Alice and Victoria
9/2/2025
Ukraine
Germany
Russia
“All this is not unrelated to world peace. "When a man's ways please the Lord," the Scriptures tell us, "he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him." And is not peace, in the last analysis, basically a matter of human rights--the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation--the right to breathe air as nature provided it--the right of future generations to a healthy existence?” John F. Kennedy commencement address American University June 10, 1963
The last few months have been frustrating when it comes to ending global conflicts. So many promises that never came to be. As the politicians debate on what to do. The everyday people in these global conflicts are just trying to live their lives. Folks, they are suffering and dying. Yes, I realize there has always been death and destruction but we are talking of large nation states working to change the global order and are actively pursuing a global war Yet, it doesn’t seem like the world leaders are doing anything about it but just “talking” and watching. So what now? Do we slide into absolute chaos and destruction? Sorry Taylor and Kelce for “raining on your engagement parade.” But seriously, folks, what the hell is going on? (I am a little irritated) So today, I am going to bring your attention to two incredible women (in my eyes) who lived in two different countries and in different decades. Both lived through horrible circumstances. Both were ambitious in their own right. All they wanted to do was just to make something of themselves and live their lives in peace. Let me introduce you to Alice and Victoria. They are real women. They didn’t invent anything to solve the world’s problems or are famous movie stars. You won’t find them in your history books. Nevertheless, their stories deserved to be told. They represent the everyday person trapped by persecution and war.
Let’s go back in time to the 1930’s and into the 1940’s. This was Alice’s time. She lived in Germany and was born into a large Jewish family. Alice was a trailblazer in her own time and instead of following into the family business, she chose to define her own career path. She left home for college to study fashion. Alice was extremely talented and came up with some extraordinary designs in clothing as well as purses. She was also fiercely ambitious and fearless. As a clever business woman, she opened up her own factory and hired her own workers. Her personal life wasn’t easy. She suffered from heartbreak from a failed first marriage. She lost her brother, Max from suicide. And through it all, she persevered. Her designs were successful and provided a nice income. Alice ended up remarrying to the love of her life, Alfred. She knew things were getting harder for her and her family in Germany but she marched on hoping the tides would change. As we know from history, they didn’t. Soon enough, Alice lost her business due to the restrictions imposed by the Nazi’s. Alfred was taken to a horrendous work camp and then was released. Most of their money was spent on unforgiving taxes and as much as tried over and over again, they could not escape Germany to go to America. They were trapped. They did the best with what they could and the time they had together. They took walks and spent time with their family. Finally, after worrying about what the future held for them, they received a deportation order instructing them that they would be on the next transport. They were ordered to leave everything behind and in three days, they too would be deported. So after they said their goodbyes to family, they packed up warm clothes and packed a large lunch/dinner to sustain the both of them. Alice couldn’t leave behind her beautiful drawings of her favorite designs and packed them into her suitcase. They left on a train a few days later and were taken to a camp and then led to a pit where they had to remove their clothing. They were murdered with hundreds of others. Alice was 45 years old.
Now let’s head into 2022. Victoria’s time. With her bright red hair and determined blue eyes, Victoria was a Ukrainian trailblazer in her time as well. She had a wonderful dark and sarcastic sense of humor. She graduated from college with a degree in Computer Science and worked in IT for many years. She spoke English and had many friends from around the world. She married her Alex. They both fiercely loved their young son. Feeling a little restless, she decided to change things up a bit and focused her career on writing books. Victoria was an avid student of Ukrainian history and utilized her knowledge to write adult fiction novels. She successfully wrote 2 children books and two adult fiction novels. She won several awards with her writing. In 2022, after Russia invaded Ukraine, she found her calling as a war writer and journalist, determined to bring justice to those that lost their voices. She documented atrocities and war crimes. She knew from WWII history that there was no Nuremberg for the Soviet Union and many of Stalin’s war crimes were lost to history and never brought to justice. She was determined this was not going to happen again. As you can see, Victoria was an amazing person! On July 1st 2023, while she was out to dinner with some Columbian friends, a Russian missile targeted the pizzeria. She was seriously injured from the attack and died a few days later. Victoria was 39 years old.
However, her story doesn’t end here. Victoria’s legacy lives on with the help of her husband and some very close friends. Before her death, she was in the process of writing a book about other everyday women that were trying to live through the war. Furthermore, Victoria wanted to tell the world about the Russian war crimes and atrocities that were done against her people. Her book “Looking at Women Looking at War” was published about 5 months ago. (I have personally read it and it is extraordinary!) Her closest writer friends, several from various countries, met online for a multiple of years and meticulously reviewed Victoria’s notes, interviews and poems. They published her book. They did this out of love for her and to honor her legacy. It has been translated into 15 different languages. Margaret Atwood wrote the foreword. In case Margaret’s name rings a bell. She wrote The Handmaid’s Tale.
Finally, to bring this blog into full circle. I think both of these women had so much to offer to the world. Sadly, their lives ended too soon. Alice and Victoria are only two examples of millions of lives that have been destroyed by persecution and war.
Don't “we have the right to live out our lives without fear of devastation--the right to breathe air as nature provided it--the right of future generations to a healthy existence?”
When does it stop?