85: Dina Pronicheva

Dina Pronicheva

(Dina Pronicheva on the Witness Stand at a Kiev War Crimes Trial of 15 Members of the German Police responsible for crimes in the German-Occupied Kiev on January 24, 1946.)

Dina Pronicheva (Ukrainian: Діна Пронічева or Russian: Дина Проничева) was born Dina Mstislavskya January 7, 1911 in Chernihiv, Czarist Russian Empire (Present Day: Chernihiv, Ukraine) to a Jewish Family.

When she was 5 years old her Family moved to Kyiv.

In 1922 Ukraine was incorporated into the Soviet Union as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian: Українська Радянська Соціалістична Республіка or Russian: Украинская Советская Социалистическая Республика.)

In 1932, she married Viktor Pronichev.

She gave birth to a Daughter, Lydia (born in 1938), and a Son, Volodymyr (born in 1940.)

She completed Theatrical and Military Communications School.

When the Germans invaded in June 1941 Dina was working at a Puppet Theater before joining the 37th Army of the Soviet Union to work in the Communications Branch.

In September 1941, with the Germans about to enter Kyiv, Dina was told by her Military Supervisors to stay behind in the City – despite being Jewish and seeing how the Germans forced the Jews of Poland into Ghettos and Shot them.

On September 17, 1941 the Germans entered Kyiv.

After several explosions (set by undercover Soviet NKVD Officers) rocked the City on September 24^th and 25^th the Germans went house to house looking for Jews to kill.

Dina was living with her Mother-In-Law (who was an Orthodox Christian) and showed the Germans all the Christian Icons hanging in their Apartment.

The Germans left and Dina was safe.

On September 28, 1941 a notice (in German, Ukrainian and Russian) was posted telling all Jews in Kyiv to meet at 8 am the next day – with all their Documents and luggage -  so they could be resettled.

The notice also said that any Jews left in Kyiv afterwards would be shot on sight.

On September 29, 1941, Dina left her 2 Children with her Husband (an Orthodox Christian) and walked to the Assembly Point with her Parents and Sister (her Brothers were fighting with the Soviet Red Army elsewhere.)

As they walked outside of Kyiv to Babyn Yar (a Ravine) Dina noticed the German Soldiers and Ukrainian Paramilitary Collaborators using Anti-Tank Obstructions and Truncheons to force the over 33,000 Men, Women and Children into a narrow pathway towards an Undressing Area.

Dina separated from her Parents and Sister, threw her Soviet Internal Passport (that stated she was Jewish - until 1991 Soviet Internal Passports stated if you were Jewish) away and told a Ukrainian Guard that she was Russian and not Jewish and that she had been Rounded-Up by mistake.

The Ukrainian Guard believed her after seeing her Russian Patronymic Name (the Name of her Father with a Female Ending used like a Middle Name) on her Soviet Trade Union Card.

He told her to stand to the side and that “We'll let you go after we've shot all the Jews.”

While waiting, Dina watched as Thousands of Men, Women and Children undressed, were beaten up to the ravine and then shot and fell into the ravine.

She described how Mothers begged to be killed before their Children so they wouldn’t have to watch their Children die, but the Germans and Ukrainian Collaborators played a “game” where they shot the Children first to torture the Mothers before shooting the Mothers.

Babies and Children under 3 years old were simply thrown alive into the ravine where the mass of thousands of dead and dying bodies crushed them to death.

After seeing all the death around her a German Soldier ordered her and the other “Non-Jews” to be killed so there wouldn’t be any Witnesses.

She was forced onto the ledge of the ravine, fell into the ravine the moment the gunshots were heard and managed to hide while the Germans and their Ukrainian Collaborators continued to kill.

While hiding Dina met a 14 year old named Motia who was also hiding.

Motia was later killed by the Germans, but Dina managed to crawl out of the ravine and escape.

After the Massacre (in which 33,771 Men, Women and Children were murdered in just 2 days) Dina hid with a Cousin.

On February 2, 1942 she was arrested by the Gestapo and spent 28 days in the Lukyanovka Prison.

She escaped with the help of a Policeman who was actually a Partisan.

She continued to move from place to place until the Soviet Red Army liberated her area on December 28, 1943.

She learned that her Husband, Viktor, had been arrested by the Germans and shot in February 1942.

She searched many Orphanages and on March 14, 1944 found both her Daughter and her Son.

After the War she worked at the Puppet Theater.

She married Grigory Afanasyev (a Disabled Stage Operator at the Puppet Theater) in 1945.

In January 1946 she was a Witness (the only Survivor of Babyn Yar - out of 29 People) who testified in the Kyiv War Trials held by the Soviets.

With the help of her Testimony 12 of the 15 accused Germans were executed for their crimes at Babyn Yar.

She visited the Babyn Yar Massacre Site every year and was at the 25^th Anniversary Ceremony in 1967 (the Soviets made it illegal to mention that Jews were killed there or anywhere else during the War and so only “Soviet Citizens” could be mentioned.

Dina Pronicheva died of Kidney Disease in 1977 in Kiev, Ukraine SSR, USSR (Present Day: Kyiv, Ukraine.)