Over 50 years after her cow was confiscated by the German army, a woman in Belarus has received compensation in the form of a package of food aid.


Anna Mayorova, 65, received a large box full of macaroni, cereals and cakes from a German charity organization in response to a letter she had sent to the German government.


Mayorova, contacted Tuesday at her home in the outskirts of the Belarussian town of Gomel, said she had included in her letter a receipt that had been given to her mother on March 13, 1942, by the commander of the German occupation forces.


"They stole almost all the cattle in the village," Mayorova said. "But I'm the only one who, quite by chance, kept the receipt."


Mayorova said she had decided to make the request when she found the receipt among some old papers. But she sent her letter without a return address and waited in vain for an answer from German authorities.


Pavel Lychkovsky, head of Good Health for Children, a Belarussian charity organization, said that he was contacted by a German evangelical charity organization that asked him to help find Mayorova.


Members of Good Health for Children found Mayorova and in February she received her parcel.


Mayorova, a pensioner who lives with her disabled husband, was grateful, but not overwhelmed.


"Of course, this is no compensation for our cow," Mayorova said. "But beggars can't be choosers."