Borys Romanchenko
Ukrainian survivor of Nazi concentration camps (1926–2022)
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Borys Tymofiyovych Romanchenko (Ukrainian: Борис Тимофійович Романченко; 20 January 1926 – 18 March 2022) was a Ukrainian public figure, activist and a survivor of several Nazi concentration camps: Buchenwald, Dora and Bergen-Belsen. He was killed by Russian airstrikes during the Battle of Kharkiv during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1][2][3][4]
20 January 1926
Borys Romanchenko | |
|---|---|
| Борис Романченко | |
| |
| Born | Borys Tymofiyovych Romanchenko 20 January 1926 |
| Died | 18 March 2022 (aged 96) Kharkiv, Ukraine |
| Known for | Nazi concentration camp survivor |
Biography
Romanchenko was born on 20 January 1926 in Sumy Oblast, Ukrainian SSR.[2]
At age 16, Romanchenko was captured and deported to Dortmund in Nazi Germany, where he had to perform forced labour in a coal mine. After a failed attempt to escape, he was interned at Buchenwald concentration camp. Later, he was forced to work in the production of V-2 rockets at Peenemünde Army Research Center. He was transferred to Mittelbau-Dora concentration camp and finally liberated at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. After returning home, he studied in Kharkiv.[1]
After surviving three Nazi concentration camps, Romanchenko actively shared his memories of those events and was involved in preserving the memory of tragedies caused by the Nazis. He was vice-president (from Ukraine) of the International Committee of Former Prisoners of Buchenwald-Dora.[5] Romanchenko also repeatedly visited the place of his imprisonment, noting that although it is difficult to stay there, it is a rare opportunity to see those who survived the camps.[6][7]
On 12 April 2015, he spoke at the site of the former Buchenwald concentration camp, citing from the Buchenwald Oath in Russian: "Наш идеал — построить новый мир мира и свободы" ("Our ideal is building a new world of peace and freedom").[5]
Death
He was living in the Saltivka area of Kharkiv at the time of his death on 18 March 2022.[2]
His granddaughter Yulia Romanchenko said that there was shelling in the area and when she went to his house it was completely burned down.[2] The Ukrainian foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba commented on Twitter: "Unspeakable crime. Survived Hitler, murdered by Putin."[2]
