From Oleh Kubik

The Attempted Return of Nina and Igor to Ukraine from Germany

Posted March 26. 2014

I discussed this with Lida to confirm this story.

It was during the end of hostilities of WWII  that Soviet soldier’s were “liberating” Ukrainians and forcefully sending them back the Ukraine.  It was called “repatriation.” Dad was on his way back to Ukraine. At the train depot he noticed that as soon as Ukrainians were within a fenced in area that they were being mistreated and forcefully pushed onto the trains. Dad decided to turn around and get out of there. At that time, you were not even born and Dad was not even married. That was the first attempt to go back the Ukraine. Eisenhower stopped the repatriation once he understood what was happening.

The second effort to go back was immediately after your birth. You were a newborn and Mom and Dad were heading back to Ukraine since there were assurances the Ukrainians were not being mistreated.  At the train depot Dad received a letter from his father David telling him not to come. Dad was offended by the letter because it was so blunt.

The courier that caught up with Dad gave it to him at the last moment. Later on Dad found out that relations were so bitter between Russians and Ukrainians that long after the was over, they were killing each other. Mom was Russian and would have been killed by Ukrainians, Dad would have been killed by the Russians or Ukrainians and you would have been killed also. Things were really raw in that part of Ukraine after the war. Shortly afterwards, Dad got the  okay to emigrate to the US. I think you were about 1 and  half when you crossed the Ocean. Mom and you were very sick and it was a miracle you survived. You almost died on the journey over.  Mom was not able the walk off the troop carrier when it docked at Ellis. A group of Pentecostal volunteers heard of her plight and ran past the guards to help carry her off. They took her to the infirmary where she stayed a few days before getting on the train to Chicago. There they got on the train called the Northern Pacific that went to Seattle. There they got off at St. Paul where they were greeted by Nipritskies at St. Paul.  That  was July of 1949.