Veterans of the Great Patriotic War visited Hesed. Eight of them - kind, smiling, a little confused. Alexander Torkin: «It was terrible war. I just was demobilized. And suddenly: in the west – the Finnish war, in the east – Halkin Gol. It was already disturbing signal. It began near Smolensk and ended in Kongsberg. There was everything - blood, and losses, and so on … Human life isn't infinite, only memory can prolong it». «A lot of things disappear, dissolves completely. It is forgotten. If not to forget war, there will be a lot of hatred. And if the war is forgotten, the new one begins».

Seven grandmothers "forged" a victory. Only at the front there were over 800 thousand women. Lubov Monastyrskaya memoirs: «I have worked for the wartime in repair train. Rails … Cross ties … War by the mortal breath touched us constantly. I consider as the rebirth the day when the splinter got into my pillow from which I have just lifted my head. Till now as I remember it the horror covers me». Bronislava Sobolevsky is surprised till now, how she, the young girl from far Ukraine could load manually grain cars, finish short-term courses of tractor operators, plow the earth, sow in any weather, sitting in an open cabin while hands held a steering wheel. Also Maria Kuritsyna has very wisely noticed: «War was four years, but I’ve got feeling that it was half of my life …»

Our dear veterans were congratulated by children. The festive table, heart-to-heart talks. Beautiful memorable gifts. Those who couldn't divide pleasure of dialogue have been visited by workers of Heaed. Nobody remained without attention.

Lyudmila Tsymbaluk