The surprise German invasion of the U.S.S.R. began on June 22, 1941. The Ukrainians, during their hasty retreat, evacuated personnel, dismantled and removed industrial plants, and conducted a scorched-earth policy—blowing up buildings and installations, destroying crops and food reserves, and flooding mines. Almost four million people were evacuated east of the Urals for the duration of the war. The Germans moved swiftly, however, and by the end of November virtually all of Ukraine was under their control.

The operation of shame - "Operation asphalt" was carried out by excavating war graves in Norway and moving to Tjøtta, south of Nordland, Norway.

During the Second World War, Ukraine lost more people than the combined losses of Great Britain, Canada, Poland, the USA and France. The total Ukrainian losses during the war is an estimated 8-10 million lives. The number of Ukrainian victims can be compared to the modern population of Austria.

May 31, 1942 was no ordinary school day for the young schoolgirl Hanna.  She was 17 years and from Dnipro, Ukraine. The Germans came to visit, and they ordered their classmates into cow wagons. The railway was to take them far, the journey then continued by ship.