mans
Rouhtsova. II knoW people who -
.it happen. Most always the 0sF1Aani
| shet our poople n freat q svery
ona a ths yillage. 1hay - = thai
.fxay.