The exploits of the Soviet people during the Second World War. How ordinary Soviet people survived in the occupied territories

The Great Patriotic War is the most significant event in the life of our people in the 20th century, changing the life of every family. In my work I will describe the life of my great-grandmother, who lived in those harsh times in the Siberian town of Salair in the south of the Kemerovo region. Perhaps she was luckier than others, since the blood and violence of war did not overtake these places. But life was hard everywhere. With the beginning of the war, the children's carefree childhood ended.

On May 9 this year it was 65 years since the war ended. After the rally, dedicated to the Day Victory, I went to my great-grandmother and gave flowers as a sign of gratitude to her childhood feat. She was not at the front, but the war was her adult childhood. She worked and studied, she was forced to grow up, but at the same time she remained a child.

Many people know my great-grandmother Fedosya Evstafievna Kashevarova in a small mining town. She was born here, went to school here, and worked here as a veterinarian for more than forty years.

Years of the Great Patriotic War occurred during her childhood and early youth. It is noteworthy that when the war began, my great-grandmother was only 1 year older than me. Grandmother does not like to talk about the war - her memories are too painful, however, according to her, she carefully preserves these memories in her memory. Victory Day is the most expensive holiday for her. And yet, I managed to get my grandmother to tell me why she calls the war years her own >.

Nutrition

Most people during the war faced acute problem food shortages. And here, natural farming provided invaluable help: a vegetable garden and animals. Mom Kashevarova Maria Maksimovna, nee Kazantseva, (October 25, 1905 - January 29, 1987) took care of the house and children. In winter, she spun sheep's wool, knitted warm clothes for the children, looked after animals, and cooked food for the family. Mom's bread was always soft and tasty. There was always stew with cabbage and cereal on the table. Thanks to their farming, there were dairy products on the table.

True, in those days there was a food tax: each farm owner had to hand over a certain amount of food to the state. For example, if you had a cow, you had to hand over about 50 liters of milk to the state per year, that is, during the milking period, or even more. Having chickens, they paid tax in eggs, the number of which was calculated by the number of chickens. The volume of this tax was quite large, so that sometimes it was difficult to find meat, milk, and eggs for one’s own children. In addition, there were many prohibitions and restrictions. For example, it was allowed to keep one cow and a calf, 10-15 chickens and 5-6 sheep.

The family's favorite summer drink was kvass. It was always fresh, sweet, even without sugar. The family drank herbal, berry, carrot and birch chaga tea. We brewed sage, yarrow, currant leaves, raspberries, dried raspberries, currants, rose hips and finely chopped dried plastic carrots. The teas were stored in canvas bags. My grandmother still treats me to this tea. I must admit that it is quite tasty and healthy.

In the summer, the children made a living by fishing. There were a lot of fish then in the taiga river Kubalda and in Malaya Tolmovaya, and younger brother I often went fishing with my neighbor brothers. They caught fish with bags or nets woven from thin branches. They made traps that they called > - it's something like a basket. The fish was used to make homemade fish soup or fried in water.

There was no drunkenness at all in those days, but special occasions(wedding or patronal feast) they prepared beer for the feast. Of course, not the same as now and not in such quantities. There was a drinking culture everywhere.

Subsidiary farm

The family had a vegetable garden and arable land. They planted a lot of vegetables, especially potatoes. She is a potato, was the first, second and third course, and so on all year round. This strategic vegetable at that time was allocated arable land of up to 50 acres. Land for arable land > themselves: they cut down timber suitable for construction and used it on the farm, while non-construction timber and uprooted stumps were used for firewood. Collecting firewood was a collective activity for the whole family. The wood was felled in the forest, cleared of branches, sawed into small logs, brought home, chopped, and piled up to heat the stove and bathhouse in the winter.

Haymaking began at the hottest time summer month, but there was no time to splash around in the river. Early in the morning, while there was dew on the grass and there were no midges, the whole family went out to mow, and after a few days the dried grass was raked and hay was piled. Ten- and twelve-year-old teenagers deftly handled rakes, pitchforks, and scythes. There was no talk about any safety precautions, except that they warned about the danger of snake bites, since there were a lot of snakes in the hottest summer month.

In winter, they prepared ripe pine cones: they climbed a mature tree, trying not to break the branches, collected the seed cones, and then handed them over. In winter, children were busy with schoolwork and helped their parents only on Sundays. These were the conditions on which they had to earn hay land for the family’s wet nurse, Burenka.

During short hours of rest from their main summer work, the children went to the forest to pick berries and mushrooms. At that time, no berries were grown in gardens. Taiga generously shared berries, mushrooms, nuts, and various herbs. The berries were mainly dried to be soaked in winter for filling in pies, jelly, or simply chewed dried or put in tea. We went for pine cones. True, it's quite far away. But pine nuts made up for the lack of vitamins in winter. Mushrooms were salted in wooden containers and dried. And in the fall they had to harvest the crops in their garden and dig up potatoes in the field. All work in the field, in the garden and around the house was done by children along with adults. Moreover, my father returned from the war crippled.

Students

In Novosibirsk, the girls purchased tickets to Kyiv. The train was formed to return evacuees to Siberia to their homeland. The seats in the train car were on the floor in the corner. In the same way, other passengers rode on the floor in their knapsacks. Children and old people also slept on the floor, often taking turns, since there was little space. On the road we ate dry food from what we took on the road: dried rutabaga, carrots, beets and crackers. The train of cars was uncoupled at stations, moved to a dead end, and had to wait for hours until it was pulled west again. There were no places for public use in such carriages, and people met all their needs at stops in the fields along the railway track. We arrived in Kyiv only on Saturday, August 30th. Exhausted by the journey and bitten by lice, the friends fell asleep near the station right on the ground. And there was no station as such: a trailer was knocked together from rough, unhewn boards. And in the morning, leaving one guard with his things, we went to the institute. They were given certificates, since the exams were already over, and they, like a saving straw, grabbed the invitation of a recruiter from the veterinary institute, since there was a shortage of first-year students. He took the girls straight to the dorm. The dilapidated building had no windows, no doors, not even one wall, and the opening was boarded up. Having settled into a large room and placing modest belongings on the beds, the girls had to gain strength overnight for the exam on Sunday in all subjects at once. The first exam was chemistry, the second was physics, the third was biology, the fourth was mathematics, and the fifth was essay. Late in the evening we returned to the hostel, there was no one there, we untied our knapsacks, ate and fell asleep. On Monday morning we came to the institute, and the enrollment order was in Ukrainian. They asked me to read it. It turned out that all four were enrolled in the first year of the Kyiv Veterinary Institute.

So four Siberian women became students in Ukraine. We lived in a dorm in a room for 20 people, where only a few windows had glass, and the rest were boarded up with plywood, where in the middle of the room there was one drum - a heater, where we had to go to bed early in the evenings, since there was not always enough money for a lamp - a kerosene stove. In Kyiv, students became acquainted with another face of war - hunger. Until the fourth year, food was provided only on ration cards. There were 400 grams of bread per day and 200 grams of sugar per month.

The bread they provided was dark and raw, but there was not always enough for everyone. The lines for bread were huge. Parcels with dried potatoes, carrots, and beets were sent from home, but there was no bread. I was hungry all the time. And then with special warmth they remembered their student brigade, the collective farm camp and the smell of ripe ears of golden grain in distant Siberia. The most difficult test for the Siberian students was Ukrainian language. Lectures were given in Ukrainian, practical classes were conducted, and tests were taken. It was simply impossible to pass comparative anatomy without knowing the language. And Latin! Some old man sits in the winter near the heater drum and tortures you about the case declension of a Latin noun or adjective. Here knowledge of Russian and German languages. With gratitude they remembered their teachers and their lessons in Russian and German. We completed the first course in Kyiv and transferred to the veterinary institute in the city of Alma-Ata. But the language barrier and there he harassed Russian-speaking students. So we continued the third year closer to our native Kuzbass - at the Omsk Veterinary Institute. We defended our diplomas there. Having received the direction, we began to work, each according to its distribution. The grandmother was sent to the Novosibirsk region, but fate wanted her to return to her parents in her native Salair and work here as a veterinarian until her retirement.

The everyday work of war children is marked with a medal >, and their many years of labor - with a medal >. Two medals, and between them - life. And I am grateful to my grandmother for preserving in her memory the details of the harsh post-war time that befell many children of those years.

Heroes of the Great Patriotic War

Alexander Matrosov

Submachine gunner 2nd separate battalion 91st separate Siberian volunteer brigade named after Stalin.

Sasha Matrosov did not know his parents. He was brought up in an orphanage and a labor colony. When the war began, he was not even 20. Matrosov was drafted into the army in September 1942 and sent to infantry school and then to the front.

In February 1943, his battalion attacked strong point fascists, but fell into a trap, coming under heavy fire, cutting off the path to the trenches. They fired from three bunkers. Two soon fell silent, but the third continued to shoot the Red Army soldiers lying in the snow.

Seeing that the only chance to get out from under fire was to suppress the enemy’s fire, Sailors and a fellow soldier crawled to the bunker and threw two grenades in his direction. The machine gun fell silent. The Red Army soldiers went on the attack, but deadly weapon it began to chirp again. Alexander’s partner was killed, and Sailors was left alone in front of the bunker. Something had to be done.

He didn't have even a few seconds to make a decision. Not wanting to let his comrades down, Alexander closed the bunker embrasure with his body. The attack was a success. And Sailors posthumously received the title of Hero Soviet Union.

Military pilot, commander of the 2nd squadron of the 207th long-range bomber aviation regiment, captain.

He worked as a mechanic, then in 1932 he was drafted into the Red Army. He ended up in an air regiment, where he became a pilot. Nikolai Gastello participated in three wars. A year before the Great Patriotic War, he received the rank of captain.

On June 26, 1941, the crew under the command of Captain Gastello took off to strike a German mechanized column. It happened on the road between the Belarusian cities of Molodechno and Radoshkovichi. But the column was well guarded by enemy artillery. A fight ensued. Gastello's plane was hit by anti-aircraft guns. The shell damaged the fuel tank and the car caught fire. The pilot could have ejected, but he decided to fulfill his military duty to the end. Nikolai Gastello directed the burning car directly at the enemy column. This was the first fire ram in the Great Patriotic War.

The name of the brave pilot became a household name. Until the end of the war, all aces who decided to ram were called Gastellites. If you follow official statistics, then during the entire war there were almost six hundred ramming attacks on the enemy.

Brigade reconnaissance officer of the 67th detachment of the 4th Leningrad partisan brigade.

Lena was 15 years old when the war began. He was already working at a factory, having completed seven years of school. When the Nazis captured his native Novgorod region, Lenya joined the partisans.

He was brave and decisive, the command valued him. Over the several years spent in the partisan detachment, he participated in 27 operations. He was responsible for several destroyed bridges behind enemy lines, 78 Germans killed, and 10 trains with ammunition.

It was he who in the summer of 1942, near the village of Varnitsa, blew up a car in which there was a German major general engineering troops Richard von Wirtz. Golikov managed to obtain important documents about the German offensive. The enemy attack was thwarted, and the young hero was nominated for the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for this feat.

In the winter of 1943, a significantly superior enemy detachment unexpectedly attacked the partisans near the village of Ostray Luka. Lenya Golikov died as a real hero- in battle.

Pioneer. Scout of the Voroshilov partisan detachment in the territory occupied by the Nazis.

Zina was born and went to school in Leningrad. However, the war found her on the territory of Belarus, where she came on vacation.

In 1942, 16-year-old Zina joined the underground organization " Young Avengers" She distributed anti-fascist leaflets in the occupied territories. Then, undercover, she got a job in a canteen for German officers, where she committed several acts of sabotage and was only miraculously not captured by the enemy. Many experienced military men were surprised at her courage.

In 1943, Zina Portnova joined the partisans and continued to engage in sabotage behind enemy lines. Due to the efforts of defectors who surrendered Zina to the Nazis, she was captured. She was interrogated and tortured in the dungeons. But Zina remained silent, not betraying her own. During one of these interrogations, she grabbed a pistol from the table and shot three Nazis. After that she was shot in prison.

An underground anti-fascist organization operating in the area of modern Lugansk region. There were more than a hundred people. The youngest participant was 14 years old.

This underground youth organization was formed immediately after the occupation of the Lugansk region. It included both regular military personnel who found themselves cut off from the main units, and local youth. Among the most famous participants: Oleg Koshevoy, Ulyana Gromova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Vasily Levashov, Sergey Tyulenin and many other young people.

The Young Guard issued leaflets and committed sabotage against the Nazis. Once they managed to disable an entire tank repair workshop and burn down the stock exchange, from where the Nazis were driving people away for forced labor in Germany. Members of the organization planned to stage an uprising, but were discovered due to traitors. The Nazis captured, tortured and shot more than seventy people. Their feat is immortalized in one of the most famous military books by Alexander Fadeev and the film adaptation of the same name.

28 people from the personnel of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment.

In November 1941, a counter-offensive against Moscow began. The enemy stopped at nothing, making a decisive forced march before the onset of a harsh winter.

At this time, fighters under the command of Ivan Panfilov took up a position on the highway seven kilometers from Volokolamsk, a small town near Moscow. There they gave battle to the attackers tank units. The battle lasted four hours. During this time, they destroyed 18 armored vehicles, delaying the enemy's attack and thwarting his plans. All 28 people (or almost all, historians’ opinions differ here) died.

According to legend, the company political instructor Vasily Klochkov before decisive stage During the battle, he addressed the fighters with a phrase that became famous throughout the country: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us!”

The Nazi counteroffensive ultimately failed. The Battle of Moscow, which was assigned the most important role during the war, was lost by the occupiers.

As a child, the future hero suffered from rheumatism, and doctors doubted that Maresyev would be able to fly. However, he stubbornly applied to the flight school until he was finally enrolled. Maresyev was drafted into the army in 1937.

He met the Great Patriotic War in flight school, but soon found himself at the front. During a combat mission, his plane was shot down, and Maresyev himself was able to eject. Eighteen days later, seriously wounded in both legs, he got out of the encirclement. However, he still managed to overcome the front line and ended up in the hospital. But gangrene had already set in, and doctors amputated both of his legs.

For many, this would have meant the end of their service, but the pilot did not give up and returned to aviation. Until the end of the war he flew with prosthetics. Over the years, he made 86 combat missions and shot down 11 enemy aircraft. Moreover, 7 - after amputation. In 1944, Alexey Maresyev went to work as an inspector and lived to be 84 years old.

His fate inspired the writer Boris Polevoy to write “The Tale of a Real Man.”

Deputy squadron commander of the 177th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment.

Viktor Talalikhin began to fight already in the Soviet-Finnish war. He shot down 4 enemy planes in a biplane. Then he served at an aviation school.

In August 1941, he was one of the first Soviet pilots to ram, shooting down a German bomber in a night air battle. Moreover, the wounded pilot was able to get out of the cockpit and parachute down to the rear to his own.

Talalikhin then shot down five more German aircraft. Died during another air combat near Podolsk in October 1941.

73 years later, in 2014, search engines found Talalikhin’s plane, which remained in the swamps near Moscow.

Artilleryman of the 3rd counter-battery artillery corps of the Leningrad Front.

Soldier Andrei Korzun was drafted into the army at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War. He served on Leningrad Front, where fierce and bloody battles took place.

On November 5, 1943, during another battle, his battery came under fierce enemy fire. Korzun was seriously injured. Despite the terrible pain, he saw that the powder charges were set on fire and the ammunition depot could fly into the air. Having collected last strength, Andrey crawled to the blazing fire. But he could no longer take off his overcoat to cover the fire. Losing consciousness, he did last effort and covered the fire with his body. The explosion was avoided at the cost of the life of the brave artilleryman.

Commander of the 3rd Leningrad Partisan Brigade.

A native of Petrograd, Alexander German, according to some sources, was a native of Germany. He served in the army since 1933. When the war started, I joined the scouts. He worked behind enemy lines, commanded a partisan detachment that terrified enemy soldiers. His brigade destroyed several thousand fascist soldiers and officers, derailed hundreds of trains and blew up hundreds of cars.

The Nazis staged a real hunt for Herman. In 1943, his partisan detachment was surrounded in the Pskov region. Making his way to his own, the brave commander died from an enemy bullet.

Commander of the 30th Separate Guards Tank Brigade of the Leningrad Front

Vladislav Khrustitsky was drafted into the Red Army back in the 20s. At the end of the 30s he completed armored courses. Since the fall of 1942, he commanded the 61st separate light tank brigade.

He distinguished himself during Operation Iskra, which marked the beginning of the defeat of the Germans on the Leningrad Front.

Killed in the battle near Volosovo. In 1944, the enemy retreated from Leningrad, but from time to time they attempted to counterattack. During one of these counterattacks tank brigade Khrustitsky fell into a trap.

Despite heavy fire, the commander ordered the offensive to continue. He radioed to his crews with the words: “Fight to the death!” - and went forward first. Unfortunately, the brave tanker died in this battle. And yet the village of Volosovo was liberated from the enemy.

Commander of a partisan detachment and brigade.

Before the war he worked on the railway. In October 1941, when the Germans were already near Moscow, he himself volunteered for a complex operation in which his railway experience was needed. Was thrown behind enemy lines. There he came up with the so-called “coal mines” (in fact, these are just mines disguised as coal). With the help of this simple but effective weapon, hundreds of enemy trains were blown up in three months.

Zaslonov actively campaigned local population go over to the side of the partisans. The Nazis, realizing this, dressed their soldiers in Soviet uniforms. Zaslonov mistook them for defectors and ordered them to join the partisan detachment. The way was open for the insidious enemy. A battle ensued, during which Zaslonov died. A reward was announced for Zaslonov, alive or dead, but the peasants hid his body, and the Germans did not get it.

Commander of a small partisan detachment.

Efim Osipenko fought during the Civil War. Therefore, when the enemy captured his land, without thinking twice, he joined the partisans. Together with five other comrades, he organized a small partisan detachment that committed sabotage against the Nazis.

During one of the operations, it was decided to undermine the enemy personnel. But the detachment had little ammunition. The bomb was made from an ordinary grenade. Osipenko himself had to install the explosives. He crawled to the railway bridge and, seeing the train approaching, threw it in front of the train. There was no explosion. Then the partisan himself hit the grenade with a pole from a railway sign. It worked! A long train with food and tanks went downhill. The detachment commander survived, but completely lost his sight.

For this feat, he was the first in the country to be awarded the “Partisan of the Patriotic War” medal.

Peasant Matvey Kuzmin was born three years before the abolition of serfdom. And he died, becoming the oldest holder of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

His story contains many references to the story of another famous peasant - Ivan Susanin. Matvey also had to lead the invaders through the forest and swamps. And, like the legendary hero, he decided to stop the enemy at the cost of his life. He sent his grandson ahead to warn a detachment of partisans who had stopped nearby. The Nazis were ambushed. A fight ensued. Matvey Kuzmin died at the hands of a German officer. But he did his job. He was 84 years old.

A partisan who was part of a sabotage and reconnaissance group at the headquarters of the Western Front.

While studying at school, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya wanted to enter a literary institute. But these plans were not destined to come true - the war interfered. In October 1941, Zoya came to the recruiting station as a volunteer and, after a short training at a school for saboteurs, was transferred to Volokolamsk. There, an 18-year-old partisan fighter, along with adult men, performed dangerous tasks: mined roads and destroyed communication centers.

During one of the sabotage operations, Kosmodemyanskaya was caught by the Germans. She was tortured, forcing her to give up her own people. Zoya heroically endured all the trials without saying a word to her enemies. Seeing that it was impossible to achieve anything from the young partisan, they decided to hang her.

Kosmodemyanskaya bravely accepted the tests. Moments before her death, she shouted to the assembled locals: “Comrades, victory will be ours. German soldiers Before it’s too late, surrender!” The girl’s courage shocked the peasants so much that they later retold this story to front-line correspondents. And after publication in the newspaper Pravda, the whole country learned about Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat. She became the first woman to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War.

Introduction

The Soviet people were seriously alarmed by the war, the sudden attack fascist Germany, but he was not spiritually depressed and confused. He was sure that he was cunning and strong enemy will receive a proper response. All means and methods of spiritual influence, all branches and sections of spiritual culture and art immediately began to work to raise the people for the Patriotic War, to inspire their Armed Forces to selfless struggle. “Get up, huge country, get up for a mortal battle with the dark fascist force, with the damned horde,” the song called to everyone. The people felt themselves to be full-fledged subjects of the spiritual life of humanity; they took upon themselves the mission of fighting the fascist invasion not only as a defense of their historical existence, but also as a great saving universal task.

The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 clearly showed that the spiritual struggle significantly influences the entire course of the military struggle. If the spirit is broken, the will is broken, the war will be lost even with military-technical and economic superiority. And vice versa, the war is not lost if the spirit of the people is not broken, even with great initial successes of the enemy. And this was convincingly proven by the Patriotic War. Every battle, every operation of this war represents a most complex military and spiritual action at the same time.

The war lasted 1418 days. All of them are filled with the bitterness of defeats and the joy of victories, large and small losses. How much and what kind of spiritual strength was required to overcome this path?!

May 9, 1945 is not only a victory of arms, but also a victory of the people's spirit. Millions of people never stop thinking about its origins, results and lessons. What was the spiritual power of our people? Where to look for the origins of such mass heroism, perseverance and fearlessness?

All of the above justifies the relevance of this topic.

Purpose of the work: study and analysis of the reasons for the heroism of Soviet people on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War.

The work consists of an introduction, 2 chapters, a conclusion and a list of references. The total volume of work is 16 pages.

The Great Patriotic War was a difficult test that befell the Russian people. From the very first days of the war, we had to deal with a very serious enemy who knew how to wage a major modern war. Hitler's mechanized hordes, regardless of losses, rushed forward and put to fire and sword everything that came along the way. It was necessary to turn the entire life and consciousness of the Soviet people around, to organize morally and ideologically and mobilize them for a difficult and long struggle.

All means of spiritual influence on the masses, agitation and propaganda, political mass work, print, cinema, radio, literature, art - were used to explain the goals, nature and features of the war against Nazi Germany, to solve military problems in the rear and at the front, to achieve victory over the enemy.

Exciting documents have been preserved - the suicide notes of some Soviet soldiers. The lines of the notes resurrect before us in all their beauty the appearance of people, courageous and infinitely devoted to the Motherland. The collective testament of 18 members is imbued with an unshakable belief in the strength and invincibility of the Motherland underground organization city of Donetsk: “Friends! We are dying for a just cause... Don’t fold your arms, rise up, beat the enemy at every step. Farewell, Russian people."

The Russian people spared neither strength nor life in order to hasten the hour of victory over the enemy. Our women also forged victory over the enemy shoulder to shoulder with men. They bravely endured the incredible hardships of wartime, they were unparalleled workers in factories, on collective farms, in hospitals and schools.

The people's militia divisions created by the working people of Moscow fought heroically. During the defense of Moscow, the capital's party and Komsomol organizations sent up to 100 thousand communists and 250 thousand Komsomol members to the front. Almost half a million Muscovites came out to build defensive lines. They surrounded Moscow with anti-tank ditches, wire fences, trenches, gouges, pillboxes, bunkers, etc.

The foremost bearers of the heroic spirit of our army were the guards units, incl. tank, aviation, rocket artillery, this title was assigned to many warships and units of the Navy.

The motto of the guardsmen - to always be heroes - was vividly embodied in the immortal feat of the Panfilovites, which was accomplished by 28 soldiers of the 316th division of General I.V. Panfilov. Defending the line at the Dubosekovo crossing, this group under the command of political instructor V.G. Klochkov on November 16 entered into single combat with 50 German tanks, accompanied by a large detachment of enemy machine gunners. Soviet soldiers fought with unparalleled courage and tenacity. “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat. Moscow is behind us,” the political instructor addressed the soldiers with such an appeal. And the soldiers fought to the death, 24 of them, including V.G. Klochkov, died the death of the brave, but the enemy did not pass here.

The example of Panfilov’s men was followed by many other units and units, crews of airplanes, tanks and ships.

The legendary feat of the airborne detachment under the command of Senior Lieutenant K.F. Olshansky appears before us in all its grandeur. A detachment of 55 sailors and 12 Red Army soldiers in March 1944 made a daring raid on the German garrison in the city of Nikolaev. Eighteen fierce attacks were repelled by Soviet soldiers within 24 hours, destroying four hundred Nazis and knocking out several tanks. But the paratroopers also suffered huge losses, their strength was running out. By this time, Soviet troops, advancing on Nikolaev bypassing, achieved decisive success. The city was free.

All 67 landing participants, 55 of them posthumously, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war years this high rank 11,525 people were awarded.

“Win or die” was the only question in the war against German fascism, and our soldiers understood this. They consciously gave their lives for their Motherland when the situation demanded it. Legendary Scout N.I. Kuznetsov, going behind enemy lines on a mission, wrote: “I love life, I’m still very young. But because the Fatherland, which I love like my own mother, requires me to sacrifice my life in the name of liberating it from the German occupiers, I will do it. Let the whole world know what a Russian patriot and Bolshevik is capable of. Let the fascist leaders remember that it is impossible to conquer our people, just as it is impossible to extinguish the Sun.”

A striking example that personifies the heroic spirit of our soldiers is the feat of the Komsomol Marine Corps fighter M.A. Panikakhin. During an enemy attack on the approaches to the Volga, he, engulfed in flames, rushed to meet a fascist tank and set it on fire with a bottle of fuel. The hero burned down along with the enemy tank. His comrades compared his feat with the feat of Gorky’s Danko: the light of the Soviet hero’s feat became a beacon to which other heroic warriors looked up.

What strength of spirit was demonstrated by those who did not hesitate to cover with their bodies the embrasure of the enemy bunker that was spewing deadly fire! Private Alexander Matrosov was one of the first to accomplish such a feat. The feat of this Russian soldier was repeated by dozens of fighters of other nationalities. Among them are the Uzbek T. Erdzhigitov, the Estonian I.I. Laar, the Ukrainian A.E. Shevchenko, the Kyrgyz Ch. Tuleberdiev, the Moldovan I.S. Soltys, the Kazakh S.B. Baitagatbetov and many others.

Following the Belarusian Nikolai Gastello, Russian pilots L.I. Ivanov, N.N. Skovorodin, E.V. Mikhailov, Ukrainian N.T. Vdovenko, Kazakh N. Abdirov, Jew I.Ya. Irzhak and other.

Of course, selflessness and contempt for death in the fight against the enemy do not necessarily entail the loss of life. Moreover, often these qualities of Soviet soldiers help them mobilize all their spiritual and physical strength to find a way out of a difficult situation. Faith in the people, confidence in victory, in the name of which the Russian man goes to death without fear of it, inspires the fighter, pours new strength into him.

Thanks to these same reasons, thanks to iron discipline and military skill, millions of Soviet people, who looked death in the face, won and remained alive. Among these heroes are 33 Soviet heroes, who in August 1942, on the outskirts of the Volga, defeated 70 enemy tanks and a battalion of their infantry. It is almost incredible, but nevertheless a fact, that this small group of Soviet soldiers, led by junior political instructor A.G. Evtifev and deputy political instructor L.I. Kovalev, having only grenades, machine guns, petrol bottles and one anti-tank rifle, destroyed 27 German tanks and about 150 Nazis, and she herself emerged from this unequal battle without losses.

During the war years, such qualities of our soldiers and officers as perseverance and inflexibility of will in the performance of military duty, which constitute an important element of true heroism, were very clearly manifested. Even in the most difficult conditions initial period During the war, the bulk of our soldiers did not become despondent, did not lose their presence of mind, and retained firm confidence in victory. Courageously overcoming “fear of tanks and planes,” inexperienced soldiers became seasoned fighters.

The whole world knows the iron fortitude of our warriors in the days heroic defense Leningrad, Sevastopol, Kyiv, Odessa. The determination to fight the enemy to the end was a mass phenomenon and found its expression in the oaths of individual soldiers and units. Here is one of these oaths taken by Soviet sailors during the defense of Sevastopol: “For us the slogan is “Not a step back!” became the slogan of life. We are all, as one, unshakable. If there is a lurking coward or a traitor among us, then our hand will not waver - he will be destroyed.”

The actions of Soviet soldiers in the historical battle on the Volga were marked by great tenacity and courage. There was essentially no leading edge - it was everywhere. There was a fierce bloody struggle for every meter of land, for every house. But even in these it’s incredible difficult conditions Soviet soldiers survived. They survived and won, first of all, because a united military team was formed here, there was an idea. It was the common idea that was the cementing force that united the warriors and made their resilience truly ironclad. The words “Not a step back!” for all soldiers and officers they became a requirement, an order, the meaning of existence. The defenders of the military stronghold were supported by the whole country. 140 days and nights of continuous battles for the city on the Volga - this is a true epic folk heroism. The legendary resilience of the city on the Volga is personified by its famous heroes, among them Sergeant I.F. Pavlov, who led a handful of brave men who penetrated one of the houses. This house has been converted into impregnable fortress, entered the chronicles of the war as Pavlov's House. The memory of the feat of signalman V.P. Titaev, who, dying, clamped the broken ends of the wire with his teeth and restored the broken connection, will never fade. Even when he was dead, he continued to fight the Nazis.

Kursk Bulge - here the Nazi command wanted to take revenge and change the course of the war in their favor. However, the heroism of the Soviet people knew no bounds. It seemed that our soldiers had turned into fearless heroes and no force could keep them from carrying out the orders of the Motherland.

The 3rd Fighter Brigade alone repelled 20 attacks and destroyed 146 enemy tanks in four days of fighting. Captain G.I. Igishev’s battery heroically defended its combat positions near the village of Samodurovka, towards which up to 60 fascist tanks rushed. Having destroyed 19 tanks and 2 infantry battalions, almost all the batteries died, but did not let the enemy through. The village where the battle took place is named after Hero of the Soviet Union Igishev. Guard pilot Lieutenant A.K. Gorovets on a fighter plane, the fuselage of which was decorated with the inscription “From collective farmers and collective farmers of the Gorky Region,” alone entered into battle with a large group of enemy bombers and shot down 9 of them. He was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. In the battles near Orel, pilot A.P. Maresyev showed an example of valor and courage, returning to duty after being seriously wounded and amputated on both legs and shooting down 3 enemy aircraft.

The enemy was stopped along the entire front and Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive. On this day, near the village of Prokhorovka, the largest oncoming tank battle in history took place, in which about 1,200 tanks took part on both sides. The main role in launching a counterattack against the advancing enemy belonged to the 5th Guards tank army under the command of General P.A. Rotmistrov.

Having liberated Ukraine and Donbass, Soviet troops reached the Dnieper and immediately began crossing the river simultaneously in many areas. Advance units using available means - fishing boats, rafts, planks, empty barrels, etc. - overcame this powerful water barrier and created the necessary bridgeheads. It was an outstanding feat. About 2,500 soldiers and officers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for the successful crossing of the Dnieper. Access to the lower reaches of the Dnieper allowed our troops to block the enemy in Crimea.

A striking example of courage and extraordinary bravery is the combat activities of the intelligence officer Hero of the Soviet Union V.A. Molodtsov and his comrades I.N. Petrenko, Yasha Gordienko and others. Based on the instructions of the authorities state security in the catacombs of Odessa, occupied by the enemy, and experiencing the greatest difficulties (there was not enough food, the Nazis gassed them, walled up the entrances to the catacombs, poisoned the water in the wells, etc.), Molodtsov’s reconnaissance group regularly transferred valuable reconnaissance data to Moscow for seven months information about the enemy. They remained loyal to their homeland to the end. When asked to submit a petition for clemency, Molodtsov stated on behalf of his comrades: “We do not ask for clemency from our enemies on our land.”

Military skill greatly enhanced the resilience and other moral and combat qualities of our soldiers. That is why our soldiers put their whole soul into mastering weapons, equipment, and new fighting techniques. It is known how widespread the sniper movement became at the front. There were so many famous names here that received well-deserved fame!

One of the most characteristic features the spiritual appearance of our soldiers is a sense of collectivism and camaraderie.

There are thousands of examples of military camaraderie. Here's one of them. When crossing the Vistula in the summer of 1944, dozens of our amphibious vehicles carrying our soldiers ran aground in the middle of the river. The enemy opened artillery fire on them. Sappers came to the aid of their comrades in trouble. Despite the hurricane fire, they transported the infantry on boats to opposite bank and thereby ensured that she completed her combat mission. At the same time, Sergeant P.I. Demin particularly distinguished himself, who crossed the Vistula twelve times.

Great assistance was provided to the Red Army Soviet partisans. 1943 was a time of unprecedented heroic mass partisan movement. Coordination of interaction between partisan detachments and their close connection with the combat operations of the Red Army were characteristic features of the nationwide struggle behind enemy lines.

By the end of 1941, 40 partisan detachments, numbering up to 10 thousand people, were operating near Moscow. Behind short term they destroyed 18 thousand. fascist occupiers, 222 tanks and armored vehicles, 6 aircraft, 29 warehouses with ammunition and food.

Like the soldiers at the front, the partisans showed unprecedented heroism. The Soviet people sacredly honor the memory of the fearless patriot - eighteen-year-old Komsomol member Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who voluntarily joined the ranks of the defenders of the Motherland and carried out the most dangerous tasks behind enemy lines. During an attempt to set fire to an important military facility, Zoya was captured by the Nazis, who subjected her to monstrous torture. But Zoya did not betray her comrades to the enemy. Standing at the gallows with a noose around her neck, Zoya addressed the Soviet people herded to the place of execution: “I’m not afraid to die, comrades! It’s happiness to die for your people!” Thousands of other Soviet people behaved just as heroically.

By the end of 1943 in partisan detachments there were more than 250 thousand people. In the occupied territory, entire partisan regions existed in the Leningrad and Kalinin regions, in Belarus, Oryol, Smolensk and other regions. Over 200 thousand km 2 of territory were under the complete control of the partisans.

During the preparation period and during Battle of Kursk They disrupted the work of the enemy's rear, conducted continuous reconnaissance, hampered the transfer of troops, and diverted the enemy's reserves through active combat operations. So, 1st Kursk partisan brigade blew up several railway bridges and interrupted train traffic for 18 days.

Particularly noteworthy are the partisan operations under the code names “Rail War” and “Concert”, carried out in August - October 1943. During the first operation, in which about 170 partisan formations numbering 100 thousand people operated, many trains were wrecked and destroyed. bridges and station structures. Operation Concert was even more effective: throughput railways decreased by 35-40%, which significantly complicated the regrouping of Nazi troops and provided great assistance to the advancing Red Army.

Unwavering spirit, proud consciousness of one’s strength and moral superiority did not leave over the enemy Soviet soldiers and officers even when they fell into the hands of the Nazis and found themselves in hopeless situation. While dying, the heroes remained undefeated. They crucified Komsomol soldier Yuri Smirnov by driving nails into his palms and feet; they killed the partisan Vera Lisovaya by lighting a fire on her chest; tortured the legendary General D.M. Karbyshev, dousing him with water in the cold, who, in response to the Nazis’ offer to serve them, answered with dignity: “I soviet man, soldier, and I remain true to my duty."

Thus, in the harsh times of war, the spiritual power of our people, selflessly devoted to their Motherland, stubborn in battle for a just cause, tireless in work, ready for any sacrifices and hardships in the name of the prosperity of the Fatherland, was revealed in all its greatness.

The cultural life of the country during the war years was influenced by new factors. The material base of cultural institutions has sharply decreased due to the cessation of their funding. Many centers of Soviet culture were located in the western and central regions of the country, which were occupied for the first time during the months of the war. A number of scientific and cultural institutions were evacuated to the eastern regions, but many cultural and scientific values fell into the hands of the enemy and have not yet been returned to the country. Cultural and scientific workers were forced to look for new forms of existence in wartime conditions. They gave lectures and concerts at the fronts, in hospitals, factories, factories, etc.

The ruling party set new tasks for the intelligentsia, which were dictated by wartime conditions. It was supposed to instill in Soviet people such necessary qualities as patriotism, socialist internationalism, loyalty to duty, oath, hatred of the enemy, etc. Such propaganda was carried out, and it was quite effective.

Soviet cultural figures began to turn to the historical past of the Russian people, make films, stage theatrical performances, write works of art about figures and events pre-revolutionary Russia. Cooperation with countries anti-Hitler coalition allowed them to turn to the work of Western writers and artists and promote it in our country. During the war years, many Soviet people first became acquainted with the achievements of world culture.

During the Great Patriotic War, the life of Soviet people radically changed. Almost all of them changed their life conditions. Male population was mobilized into the army, the number of which reached 11 million people. On industrial production women, children, yesterday's peasants came. Their work during the war years was hard, with long working hours, practically no days off or vacations. In order to secure the support of the peasantry, the government was forced to abolish some restrictions introduced during the period of collectivization. This, by the way, was influenced by the desire of the Germans in the occupied territory to carry out decollectivization. A major concession to the Soviet peasantry during the war was the reliance on their personal interests. Personal subsidiary plots were allowed in the village, and peasants received a certain freedom in selling products from subsidiary plots. In addition, it was for the peasantry that the resulting freedom of religion was most relevant.

Already in July 1941, the population of Moscow and Leningrad was transferred to rationing. In 1942, 62 million Soviet people were served with cards, and in 1945 - 80 million. The entire population of the country, according to the level of consumption, was divided into several categories depending on labor and military contribution, while the norms of their supply with cards fluctuated significantly . Throughout the war, collective farm markets functioned in the country, where food products could be purchased at high prices. However, not every person could do this, because in the Urals 1 kg of meat cost more than what a worker received per month. From April 1944, a system of commercial shops and restaurants was introduced.

During the war, there was severe inflation in the country. Despite the fact that highly productive work was well paid, real wages in 1945 were 40% of the 1940 level. But even this money could not be realized, and it accumulated in savings books, especially in the countryside. In order to withdraw money from the population that was not backed by goods, the state introduced a system of special taxes, forced loans, and froze cash deposits, organized “voluntary” subscriptions for aircraft, tanks, etc.

The Great Patriotic War is not just history. This is a concrete, priceless spiritual asset that does not age, does not become everyday and ordinary. Over the years, interest not only in the large-scale epic of the war, but also in its individual pages, has not waned, but has grown.

Despite the abundance of literature on the war, it lacks an analysis of the role social psychology wt. There are many works on ideological work during the war years, but they, as a rule, come down to listing the actions of political agencies. Their authors practically do not try to show what folk traditions and mentality traits they relied on, what determined this activity. The totalitarian regime managed to level the individual, suppress independence, sow fear of harsh authoritarian power, replace religiosity and Orthodox spirituality with atheism, and impart patriotism new idea- the idea of social liberation.

The war for the freedom and independence of the Motherland, for the salvation of world civilization and culture against modern barbarism, was a leap in the development of personality, a turn in the mentality of Russians. This was manifested not only in heroism, but also in people’s awareness of their strength, the disappearance to a large extent of fear of power, growing hopes for the expansion of freedoms and rights of citizens, democratization of the system, renewal and improvement of life.

The war began the process of rethinking values and called into question the inviolability of the Stalinist cult. And although official propaganda continued to associate all successes and victories with the name of the leader, and failures and defeats were blamed on enemies and traitors, there was no longer such complete, unconditional trust in the previously unquestioned authority. And if now Stalin’s repressive apparatus snatched away his brother-front-line soldier, the former bold pre-war belief that “the innocent are not imprisoned” gave way to bewilderment and indignation. Stamps collapsed when they collided with the real life experience, which was forced to be seriously thought about by the war, which turned out to be so different from the “mighty, crushing blow” promised by propaganda, “with little bloodshed”, “on foreign territory”. The war made me look at many things differently. In a short period of time, truths were comprehended that humanity had been moving towards for centuries. The new features that appeared in the mentality of Soviet people: the transition from a position of expectation to a position of action, independence, the disappearance to a large extent of fear of power - had a colossal consequence for our historical development.

To the front generation peoples former USSR owe not only independence, but also the first spiritual and political assault on totalitarianism. The years of the Great Patriotic War opened a new page in the history of relations between Soviet state and the Russian Orthodox Church. In fact, for the first time since the formation of the socialist state, the authorities made an attempt to move from a policy aimed at destroying the Russian Orthodox Church as social institution, to a constructive dialogue with her.

For the Orthodox hierarchs, this was a chance to revive the ruined and humiliated Russian Church. They responded with pleasure and gratitude to new course Stalin's leadership. As a result, during the war the Russian Orthodox Church was able to significantly improve its financial situation, train clergy, and strengthen its authority and influence in the country and abroad.

New church politics was positively received by the majority of the country's population. A sign of the times has become crowded churches in the days Orthodox holidays, the possibility of performing religious rituals at home, the ringing of bells calling believers to service, solemn religious processions at large cluster people. The craving for religion increased significantly during the war years. Faith gave strength for a life of work in conditions of constant hardship.

The war provided a chance for the revival of Orthodox spirituality, a return to the pre-revolutionary traditions of Orthodoxy. It had negative consequence. The change in the situation in the religious sphere during the war years objectively “worked” to strengthen the existing regime and increase Stalin’s personal authority. In the context of the actively asserting ideas of statehood and patriotism, the restoration and strengthening of the Orthodox Church as the traditional bearer of these ideas served as an additional source of legitimacy for Stalin’s power. The spiritual turn also manifested itself in a change in emphasis in patriotism. There was a shift from the great-power Comintern attitudes to a growing feeling of " small homeland", which is in mortal danger. The Fatherland was increasingly personified with the great house of the Soviet peoples.

It was not the idea of bringing communist liberation from exploitation to the working people of other countries, which was propagated by propaganda before the war, but the need to survive that united the peoples of the Soviet Union. During the war, many Russians were reborn national traditions and values that were anathema from the standpoint of communist ideology for more than two decades. The leadership's assessment of the nature of the war as the Great Patriotic War turned out to be politically subtle and ideologically expedient. The specificity of socialist and revolutionary motives in propaganda was muted, and the emphasis was on patriotism.

Patriotism is not our monopoly. People of many countries love their Motherland and are ready to do great deeds for it. However, the sacrifice of the Soviet peoples during the Great Patriotic War is still unparalleled. The standard of living of the population of the USSR was immeasurably lower than in any of the warring countries, and nowhere was the attitude towards price human life was not so negligent on the part of the state. People put up with this and willingly made sacrifices.

It is worth recalling that we ourselves senior managers The Reich recognized the high patriotic spirit of our people. Even such a master of falsification as Goebbels admitted: “If the Russians fight stubbornly and fiercely, this should not be attributed to the fact that they are forced to fight by agents of the GPU, who allegedly shoot them if they retreat, but on the contrary, they are convinced that they are defending their Motherland.” .

Thus, the war made significant changes in the public consciousness and mentality of Soviet people. A special generation took shape, distinguished by its moral and psychological qualities and the strength of their manifestation. All these changes did not pass without leaving a mark on the state. The origins of our changes today have deep roots in the hard times of war.

At the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the program planned by the 18th Party Congress for introducing seven-year universal education and developing general secondary education in the country was interrupted. System public education withstood severe trials during the war. Tens of thousands were destroyed school buildings, the number of teaching staff was reduced by one third, many children lost the opportunity to study. The supply of textbooks and writing materials to schools became more difficult. All this led to the fact that during the war total number schools decreased by more than half, and there was a large dropout of children from secondary schools.

The rapid transition of the economy to a war footing and success in fulfilling front-line orders were achieved at the cost of incredible efforts and the selfless labor of those who replaced engineers and career workers who went to the front.

Exciting documents have been preserved - the suicide notes of some Soviet soldiers. The lines of the notes resurrect before us in all their beauty the appearance of people, courageous and infinitely devoted to the Motherland. The collective testament of 18 members of the underground organization in Donetsk is imbued with an unshakable belief in the strength and invincibility of the Motherland: “Friends! We are dying for a just cause... Don’t fold your arms, rise up, beat the enemy at every step. Farewell, Russian people."

The foremost bearers of the heroic spirit of our army were the guards units, incl. tank, aviation, rocket artillery, this title was assigned to many warships and units of the Navy.

The example of Panfilov’s men was followed by many other units and units, crews of airplanes, tanks and ships.

All 67 landing participants, 55 of them posthumously, were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. During the war years, 11,525 people were awarded this high title.

“Win or die” was the only question in the war against German fascism, and our soldiers understood this. They consciously gave their lives for their Motherland when the situation demanded it. The legendary intelligence officer N.I. Kuznetsov, going behind enemy lines on a mission, wrote: “I love life, I’m still very young. But because the Fatherland, which I love like my own mother, requires me to sacrifice my life in the name of liberating it from the German occupiers, I will do it. Let the whole world know what a Russian patriot and Bolshevik is capable of. Let the fascist leaders remember that it is impossible to conquer our people, just as it is impossible to extinguish the Sun.”

Following the Belarusian Nikolai Gastello, Russian pilots L.I. Ivanov, N.N. Skovorodin, E.V. Mikhailov, Ukrainian N.T. Vdovenko, Kazakh N. Abdirov, Jew I.Ya. Irzhak and other.

Thanks to these same reasons, thanks to iron discipline and military skill, millions of Soviet people, who looked death in the face, won and remained alive. Among these heroes are 33 Soviet heroes, who in August 1942, on the outskirts of the Volga, defeated 70 enemy tanks and a battalion of their infantry. It is almost incredible, but, nevertheless, a fact that this small group of Soviet soldiers, led by junior political instructor A.G. Evtifev and deputy political instructor L.I. Kovalev, having only grenades, machine guns, petrol bottles and one anti-tank rifle , destroyed 27 German tanks and about 150 Nazis, and she herself emerged from this unequal battle without losses.

During the war years, such qualities of our soldiers and officers as perseverance and inflexibility of will in the performance of military duty, which constitute an important element of true heroism, were very clearly manifested. Even in the most difficult conditions of the initial period of the war, the bulk of our soldiers did not become despondent, did not lose their presence of mind, and retained firm confidence in victory. Courageously overcoming “fear of tanks and planes,” inexperienced soldiers became seasoned fighters.

The whole world knows the iron steadfastness of our soldiers in the days of the heroic defense of Leningrad, Sevastopol, Kyiv, and Odessa. The determination to fight the enemy to the end was a mass phenomenon and was expressed in the oaths of individual soldiers and units. Here is one of these oaths taken by Soviet sailors during the defense of Sevastopol: “For us the slogan is “Not a step back!” became the slogan of life. We are all, as one, unshakable. If there is a lurking coward or a traitor among us, then our hand will not waver - he will be destroyed.”

The actions of Soviet soldiers in the historical battle on the Volga were marked by great tenacity and courage. There was essentially no leading edge - it was everywhere. There was a fierce bloody struggle for every meter of land, for every house. But even in these incredibly difficult conditions, the Soviet soldiers survived. They survived and won, first of all, because a united military team was formed here, there was an idea. It was the common idea that was the cementing force that united the warriors and made their resilience truly ironclad. The words “Not a step back!” for all soldiers and officers they became a requirement, an order, the meaning of existence. The defenders of the military stronghold were supported by the whole country. 140 days and nights of continuous battles for the city on the Volga is a true epic of folk heroism. The legendary resilience of the city on the Volga is personified by its famous heroes, among them Sergeant I.F. Pavlov, who led a handful of brave men who penetrated one of the houses. This house, turned into an impregnable fortress, entered the annals of the war as Pavlov's House. The memory of the feat of signalman V.P. Titaev, who, dying, clamped the broken ends of the wire with his teeth and restored the broken connection, will never fade. Even when he was dead, he continued to fight the Nazis.

The enemy was stopped along the entire front and Soviet troops launched a counteroffensive. On this day, near the village of Prokhorovka, the largest oncoming tank battle in history took place, in which about 1,200 tanks took part on both sides. The main role in launching a counterattack against the advancing enemy belonged to the 5th Guards Tank Army under the command of General P.A. Rotmistrov.

A striking example of courage and extraordinary bravery is the combat activities of the intelligence officer Hero of the Soviet Union V.A. Molodtsov and his comrades I.N. Petrenko, Yasha Gordienko and others. Having settled on the instructions of the state security authorities in the catacombs of Odessa, occupied by the enemy, and experiencing the greatest difficulties (there was not enough food, the Nazis poisoned them with gas, walled up the entrances to the catacombs, poisoned the water in the wells, etc.), Molodtsov’s reconnaissance group for seven months regularly transmitted valuable intelligence information about the enemy to Moscow. They remained loyal to their homeland to the end. When asked to submit a petition for clemency, Molodtsov stated on behalf of his comrades: “We do not ask for clemency from our enemies on our land.”

One of the most characteristic features of the spiritual appearance of our soldiers is a sense of collectivism and camaraderie.

There are thousands of examples of military camaraderie. Here's one of them. When crossing the Vistula in the summer of 1944, dozens of our amphibious vehicles carrying our soldiers ran aground in the middle of the river. The enemy opened artillery fire on them. Sappers came to the aid of their comrades in trouble. Despite the hurricane fire, they transported the infantry on boats to the opposite bank and thereby ensured that they could complete their combat mission. At the same time, Sergeant P.I. Demin particularly distinguished himself, who crossed the Vistula twelve times.

Soviet partisans provided great assistance to the Red Army. 1943 was a time of unprecedented heroic mass partisan movement. Coordination of interaction between partisan detachments and their close connection with the combat operations of the Red Army were characteristic features of the nationwide struggle behind enemy lines.

By the end of 1941, 40 partisan detachments, numbering up to 10 thousand people, were operating near Moscow. In a short period of time, they destroyed 18 thousand fascist invaders, 222 tanks and armored vehicles, 6 aircraft, 29 warehouses with ammunition and food.

By the end of 1943, there were more than 250 thousand people in partisan detachments. In the occupied territory, entire partisan regions existed in the Leningrad and Kalinin regions, in Belarus, Oryol, Smolensk and other regions. Over 200 thousand km 2 of territory were under the complete control of the partisans.

During the period of preparation and during the Battle of Kursk, they disrupted the work of the enemy’s rear, conducted continuous reconnaissance, hampered the transfer of troops, and diverted enemy reserves to themselves through active combat operations. Thus, the 1st Kursk Partisan Brigade blew up several railway bridges and interrupted train traffic for 18 days.

Particularly noteworthy are the partisan operations under the code names “Rail War” and “Concert”, carried out in August - October 1943. During the first operation, in which about 170 partisan formations numbering 100 thousand people operated, many trains were wrecked and destroyed. bridges and station structures. Operation Concert was even more effective: railway capacity was reduced by 35-40%, which significantly complicated the regrouping of Nazi troops and provided great assistance to the advancing Red Army.

Unwavering spirit, a proud consciousness of their strength and moral superiority over the enemy did not leave Soviet soldiers and officers even when they fell into the hands of the Nazis and found themselves in a hopeless situation. While dying, the heroes remained undefeated. They crucified Komsomol soldier Yuri Smirnov by driving nails into his palms and feet; they killed the partisan Vera Lisovaya by lighting a fire on her chest; They tortured the legendary General D.M. Karbyshev by dousing him with water in the cold, who, in response to the Nazis’ offer to serve them, answered with dignity: “I am a Soviet man, a soldier, and I remain true to my duty.”

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