The HARSH German Occupation of Kharkov, Soviet Union (1941–43)

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Kharkov (or Kharkiv in Ukrainian) was taken by the Germans near the end of October 1941. It changed hands several times between Soviets and Germans. Yet, the city was for some time under German occupation and functioned as a hub for troops and material.
Over their 22 months occupation the Germans killed the Jewish population, executed a further 30,000 residents, among them suspected Soviet partisans and, after a brief period of toleration, Ukrainian nationalists were targeted as well. 80,000 people died of hunger, cold and disease. 60,000 were forcibly transported to Germany as slave workers (Ostarbeiter). Of the originally 700,000 people less than 200,000 were left after liberation. Over 70 per cent of the city was destroyed. In March 2022 the 96 year old Boris Romantschenko, who had survived different concentration camps during WW2 was killed in a Russian blast at his home in Kharkiv, Ukraine.