German policemen at the work camp, the cook, and even Juli tell Lida that there is “no such place” as Ukraine, which confuses Lida because Ukraine is her home. She knows that Ukraine and Russia are different and have unique cultures and languages—but people of other nationalities do not share her opinion. Lida and Natalia note that life in Ukraine under the Russian leader, Joseph Stalin, was terrible even before the Nazis invaded. A little background on the history of Ukraine prior to and during World War II will clarify Lida’s past and some of the choices that she and other characters make.

Ukraine’s history is complex and fraught with tragedy. Following World War I and during the Russian Civil War (1917-1922), Ukraine enjoyed a brief period of partial independence. In 1922, Ukraine became a republic in the Soviet Union, and from 1925-1928, developed its own language and expanded culturally. In 1928, however, a few years after Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin assumed total control of the Soviet Union and the Soviet Communist Party.

Stalin, wanting to create a communist economy, imposed “collectivism” on Ukraine, taking away individuals’ farms and making them part of a state-run collective.