Pin made in Ukraine. The text on the pin reads:”Odessa”.
Odessa is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea.
During World War II, Odesa was attacked by Romanian and German troops in August 1941. The Siege of Odessa started on 5 August and lasted for 73 days. The defense was organized on three lines with emplacements consisting of trenches, anti-tank ditches and pillboxes.
Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the famous female sniper, took part in the battle for Odesa. She recorded 187 confirmed kills during the defense of Odesa. Pavlichenko’s confirmed kills during World War II totaled 309 (including 36 enemy snipers). Following the siege, and the Axis occupation, approximately 25,000 Odesans were murdered in the outskirts of the city and over 35,000 deported; this came to be known as the 1941 Odessa massacre. Most of the atrocities were committed during the first six months of the occupation which officially began on 17 October 1941, when 80 per cent of the 210,000 Jews in the region were killed.