Thelma and Lowell's Diary: Nov. 6, 1943

Thelma cleans the house and a chicken; Russians capture Kiev

On this Saturday, Lowell wrote, Thelma cleaned the house and bought and cleaned a chicken. (Was this a live chicken?) At work, “We began splicing the cable out at the station. Put in my bow and stern marker,” he wrote. This sounds more and more like he is working at a shipyard.

Eighty years ago, the news that the Russians had captured Kiev (or Kyiv) was met by the Allied nations with joy verging on delirium. The Nazis had held the city in the Ukraine since 1941, committing terrible atrocities against its people, especially the Jews. Today, the Russian capture of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, would be cause for outrage. Paid subscribers can read on about this news from the front. To upgrade your subscription to paid (for just 16 cents a day), click below.