Dangerous Journey - The WW2 Trans-Siberian Express

                                  

by Deborah Swift

    

The Trans-Siberian Railway, stretching over 9,000 kilometres from Moscow to Vladivostok, is the longest railway line in the world and during the second world war the Trans-Siberian Express became an unlikely lifeline to thousands of refugees fleeing the ravages of war.

Completed in stages from the late 19th century and officially finished in 1916, the Trans-Siberian Railway was designed to be a symbol of Russian imperial ambition. By the 1930s, under Stalin’s regime, the railway was tightly controlled by the Soviet government, serving both civilian and military purposes for the Soviet regime.

After Germany’s invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Trans-Siberian route took on an entirely new strategic importance—not only as a supply corridor for the Eastern Front but also as a humanitarian exit route.

As the Nazis swept through Europe, millions of Jewish civilians, through lack of anywhere else to go, ended up in Lithuania, which was then taken over by Soviet forces. For Jewish refugees, it was like jumping from the frying pan into the fire – under Stalin, political repression, deportations, and forced labour were commonplace, especially for intellectuals. Yet for many refugees, particularly Jews escaping the Holocaust, the USSR represented a narrow but unexpected path to survival.

                                                

The ‘Sugihara Survivors’

Some Jewish refugees who managed to flee to the Soviet Union were able to reach Japan or Shanghai, China, by traveling east. Many of these refugees were Polish or Lithuanian Jews who obtained transit visas through the efforts of Japanese diplomat Chiune Sugihara, who held the consulate in Kaunas, Lithuania.

Sugihara defied his government’s orders and issued thousands of transit visas to Jewish refugees. With these documents, refugees could travel across the Soviet Union on the Trans-Siberian Express. In Vladivostock they could then board a ship to Kobe, Japan, and later to Shanghai. This escape route saved thousands of lives.

                                       

Chiune Sugihara’s Visa from the Holocaust Museum

Life on the train

Wartime travel on the Trans-Siberian Express was far from the romanticized version sold in modern travel brochures. Refugees endured extreme cold, food shortages, overcrowded compartments, and frequent stops for inspections and detentions. Nevertheless, compared to the alternative—death camps, gulags, or starvation—these hardships were endurable.

The Soviet government’s motive in allowing these transports was not purely humanitarian. In many cases, the USSR was removing anti-communists and also making them pay handsomely for the privilege. Many refugees were stopped and their valuables confiscated by the Russians.

Memorials and testimonies from survivors continue to shed light on these lesser-known refugee journeys. Documentaries, such as The Trans-Siberian Railroad: A Path to Survival, and the memoirs of survivors brought home to me the profound impact the Trans-Siberian railway had on people fleeing for their lives.

 

Read more about it:

1. Marvin Tokayer and Mary Swartz The Fugu Plan: The Untold Story of the Japanese and the Jews During World War II.
2. "Sugihara Survivors: Jewish Refugees Who Escaped via Japan." Yad Vashem. https://www.yadvashem.org
3. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Polish Refugees and the Soviet Union.” https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org
4. PBS Documentary: Sugihara: Conspiracy of Kindness, 2000.

LAST TRAIN TO FREEDOM tells the story of some of the Sugihara Survivors.

 

Manuscripts and The Master and Margarita: by Theresa Breslin

It was one of those never-to-be forgotten experiences.

As a writer who is also a librarian I’m always interested, when in different countries, to visit their libraries. Recently, on the Russian leg of the Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference with Melvin Burgess and Tibor Fischer, I’d asked if it was possible to see around the Russian State Library in Moscow. I expected a quick tour of various departments. Instead what Melvin and I were treated to was a privileged glimpse of the archives and special collections.

 

Dwarfed by the massive statue of Dostoyevsky we made our way with our British Council escort to meet the librarian and archivist, our charming hosts for the afternoon. We were led through a maze of corridors, across an open courtyard to a separate building where they’d laid some exhibits out for us.

 First up was a stunning bound illuminated manuscript, with colours from natural dyes still vibrant after hundreds of years.

Some manuscript leaves from a writer of later date were next. There were pages of pre-typewriter elegant ink script, with scoring out of text and corrections inserted. Empathy flowed from us. But who could this be? Which famous Russian writer? 

Leaning closer we could distinguish the words ‘Brothers Karamazov’ Dostoyevsky’s own writing! 

The archivist then picked a green covered exercise book and laid it before us. 

We literally gasped when we realised it was a handwritten version of Mikhail Bulgakov’s novel, ‘The Master and Margarita.’ 

It was an exceptional day. We left, dizzy with delight.

Our trip took us further east - four hours flight plus four hours time difference - to land in the pale yellow and lilac light of a Siberian winter morning. Beautiful clear air and a mesmerising twinkle from the ground’s frosty sheen. Mild snowfall, but it wasn’t that cold, honestly, (and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Scot) A myriad of things done and seen and shared, and then, on our last night, something happens, one of number of things which I’m starting to call a Siberian Serendipity moment.

We’re invited to a ‘Night at the Museum’ – a very innovative idea here - when the public have free late night access to the Krasnoyarsk Cultural and Historical Museum Complex. Wandering through some amazing exhibits in one of the galleries we come across a painting. Ahh! The artist has chosen to illustrate scenes from a book. I’ll leave you to guess which one….       

 

More info:

http://www.theresabreslin.co.uk/     http://www.facebook.com/Theresabreslinauthor  

Twitter: @theresabreslin1 

Spy for the Queen of Scots is nominated for the Carnegie Medal and an Illustrated Treasury of Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales   illustrated by Kate Leiper is nominated for the Greenaway Medal.

An interactive session on Scottish Folk and Fairy Tales with illustrator Kate Leiper is scheduled for Tuesday 27^th November, Rothes Hall, Fife.  

In conjunction with the Citizens Theatre and South Lanarkshire schools the Divided City musical will be produced at Hamilton Town House Theatre in February 2013.