Evacuation Documentation and Testimonies as Sources for the Study of Soviet Jewish Population Losses during World War II

The number of people evacuated from western Soviet territories ahead of the German advance in 1941-1942 has yet to be definitively established. In particular, these figures could shed light on Soviet Jewish population losses during the war. The author of this article cautions that in order to estimate the numbers as accurately as possible, scholars must examine not only official records on evacuees, but also oral histories and memoirs. He uses the story of his own family as an example of the "unofficial" evacuation of Soviet citizens to the East.