A day remembered...

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Illya sat at his desk in the office he shared with Napoleon; he was reading a newspaper article, one that brought a heaviness to his heart.

It transported him back in time, to his childhood in Kyiv during the war.

On this day nearly 34,000 men, women, and children were massacred on the outskirts of the city at the hands of  the Nazi-occupiers. Most were Jews; a fact the Soviet Union refused to acknowledge to this day.

The German army took Kyiv on September 19th, Illya’s birthday, and the last birthday he’d celebrated with members of his family. Little did he know his mother and twin baby brothers Sasha and Misha would soon be dead, murdered right in front of him by the heartless enemy soldiers.

Special Schutzstaffel squads carried out Hitler’s orders to exterminate Jews and Soviet officials found there in the city and its outskirts. On September 29th, more than 30,000 Jews from Kyiv were marched to the Babi Yar ravine, north of the city. There they were ordered to strip, and after doing so they were lined up along the edge of the ravine and machine-gunned down.  The massacre ended on September 30th, with the dead and wounded alike covered over with dirt like yesterday's trash.

More and more people were eventually executed, thousands more Jews, Soviet officials, and Russian prisoners of war were shot down at the Babi Yar ravine in a similar manner.

As the German armies retreated from the USSR, the Nazis attempted to hide evidence of the massacres by exhuming the bodies and burning them in large pyres. Prisoners from the Sryets camp were forced to do this exhumation, Illya was one of them.

The remaining prisoners whose numbers had been reduced by further deportations to other camps, knew they would be next to die once the dirty work was done. There was a riot in the camp and that was when young Kuryakin escaped along with thirteen men. He never saw them again, and retreated to his secret hiding place back in the city.

He was slowly starving to death, but that seemed better to him than being gun downed or gassed by the soldiers. Yet he lived, and was somehow saved when the Red Army came to liberate Kyiv.

“Tovarisch, are you all right?”Napoleon asked.” You look as white as a ghost.”

Illya sniffled as he lied, “ Maybe I am coming down with a cold.”

“I heard Cookie is serving his special chicken noodle soup in the Commissary today. Want me to go get you some? It should be ready."

“No thank you. I will go myself. Would you care to join me?” Illya tossed the paper in the trash as he stood with a stretch before heading towards the door.

“No thanks, I’m not hungry just yet.” Napoleon smiled. It truth, having chicken soup at nine o’clock in the morning just wasn’t his cup of tea. Illya on the other hand would eat it anywhere, anytime.

“I will be back shortly,” the Russian gave a weak sort of wave before disappearing.

Once the pneumatic doors shushed closed, Napoleon retrieved the newspaper and spotted what he suspected was eating at his partner. Reading about what had taken place in Kiev on this date spoke volumes.

Illya was tight lipped about his past but Solo knew he was from that city. It had been nearly destroyed during the war. It was amazing Kuryakin the boy had survived. He had to have be around ten years old when this massacre happened.

“Had Illya seen any of this?” Napoleon asked himself.”God help him if he had."

Having been in the army in Korea, Napoleon knew what kind of death and destruction could take place during a war, but the deliberate massacre of innocent people, no...that was a horror he’d hoped he’d never see.

He decided to take his partner out to lunch, perhaps the Russian’s favorite place in Brighton Beach...no, maybe that wasn’t a good idea. There’d be people there surely mourning this day.

Napoleon would think of something, after all Kuryakin wasn’t only his partner, he was his best friend. Maybe Mama Leona's restaurant. Food was not only nourishment to Illya, it was his comfort.

Even though the Russian had his secrets, that didn’t mean he had to suffer alone. This Babi Yar was surely one of them, Napoleon was convinced of that now.

A/N this story references my epic Illya back story “Beginnings.” written under the user name mlaw. I also referenced facts from a History Channel article for this story.

Comments

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

You are so right my friend. Mankind sadly has a short memory.