In January 2025, staff at the War Museum took note of a social media post by journalist Nina Mishchenko, who is currently living in forced emigration in Ireland. She shared the story of her great-grandmother, Lidiia Mykolaivna Kravchenko, who was unable to evacuate from Kyiv after the outbreak of the Soviet-German War and was forced to remain at her former place of employment. Below is a direct quote from Nina Mishchenko:
“Grandma Lida was fluent in German and French and became a secretary at a German hospital located in the ‘Watermen’s Hospital’ (Lutheran Hospital), working under a German woman named Frau Martha. She issued Ausweise (identity documents) to employees, applied the official seal, and presented them to the Frau for signature. These were the papers that allowed one to remain in Kyiv. In essence, they were a ‘right to life.’
After some time, my great-grandmother began slipping in one or two additional Ausweise for other people. It was a form of protest—Martha would sign permits for Jewish friends, neighbors, acquaintances, and even members of the underground. When the hospital’s seal eventually broke and Frau Martha ordered it to be thrown away, Grandma Lida took it home and continued to use it there, forging the signature. We found that seal in 2020.”
Museum staff contacted Ms. Nina and proposed transferring this artifact to the institution’s permanent collection. At the time, they learned the seal was in Ireland. However, Nina’s friends in Kyiv had preserved the Kappel typewriter (made by a German firm) that Lidiia Kravchenko had used, as well as her original photograph from 1914. Both artifacts were donated to the Museum in 2025. It was only in March 2026 that Nina Mishchenko was able to bring the seal back to Ukraine and hand it over as well.
The War Museum is sincerely grateful to Nina Hennadiivna for donating these family heirlooms to our collection!
