HEARTBREAKING

Jewish Survivor of Mariupol’s Nazi Occupation Dies in Russian Takeover

“Mama loved Mariupol, she never wanted to leave,” her daughter said.

A 91-year-old Jewish woman in Ukraine’s besieged Mariupol survived Nazi occupation of the city in 1941 only to die in a basement during Russia’s takeover. Vanda Obiedkova died on April 4 during Russia’s bombardment of the city, Ukrainian authorities said. She reportedly asked her loved ones “Why is this happening?” before she was killed. The official website of the Chabad-Lubavitch movement, an Orthodox Jewish Hasidic organization, reports that Obiedkova’s health deteriorated as she sheltered in an “unbearably cold” basement with family members, cut off from water, food, and electricity. “We were living like animals,” her daughter, Larissa, was quoted saying. “Mama loved Mariupol, she never wanted to leave,” she said. Obiedkova was only 10 years old when Nazi forces arrived in the city and began executing thousands of Jews, including her own mother.