The exploits of the children of the Second World War 1941 1945. Little heroes of the big war

On the eve of the Victory Day holiday on May 9, on everyone's lips. But rarely does anyone remember the contribution of adolescents to great victory. Meanwhile, the guys who did not arouse suspicion among the Nazis actively helped the Soviet partisans and saboteurs. Children of the Great Patriotic War occupy an honorable place among the heroes-front-line soldiers.

Children of the world are children of war

Schoolchildren who just passed their exams yesterday signed up for partisans or went to the front, adding two years in their personal documents. Seeing the horrors of the war and the example of their older comrades, the very young guys also wanted to serve the Motherland. Only in the Belarusian forests fought about 75 thousand children of the world, who overnight became children of the war.

You can’t count how many “sons of the regiment” there were, since the commanders hid the presence of children in their ranks. They were cherished in every possible way as a symbol of the future, but often children, along with adults, participated in military operations. We will learn how the children-heroes of the Second World War forged a common victory.

Marat Kazei

A full-fledged intelligence officer of the headquarters of the partisan brigade No. 200 named after Rokossovsky was born in 1929 in Belarus. In the 1930s, the Bolsheviks arrested his father on charges of "Trotskyism". In 1941, the Germans shot Marat's mother for helping the partisans. The embittered boy ran into the forest.

During the war years, he was known as a desperate intelligence officer. Marat actively participated in raids, undermined enemy equipment, echelons. In 1943 he was awarded the medal " For courage» for breaking through the enemy ring. A year later, during reconnaissance, he, along with the commander, was ambushed. While there were cartridges, the 14-year-old boy fired back. When the store was empty, he blew himself up and the Germans surrounding him with a grenade. In 1965, Marat Kazei received the title of Hero of the USSR.

Vladimir Tarnovsky

The 15-year-old hero of the Great Patriotic War ended up in the Red Army in 1943. During the war years, he lost his mother, stepfather and younger brother. He wanted to take revenge, and the position of a messenger obviously did not attract him. Soon he was entrusted with a place in reconnaissance. Medal " For courage he got for capturing the "tongue".

Earlier, Vladimir led the Studebakers who got lost in the rear directly to the front line, which won the respect of his senior comrades. Together with them, a native of Slavyansk reached Berlin, where he left a commemorative inscription on the Reichstag in chalk. He lived a long life and died in 2013.

Leonid Golikov

Children-heroes of the Second World War often showed ingenuity, a lively mind and resourcefulness, helping their older brothers, but this was not the case to catch an enemy general with important documents. At least until they found out about Lena Golikov in Moscow.

During the war years, a 16-year-old reconnaissance partisan organized sabotage on railway, destroyed bridges, set fire to enemy equipment and warehouses. But there was an amazing case in the hero’s biography when a German general ran away from him with a briefcase in his hands.

It was on a country road. Lenya sat in ambush, waiting for the enemy. Then the general's Mercedes appeared. The child hero blew up the car with a grenade. An officer jumped out of it, rushing towards the forest with a briefcase in his hands. Lenya is behind him. Having overtaken the general, he killed him and took away the documents. The package was sent by special flight to the General Staff in Moscow. Hero Soviet Union Lenya Golikov died in the winter of 1943, participating in the offensive of the Red Army.

Arkady Kamanin

Among the "sons of the regiment", as a rule, there were children who lost their homes and parents. But the biography of Arkady Kamanin stands apart. The son of a combat pilot-hero of the USSR Nikolai Kamanin went to the front after his father. In 1943, 14-year-old Kamanin Jr. became a mechanic in one of the air corps. Kalinin Front. Soon he was entrusted to fly on a "flyer" along with adults.

The youngest pilot of the Great Patriotic War in one of the sorties noticed a downed Il-2 in the neutral zone. Arkady evacuated the pilot with a package of documents, for which he received the Order of the Red Star. In 1945, he was already flying with might and main over the front line, laying routes. He has medals for the capture of Vienna, Budapest, Germany. The child-hero of the Second World War died a year later from meningitis.

Zina Portnova

Legendary cell member young avengers» Zina Portnova fought the enemy in the Belarusian forests, having come to visit her grandmother before the war. Zina herself was from Leningrad. At the age of 16, she joined the young avengers", carrying out bold sabotage and agitation among the population.

In 1943, she was given the task of finding out the reasons for the failed activities of " avengers and get in touch with the underground behind enemy lines. But the Germans arrested Zina. During the interrogation, she was silent, and when she had no strength left at all, the scout snatched a pistol from a German officer and shot him, as well as two guards. But she failed to escape.

They tortured her especially subtly, trying to find out the names of the underground. Once she even threw herself under the wheels of a truck in order to die faster. But the executioners grabbed her and began to torture even harder. The girl was shot in 1944 in the village of Goryany, Vitebsk region of Belarus. Zina Portnova received the star of the Hero of the USSR in 1958.

The children of the war of 1941-1945, against their will, took up arms and dropped out of school. They were forced by war, famine, devastation. Let's not forget their huge contribution to the victory over the Nazis. This is a common victory. Everyone forged it - from children and home front workers to front line soldiers.

1941 -1945 Children - heroes of the Great Patriotic War Kakhanovich Nikita, Zhigadlo Ivan, 6 B class MBOU "Dedovichskaya secondary school No. 2"

Valentin Alexandrovich Kotik or Valya Kotik, was born in Ukraine. When the Germans occupied the Shepetovsky district, where he lived, he was 11 years old. He immediately took part in the collection of ammunition and weapons, which were then sent to the front. In 1942, he was accepted into the ranks of the Shepetovskaya underground organization as a scout. Valya Kotik has many feats on his account, including the successful blowing up of six warehouses and railway echelons, numerous ambushes, obtaining information about the Germans, and standing at the post. Once, while standing at his post, he was attacked by Nazi punishers. Valya shot an enemy officer and raised the alarm. For his heroism, courage and repeatedly accomplished feats, Valya Kotik was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree and the Order of Lenin, as well as the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" of the 2nd degree. On February 16, 1944, the 14-year-old hero was mortally wounded in the battle for the liberation of the city of Izyaslav Kamenetz-Podolsky. He died the next day. In 1958, Valentin Alexandrovich Kotik was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Medal to the Partisan of the Patriotic War II degree Hero of the Soviet Union (Posthumously). Order of Lenin Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class

Mikheenko Larisa Dorofeevna The beginning of World War II caught Larisa in the village of Pechenevo, Pustoshkinsky district, Kalinin region (now it is the territory of the Pskov region), where she was on vacation with her uncle. The offensive of the Wehrmacht was swift, and by the end of the summer the Pustoshkinsky district was under German occupation. Lara's uncle agreed to serve the occupying authorities and was appointed headman of Pechenev. Larisa went to the partisan detachment, where she was a scout, participated in the "rail war", thanks to her participation, it was possible to disable the bridge and the enemy echelon passing through it. Subsequently, after the war, for this feat Larisa Mikheenko will be awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree (posthumously). In November 1943, on the next combat mission, Larisa was captured by the Germans. During the interrogation, she threw a grenade at the Germans, but it did not explode, after which she was shot by the Germans.

Sasha Borodulin In 1941, Sasha's native village in Leningrad region occupied by the Germans. Once a German soldier beat a woman on the street. After Nemets left, Sasha helped the woman up and led her home. Then he tracked down this fascist, unexpectedly hit him on the head with a stick. He lost consciousness and fell. Sasha took a rifle and two grenades from the German and fled into the forest. So he began his war with the Nazis. On a forest road, he killed a fascist riding a motorcycle and took his machine gun from him. There he met partisans and joined their detachment. Day after day he conducted reconnaissance, carried out very dangerous tasks, destroyed a lot of German vehicles and soldiers. For the performance of dangerous tasks, for the courage, resourcefulness and courage shown, Sasha Borodulin was awarded the Order of the Red Banner in the winter of 1941. Covering the withdrawal of a detachment of partisans, he ran out of ammunition and at the moment when he was surrounded by 10 Nazis, Sasha blew them up with him.

Utah Bondarovskaya In the village of Strugi Krasnye near Leningrad (now the Pskov region), Utah helped a radio operator escape from fascist captivity. After that, the fourteen-year-old Yuta was accepted into the partisan detachment. She became a spy. Always the first to fight, participated in the destruction of the fascist echelon. Utah died on February 28, 1944 in battle with the Germans.

Marat Ivanovich Kazei The Nazis broke into the Belarusian village where Marat lived with his mother, Anna. Marat was 12 years old. After the death of his mother, Marat and his older sister Ariadna went to the partisan detachment named after the 25th anniversary of October in November 1942. Ariadne left the squad after some time due to injury. Marat became a scout and performed dangerous missions, both alone and with groups, was awarded the medal "For Courage" and "For Military Merit". May 11, 1944 Marat died in battle with the Germans. According to eyewitnesses, the Germans surrounded Marat in the bushes and wanted to take him alive. First, Marat fired from a machine gun, the first grenade exploded and then the second. After that, everything was quiet. He blew himself up along with the Germans.

Order of Lenin Order of the Patriotic War, 1st class Medal "For Military Merit" Hero of the Soviet Union (Posthumously). Medal of Honor"

Golikov Leonid Alexandrovich Lenya Golikov - partisan reconnaissance 67th partisan detachment of the 4th Leningrad partisan brigade, operating on the territory of the temporarily occupied Novgorod and Pskov regions. Lenya repeatedly penetrated the Nazi garrisons, collecting data on the enemy. With his direct participation, 2 railway and 12 highway bridges were blown up, 2 food and feed depots and 10 vehicles with ammunition were burned. He especially distinguished himself in the defeat of enemy garrisons in the villages of Aprosovo, Sosnitsy, Sever. Accompanied a wagon train with food in 250 carts per besieged Leningrad. On January 24, 1943, a 16-year-old partisan died a heroic death in a battle near the village of Ostraya Luka, Dedovichsky District, Pskov Region.

Valery Volkov Volkov Valery was born in 1929. During the evacuation to the war, Valera's class came under fire. Before his eyes, teachers and classmates died. After what he saw, the boy decided to get to the military unit in order to fight the enemy together with adults. Since almost everything was destroyed, the Red Army soldiers leave the boy at home, and he becomes the "son of the regiment." At the front, he brought ammunition to the guns and helped in urgent matters. In especially difficult moments, he fought off fascist attacks with weapons in his hands. Due to his small stature, he often found himself with scouts, obtaining various important information. By the beginning of the summer of 1942 Valery Volkov was fighting in Sevastopol. During the German offensive, he rushed to the going tank and destroyed it with a bunch of grenades, after which he died a heroic death.

Vitya Korobkov During German occupation Crimea, he helped his father, a member of the city underground organization Mikhail Korobkov. Through Vitya Korobkov, communication was maintained between members of partisan groups hiding in the Starokrymsk forest. He collected information about the enemy, took part in the printing and distribution of leaflets. Later he became a scout of the 3rd brigade of the Eastern Association of Partisans of Crimea. On February 18, 1944, the father and son of the Korobkovs in Feodosia were arrested by the Gestapo. For more than two weeks they were interrogated and tortured, then shot - first by the father, and on March 9 - and his son. Five days before the execution, Vita Korobkov turned fifteen. By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Vitya Korobkov was posthumously awarded the medal "For Courage".

Zina Portnova Born in Leningrad in 1926. In June 1941, the parents sent the girl to the village of Zui (Vitebsk region) for school break. Just at that time, the Nazis invaded the USSR, and Portnova ended up in the occupied territory. She was not going to put up with the current state of affairs and decided to fight the enemy. She was a member of the youth underground group "Young Avengers", fought against the fascist invaders, never retreated and looked at new challenges with a challenge. Even in the most difficult times, the girl never took care of herself, but was more worried about others. During the execution of the next task, she was captured by the Nazis and executed in January 1944.

Twelve of several thousand examples of unparalleled childish courage
Young heroes of the Great Patriotic War - how many were there? If you count - how else? - the hero of every boy and every girl whom fate brought to war and made soldiers, sailors or partisans, then - tens, if not hundreds of thousands.

According to official data from the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense (TsAMO) of Russia, during the war years there were over 3,500 servicemen under the age of 16 in combat units. At the same time, it is clear that not every unit commander who dared to take on the education of the son of the regiment, found the courage to declare a pupil on command. You can understand how their fathers-commanders, who really were many instead of fathers, tried to hide the age of the little fighters, by the confusion in the award documents. On the yellowed archival sheets, most of the underage servicemen indicate a clearly overestimated age. The real one became clear much later, after ten or even forty years.

But there were still children and teenagers who fought in partisan detachments and were members of underground organizations! And there were much more of them: sometimes whole families went to the partisans, and if not, then almost every teenager who ended up on the occupied land had someone to avenge.

So "tens of thousands" is far from an exaggeration, but rather an understatement. And, apparently, we will never know the exact number of young heroes of the Great Patriotic War. But that is no reason not to remember them.

The boys went from Brest to Berlin

The youngest of all the known little soldiers - at least, according to the documents stored in the military archives - can be considered a pupil of the 142nd Guards Rifle Regiment of the 47th Guards Rifle Division Sergei Aleshkin. In archival documents, one can find two certificates of awarding a boy who was born in 1936 and ended up in the army on September 8, 1942, shortly after the punishers shot his mother and older brother for their connection with the partisans. The first document dated April 26, 1943 - on awarding him the medal "For Military Merit" due to the fact that "Comrade. Aleshkin, the regiment's favorite, ""with his cheerfulness, love for the unit and those around him, in extremely difficult moments, instilled vigor and confidence in victory." The second, dated November 19, 1945, is about awarding students of the Tula Suvorov Military School with the medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945": in the list of 13 Suvorov students, Aleshkin's name is first.

But still, such a young soldier is an exception even for wartime and for a country where all the people, young and old, have risen to defend their homeland. Most of the young heroes who fought at the front and behind enemy lines were on average 13-14 years old. The very first of them were defenders Brest Fortress, and one of the sons of the regiment - holder of the Order of the Red Star, the Order of Glory of the III degree and the medal "For Courage" Vladimir Tarnovsky, who served in the 370th artillery regiment of the 230th rifle division, left his autograph on the wall of the Reichstag in the victorious May 1945 …

The youngest Heroes of the Soviet Union

These four names - Lenya Golikov, Marat Kazei, Zina Portnova and Valya Kotik - have been the most famous symbol of the heroism of the young defenders of our Motherland for over half a century. Those who fought in different places and accomplished feats of different circumstances, all of them were partisans and all were posthumously awarded the highest award countries - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Two - Lena Golikov and Zina Portnova - by the time they had to show unprecedented courage, were 17 years old, two more - Valya Kotik and Marat Kazei - only 14.

Lenya Golikov was the first of the four who was awarded the highest rank: the decree on assignment was signed on April 2, 1944. The text says that Golikov was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union "for the exemplary performance of command assignments and the courage and heroism shown in battles." And indeed, in less than a year - from March 1942 to January 1943 - Lenya Golikov managed to take part in the defeat of three enemy garrisons, in undermining more than a dozen bridges, in capturing a German major general with secret documents ... And heroically die in battle near the village of Ostraya Luka, without waiting for a high reward for capturing a strategically important "language".

Zina Portnova and Valya Kotik were awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union 13 years after the Victory, in 1958. Zina was awarded for the courage with which she conducted underground work, then served as a liaison between the partisans and the underground, and eventually endured inhuman torment, falling into the hands of the Nazis at the very beginning of 1944. Valya - according to the totality of exploits in the ranks of the Shepetov partisan detachment named after Karmelyuk, where he came after a year of work in an underground organization in Shepetovka itself. And Marat Kazei was awarded the highest award only in the year of the 20th anniversary of the Victory: the decree on conferring on him the title of Hero of the Soviet Union was promulgated on May 8, 1965. For almost two years - from November 1942 to May 1944 - Marat fought as part of the partisan formations of Belarus and died, blowing up himself and the Nazis surrounding him with the last grenade.

Over the past half century, the circumstances of the exploits of the four heroes have become known throughout the country: more than one generation of Soviet schoolchildren has grown up on their example, and the current generation is certainly told about them. But even among those who did not receive the highest award, there were many real heroes - pilots, sailors, snipers, scouts and even musicians.

Sniper Vasily Kurka

The war caught Vasya at the age of sixteen. In the very first days he was mobilized to the labor front, and in October he was admitted to the 726th rifle regiment of the 395th rifle division. At first, a boy of unconscripted age, who also looked a couple of years younger than his age, was left in the wagon train: they say, there is nothing for teenagers to do on the front line. But soon the guy got his way and was transferred to a combat unit - to a team of snipers.

Vasily Kurka. Photo: Imperial War Museum

Amazing military fate: from the first to last day Vasya Kurka fought in the same regiment of the same division! did a good job military career, rising to the rank of lieutenant and taking command of a rifle platoon. Recorded at his own expense, according to various sources, from 179 to 200 destroyed Nazis. He fought from the Donbass to Tuapse and back, and then further, to the West, to the Sandomierz bridgehead. It was there that Lieutenant Kurka was mortally wounded in January 1945, less than six months before the Victory.

Pilot Arkady Kamanin

At the location of the 5th Guards Assault Air Corps, 15-year-old Arkady Kamanin arrived with his father, who was appointed commander of this illustrious unit. The pilots were surprised to learn that the son of the legendary pilot, one of the first seven Heroes of the Soviet Union, a member of the Chelyuskin rescue expedition, would work as an aircraft mechanic in the communications squadron. But they soon became convinced that general's son does not live up to their negative expectations at all. The boy did not hide behind the back of the famous father, but simply did his job well - and with all his might strove for the sky.

Sergeant Kamanin in 1944. Photo: war.ee

Soon Arkady achieved his goal: first he takes to the air as a letnab, then as a navigator on the U-2, and then goes on his first independent flight. And finally - the long-awaited appointment: the son of General Kamanin becomes a pilot of the 423rd separate communications squadron. Before the victory, Arkady, who had risen to the rank of foreman, managed to fly almost 300 hours and earn three orders: two - the Red Star and one - the Red Banner. And if it weren’t for meningitis, which literally killed an 18-year-old guy in the spring of 1947, literally in a matter of days, Kamanin Jr. would have been included in the cosmonaut detachment, the first commander of which was Kamanin Sr.: Arkady managed to enter the Zhukovsky Air Force Academy back in 1946.

Front-line scout Yuri Zhdanko

Ten-year-old Yura ended up in the army by chance. In July 1941, he went to show the retreating Red Army soldiers a little-known ford on the Western Dvina and did not have time to return to his native Vitebsk, where the Germans had already entered. And so he left with a part to the east, to Moscow itself, in order to start the return journey to the west from there.

Yuri Zhdanko. Photo: russia-reborn.ru

On this path, Yura managed a lot. In January 1942, he, who had never jumped with a parachute before, went to the rescue of encircled partisans and helped them break through the enemy ring. In the summer of 1942, together with a group of reconnaissance colleagues, he blows up the strategically important bridge across the Berezina, sending to the bottom of the river not only the bridge deck, but also nine trucks passing through it, and less than a year later, he is the only one of all the messengers who managed to break through to the surrounded battalion and help him get out of the "ring".

By February 1944, the chest of the 13-year-old scout was decorated with the medal "For Courage" and the Order of the Red Star. But a shell that exploded literally underfoot interrupted Yura's front-line career. He ended up in the hospital, from where he went to Suvorov School but failed due to health reasons. Then the retired young intelligence officer retrained as a welder and also managed to become famous on this “front”, having traveled with his welding machine almost half of Eurasia - he built pipelines.

Infantryman Anatoly Komar

Among 263 Soviet soldiers covered with their bodies enemy embrasures, the youngest was a 15-year-old private of the 332nd reconnaissance company of the 252nd rifle division of the 53rd army of the 2nd Ukrainian front Anatoly Komar. The teenager got into the active army in September 1943, when the front came close to his native Slavyansk. It happened with him almost the same way as with Yura Zhdanko, with the only difference that the boy served as a guide not for the retreating, but for the advancing Red Army. Anatoly helped them go deep into the front line of the Germans, and then left with the advancing army to the west.

Young partisan. Photo: Imperial War Museum

But, unlike Yura Zhdanko, Tolya Komar's front-line path was much shorter. For only two months he had a chance to wear epaulettes that had recently appeared in the Red Army and go on reconnaissance. In November of the same year, returning from a free search in the rear of the Germans, a group of scouts revealed themselves and was forced to break through to their own with a fight. The last obstacle on the way back was a machine gun, which pressed the reconnaissance to the ground. Anatoly Komar threw a grenade at him, and the fire subsided, but as soon as the scouts got up, the machine gunner began to shoot again. And then Tolya, who was closest to the enemy, got up and fell on a machine-gun barrel, at the cost of his life, buying his comrades precious minutes for a breakthrough.

Sailor Boris Kuleshin

In the cracked photograph, a ten-year-old boy stands against the backdrop of sailors in black uniforms with ammunition boxes on their backs and the superstructures of a Soviet cruiser. His hands are tightly squeezing a PPSh assault rifle, and on his head is a peakless cap with a guards ribbon and the inscription "Tashkent". This is a pupil of the crew of the leader of the destroyers "Tashkent" Borya Kuleshin. The picture was taken in Poti, where, after repairs, the ship called for another cargo of ammunition for the besieged Sevastopol. It was here that the twelve-year-old Borya Kuleshin appeared at the gangway of the Tashkent. His father died at the front, his mother, as soon as Donetsk was occupied, was taken to Germany, and he himself managed to escape across the front line to his own people and, together with the retreating army, get to the Caucasus.

Boris Kuleshin. Photo: weralbum.ru

While they were persuading the commander of the ship, Vasily Eroshenko, while they were deciding which combat unit to enroll the cabin boy in, the sailors managed to give him a belt, cap and machine gun and take a picture of the new crew member. And then there was a transition to Sevastopol, the first raid on "Tashkent" in Borya's life and the first clips for an anti-aircraft gun in his life, which he, along with other anti-aircraft gunners, gave to the shooters. At his combat post, he was wounded on July 2, 1942, when German aircraft tried to sink the ship in the port of Novorossiysk. After the hospital, Borya, following Captain Eroshenko, came to a new ship - the guards cruiser Krasny Kavkaz. And already here he found his well-deserved award: presented for the battles on the "Tashkent" to the medal "For Courage", he was awarded the Order of the Red Banner by the decision of the front commander, Marshal Budyonny and a member of the Military Council, Admiral Isakov. And in the next front-line picture, he already flaunts in a new uniform of a young sailor, on whose head is a peakless cap with a guards ribbon and the inscription "Red Caucasus". It was in this uniform that in 1944 Borya went to the Tbilisi Nakhimov School, where in September 1945, among other teachers, educators and pupils, he was awarded the medal "For the Victory over Germany in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945."

Musician Petr Klypa

Fifteen-year-old pupil of the musical platoon of the 333rd rifle regiment, Pyotr Klypa, like other underage inhabitants of the Brest Fortress, had to go to the rear with the outbreak of war. But Petya refused to leave the fighting citadel, which, among others, was defended by the only native person - his older brother, Lieutenant Nikolai. So he became one of the first teenage soldiers in the Great Patriotic War and a full participant heroic defense Brest fortress.

Peter Klypa. Photo: worldwar.com

He fought there until the beginning of July, until he received an order, along with the remnants of the regiment, to break through to Brest. This is where Petit's ordeals began. Having crossed the tributary of the Bug, he, along with other colleagues, was captured, from which he soon managed to escape. He got to Brest, lived there for a month and moved east, behind the retreating Red Army, but did not reach. During one of the nights, he and a friend were discovered by the police, and the teenagers were sent to forced labor in Germany. Petya was released only in 1945 by American troops, and after checking he even managed to serve in Soviet army. And upon returning to his homeland, he again ended up behind bars, because he succumbed to the persuasion of an old friend and helped him speculate on the loot. Pyotr Klypa was released only seven years later. He had to thank the historian and writer Sergei Smirnov for this, bit by bit recreating the history of the heroic defense of the Brest Fortress and, of course, not missing the story of one of its youngest defenders, who, after his release, was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree.

Since 2009, February 12 has been designated by the United Nations as the International Day of Child Soldiers. This is the name of minors who, due to circumstances, are forced to actively participate in wars and armed conflicts.

According to various sources, up to several tens of thousands of minors took part in the hostilities during the Great Patriotic War. "Sons of the regiment", pioneer heroes - they fought and died on a par with adults. For military merits, they were awarded orders and medals. The images of some of them were used in Soviet propaganda as symbols of courage and loyalty to the motherland.

Five underage fighters of the Great Patriotic War were awarded the highest award - the title of Hero of the USSR. All - posthumously, remaining in textbooks and books as children and adolescents. All Soviet schoolchildren knew these heroes by name. Today, "RG" recalls their short and often similar biographies.

Marat Kazei, 14 years old

Member of the partisan detachment named after the 25th anniversary of October, intelligence officer of the headquarters of the 200th partisan brigade named after Rokossovsky in the occupied territory of the Byelorussian SSR.

Marat was born in 1929 in the village of Stankovo, Minsk Region, Belarus, and managed to finish the 4th grade of a rural school. Before the war, his parents were arrested on charges of sabotage and "Trotskyism", numerous children were "scattered" among their grandparents. But the Kazeev family did not become angry with the Soviet authorities: In 1941, when Belarus became an occupied territory, Anna Kazei, the wife of the “enemy of the people” and the mother of little Marat and Ariadne, hid wounded partisans in her place, for which she was executed by the Germans. And the brother and sister went to the partisans. Ariadne was subsequently evacuated, but Marat remained in the detachment.

Along with his senior comrades, he went to reconnaissance - both alone and with a group. Participated in raids. Undermined the echelons. For the battle in January 1943, when, wounded, he raised his comrades to attack and made his way through the enemy ring, Marat received the medal "For Courage".

And in May 1944, while performing another assignment near the village of Khoromitsky, Minsk Region, a 14-year-old soldier died. Returning from a mission together with the intelligence commander, they stumbled upon the Germans. The commander was killed immediately, and Marat, firing back, lay down in a hollow. There was nowhere to leave in an open field, and there was no opportunity - the teenager was seriously wounded in the arm. While there were cartridges, he kept the defense, and when the store was empty, he took the last weapon - two grenades from his belt. He threw one at the Germans immediately, and waited with the second: when the enemies came very close, he blew himself up along with them.

In 1965, Marat Kazei was awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.

Valya Kotik, 14 years old

Partisan scout in the Karmelyuk detachment, the youngest Hero of the USSR.

Valya was born in 1930 in the village of Khmelevka, Shepetovsky district, Kamenetz-Podolsk region of Ukraine. Before the war he completed five classes. In a busy German troops in the village, the boy secretly collected weapons and ammunition and handed them over to the partisans. And he waged his own little war, as he understood it: he drew and pasted caricatures of the Nazis in prominent places.

Since 1942, he contacted the Shepetovskaya underground party organization and carried out her intelligence assignments. And in the fall of the same year, Valya and his fellow boys received their first real combat mission: to eliminate the head of the field gendarmerie.

"The roar of the engines grew louder - the cars were approaching. The faces of the soldiers were already clearly visible. Sweat dripped from their foreheads, half-covered with green helmets. Some soldiers carelessly took off their helmets. The front car caught up with the bushes behind which the boys hid. Valya got up, counting the seconds to himself "The car drove past, an armored car was already against him. Then he rose to his full height and, shouting "Fire!", threw two grenades one after the other ... Simultaneously, explosions sounded from the left and right. Both cars stopped, the front one caught fire. The soldiers quickly jumped to the ground , rushed into the ditch and from there opened indiscriminate fire from machine guns, "- this is how the Soviet textbook describes this first battle. The task of the partisans Valya then completed: the head of the gendarmerie, Lieutenant Franz Koenig and seven German soldiers died. About 30 people were injured.

In October 1943, the young fighter reconnoitered the location of the underground telephone cable of the Nazi headquarters, which was soon blown up. Valya also participated in the destruction of six railway echelons and a warehouse.

On October 29, 1943, while on duty, Valya noticed that the punishers had raided the detachment. Having killed a fascist officer with a pistol, the teenager raised the alarm, and the partisans had time to prepare for battle. On February 16, 1944, five days after his 14th birthday, in the battle for the city of Izyaslav, Kamenetz-Podolsky, now Khmelnitsky region, the scout was mortally wounded and died the next day.

In 1958, Valentin Kotik was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Lenya Golikov, 16 years old

Scout of the 67th detachment of the 4th Leningrad partisan brigade.

Born in 1926 in the village of Lukino, Parfinsky District, Novgorod Region. When the war began, he got a rifle and joined the partisans. Thin, small in stature, he looked even younger than all 14 years old. Under the guise of a beggar, Lenya walked around the villages, collecting the necessary data on the location of the fascist troops and the number of their military equipment, and then passed this information on to the partisans.

In 1942 he joined the detachment. “Participated in 27 combat operations, exterminated 78 German soldiers and officers, blew up 2 railway and 12 highway bridges, blew up 9 vehicles with ammunition ... troops Richard Wirtz, heading from Pskov to Luga, "- such data is contained in his award leaflet.

In the regional military archive, Golikov's original report with a story about the circumstances of this battle has been preserved:

"On the evening of August 12, 1942, we, 6 partisans, got out on the Pskov-Luga highway and lay down not far from the village of Varnitsa. There was no movement at night. we were, the car was quieter. Partizan Vasilyev threw an anti-tank grenade, but missed. The second grenade was thrown by Alexander Petrov from a ditch, hit a beam. The car did not immediately stop, but went another 20 meters and almost caught up with us. Two officers jumped out of the car. I fired a burst from a machine gun. Did not hit. The officer sitting at the wheel ran across the ditch towards the forest. I fired several bursts from my PPSh. Hit the enemy in the neck and back. Petrov began to shoot at the second officer, who kept looking back, shouting and fired back. Petrov killed this officer with a rifle. Then the two of them ran to the first wounded officer. They tore off shoulder straps, took a briefcase, documents. There was still a heavy suitcase in the car. We barely dragged it into the bushes (150 meters from the highway). not at the car, we heard an alarm, ringing, screaming in a neighboring village. Grabbing a briefcase, shoulder straps and three trophy pistols, we ran to our own ... ".

For this feat, Lenya was presented with the highest government award - the Gold Star medal and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But I didn't manage to get them. From December 1942 to January 1943, the partisan detachment, in which Golikov was located, left the encirclement with fierce battles. Only a few managed to survive, but Leni was not among them: he died in a battle with a Nazi punitive detachment on January 24, 1943 near the village of Ostraya Luka, Pskov Region, before he was 17 years old.

Sasha Chekalin, 16 years old

Member of the partisan detachment "Forward" of the Tula region.

Born in 1925 in the village of Peskovatskoye, now the Suvorov district of the Tula region. Before the start of the war, he graduated from 8 classes. After the occupation of his native village by Nazi troops in October 1941, he joined the fighter partisan detachment "Forward", where he managed to serve for just over a month.

By November 1941, the partisan detachment had inflicted significant damage on the Nazis: warehouses were burning, vehicles were exploding on mines, enemy trains were derailed, sentries and patrols disappeared without a trace. Once a group of partisans, including Sasha Chekalin, ambushed the road to the town of Likhvin ( Tula region). A car appeared in the distance. A minute passed - and the explosion blew the car apart. Behind her passed and exploded several more cars. One of them, crowded with soldiers, tried to slip through. But the grenade thrown by Sasha Chekalin destroyed her too.

In early November 1941, Sasha caught a cold and fell ill. The commissioner allowed him to lie down with a trusted person in the nearest village. But there was a traitor who betrayed him. At night, the Nazis broke into the house where the sick partisan lay. Chekalin managed to grab the prepared grenade and throw it, but it did not explode ... After several days of torture, the Nazis hanged the teenager on the central square of Likhvin and for more than 20 days did not allow him to remove his corpse from the gallows. And only when the city was liberated from the invaders, the combat associates of the partisan Chekalin buried him with military honors.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union Alexander Chekalin was awarded in 1942.

Zina Portnova, 17 years old

Member of the underground Komsomol youth organization "Young Avengers", intelligence officer of the Voroshilov partisan detachment on the territory of the Byelorussian SSR.

Born in 1926 in Leningrad, she graduated from 7 classes there and went on vacation to her relatives in the village of Zuya, Vitebsk region, Belarus for the summer holidays. There she found the war.

In 1942, she joined the Obol underground Komsomol youth organization "Young Avengers" and actively participated in the distribution of leaflets among the population and sabotage against the invaders.

Since August 1943, Zina has been a scout of the Voroshilov partisan detachment. In December 1943, she was given the task of identifying the reasons for the failure of the Young Avengers organization and establishing contact with the underground. But upon returning to the detachment, Zina was arrested.

During the interrogation, the girl grabbed the pistol of the Nazi investigator from the table, shot him and two other Nazis, tried to escape, but was captured.

From the book "Zina Portnova" by the Soviet writer Vasily Smirnov: "She was interrogated by the most sophisticated in cruel torture executioners…. She was promised to save her life if only the young partisan would confess everything, name all the underground fighters and partisans known to her. And again, the Gestapo met with the unshakable firmness of this stubborn girl, who in their protocols was called the "Soviet bandit", which surprised them. Zina, exhausted by torture, refused to answer questions, hoping that this way she would be killed faster ... Once in the prison yard, prisoners saw how a completely gray-haired girl, when she was being led to another interrogation-torture, threw herself under the wheels of a passing truck. But the car was stopped, the girl was pulled out from under the wheels and again taken for interrogation ... ".

On January 10, 1944, in the village of Goryany, now the Shumilinsky district of the Vitebsk region of Belarus, 17-year-old Zina was shot.

The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded to Portnova Zinaida in 1958.

Children are heroes - who are they? At every time there were young, fearless boys and girls who risked their lives to save others. In this article we will talk about some of them, starting from the first world war and ending with our time.

The time of the First World War was very difficult for the population Russian Empire and especially for children. After the outbreak of the war, patriotism swept a large number of children's minds. Nicholas 2 issued a decree allowing students to sign up as volunteers. But not only students began to register, but also students of schools, colleges and cadet corps. From their wards, they asked for leave to fight the enemy. In their letters, the children wrote the following lines: “We have nothing with which we could help the Motherland, except own life and we are ready to sacrifice it.” So the desire to go to the front became widespread among young children. Every day, newspapers published announcements about the search for missing children who had fled to the war. According to some reports, in September 1914 alone, in Pskov alone, gendarmes removed more than 100 children from trains going to the front. In the war, the guys participated in reconnaissance, helped bring ammunition, and assisted wounded soldiers. Read also the article

Hero Ivan Kazakov

During the battle, the young Cossack was able to recapture a machine gun from the Germans and managed to save his fellow soldier Ensign Yunitskiy. Later, Ivan participated in the battles in East Prussia. During a successful reconnaissance, I was able to detect a German battery, which was completely taken by our detachment. awarded George cross 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree, received the rank of non-commissioned officer. Photo of young heroes of the First World War

Children heroes of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

On June 22, the Great Patriotic War began, which lasted for four years. Nazi Germany suddenly attacked the Soviet Union. The Germans dropped bombs on our cities, killed old people and children in the occupied territories, took them prisoner and conducted various experiments on people in their inhuman concentration camps. The entire population, young and old, went to defend their homeland. Children matured early, began to work in factories and factories, fields, fought in the army and partisan detachments. For military merits, they were awarded orders and medals, awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union", many were awarded posthumously.

“We used to often play war too, but now much less often - we are tired of the war, it would sooner end so that we could live well again ...” - From a letter from a boy to a front-line soldier

The images of some guys were used in Soviet propaganda as symbols of courage and loyalty to the motherland. Let's talk about some of them.

Arkady Kamanin - the youngest pilot, 650 sorties at the age of 16

Arkady was born in the family famous pilot, Colonel-General of Aviation Nikolai Petrovich Kamanin. During the holidays, Arkasha disappeared at the airfields where his father worked. Moreover, at the age of 12, he was already well versed in aircraft and worked part-time as an aircraft mechanic. When Arkasha was 13 years old, the war began. And together with his father, he went to the assault aviation corps of the Kalinin Front. In 1943, as part of a squadron, the young pilot began his first flights as a flight engineer and navigator-observer. At the request of Arkady, after takeoff, the pilots allowed him to fly - this was the first flight practice. And at the age of 14, he becomes a pilot of the 423rd Separate Communications Squadron. During the war years, Arkady Kamanin made more than 650 sorties. He performed various combat missions, mainly by communications. He flew across the front line to the partisans to transfer batteries to the radio station. In 1945 he participated in the Victory Parade and was the youngest participant.

Zina Portnova, Lenya Golikov - young partisans, pioneer heroes

These names have been symbols of children's heroism for more than half a century. Symbols of courage and bravery. They fought in different places, accomplished feats of different circumstances, all of them were partisans and all were posthumously awarded the country's highest award - the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. When Zina Portnova was 15 years old, the war began. At this time she was in summer holidays in Belarus. After the invasion of the German army, she ended up in the occupied territory and became a member of the underground partisan organization Young Avengers. Participated in sabotage operations against the Nazis. Working in a German canteen, where fascist officers ate mostly, she was able to poison the soup. After that, more than a hundred German officers died. Then there were other assignments of the partisan organization. But in 1943, on a tip from a traitor, Zina was caught by the Nazis. During the interrogation, she managed to grab a pistol from the investigator's table and shoot him and two more fascists, tried to escape, but was captured. After that, she was tortured for more than a month, trying to get any information about the Soviet partisans. The girl withstood all the torture. On January 10, Zina was shot. She loved our Motherland and died for it, firmly believing in victory. Zinaida Portnova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Lena Golikov like Zina Portnova, she was 15 years old when the war began. Before the war, he managed to finish seven classes of school and work at a plywood factory. In 1942, Leonid got into a partisan detachment, participated in sabotage operations in the Novgorod and Pskov regions. He especially distinguished himself on August 13, 1942. Together with his partner Alexander Petrov, they blew up the Nazis' car, in which was the German General Wirtz. During the skirmish, Lenya Golikov managed to shoot the general, after which a briefcase with important documents was seized, these were drawings and descriptions of new samples of German mines, inspection reports to higher command and other important military papers. On January 24, 1943, on a tip from traitors, in an unequal battle in the village of Ostraya Luka, Pskov Region, Leonid Golikov died. During the war, they destroyed: 78 Germans, 2 railway and 12 highway bridges, 2 food depots and 10 vehicles with ammunition. For valor and courage he was awarded the Order of Lenin, the Order of the Patriotic War of the 1st degree, the medal "For Courage" and the medal of the Partisan of the Patriotic War of the 2nd degree. Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously).

Vasily Kurka - a young sniper, destroyed 179 German soldiers and officers

On October 23, 1941, he volunteered for the 726th Infantry Regiment of the 395th Infantry Division. At first, because of his small age (besides, Vasily looked younger than his age, was short and thin) was assigned to the rear units. He diligently carried out all the work up to refueling kerosene lamps, and in April 1942 he took sniper courses. And began new life in the regiment of Vasily Kurka. By May 1, 1942, Vasya Kurka passed the exam for the title of "sniper" with excellent marks, and on May 9, 1942 he opened a combat account - he destroyed one Nazi. Having plucked combat experience, Vasily himself could already train novice shooters in sniper business, during the summer of 1943 he trained 59 fighters. Name Vasya Kurki even the enemies knew. They said "that among the Soviet units of General Grechko there is a super-sniper, a sniper - an ace, whose body almost grew together with a rifle." During the war, according to some reports, Vasily destroyed 179 German soldiers and officers. On January 13, 1945, during a fierce battle near the city of Sandomierz (Poland), Lieutenant Vasily Kurka was injured, after which he died.

Tanya Savicheva - the siege of Leningrad, her diary became symbols of the Great Patriotic War

Tanya was born on January 23, 1930 near Gdov. She was the eighth and most youngest child in family. Fate decreed that the entire Savichev family fell into the blockade of Leningrad. During the blockade, Tanya kept a diary in a notebook, during which almost her entire family died. There are nine pages in her diary, six of which contain the death dates of loved ones - mother, grandmother, sister, brother and two uncles. Together with her peers, she collected glass containers for incendiary bottles. Tanya Savicheva died on July 1, 1944. Tanya died never knowing that not all the Savichevs died. Sister Nina and brother Misha survived. In addition to bone tuberculosis, her medical card read: "Scurvy, dystrophy, nervous exhaustion, blindness ..."

Home front children

During the war, there was not a single enterprise where children and teenagers would not work. Mostly children worked on lathes. It did not require special experience or education, but a lot of endurance was needed. Young workers often had to live in barracks at the plant when it came to evacuated enterprises. It was a daily feat that allowed us to quickly increase the pace of production. By the end of 1942, Soviet enterprises reached its pre-war level. Let's remember some children of home front heroes. Anya Karamysheva- young Stakhanovka of the Sverdlovsk Defense Plant. She exceeded the daily norm three times. Each new cartridge made by her brought the long-awaited victory closer. Her colleague, a vocational school graduate Lena Kuchko, began to work on the assembly of mortars. She also overfulfilled the norm three times. Lyosha Elov- electric welder, student of a vocational school. He worked in the tank shop of the Gorky Automobile Plant. The plant stopped the production of cars and launched the production of tanks, armored cars and ammunition. Lyosha was his youngest worker.

Children are heroes of modern Russia

Plotnikova Marina - the first girl hero of the Russian Federation

Marina saved three drowning children at the cost of her own life. June 30, 1991 was a hot day - two younger sisters Zhanna and Lena and their friend Natasha were swimming in the river, but suddenly Natasha Vorobyova moved a little further from the shore and, being at a depth, began to sink. Marina, who saw this, rushed after her and pushed her to the coastal bushes. Turning back, she saw that two sisters, frightened for her, also rushed after her. Once in the whirlpool, Jeanne and Lena began to sink. The girl managed to save them, but she herself, having spent all her strength, died. At the cost of her life, a 17-year-old girl saved the lives of three girls.

Zhenya Tabakov - saved his sister from a rapist

Evgeny Tabakov - the most young hero Russia. Knight of the Order of Courage. Posthumously. On November 28, 2008, in the military town of Noginsk-9, Zhenya defended his sister from a rapist. The criminal broke into the Tabakovs' apartment under the guise of a postman and attacked his twelve-year-old sister Yana. Zhenya was not taken aback, ran to the kitchen, grabbed a knife and hit the rapist. At that moment, the girl managed to break free and run to a neighbor. In response, the offender stabbed Zhenya several times, the wounds were fatal. Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of January 20, 2009 No. For courage and dedication shown in the performance of civic duty Tabakov Evgeny Evgenievich was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage. Read more about this feat

Sasha Ershova - saved a three-year-old girl

On February 14, 2004, a tragedy occurred in the Russian capital - the glass dome in the Transvaal water park collapsed. During the tragedy in the Transvaal water park, 8-year-old Moscow schoolgirl Alexandra Ershova behaved like a real hero - she saved the life of three-year-old Masha Gavrilova. Read more article

Danil Sadykov - saved the boy from the fountain

Danil Sadykov accomplished a feat - at the cost of his life he managed to save a 9-year-old child. The tragedy occurred on May 5, 2012 on Enthusiasts Boulevard. At about two o'clock in the afternoon, 9-year-old Andrei Churbanov decided to get a plastic bottle that had fallen into the fountain. Suddenly he was shocked, the boy lost consciousness and fell into the water. Everyone shouted “help”, but only Danil jumped into the water, who at that moment was passing by on a bicycle. And, seeing that the boy was drowning, he rushed to save him ... Danil Sadykov pulled the victim onto the side, but he himself received a severe electric shock. He died before the ambulance arrived. For the courage and dedication shown in saving a person in extreme conditions, Danil Sadykov was awarded the Order of Courage. Posthumously. These children heroes showed the highest human qualities that are not inherent in many adults. It is on such deeds that our Motherland rests and grows stronger.