- April 10, 2025
- 9:34 pm
- World News
The city of Leipzig (Germany) renamed the street where the Russian embassy is located to honor Romanchenko as “Boris-Romanchenko-Straße”.
An important piece of news that highlights the tragedy experienced by the Ukrainian people in the context of the ongoing war.
Julia Romanchenko, the granddaughter of Boris Romanchenko, a former concentration camp inmate who was killed in Kharkiv during a Russian shelling, spoke at a ceremonial event marking the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp, held on April 7 in Thuringia, Germany.
One of the few surviving former inmates of Dora-Mittelbau, 100-year-old Albrecht Weinberg from Germany, attended the event.
Memorial Ceremony in Germany
Julia Romanchenko, the granddaughter of former concentration camp inmate Boris Romanchenko, who was killed in March 2022 during a Russian shelling of Kharkiv, delivered a speech in Ukrainian at the event.
According to her, until 2014, her grandfather never spoke negatively about the USSR or Russia and maintained good relations with former Buchenwald inmates living in Russia. The annexation of Crimea was “very painful” for him and made him change his attitude toward the neighboring state. The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, was “a new horror and shock” for Boris Romanchenko, as he “couldn’t have imagined something like this,” his granddaughter explained.
The Story of Boris Romanchenko: From the Concentration Camp to the Tragedy in Ukraine
Boris Timofeyevich Romanchenko (January 20, 1926, Bondery village, Sumy region — March 18, 2022, Kharkiv) was a Ukrainian public figure who survived four Nazi concentration camps and devoted his life to preserving the memory of Nazi victims and fighting for the truth.
In 1942, at the age of 16, Romanchenko was taken for forced labor to Dortmund, an industrial center in the Ruhr area, where he worked in a mine. In January 1943, he was sent to the Buchenwald concentration camp. Later, by posing as a 22-year-old, Romanchenko managed to transfer to Peenemünde on the island of Usedom in the Baltic Sea, where work was being done on the V-2 rocket program.
After working as a mechanic for several months, he and his team were sent to the Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp, where they lived and worked in underground tunnels. In March 1945, Romanchenko was sent to another concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen, by the time he arrived there, he weighed only 39 kilograms. At the end of the war, the Nazis wanted to destroy all the camp’s prisoners, but just before that, on April 14, 1945, Bergen-Belsen was liberated by British and American Allied forces.
Recent Events: The Death of Boris Romanchenko
After the war, Boris Romanchenko returned to Ukraine, obtained a degree in mining engineering from the Kharkiv Mining Institute, and worked in agricultural machinery production. He was actively involved in public life, serving as vice-president of the International Committee of Former Inmates of Buchenwald-Dora, regularly visiting former concentration camp sites, and sharing his memories with younger generations.
Death
On March 18, 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the area of Kharkiv where Boris Romanchenko lived was shelled. A shell hit his apartment, and as a result, the veteran died at the age of 96. This tragedy caused widespread resonance, as Boris Romanchenko was a living witness to the horrors of Nazism and a symbol of the resilience of the Ukrainian people.
The memory of Boris Romanchenko is an important part of the history of Ukraine and the world, reminding us of the need to preserve peace and fight against all forms of aggression.
This is not just a tragedy for one family, but a tragedy for a people who are once again experiencing the horrors of war.
Julia Romanchenko’s speech at the ceremony in Germany became an important moment for all who remember the tragedies of World War II and those who are experiencing tragic events today. The memory of these horrors must remain alive to prevent their repetition in the future.
Dora-Mittelbau Concentration Camp
The Dora-Mittelbau concentration camp (German: Dora-Mittelbau) was a Nazi concentration camp that existed from August 1943 to April 1945 in Thuringia, Germany. The camp was created as a subcamp of Buchenwald and specialized in underground production of armaments, including the V-1 and V-2 rockets.
Main Facts About the Camp:
- Creation and Location: The camp was established on August 28, 1943, 5 km from the town of Nordhausen. It was located in a mountainous area, which allowed the use of natural underground tunnels for weapon production.
- Production Goals: The primary task of the camp was to ensure the underground production of rockets at the Mittelwerk factory. Prisoners worked in harsh conditions in specially carved tunnels in the mountain, where they were forced to work in conditions close to slave labor.
- Number of Prisoners: In September 1943, 3,394 prisoners were registered in the camp. By March 1945, their number had increased to 38,678. In total, around 60,000 people from more than 10 European countries passed through the camp. About 20,000 prisoners died due to harsh working conditions, diseases, and brutal treatment.
- Subcamps: The camp had 39 external subcamps located in various cities across Germany, where prisoners worked at production facilities, including factories and plants that supplied the Nazi army with military equipment and weapons.
- Liberation: The camp was liberated by American forces in April 1945. Several days before, the Nazis sent most of the prisoners on “death marches,” resulting in thousands of people dying from exhaustion, hunger, and harsh conditions.
Today, on the site of the former camp, there is a memorial complex dedicated to the memory of the victims of Dora-Mittelbau and informing visitors about the tragic events of those years. This memorial serves as a reminder of the harsh conditions that the prisoners endured and the crimes committed during World War II.
How These Events Affect Contemporary Politics
NAnews has repeatedly emphasized the importance of these events for the relationships between Ukraine and other countries, including Israel. In Ukraine, as in Israel, the memory of the victims of World War II, including the concentration camps, is an important part of national identity.
Today, as we remember the tragedies of the past, it is important to remember how crucial it is to maintain peace in the world and prevent new aggressions. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has become another reminder of the importance of fighting for peace and freedom.
This moment is an important part of the memory of the tragedies of World War II, as well as the crimes that Russia continues to commit in Ukraine as part of its aggressive policy.
On NAnews — news from Israel we continue to monitor the events and important stories that influence the future of Ukraine, Israel, and the entire world.
