Aleksandr Makejew was artistically gifted, had a wide range of interests, and had already attained a teaching diploma by the age of twenty. He fell in love with a colleague. They became engaged and made plans. First, however, he had to serve in the army, and was stationed in Belarus. After the German attack on the Soviet Union, he and tens of thousands of Red Army soldiers were taken prisoner. The conditions were abominable. Countless prisoners of war died or were killed. In the autumn of 1941, Aleksandr Makejew was transported to the Buchenwald concentration camp along with 2,000 others. However, the SS had no use for the men. Within a year, one in three of them had died of deliberate neglect. The young teacher likewise survived for only a short time.
