Translation from Ukrainian handwriting

[tonytonywood]

Hey guys I have recently found some WW2 photographs that belonged to Granddad who was Ukrainian in the loft at home and I was wondering if anyone could translate the handwriting from the back of one of the photographs for me. I have tried to do it myself using a Ukrainian handwriting aid and have only been able to work out 1 word which I believe is year or years. Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. Tony.

[TheStrayCat]

Hello!

The message is apparently in Russian, and taken without the first line it reads "Lived 3.5 years. 1945," although written with a minor spelling mistake.

I can't make out the first word either. Looks like "сальцитид" or "сальцитийд" (?) to me, but all variants I have tried failed a Google search test. It can be the name of some medicine or chemical compound though, judging by the ending.

Hope this helps.

[tonytonywood]

Hi Stray Cat! Thank you very much for your help. Do you think the first word could be Зальцгиттер? I know my Granddad was in a labour camp in Salzgitter, Germany and apparently Зальцгиттер is the Russian spelling of Salzgitter. Also from what I can work out he was from a village called Petrivka in the Chernigov Oblast in the north of Ukraine, do you or anyone else that is reading this know if Russian was widely spoken in that region? Just It seems strange that the writing should be in Russian rather than Ukrainian but then again perhaps he didn't write the message on the back. Thank you again for your help.

Tony.

[TheStrayCat]

Yes, with your hint I've managed to read the first word. It's Сальцгіттер, with Ukrainian "і" and with С instead of З at the beginning. So, chances are that it is the same word.

In the Chernihiv oblast, currently ~10% of the population are native Russian speakers (based on the latest census), but nevertheless there is nothing extraordinary in leaving a short note in Russian. The Soviet era was a period when its use was promoted in all the republics for the sake of "friendship of nations" and it was certainly understandable to the majority of people in that region. If it was written in that labour camp, it's more likely to happen if it was addressed to allies from other republics or Ukrainian regions, or kept for a personal diary. Perhaps the spelling error (use of ы where it shouldn't be) is indicative that he hadn't been educated in Russian, but it is a very slight clue to make any conclusions.

[tonytonywood]

That's great, thank you very much for your help.