What did the Nazis do with the captured women? Truth and myths regarding the atrocities that German soldiers committed against Red Army soldiers, partisans, snipers and other females. During the Second World War, many volunteer girls were sent to the front; almost a million especially female ones were sent to the front, and almost all signed up as volunteers. It was already much more difficult for women at the front than for men, but when they fell into the clutches of the Germans, all hell broke loose.
Women who remained under occupation in Belarus or Ukraine also suffered a lot. Sometimes they managed to survive the German regime relatively safely (memoirs, books by Bykov, Nilin), but this was not without humiliation. Even more often, a concentration camp, rape, and torture awaited them.
Execution by shooting or hanging
The treatment of captured women who fought in positions in the Soviet army was quite simple - they were shot. But scouts or partisans, most often, faced hanging. Usually after much bullying.
Most of all, the Germans loved to undress captured Red Army women, keep them in the cold or drive them along the street. This comes from the Jewish pogroms. In those days, girlish shame was a very strong psychological tool; the Germans were surprised at how many virgins there were among the captives, so they actively used such a measure to completely crush, break, and humiliate.
Public flogging, beatings, carousel interrogations are also some of the favorite methods of the fascists.
Rape by the entire platoon was often practiced. However, this mostly happened in small units. The officers did not welcome this, they were forbidden to do this, so more often guards and assault groups did this during arrests or during closed interrogations.
Traces of torture and abuse were found on the bodies of killed partisans (for example, the famous Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya). Their breasts were cut off, stars were cut out, and so on.
Did the Germans impale you?
Today, when some idiots are trying to justify the crimes of the fascists, others are trying to instill more fear. For example, they write that the Germans impaled captured women on stakes. There is no documentary or photographic evidence of this, and it’s simply unlikely that the Nazis wanted to waste time on this. They considered themselves “cultured,” so acts of intimidation were carried out mainly through mass executions, hangings, or general burning in huts.
From exotic species The only executions that can be mentioned are the gas van. This is a special van where people were killed using exhaust gases. Naturally, they were also used to eliminate women. True, such machines did not serve Nazi Germany for long, since the Nazis had to wash them for a long time after the execution.
Death camps
Soviet women prisoners of war were sent to concentration camps on an equal basis with men, but, of course, the number of prisoners who reached such a prison was much less than the initial number. Partisans and intelligence officers were usually hanged immediately, but nurses, doctors, and representatives of the civilian population who were Jewish or related to party work could be driven away.
The fascists did not really favor women, since they worked worse than men. It is known that the Nazis carried out medical experiments on people; women's ovaries were cut out. The famous Nazi sadistic doctor Joseph Mengele sterilized women with X-rays and tested them on the human body’s ability to withstand high voltage.
Famous women's concentration camps are Ravensbrück, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Mauthausen, Salaspils. In total, the Nazis opened more than 40 thousand camps and ghettos, and executions were carried out. The worst situation was for women with children, whose blood was taken away. Stories about how a mother begged a nurse to inject her child with poison so that he would not be tortured by experiments are still horrifying. But for the Nazis, dissecting a living baby and introducing bacteria and chemicals into the child was in the order of things.
Verdict
About 5 million Soviet citizens died in captivity and concentration camps. More than half of them were women, however, there would hardly have been even more than 100 thousand prisoners of war. Basically, representatives of the fair sex in greatcoats were dealt with on the spot.
Of course, the Nazis answered for their crimes, both with their complete defeat and with executions during Nuremberg trials. But the worst thing was that many, after the Nazi concentration camps, were heading to Stalin’s camps. This, for example, was often done with residents of occupied regions, intelligence workers, signalmen, etc.
Time is powerless to weaken the memory of humanity about
courage and unbending perseverance Soviet people, climbed to
defense of your Motherland, your Fatherland. This
The war was waged by the Soviet people against the Nazi invaders not only for the sake of
of the Soviet people, but also for the sake of other peoples, for the sake of world peace. Invaluable
Soviets made contributions to the victory over fascism
women who stood up to defend their homeland. In the article “On the moral character of our people,” M. I. Kalinin wrote:
all previous ones pale before the great epic of the current war, before the heroism
and the sacrifice of Soviet women, showing civic valor, endurance
with the loss of loved ones and enthusiasm in the fight against such a force and, I would say,
majesty such as have never been seen in the past.”
Soviet women performed an immortal feat in the name of the Motherland in the rear
countries. Overcoming the greatest difficulties of the war years, sparing no effort, they did
everything to provide the front with what was required to defeat the enemy. Woman
collected funds for the country's defense fund,
food and clothing for the population affected by the occupiers became
donors. Throughout the war, women from the home front kept in touch with the Red Wars
The armies showed constant concern for them and their families.
Sending gifts to wars,
patriotic letters, traveling with delegations to the front, they provided
on the defenders of the Motherland and moral influence, inspired them to new combat
feats.
Soviet Women as equal members
socialist state, were during the Great Patriotic War and
his equal defenders. Women and girls served in the Red Army,
participated in the partisan movement, took the most direct and
active participation in the expulsion of the occupiers from Soviet soil and in their complete
defeat.
About the military and labor exploits of Soviet women
many books, essays, documentary stories, magazine and newspaper stories have been written
articles. Poets and writers have dedicated many stories to women warriors and home front workers.
of their works.
Already during the Patriotic War, the first
pages of history about the contribution of Soviet women to the defense of the socialist Fatherland.
The military and labor feats of Soviet women were consecrated in a number of works, in
the first decade after the war. And yet many of them were inherent
significant disadvantages associated primarily with the limited
source base of those years.
It is known that the war began at extremely
unfavorable balance of forces with Germany for the USSR. It's especially hard
the loss of important economic areas affected the development of the military economy
countries at the beginning of the war. As a result
occupation by the enemy of a significant part of Soviet territory, the country lost
territory in which before the war 68% of steel, 60% of aluminum, 62% of
mined coal, etc. More than once during the war, Soviet soldiers had
one rifle for two. Through great efforts
by 1942 the USSR had become
produce more weapons than Germany. Stalin raising the people
holy war against fascism, warned the Soviet people against underestimating the enemy,
armed with powerful military equipment and
experienced in modern warfare.
Stalin called on the people to
in order to “defend every inch of Soviet land in a merciless fight against the enemy,
fight to the last drop of blood for our cities and villages, show courage,
initiative and intelligence characteristic of our people.” Countrywide
slogans sounded: “Everything for the front!
everything for victory! "
From this table you can see that the number of women
number of people employed in production is constantly growing and over 5 years they have grown by more than 1.5 times.
Years 1940 in thousand 1945 in thousand in % of 1940 Total people employed in production 47520 52820 111 Men 35550 34210 96 Women 11970 18610 156
Use of female labor in production
showed another greatest advantage of the Soviet socialist system. AND
In this matter, not a single capitalist state can compare with the USSR.
The thoughts and aspirations of the patriots of the Soviet rear are well expressed in the addresses of the participants
two thousand women's rally in the Ivanovo region. “Revenge and the great just
anger, they wrote, does not fade away for a minute in the hearts of each of us. Remember
that the front passes through our great Motherland, to the smallest remote
town, to the most remote village! We are all fighters of a formidable, merciless enemy
people's army! There is only one desire of every honest Soviet
people - everything for the front! Everything for victory! The front demands - it will be fulfilled! "
Soviet power, socialist method
production provided women in our country with opportunities for active labor
activities. The active participation of women in creative work has dramatically changed their
the situation in the national economy is much
their share of participation in the country's production has increased. Thanks to the care and great
the organizational work of the party already in the years of the first five-year plans, Soviet women
became active builders of socialism in the USSR. Women have mastered such
professions that were previously only possible for men: in 1939, only in
metalworking industry, about 50 thousand women worked as turners, 40
thousand - mechanics, 24 thousand milling workers, 14 thousand toolmakers, etc.
Soviet women also took a place in the ranks of the intelligentsia. If before the victory of October
a female engineer was a rare exception in Russia, then in 1934 women
made up 10% of the engineering and technical personnel of the USSR industry, and in the chemical industry
industry they accounted for 22.5%, etc.
The Communist Party's call to women is to replace
men who went to the front received a warm response from them. Hundreds of thousands of girls
and women voluntarily came to production. Only in Moscow during the war days
374 thousand women came to production
housewives. Of these, more than 100t. – industrial enterprises of the capital.
In besieged Leningrad, already in the first days of the war,
There are 500 housewives at the Kirov plant, and their number is increasing every day. In August 1941, in the machine shop of this plant, women made up 90% of all workers. In the first two months of the war
11,600 women came to Gorky's factories, and mostly they were
housewives. They occupied a variety of positions and became blacksmiths,
mechanics, molders, heaters
etc.
The influx of female labor into the country's industry at the expense of housewives
increased from month to month. By October 1941, women made up 45% of all
workers of the country.
On increasing the share of female labor among
qualified can be judged by the following data (in %) Main professions of skilled workers At the beginning of 1941 At the end of 1942 Among steam engine operators 6 33 Among compressor operators 27 44 Among metal turners 16 33 Among metal welders 17 31 Among mechanics 3.9 12 Among blacksmiths and stampers 11 50 Among car drivers 3.5 19
Many women entered the industries that produced
defense products. Thus, by the end of 1942, in the most important sectors of the defense
industry, women accounted for from 30% to 60%. With the advent of a large number
women in production important acquired training in their professions, and so
and improving production qualifications.
Many working women mastered new
professions right at the machine, at the workplace. Most girls and women
acquired working qualifications through short-term courses.
On the fronts of the Great Patriotic War
Among the volunteers who applied to be sent to
active army, up to 50% of applications were from women. Only in Barnaul
Altai Territory received over 800 volunteer applications, including 474
from women. Already in August 1941, 4544 women and girls of the region were trained
courses for nurses and aides. Soviet patriots went to the front, courageously
fought with fascist invaders, shedding your blood and parting with
life in order to preserve the lives and protect unarmed women, children and
old people, in order to motherland was free again, so that happiness and
the world has become again ordinary life working person.
Faithful daughter of the Motherland Alexandra Okunaeva, fallen
death of the brave, going into battle, she left a note that said: “I
went to the front to defend the Motherland. I
wanted to take revenge on the Nazis for that
the immeasurable grief, suffering and evil they brought to our land. I had to kill them. I understood and
I felt in my heart that I couldn’t live without it.” Boundless love for the Motherland, for the Communist Party, for
gave birth to her people from Soviet patriots
heroism and courage, strength and steadfastness in the fight against hated invaders
.
Assessing the military feat of Soviet women,
who went through the entire battle path with male soldiers, Marshal of the Soviet Union
A.I. Eremenko wrote: “There is hardly at least one military specialty with
which our brave women did not cope with as well as their brothers,
husbands and fathers.” On the initiative of the Komsomol Central Committee in 1942, the system
Universal education, formed under the People's Commissariat of Defense on October 1, 1941, created Komsomol youth
divisions. which included girls. Over 222 were prepared
thousand women specialist fighters, including: mortar women - 6097 people, heavy machine gunners - 4522 people,
light machine gunners – 7796 people, automatic riflemen – 15290 people,
shooters-snipers - 102333 people, signalmen of all specialties -
45509, etc.
Many thousands of Soviet women and girls fought bravely for
socialist Fatherland in the Air Force. In 1942 from
female volunteers were formed
three aviation regiments that have gone through a glorious battle path. Many women served in
other parts of Soviet aviation. In 1944, for example, in the 13th Air Army
1,749 women served on the Trans-Baikal Front and
girls, of which 1613-
Komsomol members 3,000 women served in the 10th Air Army of the Far Eastern Front
and girls, including 712 communists. And in the 4th Air Army of the 2nd
Belorussian Front, which included the 46th Guards Women's Aviation Regiment,
4,376 women served, of which 237 were officers. 862 sergeants, 1125
privates and 2117 civilians. Pilots of the female regiment fought air battles
with the enemy, cleared the way for infantry and tanks, helped them break through the enemy
defense, in pursuit, encirclement and destruction of enemy groups, etc.
There are many bright pages in the history of the fight against the hated
Fearless scouts entered the enemy. Risking their lives, they went to the front line
line of fire, penetrated into the territory of enemy fortifications, went into deep
behind enemy lines, delivering a lot of valuable information. There are a lot of messages addressed to the scouts.
said kind words, written books and poems. I wrote this about them, about the scouts.
poet I. Selvinsky:
And what stubborn strength,
In the outline of this mouth!
This girl contains all of Russia,
Everything down to the mole is spilled.
Thousands of Soviet patriots - fighters of the invisible front
for exploits performed during the Patriotic War, they were awarded orders and
medals of the country, and N. T. Gnilitskaya and H. A. Kulman were awarded the title of Hero
Soviet Union.
A significant contribution to the fight for the lives of Soviet soldiers
contributed by those patriots who
worked on military ambulance trains, in front-line and rear hospitals. This
a poem by the poet Joseph Utkin, dedicated to a nurse:
When leaned over me
My sister's suffering -
The pain immediately became different:
Not as strong, not as sharp.
It's like I've been watered
Living and dead water,
It's like Russia is above me
Bowed her brown head!..
Soviet women took direct and
active participation in all decisive battles of the Soviet Armed Forces. Big
they contributed to the defense of the hero cities of Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kyiv,
Odessa, Sevastopol, Novorossiysk, Kerch, Minsk and other important military
operations. Participants in the armed struggle against Nazi Germany set an example
selfless service to the Motherland, one’s people, devotion to the Leninist party.
The main part of Hitler's plan "Barbaross" was
the destruction of Moscow, and in its place a huge sea would appear, namely
Therefore, the patriotism of Soviet women was clearly expressed in the battle of Moscow.
Ten thousand women and girls served in military units and formations that defended
capital of the Motherland.
Thousands of Soviet patriots became workers' fighters and
communist battalions, Moscow militia divisions. High
patriotism and their contribution to the defense of the capital were brought by each of the 12 Moscow
divisions. Their motto: “ Better death standing, than living on your knees.” In fact, they are
arrived. Fire them sniper rifles over 300 were destroyed
German fascist invaders. In addition, Natasha Kovshova, and Masha Polivanova
were the organizers of training in sniper skills. They prepared 26
snipers of the regiment, who also exterminated up to 300 Nazis. In an unequal battle
During the liberation of Novogorod land, brave patriots died. Soviet
the government posthumously awarded them
honorary title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, not all patriots
defending the capital, had a chance to see the desired day of victory over the enemy.
Many of
They laid down their lives already during the defense of Moscow.
Soviet soldiers and residents showed massive heroism
in the defense of a large industrial center and an important base of the Black Sea Fleet -
Odessa, which lasted 67 days. The enemy threw 18 divisions against the city’s defenders, which
several times greater than the strength of the Soviet troops. But the Supreme Headquarters
The High Command gave the order to defend Odessa to the last opportunity
This order was carried out with honor. Women of Odessa, like men, courageously
endured all the hardships and hardships - continuous bombing and shelling, lack of
food, and then water, which from September 10, after the capture
water station by the enemy, was issued using special cards.
Dozens
brave patriots who distinguished themselves in the battles for Odessa were awarded high
government awards.
Knowing their job well, disciplined and
The girls who served in the Leningrad
air defense army. They wrote quite a few bright pages into the history of the hero city from
air pirates. Komsomol member Corporal M.A. Vodinskaya was excellent
instrument operator of the 618th anti-aircraft artillery division of the Leningrad Air Defense Army. She
gave 100% accuracy in determining the target. According to her calculations, the shot was not hit
one enemy aircraft. The Soviets showed exceptional courage and bravery
patriots in the fight for the lives of wounded soldiers. When fierce fighting began,
Stalingrad hospitals daily 500 girls - combatants and nurses
worked to care for the wounded.
When 25
August 1942 at night in Traktorozavodsky
The Komsomol district committee appealed
commander of one of the military units
requesting assistance in
carrying the wounded to the crossing, secretary of the district committee
Lidiya Plastikova and 25 girls went to the front line. Under
machine-gun fire, explosions of mines and shells, they bandaged all the wounded and
They were taken to the left bank of the Volga.
Courage and bravery demonstrated
women warriors and at the final stage
Great Patriotic War. For 1418 days they walked along front roads,
overcoming all difficulties and adversity
military life, admiring his courage and endurance, inspiring young
few experienced soldiers.
IN last blows was used by the fascist army
new strategic weapon - searchlights,
whose crews consisted mainly of girls. Soviet patriots
We were proud of our participation in this important and responsible task. Bright rays
searchlights, the enemy was blinded and confused, and while the Nazis came to their senses from the powerful
light strike, our artillery and tanks broke through the enemy’s defenses,
and the infantrymen went on the attack, together with the searchlight crews, in carrying out this historic operation
40 female snipers also took part. And the Motherland appreciated it
military exploits of their brave daughters,
surrounded them with attention and care. For military merits in the fight against
the Nazi invaders awarded over 150 thousand women with combat
orders and medals.
Many of them received several military awards. 200
women were awarded the Order of Soldier's Glory, and four patriots became full holders of the Order of Glory.
The struggle of Soviet women against the occupiers in
behind enemy lines
Partisan movement during the Great Patriotic War
war was important integral part Soviet people against Hitler's
Germany, one of the most active forms participation of the broad masses in
defeat of foreign invaders. It was truly a whole people's movement,
generated by the just nature of the war, the desire to protect
socialist gains, honor and independence of the Motherland of the Soviets.
It was not easy for women partisans. But love for
socialist Fatherland and hatred of the enemies of the Motherland helped overcome everything
difficulties and adversities.
In partisan detachments
Entire families of Soviet patriots fought. Taganrog resident M.K. Trubareva came to
partisans of the Taganrog detachment together with their daughters Valentina, Raisa and son
Petey.
Big number
women and girls partisans received special training. During the war
only in the Central Schools of the Partisan Movement received military training
1262 women. Women of all ages, all professions and
nationalities of our vast country. According to the registration data of the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement as of January 1, 1944. Number of participants in the partisan movement Total 287,453 Men 26,746 Women 26,707
IN
difficult days for the country when the enemy
rushed to Moscow, Zoya’s feat was similar to the feat of the legendary Danko.
Going to
execution, she did not ask for mercy and did not bow her head to the executioners. She's firmly
believed in the inevitable victory over the enemy, in the triumph of the cause for which she
fought. Guerrilla scouts made a great contribution to the holy war
Smolensk region. The fact that many combat operations were successfully carried out
partisans, there are share of hard times labor of scouts. Lots of important information about
the enemy was delivered by intelligence officers, communist D. T. Firichenkova and Komsomol member
Lyudmila Kalinovskaya.
Often women - fighters of partisan detachments
had to participate in carrying out tasks to commit acts of sabotage.
Collecting information about the enemy, they distributed underground literature, leaflets, and conducted political
work among the population of enemy-occupied areas, and Rima Shershneva closed
with her body the embrasure of an enemy machine gun, thereby saving more than one life.
The Soviet government posthumously awarded the patriot of the Motherland the Order of the Red
Banner.
Navlinskaya underground woman Tamara Stepanova and Maria
Dunaev was propagandized and brought to
a partisan detachment of 30 encirclement artillerymen who served in the German police.
To prevent hijacking to Nazi Germany 2
thousand young Red Guards, under the cover of darkness Lyudmila Shevtsova made her way to the stock exchange building, squeezed out a window and
climbed inside the room. Using artillery gunpowder and gasoline, she set fire to
paper Thus all were destroyed
documents about sending Soviet people to hard labor.
The patriots shared their last piece with the partisans
bread, gave them their things, saved them from inevitable death. Only in December
1943 under the leadership of the secretary of the Antopol underground district party committee
Brest region A. I. Khromova
women of the Antopol region were collected and sent to the partisans of the detachment
named after Kirov 40 warm shirts, 71 pairs of underwear, 10 short fur coats, 20 pairs
felt boots, 30 wool scarves, etc.
Invaluable
contributed to the fight against the Nazis
women and young girls who were under 18 years old when they left
to the front.
71 years have passed since that spring when the Soviet
the people, all progressive humanity celebrated the victory over fascism.
The inspirer and organizer of this victory is the Communist Party
Soviet Union. It was she - Lenin's party that raised the Soviet people to
a just, liberation war, turned the USSR into a single combat camp,
mobilized all the material and spiritual forces of the country and people for the defeat
fascist Germany. Creating the Armed Forces of the country, the Communist Party
provided them with first-class equipment and supervised their combat operations. His
With everyday and tireless work, she raised high moral, political and
fighting qualities of soldiers and officers who fought on the fronts of the Patriotic War
war, among partisans waging war against the invaders in the captured Soviet
territory, among the workers and peasants who forged victory over the enemy in the rear of the country.
The Great Patriotic War, in which the Soviet
The Union won, not only historical event, which determined the fate
humanity. During these difficult years, ideological,
moral and moral traits are inherent in a person in a socialist society.
The war was a great test for our women.
countries that have not only suffered the bitterness of the loss of relatives and friends, have endured
not only the greatest hardships and difficulties of wartime, but also went through all
the hardships and hardships of front-line life. And the women who worked in the rear of the country endured
bear the brunt of labor on their shoulders
production and agriculture.
The Soviet people remember with gratitude the soldiers of the country's Armed Forces, the brave
partisans, home front workers, whose heroic hands ensured world peace.
This victory saved many peoples of Europe and Asia from the yoke of fascist invaders.
Women of the Land of Soviets also made their contribution to the victory over fascism.
– You mentioned that a conversation in transport prompted you to study the topic of women in war. What was he talking about?
– This was not an isolated conversation. One day on the bus, two imposing middle-aged women, before another military date, were talking about women in the war. And one of them spoke unflatteringly about women, like PPZH - a field marching wife. Carelessly, I said that they were wrong and suggested reading documents and literature. They looked at me so askance, saying that you were interfering. And no one on that bus supported me.
Next was the taxi driver, who, with all male frankness, said that women received all the awards through bed. Moreover, he was younger than me, the war did not affect either him or his mother, but he “knew everything.” Moreover, some historians have raised this topic in scientific research - I don’t want to name them. And later, by the way, they abandoned this interpretation.
I thought why, so many years after the war, this topic remains so unhealthy in the minds of ordinary people. And she started doing it.
– Do you think this didn’t happen at all?
– You know, my mother’s sister spent the entire war as a paramedic. My stepmother, my father's second wife, was a front-line driver. And I know what kind of women these are. And I am not of that breed to hear insults addressed to them and endure it in silence. But the truth must be proven with historical facts.
– So what do the facts say? Wasn't there such a thing?
- Well, it didn’t happen. Was there no love? Was. Everyone was young, and you couldn’t control your heart. Both during the war and after, families were formed. But it wasn’t like all the rewards were received through bed! This is offensive.
I studied how mobilization proceeded, voluntarily or forcibly, what types of troops women joined, how they showed themselves there and what attitude they had towards them at the front. And for the first time I publish documents from the archive in my collection “Women of the Great Patriotic War.”
There are memories sent by women who became mothers and grandmothers. They talk about how the soldiers took care of them. Telephone operators, nurses, cooks. We are used to heroines. Pilots, snipers. We did not write about the everyday life of front-line life. Only in the 90s they started doing this.
Immediately after the war, women were ashamed to wear orders and medals. Especially in small towns. They did not want to return to their place of conscription and asked to be sent somewhere else, but this was not always possible. Women were not invited to appear on the radio.
– The rehabilitation of women did not happen immediately, did it? It took at least two decades for their military services to be recognized?
– It still hasn’t happened in our minds! I found a document dated 1945. Captain Baranov, while in Leningrad, witnessed how women were insulted. Civilians were waiting at the bus stop for transport. A company of women in tunics and polished boots walked past in orderly rows.
And suddenly the captain hears a cry from the crowd at the bus stop: “You, PPZh, took our husbands, and are hiding behind medals! You got them through your bed!” The military officer was so stunned that he wrote a letter to the Komsomol Central Committee asking for explanatory work among the population. So that they talk about the women who fought.
Of course, the women who remained in the rear were worried. Not only did they have responsibilities for themselves and for the guy who fought, they also lost their husbands. And it wasn’t just combat losses. The husbands got carried away, cheated, and did not return home.
- Yes, it’s one thing when he died, and quite another when he’s alive, but he didn’t return to you.
– But Simonov also has the opposite situations. I escorted my husband to the front, maybe he wouldn’t return, but here was some suitable shot. I don't judge anyone. But she arranges her life, and her husband comes on leave and what does he see? That he is out of work and no longer a husband. Families fell apart due to the fault of one or the other side. So this is a difficult question.
In general, the final rehabilitation occurred in 1965, when Leonid Brezhnev spoke. They were preparing to solemnly celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the Victory, and he made a solemn report. In it, he said that if we put the feat of men in war on one side of the scale, and the work of women at the front and in the rear on the other, then these scales would be balanced. This was high praise. All the media were inspired, began to look for forgotten heroines, invite them to perform, that year became a turning point. But not everything was done.
I would like our compatriots to know the following:
May 8, 1965, 20th anniversary year Great Victory By Decree of the Presidium Supreme Council USSR International Women's Day March 8 became a holiday non-working day “ in commemoration of the outstanding services of Soviet women... in defending the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War, their heroism and dedication at the front and in the rear..."
Nina Petrova. Photo: Efim Erichman
Shouting: “We’ll get through here!” she ran through a minefield
– Can we say exactly how many women went through the war?
– There is no exact figure. There were up to a million women in the army. They were knocked out, wounded, and reinforcements arrived. 550,000 women were mobilized only through Komsomol calls. One-third of the air defense consisted of women. Only our Soviet girls are on the battle lines. Not everyone notices this feature. The USSR was the only country during World War II where women took direct part in the fighting.
In 1939, Article 13 of the Constitution stated that in case of emergency, women could be mobilized. Not into the active army, but into the auxiliary services. And as soon as the war began, a stream of female representatives went to the military registration and enlistment offices. According to official data, they were more than 50% of the total number of volunteers.
– What motives did women have, besides the desire to defend the Motherland?
Many found themselves separated from their relatives, 23 territories had already been captured, and the unknown pushed them to fight. In addition, everyone thought that everything would quickly end by autumn.
In 1941, girls were sent primarily to medicine, communications, and the domestic service sector. They were called up from 18 to 25 years old. After heavy losses, in March 1942 three mobilizations took place at once. They took girls without children, healthy and with completed secondary education. They were eager to go to the front and even tried to deceive the doctors, hiding their state of health.
Girls of the Taman Division
– Were there women who didn’t want to go to war?
– There were, 5 percent of the total number. But no one was forced to go anywhere. The women walked on their own. I was surprised that there was even a female naval platoon. What were they doing there? For example, Galina Petrova from the Marine Corps became a Hero of the USSR. When in 1942 it was necessary to occupy a bridgehead at night, the naval paratroopers, having learned that there was a minefield ahead, suspended the offensive for a fraction of the time. And this fragile girl stood up shouting: “What are you talking about! What are you afraid of! We’ll get through here!” And she ran across this field. The men had no choice but to rise up after her.
I read a letter from a girl who wrote to her mother: “I really wanted to go to the navy, and I achieved it!”
Women shot, passed the standards like everyone else, served in all fleets, and died the same way. Among the total losses, it is difficult to highlight how many women we have lost. Many died while laying telephone lines, as well as nurses who carried out the fighters. True, the men were offended later and said that they were carried out from the battlefield, and the women were in hospitals.
– But there are confirmed facts that women carried out fighters? The same Zina Tusnolobova carried out more than a hundred people on herself.
– It depends on what kind of fighter. Maybe they couldn’t get everyone out, but they did, undermining their health. Tusnolobova, while carrying out the wounded, was wounded in her arms and legs, suffered frostbite, and had her limbs amputated. And she ended up in the hospital, wanting to commit suicide. It is impossible to imagine what the young girl was experiencing.
She wrote a letter to her fiancé, whom she did not have time to sign, that she did not want to be a burden. And he turned out to be a very decent person and replied that they would always be together. He returned from the war, they got married, she had prosthetics, and there was a long recovery process. In 1957, she received the title of Hero of the USSR.
Zina Tusnolobova
She gave birth to a child - unfortunately, the firstborn died, and then two more children. She became an honorary citizen of Polotsk. This is the model from which you need to take an example. And she's not the only one. It’s just that information didn’t reach everyone, and not everyone was noticed by journalists and society in time.
Soviet pilots sewed their underwear from fascist parachutes
– Is this how it was with Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya? A journalist wrote about her feat in time, but the story of a girl from her squad remained unknown for a long time.
“We just have to thank fate that Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat was not lost. It was a difficult year in 1941, the local population did not like the sabotage detachments, were afraid of the Nazis and did not always provide assistance. This probably happened to Zoya too; they didn’t help her. She was executed, a young girl, a Muscovite, and then a journalist came to the village and wrote a brilliant essay about the feat.
But they didn’t notice another girl from the same squad. She went on a mission at the same time as Zoya. Vera Voloshina. (By the way, before the war, they made a sculpture of her in Gorky Park - a girl with an oar.) Having completed the task, she fell behind the group, was caught and executed on the same day as Kosmodemyanskaya. Thanks to another journalist, her name was cleared. And only during the time of Boris Yeltsin did she receive a Hero. While Kosmodemyanskaya became the first woman Hero of the USSR almost immediately, in the winter of 1942.
Vera Voloshina
– As I understand it, several decades could pass before the reward, as they say, found the hero. More precisely, the heroine. For what other reasons did this happen?
– Here is Lydia Litvyak, the most successful woman in fighter aviation. The decree conferring the title of Hero on her was signed only by Gorbachev in 1990, although she died in 1943. This fragile woman shot down 11 aircraft. But the fact is that she fell behind the front line and was considered missing.
They left for the mission in pairs, and the one who survived had to confirm that his partner’s plane was shot down. The one who flew with her said that he saw Litvyak being shot down, but he was not sure because she dived into the clouds. And then they were afraid of everything. The plane disappeared in occupied territory. You never know why.
Lydia Letvyak
And then again local residents When they were liberated from the Nazis, they said that yes, the plane crashed, but we thought that it was not a Soviet citizen. And why? The underwear is not the same as that of Soviet women. And the pilots made their underwear from fascist parachutes; at the beginning of the war there were no women’s accessories in the army. So she was quietly buried in a mass grave and remembered only several decades later.
I heard that they turned to Sobyanin, and he promised that a monument to the Muscovite Litvyak would be erected.
Nina Petrova. Photo: Efim Erichman
– It turns out that most women received their titles posthumously?
– Of the 90 women Heroes of the USSR, more than half received this high title posthumously. At the same time, we have girls who have gone into immortality, having committed heroic deeds and not receiving the title of Hero. For example, Serafima Amosova flew more than 500 combat missions, such a beautiful woman.
She was awarded, nominated for Hero several times, but did not receive the title. The submission comes from below, first the regiment writes a certification, then the command of the unit, and further along the military hierarchy. And somewhere there the process stops for no reason. Inexplicably. Although a lot has been written about her, there is even a book.
Serafima Amosova
– Who else can you remember?
- Inna Konstantinova. There was a large partisan detachment operating in the Kalinin region, and her father was the commissar. She was a very effective scout. She was caught and executed. The petition to award her the title of Hero got stuck somewhere, until the mid-50s the question was circulated, but they did not give it. They don’t explain why, I haven’t found any reasons.
When I started working on this topic - women in war, my main goal was to tell and restore the memory of those whom we do not know or have forgotten.
Nina Petrova. Photo: Efim Erichman
– Were there women who repeated the male feat, but remained in the shadows?
– So we say, let’s cultivate a sense of patriotism among younger generation. To do this, people must know what feats were accomplished. So why are we talking about Matrosov, but Rimma Shershneva accomplished the same feat in the partisan movement. She covered the machine gun with her chest and was hit by 9 bullets, but she allowed the military mission to be accomplished and saved the commander. Rimma even survived, but then medicine could not save her. And there was another woman doctor who repeated this on the Leningrad front.
When you read without interruption about the atrocities of the Nazis, this is a terrible force
– The participation of a woman in any part of the war was a feat. She refused warmth, comfort and home. I understood that I was taking a risk. Read Drunina’s poems; you can’t say better than her what the war gave and took away.
Women did not think that they would receive orders or awards. They didn't know when it would all end.
I bow to those who voluntarily went to serve the Motherland. In 1965 “ TVNZ” she called out: write what you remember. And people wrote twenty thousand letters. I realized that several collections could be made from them. One of them was dedicated to women: “Women of the Great Patriotic War.” People wrote with their hearts and blood.
But this book, published in 2014 and now republished, does not solve the problem. I think society needs to know more about women in the war, about what they were like.
– Is that why you spend every day in the archive?
– I’ve been doing this for the last ten years, yes. This is necessary and important material, but psychologically very difficult. I go to the archive as if it were work, I am a widow and after the death of my husband I cannot be at home alone.
I often can't sleep afterwards. Maybe it depends on the character. Maybe because she experienced war herself and was evacuated twice. Before my eyes, the ferry with relatives was bombed by the Germans while crossing the Donets. The head of the ferry did not allow my mother and me onto this ferry because it was overcrowded. So we might as well not talk to you now.
I lost my mother during the evacuation, I survived everything. I had an inflammatory process in the lungs, I was on the verge of life and death, my grandmother went to church and lit a candle for me, God had mercy on me, for some reason they kept me alive.
Therefore, I want my grandchildren and grandchildren’s children to know how difficult the war was. So that there is no desire to settle scores with weapons. You can't lose people. We must be respectful and mindful.
– Does it happen that you cry over documents?
– I read the letters in alphabetical order. I don't know what will come up. And when I read what horrors he, or she, or the child suffered, it is impossible to describe. There are people who write very vividly. In simple everyday language. One officer described the liberation of a city in Ukraine. His squad entered the city and met a distraught woman with a dead baby. They tried to take him away, and she said: “Wait, he’s suckling.” Then the officer was told that the whole family had died before her eyes.
Or you take out a document: there were 287 houses, 254 were burned, the rest of the people were expelled. Or when the punitive squad asks if anyone has living children. Mothers are pushed forward, their children are separated from their parents, or shot, or thrown into icy water. Or they gather the children, cover them with straw, as if to keep them warm, and then throw Molotov cocktails. Can I read this in peace? No. When you read without interruption about the atrocities of the Nazis, this is a terrible force.
– What story do you return to again and again?
– For example, Nadya Bogdanova from Belarus. She was a partisan in the famous detachment of Uncle Vanya. She lived in orphanage and together with other children she was traveling in a train to the East, for evacuation. During the bombing, he and the boys escaped and came to Vitebsk. And the first thing she did was hang out a red flag.
And then she began to look for how to reach the partisans, and came across Uncle Vanya’s detachment. She was used as a scout. The Nazis caught her, beat her, and asked her who sent her and what the task was. Together with Vanya Zvontsov they were sentenced to death.
They stood by the ditch, grabbed the handles, and at the command “fire!” she lost consciousness. This second saved her life. The boy was killed. I lay down and crawled to the detachment. The second time she was captured in 1943, a star was cut out on her back, and she was doused in the cold. The partisans tried to recapture it, attacked the Germans, and as a result of the attack, commander Slesarenko was wounded. And this girl found the strength in herself and pulled him out.
She got into the detachment almost blind, her legs were paralyzed. Everyone decided that she was not a tenant. Left in the village. The squad left. Slesarenko thought she was dead. After the war, 15 years later, he spoke on the radio and talked about her, and she, who had been silent all this time, announced that she was alive. She became a woman and gave birth to a son. And she took in seven more children in memory of those who fled with her from that train.
Nadezhda Bogdanova gives an interview to Sergei Smirnov. 1965
During the war, the medal “WWII Partisan” was established. So, another girl, 13-year-old Asmolova, received it. It turns out that she managed to capture a German officer and deliver him to a partisan detachment. And almost everyone in the “Young Guard” received this medal.
“Battle Friend” and “Baby”
– Women in the war drove tanks, planes, and were snipers. That is, they took on non-women's work. How did they feel about it?
- Of course, seeing the enemy in the sights at such an approach and shooting at him is an unwomanly thing. And any participation in the war - is it women's work? I read Shurochka Shlyakhova’s notes. This is the sister of a very good friend of mine. The girl had a great desire to join the army.
Alexandra Shlyakhova
Shlyakhova graduated from a sniper school in the Moscow region, this institution graduated over 1000 snipers who participated until the end of the war on all fronts. The selection was careful.
On a mission, we had to go into position, lie down and wait, we walked in twos. Shlyakhova writes that she sees a German sitting by a pine tree, how he chews and relaxes.
But it wasn’t enough to catch the fly, you also had to hit it. Shoot with bated breath. It's a very difficult thing to shoot at a person, no matter how much you hate him.
And even if you hit, the enemy is also in pairs, someone can answer for him.
And so it happened. Shlyakhova returned from vacation, and she had to go with a girl whose partner had died at the same point the day before. And many said, don’t go with her, wait for the next one. But she is an active Komsomol member, did not believe the predictions, and duty is duty. She caught the sniper, but she was also caught and never returned.
Most has been written about snipers and female pilots. Only we had female units. Night aviation, bombers, fighter aircraft, long-range, which was headed by Grizodubova, this sniper school, rifle brigade was.
– What about women tankers?
– There was an opinion that we had no women in the tank forces. Then they found four. I found the number 19. Women mechanics, signalmen, tank commanders. Maria Oktyabrskaya's husband died at the front. She asked to be sent to the brigade where he served. She was seriously wounded in 1944 and died. Her tank was named “Battle Friend”. Maria was highly respected by the tank crews; she performed admirably during the Battle of Kursk.
“Fighting girlfriend”
There is also such an interesting woman Katya Petlyuk. She was small, 151 cm tall. And her tank was called “Malyutka”. A very interesting story - children from all over the Union raised money for the tank after little Ada Zanegina wrote a letter to the newspaper. They asked to call him “Baby”. Thirty years later, Petlyuk and Zanegina met.
– A woman and a tank. It is hard to imagine. Despite DOSAAF and the TRP combined.
“I can’t even imagine how a woman should drive a tank.” At least medium, at least light. Such a colossus is iron. We had Rashchupkina, Barkhatova, Logunova. Olga Sotnikova drove a heavy tank. I reached Berlin and wrote there: “I am from Leningrad!”
There were husband and wife Boyko. They contributed 50 thousand to the construction of the tank and then fought in the same crew. But this marriage broke up after the war, everyone went their own way. You see, the war brought some together, while it separated others.
You can also remember Evgenia Kostrikova, the daughter of Sergei Kirov from his first marriage. She went to the front with an incomplete medical education, but did not want to sit in the hospital and went to the Kazan Tank School. I got them to direct me.
Evgenia Kostrikova
She developed a personal relationship with one lieutenant colonel or colonel, such a front-line family. And he, using the fact that she was Kirov’s daughter, moved up the service. When the war ended, he said: I’m sorry, I have my family in the rear. Kostrikova never married, and when she died, a friend from the front buried her. Sad story.
For me and for Tanya
“At the same time, during the war, women not only drove tanks and planes. There were also those who washed and cooked. Have you noticed their feat?
“Unfortunately, I have not seen any literature about the work of the household detachments that washed our soldiers. Apparently, the topic is not very fertile. But this is life, where to go. The theme of labor feat, how was it written about? Selectively.
Women came to replace the youth who went to the front. of different ages. Light and heavy industry - 80-90 percent were women. Men have been almost completely replaced in agriculture.
The woman performed work that was not prescribed for her by any regulations, by any life. Let's say he was felling trees. This must be imagined. These are not birches near Moscow, but colossuses in the Urals. And they need to be cut down and taken away, and not every man is capable of this. This is how we lost childbearing women.
Logging
“They also worked in the mines.”
– Yes, I was shocked by how many women we worked in the mines of Kuzbass and Donbass. In the slaughterhouses the wages were higher, and women had to feed their children and family. Even after the war, despite orders to bring females out of the ground, they resisted and did not want to come out.
During the war, they included their husbands and loved ones who fought in the lists of their brigades, and fulfilled the quotas for them. It was a form of expression of love, friendship, faith that he would return, since he was in the brigade.
And their husbands, when they reached Berlin, wrote: “For me and for Tanyukha.”
150 thousand women received government awards. Only for the war. And they were also rewarded for their work. If they were awarded for the war during the war, then they began to reward for labor only later, during the Five-Year Plan. But little is said about these heroines of labor.
Nina Petrova. Photo: Efim Erichman
- Well, if the women who fought at first hid their orders, what can we say?
– In 1945, Kalinin, at a meeting with demobilized female pilots, said: what they did at the front is priceless. Moreover, the men were taken in all directions, and the women were carefully selected. In his opinion, women in the army were head and shoulders above men in physical and moral merit. This is such a confession. And the pilot Kravtsova asked Kalinin at this meeting why they talk so little about women at the front? That is, even famous decorated pilots noted that they were not even noticed. What can we say about the rest?
What is it like to be a sapper or signalman and drag a reel? What about tanks? You sit in a box and know that if you get hit, that’s it. On Kursk Bulge A tank driven by a woman was hit. So she jumped out, the Germans tried to surround the colossus. The crew entered into a firefight, and they were repulsed and rescued. What is it like to keep a balloon like that in air defense? Many after the war were unable to have a family and children.
M.I. Kalinin presents a government award to A.I. Maslovskaya
– Many of these children lost. All at once.
– Yes, you can remember the story of Epistinia Stepanova, who had 9 sons, and all of them died. Only one returned and did not live long.
Women should not be mixed with dirt, but simply given their due. Because the women who went through the front could not have children - from hypothermia, from lifting weights, having lost loved ones, they could not start a family.
We must be respectful. No matter how courageous they are, they are still representatives of the weaker sex. Women deserve a grateful and tender attitude.
I'm not for stirring up horror, especially in holidays. I think that May 9 is a great day, and we must, while paying tribute and memory to the fallen, say that life goes on.
I always give the example of a letter from one officer. What shocked him when he was liberating one of the villages of Belarus. Silence, the population is not visible, people are afraid to go out. In this ringing silence, a hen walks along a wide rural street, followed by chickens. And all the soldiers stop and give way to this living creature.
And this is written by a man who had only 15-20 minutes, he did not know whether he would remain alive or be taken down by a sniper. I always bow to the courage and intelligence of those who fought. They knew how to hate, forgive, and love.
Nina Petrova. Photo: Efim Erichman
The Great Patriotic War - known and unknown: historical memory and modernity: materials of international. scientific conf. (Moscow - Kolomna, May 6–8, 2015) / rep. editor: Yu. A. Petrov; Institute grew. history of Russia acad. sciences; Ross. ist. about; Chinese history o-vo, etc. - M.: [IRI RAS], 2015.
June 22, 1941 is the day on which the countdown to the Great Patriotic War began. This is the day that divided the life of mankind into two parts: peaceful (pre-war) and war. This is a day that made everyone think about what he chooses: to submit to the enemy or fight him. And each person decided this question himself, consulting only with his conscience.
Archival documents indicate that the absolute majority of the population of the Soviet Union accepted the only correct solution: give all your strength to the fight against fascism, to defend your homeland, your family and friends. Men and women, regardless of age and nationality, non-party members and members of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks), Komsomol members and non-Komsomol members, became the Army of volunteers that lined up to apply for enlistment in the Red Army.
Let us recall that in Art. The 13th Law on General Military Duty, adopted by the IV session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 1, 1939, gave the People's Commissariats of Defense and Navy the right to recruit women into the army and navy who have medical, veterinary and special-technical training, as well as attract them to training camps. In wartime, women with the specified training could be drafted into the army and navy to perform auxiliary and special service.
After the announcement of the start of the war, women, citing this article, went to party and Komsomol organizations, to military commissariats and there persistently sought to be sent to the front. Among the volunteers who submitted applications in the first days of the war to be sent to the active army, up to 50% of the applications were from women. Women also went and signed up for the people's militia.
Reading the applications of girl volunteers that were submitted in the first days of the war, we see that for young people the war seemed completely different from what it turned out to be in reality. Most of them were confident that the enemy would be defeated in the near future, and therefore everyone sought to quickly participate in its destruction. The military registration and enlistment offices at this time mobilized the population, following the instructions received, and refused those who were under 18 years old, refused those who were not trained in military craft, and also refused girls and women until further notice. What did we know and know about them? There are many about some, and about most of them we talk about “defenders of the homeland,” volunteers.
It was about them, about those who went to defend their Motherland, that the front-line poet K. Vanshenkin later wrote that they were “knights without fear or reproach.” This applies to men and women. This can be said about them in the words of M. Aliger:
Everyone had their own war
Your path forward, your battlefields,
And everyone was himself in everything,
And everyone had the same goal.
The historiography of the Great Patriotic War is rich in collections of documents and materials about this spiritual impulse of women of the USSR. A huge number of articles, monographs, collective works and memories of the work of women during the war in the rear, of exploits at the fronts, in the underground, in partisan detachments operating in the temporarily occupied territory of the Soviet Union. But life testifies that not everything, not about everyone, and not everything has been said and analyzed. Many documents and problems were “closed” to historians in past years. Currently, there is access to documents that are not only little-known, but also to documents that require an objective approach to study and impartial analysis. It is not always easy to do this due to the existing stereotype in relation to one or another phenomenon or person.
The problem “Soviet women during the Great Patriotic War” has been and remains in the field of view of historians, political scientists, writers and journalists. They wrote and write about women warriors, about women who replaced men in the rear, about mothers, less about those who took care of evacuated children, who returned from the front with orders and were embarrassed to wear them, etc. And then the question arises: why ? After all, back in the spring of 1943, the Pravda newspaper stated, referring to the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, that “never before in all past history a woman did not participate as selflessly in the defense of her Motherland as during the Patriotic War of the Soviet people.”
The Soviet Union was the only state during World War II in which women took a direct part in the fighting. At the front in different periods From 800 thousand to 1 million women fought, 80 thousand of them were Soviet officers. This was due to two factors. Firstly, an unprecedented rise in the patriotism of young people, who were eager to fight the enemy who had attacked their homeland. Secondly, the difficult situation that has developed on all fronts. The losses of Soviet troops at the initial stage of the war led to the fact that in the spring of 1942, a mass mobilization of women was carried out to serve in the active army and rear units. Based on the resolution State Committee Defense (GKO), mass mobilizations of women took place on March 23, April 13 and 23, 1942 to serve in the air defense forces, communications, internal security, on military roads, in the Navy and Air Force, and in the communications troops.
Healthy girls aged at least 18 years were subject to mobilization. The mobilization was carried out under the control of the Komsomol Central Committee and local Komsomol organizations. Everything was taken into account: education (preferably at least 5th grade), membership in the Komsomol, state of health, absence of children. The majority of the girls were volunteers. True, there were cases of reluctance to serve in the Red Army. When this was discovered at the assembly points, the girls were sent home to their place of conscription. M.I. Kalinin, recalling in the summer of 1945 how girls were drafted into the Red Army, noted that “the female youth who participated in the war... were taller than average men, there’s nothing special... because you were selected from many millions . They didn’t choose men, they threw a net and mobilized everyone, they took everyone away... I think that the best part of our female youth went to the front...”
There are no exact figures on the number of conscripts. But it is known that over 550 thousand women became warriors only at the call of the Komsomol. Over 300 thousand patriotic women were drafted into the air defense forces (this is over ¼ of all fighters). Through the Red Cross, 300 thousand Oshin nurses, 300 thousand nurses, 300 thousand nurses, and over 500 thousand air defense sanitary workers received a specialty and came to serve in the military medical institutions of the sanitary service of the Red Army. In May 1942, the State Defense Committee adopted a decree on the mobilization of 25 thousand women in the Navy. On November 3, the Central Committee of the Komsomol carried out the selection of Komsomol and non-Komsomol members of the formation of the women's volunteer rifle brigade, a reserve regiment and the Ryazan Infantry School. The total number of people mobilized there was 10,898. On December 15, the brigade, reserve regiment and courses began normal training. During the war, five mobilizations were held among communist women.
Not all women, of course, took direct part in the fighting. Many served in various rear services: economic, medical, headquarters, etc. However, a significant number of them directly participated in the hostilities. At the same time, the range of activities of women warriors was quite diverse: they took part in raids of reconnaissance and sabotage groups and partisan detachments, were medical instructors, signalmen, anti-aircraft gunners, snipers, machine gunners, drivers of cars and tanks. Women served in aviation. These were pilots, navigators, radio operator gunners, and armed forces personnel. At the same time, female aviators fought both in regular “male” aviation regiments and in separate “female” ones.
During the Great Patriotic War, women's combat formations appeared for the first time in the Armed Forces of our country. Three aviation regiments were formed from female volunteers: the 46th Guards Night Bomber, the 125th Guards Bomber, the 586th Air Defense Fighter Regiment; Separate women's volunteer rifle brigade, Separate women's reserve rifle regiment, Central women's sniper school, Separate women's company of sailors, etc. The 101st long-range air regiment was commanded by Hero of the Soviet Union B.S. Grizodubova. The Central Women's Sniper Training School provided the front with 1,061 snipers and 407 sniper instructors. Graduates of this school destroyed over 11,280 enemy soldiers and officers during the war. The youth units of Vsevobuch trained 220 thousand female snipers and signalmen.
Located near Moscow, the 1st Separate Women's Reserve Regiment trained motorists and snipers, machine gunners and junior commanders of combat units. There were 2899 women on staff. 20 thousand women served in the Special Moscow Air Defense Army. Documents in the archives of the Russian Federation speak about how difficult this service is.
The largest representation of participants in the Great Patriotic War was among female doctors. Of the total number of doctors in the Red Army, 41% were women, among surgeons there were 43.5%. It was estimated that female medical instructors of rifle companies, medical battalions, and artillery batteries helped over 72% of the wounded and about 90% of sick soldiers return to duty. Women doctors served in all branches of the military - in aviation and the marine corps, on warships of the Black Sea Fleet, the Northern Fleet, the Caspian and Dnieper flotillas, in floating naval hospitals and ambulance trains. Together with horsemen, they went on deep raids behind enemy lines and were in partisan detachments. With the infantry they reached Berlin and took part in the storming of the Reichstag. For special courage and heroism, 17 female doctors were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
A sculptural monument in Kaluga reminds us of the feat of female military doctors. In the park on Kirov Street, a front-line nurse in a raincoat, with a sanitary bag over her shoulder, stands at full height on a high pedestal.
Monument to military nurses in Kaluga
During the war, the city of Kaluga was the center of numerous hospitals that treated and returned tens of thousands of soldiers and commanders to duty. In this city there are always flowers at the monument.
There is practically no mention in the literature that during the war years, about 20 women became tank crews, three of whom graduated from the country’s tank schools. Among them are I.N. Levchenko, who commanded a group of T-60 light tanks, E.I. Kostrikova, the commander of a tank platoon, and at the end of the war, the commander of a tank company. And the only woman who fought on the IS-2 heavy tank was A.L. Boykova. Four female tank crews took part in the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943.
Irina Nikolaevna Levchenko and Evgenia Sergeevna Kostrikova (daughter of the Soviet statesman and political figure S.M. Kirov)
I would like to note that among our female Heroes there is the only foreign woman - 18-year-old Anela Krzywoń, a shooter of a female company of machine gunners of the female infantry battalion of the 1st Polish Infantry Division of the Polish Army. The title was awarded posthumously in November 1943.
Anelya Kzhivon, who has Polish roots, was born in the village of Sadovye, Ternopil region of Western Ukraine. When the war began, the family evacuated to Kansk Krasnoyarsk Territory. Here the girl worked in a factory. I tried several times to volunteer for the front. In 1943, Anelya was enlisted as a rifleman in a company of machine gunners of the 1st Polish Division named after Tadeusz Kosciuszko. The company guarded the division headquarters. In October 1943, the division fought offensive battles in the Mogilev region. On October 12, during the next German airstrike on the division’s positions, rifleman Krzywoń served at one of the posts, hiding in a small trench. Suddenly she saw that the staff car had caught fire due to the explosion. Knowing that it contained maps and other documents, Anelya rushed to save them. In the covered body she saw two soldiers, stunned by the blast wave. Anelya pulled them out, and then, choking in the smoke, burning her face and hands, began throwing folders with documents out of the car. She did this until the car exploded. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of November 11, 1943, she was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. (Photo courtesy of the Krasnoyarsk Museum of Local Lore. Natalya Vladimirovna Barsukova, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department of History of Russia, Siberian Federal University)
200 women warriors were awarded Orders of Glory II and III degrees. Four women became full Knights of Glory. We have almost never called them by name in recent years. In the year of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, we will repeat their names. These are Nadezhda Aleksandrovna Zhurkina (Kiek), Matryona Semenovna Necheporchukova, Danuta Yurgio Staniliene, Nina Pavlovna Petrova. Over 150 thousand women soldiers were awarded orders and medals of the Soviet state.
The figures, even if not always accurate and complete, that were given above, the facts of military events indicate that history has never known such a massive participation of women in the armed struggle for the Motherland, as was shown by Soviet women during the Great Patriotic War. Let's not forget that women also showed themselves heroically and selflessly under the most difficult conditions of occupation, standing up to fight the enemy.
There were only about 90 thousand partisans behind enemy lines at the end of 1941. The issue of numbers is a special issue, and we refer to official published data. By the beginning of 1944, 90% of the partisans were men and 9.3% women. The question of the number of female partisans gives a range of figures. According to more later years(obviously, according to updated data), in total during the war there were over 1 million partisans in the rear. Women among them accounted for 9.3%, i.e. over 93,000 people. The same source also contains another figure - over 100 thousand women. There is one more feature. The percentage of women in partisan detachments was not the same everywhere. Thus, in units in Ukraine it was 6.1%, in the occupied regions of the RSFSR - from 6% to 10%, in the Bryansk region - 15.8% and in Belarus - 16%.
Our country was proud during the war years (and now is also proud) of such heroines of the Soviet people as partisans Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Lisa Chaikina, Antonina Petrova, Anya Lisitsina, Maria Melentyeva, Ulyana Gromova, Lyuba Shevtsova and others. But many are still unknown or little known due to years of background checks on their identities. Girls - nurses, doctors, and partisan intelligence officers - gained great authority among the partisans. But they were treated with a certain distrust and with great difficulty were allowed to participate in combat operations. At first, the opinion was widespread among partisan detachments that girls could not be demolitions. However, dozens of girls have mastered this difficult task. Among them is Anna Kalashnikova, the leader of a subversive group of a partisan detachment in the Smolensk region. Sofya Levanovich commanded a subversive group of a partisan detachment in the Oryol region and derailed 17 enemy trains. Ukrainian partisan Dusya Baskina had 9 enemy trains derailed. Who remembers, who knows these names? And during the war, their names were known not only in the partisan detachments, but the occupiers knew and feared them.
Where partisan detachments operated, destroying the Nazis, there was an order from General von Reichenau, who demanded that in order to destroy the partisans “... use all means. All captured partisans of both sexes in military uniform or hanging in public in civilian clothes.” It is known that the fascists were especially afraid of women and girls - residents of villages and hamlets in the area where the partisans operated. In their letters home, which fell into the hands of the Red Army, the occupiers wrote frankly that “women and girls act like the most seasoned warriors... In this regard, we would have to learn a lot.” In another letter, Chief Corporal Anton Prost asked in 1942: “How much longer will we have to fight this kind of war? After all, we, a combat unit (Western Front p/p 2244/B. - N.P.) are opposed here by the entire civilian population, including women and children!..”
And as if confirming this idea, the German newspaper “Deutsche Allheimeine Zeitung” dated May 22, 1943 stated: “Even seemingly harmless women picking berries and mushrooms, peasant women heading to the city are partisan scouts...” Risking their lives, the partisans carried out tasks .
According to official data, as of February 1945, 7,800 female partisans and underground fighters received the “Partisan of the Patriotic War” medal of II and III degrees. 27 partisans and underground women received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. 22 of them were awarded posthumously. We cannot say with certainty that these are accurate numbers. The number of award recipients is much larger, since the process of awarding, or more precisely, considering repeated nominations for awards, continued into the 90s. An example could be the fate of Vera Voloshina.
Vera Voloshina
The girl was in the same reconnaissance group as Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Both of them went on an intelligence department mission on the same day. Western Front. Voloshina was wounded and fell behind her group. She was captured. Like Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, she was executed on November 29. Voloshina’s fate remained unknown for a long time. Thanks to the search work of journalists, the circumstances of her captivity and death were established. By Presidential Decree Russian Federation in 1993, V. Voloshina was (posthumously) awarded the title of Hero of Russia.
Vera Voloshina
The press is often interested in numbers: how many feats have been accomplished. In this case, they often refer to the figures taken into account by the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement (TSSHPD).
But what kind of accurate accounting can we talk about when underground organizations arose on the ground without any instructions from the TsShPD. As an example, we can cite the world-famous Komsomol youth underground organization “Young Guard”, which operated in the city of Krasnodon in the Donbass. There are still disputes about its numbers and its composition. The number of its members ranges from 70 to 150 people.
There was a time when it was believed that the larger the organization, the more effective it was. And few people thought about how a large underground youth organization could operate under occupation without revealing its actions. Unfortunately, a number of underground organizations are waiting for their researchers, because little or almost nothing has been written about them. But the fates of underground women are hidden in them.
In the fall of 1943, Nadezhda Troyan and her fighting friends managed to carry out the sentence pronounced by the Belarusian people.
Elena Mazanik, Nadezhda Troyan, Maria Osipova
For this feat, which entered the annals of the history of Soviet intelligence, Nadezhda Troyan, Elena Mazanik and Maria Osipova were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Their names are usually not remembered often.
Unfortunately, our historical memory has a number of features, and one of them is forgetfulness of the past or “inattention” to facts, dictated by various circumstances. We know about the feat of A. Matrosov, but we hardly know that on November 25, 1942, during the battle in the village of Lomovochi, Minsk Region, partisan R.I. Shershneva (1925) covered the embrasure of a German bunker, becoming the only woman (according to others according to data - one of two) who accomplished a similar feat. Unfortunately, in the history of the partisan movement there are pages where there is only a listing of military operations, the number of partisans who participated in it, but, as they say, “behind the scenes of events” remain the majority of those who specifically took part in the implementation of partisan raids. It is not possible to name everyone right now. They, the rank and file - living and dead - are rarely remembered, despite the fact that they live somewhere near us.
Behind the bustle Everyday life In the last few decades, our historical memory of the everyday life of the past war has somewhat faded. Victory’s privates are rarely written or remembered. As a rule, they remember only those who accomplished a feat already recorded in the history of the Great Patriotic War, less and less, and even then in a faceless form about those who were next to them in the same formation, in the same battle.
Rimma Ivanovna Shershneva is a Soviet partisan who covered the embrasure of an enemy bunker with her body. (according to some reports, the same feat was repeated by medical service lieutenant Nina Aleksandrovna Bobyleva, a doctor of a partisan detachment operating in the Narva region).
Back in 1945, during the beginning of the demobilization of girl warriors, words were heard that little was written about them, girl warriors, during the war years, and now, in peacetime, they might be completely forgotten. On July 26, 1945, the Central Committee of the Komsomol hosted a meeting of girls warriors who had completed their service in the Red Army with the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR M.I. Kalinin. A transcript of this meeting has been preserved, which is called “a conversation between M.I. Kalinin and girl warriors.” I will not retell its contents. I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in one of the speeches of the Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot N. Meklin (Kravtsova), the question was raised about the need to “popularize the heroic deeds and nobility of our women.”
Speaking on behalf and on behalf of the warrior girls, N. Meklin (Kravtsova) said what many were talking and thinking about, she said what they are still talking about. In her speech there was, as it were, a sketch of a plan that had not yet been told about girls, women warriors. We must admit that what was said 70 years ago is still relevant today.
Concluding her speech, N. Meklin (Kravtsova) drew attention to the fact that “almost nothing has been written or shown about girls - Heroes of the Patriotic War. Something has been written, it is written about partisan girls: Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, Liza Chaikina, about the Krasnodonites. Nothing has been written about the girls of the Red Army and Navy. But this, perhaps, would be pleasant for those who fought, it would be useful for those who did not fight, and it would be important for our posterity and history. Why not create documentary By the way, the Komsomol Central Committee has long been thinking about doing this, in which to reflect women’s combat training, as, for example, during the defense of Leningrad, to reflect best women working in hospitals, show snipers, traffic police girls, etc. In my opinion, literature and art for that matter owe a debt to warrior girls. That's basically all I wanted to say."
Natalya Fedorovna Meklin (Kravtsova)
These proposals were partially or not fully implemented. Time has put other problems on the agenda, and much of what the girl warriors proposed in July 1945 is waiting for its authors now.
The war separated some people in different directions, and brought others closer together. During the war there were separations and meetings. During the war there was love, there was betrayal, everything happened. But the war united in its fields men and women of different ages, mostly young and healthy people who wanted to live and love, despite the fact that death was at every turn. And no one condemned anyone during the war for this. But when the war ended and demobilized women soldiers began to return to their homeland, on whose chests there were orders, medals and stripes about wounds, the civilian population often threw insults at them, calling them “PPZh” (field wife), or poisonous questions: “Why did you receive awards? How many husbands have you had? etc.
In 1945, this became widespread and even among demobilized men caused widespread protest and complete powerlessness on how to deal with it. The Central Committee of the Komsomol began to receive letters asking them to “put things in order in this matter.” The Komsomol Central Committee outlined a plan on the issue raised - what to do? It noted that “...we do not always and not everywhere sufficiently propagate the exploits of girls among the people; we tell the population) and young people little about that huge contribution, which was made by girls and women in our victory over fascism."
It should be noted that then plans were drawn up, lectures were edited, but the urgency of the issue practically did not decrease for many years. The girl warriors were embarrassed to put on their orders and medals; they took them off their tunics and hid them in boxes. And when their children grew up, the children sorted out expensive awards and played with them, often not knowing why their mothers received them. If during the Great Patriotic War women warriors were talked about in the reports of the Sovinformburo, written in newspapers, and posters were published where there was a woman warrior, then the further the country moved away from the events of 1941-1945, the less often this topic was heard. A certain interest in it appeared only in the run-up to March 8th. Researchers tried to find an explanation for this, but we cannot agree with their interpretation for a number of reasons.
There is an opinion that “the starting point in the policy of the Soviet leadership in relation to women’s memory of the war” is the speech of M.I. Kalinin in July 1945 at a meeting at the Komsomol Central Committee with girl soldiers demobilized from the Red Army and Navy. The speech was called “Glorious Daughters of the Soviet People.” In it, M.I. Kalinin raised the question of adapting demobilized girls to peaceful life, finding their own professions, etc. And at the same time he advised: “Don’t become arrogant in your future practical work. Don’t talk about your merits, let them talk about you - it’s better.” With reference to the work of the German researcher B. Fieseler “Woman at War: The Unwritten History”, these above words of M.I. Kalinin were interpreted by the Russian researcher O.Yu. Nikonova as a recommendation “for demobilized women not to brag about their merits.” Perhaps the German researcher did not understand the meaning of Kalinin’s words, and the Russian researcher, while building her “concept,” did not bother to read the publication of M.I. Kalinin’s speech in Russian.
Currently, attempts are being made (and quite successfully) to reconsider the problem of women's participation in the Great Patriotic War, in particular, what motivated them when they applied for enlistment in the Red Army. The term “mobilized patriotism” appeared. At the same time, a number of problems or incompletely explored subjects remain. If women warriors are written about more often; especially about the Heroes of the Soviet Union, about women at the labor front, about women at the rear, there are fewer and fewer generalizing works. Obviously, it is forgotten that it was possible to “participate directly in the war, and one could participate by working in industry, in all possible military and logistical institutions.” In the USSR, when assessing the contribution made by Soviet women to the defense of the Motherland, they were guided by the words of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee L.I. Brezhnev, who said: “The image of a female fighter with a rifle in her hands, at the helm of an airplane, the image of a nurse or a doctor with shoulder straps will live in our memory as a shining example of selflessness and patriotism.” Correctly, figuratively said, but... where are the women on the home front? What is their role? Let us recall that what M.I. Kalinin wrote about in the article “On the moral character of our people,” published in 1945, directly applies to the women of the home front: “... everything previous pales before the great epic of the current war, before the heroism and the sacrifice of Soviet women, showing civic valor, endurance in the loss of loved ones and enthusiasm in the struggle with such strength and, I would say, majesty, which have never been seen in the past.”
About the civil valor of women on the home front in 1941-1945. one can say in the words of M. Isakovsky, dedicated to “Russian Woman” (1945):
...Can you really tell me about this?
What years did you live in?
What an immeasurable burden
It fell on women's shoulders!..
But without facts, it is difficult for the current generation to understand. Let us remind you that under the slogan “Everything for the front, everything for victory!” All the teams of the Soviet rear worked. Sovinformburo in the most difficult time of 1941-1942. in its reports, along with reports about the exploits of Soviet soldiers, it also reported about the heroic deeds of home front workers. In connection with the departure to the front, to the people's militia, to the destruction battalions, the number of men in the Russian national economy by the fall of 1942 fell from 22.2 million to 9.5 million.
The men who went to the front were replaced by women and teenagers.
Among them were 550 thousand housewives, pensioners, and teenagers. In the food and light industry, the share of women during the war years was 80-95%. In transport, more than 40% (by the summer of 1943) were women. The “All-Russian Book of Memory of 1941-1945” in the review volume contains interesting figures that do not need commentary on the increase in the share of female labor throughout the country, especially in the first two years of the war. Thus, among steam engine operators - from 6% to at the beginning of 1941 to 33% at the end of 1942, compressor operators - from 27% to 44%, metal turners - from 16% to 33%, welders - from 17% to 31%, mechanics - from 3.9 % to 12%. At the end of the war, women in the Russian Federation made up 59% of workers and employees of the republic, instead of 41% on the eve of the war.
On individual enterprises, where before the war only men worked, up to 70% of women came. There were no enterprises, workshops, or areas in industry where women did not work; there were no professions that women could not master; the share of women in 1945 was 57.2% compared to 38.4% in 1940, and in agriculture - 58.0% in 1945 versus 26.1% in 1940. Among communication workers, he reached 69.1% in 1945 Specific gravity women among industrial workers and apprentices in 1945 in the professions of drillers and revolvers reached 70% (in 1941 it was 48%), and among turners - 34%, against 16.2% in 1941. In 145 thousand Komsomol- The country's youth brigades employed 48% of women from the total number of youth. Only during the competition for increasing labor productivity, for manufacturing above-plan weapons for the front, more than 25 thousand women were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.
Women warriors and women on the home front began to talk about themselves, their friends, with whom they shared their joys and troubles, years after the end of the war. On the pages of these collections of memoirs, which were published locally and in capital publishing houses, the conversation was primarily about heroic military and labor exploits and very rarely about the everyday difficulties of the war years. And only decades later they began to call a spade a spade and not hesitate to remember what difficulties befell Soviet women and how they had to overcome them.
I would like our compatriots to know the following: on May 8, 1965, in the year of the 30th anniversary of the Great Victory, by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the SR, International Women's Day March 8 became a holiday non-working day “in commemoration of the outstanding merits of Soviet women... in defending the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War , their heroism and dedication at the front and in the rear...".
Turning to the problem of “Soviet women during the Great Patriotic War,” we understand that the problem is unusually broad and multifaceted and it is impossible to cover everything. Therefore, in the presented article we set one task: to help human memory, so that “the image of a Soviet woman - a patriot, a fighter, a worker, a soldier’s mother” will forever be preserved in the memory of the people.
NOTES
See: Law on General Military Duty, [dated September 1, 1939]. M., 1939. Art. 13.
Is it true. 1943. March 8; Russian state archive socio-political history (RGASPI). F. M-1. He. 5. D. 245. L. 28.
See: Women of the Great Patriotic War. M., 2014. Section 1: official documents testify.
RGASPI. F. M-1. He. 5. D. 245. L. 28. We quote from the transcript of a meeting at the Komsomol Central Committee with demobilized girl soldiers.
The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: encyclopedia. M., 1985. P. 269.
RGASPI. F. M-1. He. 53. D. 17. L. 49.
The Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945: encyclopedia. P. 269.
See: Women of the Great Patriotic War.
The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: encyclopedia. P. 440.
Right there. P.270.
URL: Famhist.ru/Famlrist/shatanovskajl00437ceO.ntm
RGASPI. F. M-1. Op. 53. D. 13. L. 73.
The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: encyclopedia. P. 530.
Right there. P.270.
URL: 0ld. Bryanskovi.ru/projects/partisan/events.php?category-35
RGASPI. F. M-1. Op. 53. D. 13. L. 73–74.
Right there. D. 17. L. 18.
Right there.
Right there. F. M-7. Op. 3. D. 53. L. 148; The Great Patriotic War, 1941-1945: encyclopedia. C. 270; URL: http://www.great-country.ra/rabrika_articles/sov_eUte/0007.html
For more details, see: “Young Guard” (Krasnodon) - artistic image and historical reality: collection. documents and materials. M, 2003.
Heroes of the Soviet Union [ Electronic resource]: [forum]. URL: PokerStrategy.com
RGASPI. F. M-1. Op. 5. D. 245. L. 1–30.
Right there. L. 11.
Right there.
Right there. Op. 32. D. 331. L. 77–78. Emphasis added by the author of the article.
Right there. Op. 5. D. 245. L. 30.
See: Fieseler B. Women in War: The Unwritten History. Berlin, 2002. P. 13; URL: http://7r.net/foram/thread150.html
Kalinin M.I. Selected works. M., 1975. P. 315.
Same place. P. 401.
Right there.
All-Russian Book of Memory, 1941-1945. M., 2005. Review volume. P. 143.
The Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945: encyclopedia. P. 270.
All-Russian Book of Memory, 1941-1945. Review volume. P. 143.
RGASPI. F. M-1. Op. 3. D. 331 a. L. 63.
Right there. Op. 6. D. 355. L. 73.
Quoted: from: Bolshaya Soviet encyclopedia. 3rd ed. M., 1974. T. 15. P. 617.
CPSU in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and plenums of the Central Committee. Ed. 8th, add. M., 1978. T 11. P. 509.
11:20 , 14.07.2017
Rape during armed conflicts has always had military-psychological significance as a means of intimidating and demoralizing the enemy.
At the same time, violence against women acted as a manifestation of sexist (that is, purely male) and racist syndromes, which is gaining particular strength in large-scale stressful situations.
War rapes are different from rapes committed in peacetime. Sexual violence during war or armed conflict can have a double meaning if it occurs on a large scale. It serves not only to humiliate the individual who experiences it, but also to demonstrate to the people of the enemy state that its political leaders and army are unable to protect them. Therefore, such acts of violence, unlike those carried out in everyday life, do not occur secretly, but publicly, often even with the forced presence of other people.
In general, there are three features that distinguish military sexual violence from rape committed in peacetime. The first is a public act. The enemy must see what is happening to his “property,” which is why rapists often rape women in front of their own home. This is an act against the husband (symbolically the father of the nation or the leader of the enemy), and not an act against the woman. The second is gang rape. Comrades in arms perform it in one team: everyone must be like the others. This reflects the constant group need to strengthen and reproduce solidarity. In other words, drink together, hang out together, rape together. The third is the murder of a woman after sexual assault.
Documents available to researchers indicate mass rapes of women in the occupied territories by Wehrmacht soldiers. However, it is difficult to determine the real scale of sexual crime during the war caused by the occupiers on the territory of the USSR: primarily due to the lack of generalizing sources. Besides, in Soviet time This problem was not emphasized and no records were kept of such victims. Certain statistical data could be provided by women's visits to doctors, but they did not seek help from doctors, fearing the condemnation of society.
Back in January 1942, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR V. Molotov noted: “There are no boundaries to the people’s anger and indignation, which are caused throughout the entire Soviet population and in the Red Army by countless facts of vile violence, vile mockery of women’s honor and mass murders of Soviet citizens and women, which are committed by fascist German officers and soldiers... Everywhere, brutal German bandits break into houses, rape women and girls in front of their relatives and their children, mock the raped... ".
On the Eastern Front, group sexual violence against women was quite common among Wehrmacht soldiers. But not only German soldiers did this during the years of occupation; their allies did not disdain such behavior. The Hungarian military especially “distinguished itself” in this, according to witnesses of the occupation. The Soviet partisans did not remain aloof from such crimes.
In Lvov in 1941, 32 garment factory workers were raped and then killed by German stormtroopers. Drunk soldiers dragged Lviv girls and young women into the park named after. Kosciuszko was raped. Jewish women had to endure terrible scenes of sexual humiliation during the pogrom on July 1, 1941 in Lvov.
The angry crowd stopped at nothing; women and girls were stripped and driven in their underwear through the streets of the city, which, of course, humiliated their dignity and caused, in addition to physical, psychological trauma. For example, eyewitnesses recounted the following incident: participants in the pogroms stripped a twenty-year-old Jewish girl, stuck a baton in her vagina and forced her to march past the post office to the prison on Lontskogo Street, where “prison work” was being carried out at that time.
The mass rape of women and girls in the villages of Galicia is mentioned in the report of the Ukrainian rebels in October 1943:
“Zhovtnya 21, 1943. pacification began in the Valley. The pacification was transferred by the Sondereinsat SD with a force of 100 people, crimes including from the Uzbeks themselves under the wire of a Security Police officer in the Valley of the Pole Yarosh. A group of Uzbeks arrived in 2016. in the evening to the village of Pogorilets and, having committed a terrible shooting, wanted to catch people. People began to move wherever they could. All the men flowed into the forest. The Uzbeks rushed across the dominions and began to shoot and catch chicken and geese, and scrambled around the huts for butter, cheese, eggs, meat, and into the devil for moonshine, so they forcefully urged the women to cook and adjust their food. Having eaten well and sprinkled themselves with moonshine, the girls and youth climbed in. They raped and abused there. There were seven episodes of rape in the presence of relatives, who were sterorized and separated, and the daughters, in the most refined ways, calmed their bestial instincts. There are so many cases of rape over the years that people who have been raped are hesitant to confess. A similar pacification has now been translated in the villages: Ilemnya, Grabiv and Lopyanka.”
The rebels cited the reason for such actions as the small number of people willing to travel to Germany from these villages and the actions of partisans in the region.
Soviet partisans committed no lesser scenes of sexual violence in Western Ukraine. This is evidenced by many reports of UPA detachments, however, to illustrate the rape of women by Red partisans, it is still worth citing Soviet sources - they are more reliable and, most importantly, objective, because UPA reports and the memories of witnesses to a certain extent could “go too far” in this aspect. Documents from the “Ukrainian headquarters of the partisan movement” indicate sexual violence against civilians by the “people's avengers.”
An interesting point: in the reports of partisan formations stationed in the Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kiev regions there are few references to the rape of women; they begin to appear with rare frequency during raids in Western Ukraine. This is explained by the attitude of Soviet partisans towards this politically “unreliable” region and the unfriendly perception of the advice on the part of the local population.
The vast majority of Galicians considered them enemies and supported the Ukrainian rebels. One should not discount the fact that the partisans during the raid were not too worried about their reputation; they understood that, apparently, they would not soon return to the places of their crimes. Being in the same territory, it is worth thinking about establishing normal relations with the population in order to be able to receive food or clothing from them. During the raid, all this could have been taken by force.
Sexual violence is described quite thoroughly in a report by former partisans of the formation named after. Budyonny V. Buslaev and N. Sidorenko addressed to the head of the NKVD of the Ukrainian SSR S. Savchenko.
The document states, in particular:
“In the village of Dubovka, near Tarnopol, a woman aged 40-45 was raped by partisans Gardonov, Panasyuk, Mezentsev, detachment commander Bubnov and others. The victim's last name is unknown. In the village of Verkhobuzh, near Brody, sergeant major Mezentsev tried to rape a 65-year-old girl and her mother, took her out into the street at night and demanded consent at gunpoint. He put me against the wall and fired a machine gun over their heads, after which he raped me...
In one village, I don’t remember the name, near Snyatin, foreman Mezentsev, getting drunk, took out a pistol and tried to rape a girl who ran away, then he raped her grandmother, who was 60-65 years old... The platoon commander Bublik Pavel himself personally and he incited the fighters, was engaged in selling vodka horses, which he took back before leaving...
He drank systematically, carried out illegal searches on his own, and demanded vodka from the population. He always did this with weapons in his hands, shooting in apartments, intimidating the population. In the village of Biskov (in the Carpathian Mountains), in the apartment of the formation headquarters, the headquarters cook fired at the windows, kitchen utensils and ceiling because he wanted to rape the owner, but she ran away. After which he relieved himself on the table...
The robberies were usually carried out during searches under the pretext of whether there were “spies” or “Bandera members”, and the searches, as a rule, were carried out in places where there could be watches and other valuables. Things like watches, razors, rings, expensive suits were simply taken away without appeal. The population usually knew about the approach of the Soviet partisan unit 30-40 km away. And in last days one could find villages left with only grandfathers, or even empty houses.”
Of course, the leadership of the NKVD demanded an explanation from the command of the Budennovsky formation. In the report, the commander of the “For Kyiv” detachment, Captain Makarov, explained everything simply. He denied all the facts, and accused the partisans who wrote the note of treason (the complainants left the detachment and went to the rear of the Red Army) and connections with Bandera. By the way, this is a fairly common type of response from commanders of partisan detachments if they are accused of looting, drunkenness or sexual violence. (It’s a paradox - it turned out that Makarov did not suspect that there were two Banderaites in his detachment, and “he saw the light” only when they wrote a memo about violations in the unit). The matter was probably hushed up. At least, it was not possible to trace its further course due to the lack of documents indicating the punishments imposed on the defendants.
As we can see, during the war, women often became victims of rape by soldiers of the opposing sides. In the post-war period, it was very difficult for them to return to a full life. After all, in the USSR they did not receive proper medical care; in cases of pregnancy, they could not get rid of the fetus - in the Soviet Union, abortion was prohibited by law. Many, unable to bear it, committed suicide; some moved to another place of residence, thus trying to protect themselves from gossip or people’s sympathy and try to forget what they had experienced.
NOTES
Kjopp G. Why was I born a girl?: the sexual “exploits” of Soviet liberators. - M. 2011. - pp. 138-139.
Meshcherkina E. Mass rape as part of the military ethos // Gender studies of the military ethos. - 2001. - No. 6. - With. 258.
