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Video: How Soviet women traitors lived during the war, and how their fate developed
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
There are traitors and deserters in any war. It would seem that it does not matter what caused the betrayal - ideological considerations or perceived benefit, betrayal is betrayal. But in the case of women, the situation is always ambiguous, as a rule, not only benefits are involved, but also personal dramas that make their own adjustments. Considering that women in the war were not at all in the same position as men, their fate was very difficult.
Residents of the occupied territories have always found themselves in an ambiguous position. At first, they were forced to somehow get along with the enemy, and then, after the liberation of the territory, to prove that they did not come into too close contact with him, did not provide assistance and assistance to the detriment of their own state. Already six months after the start of the war, an order of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs was created "On the operational security service of the areas liberated from the enemy troops." The document involved checking every surviving resident who came into contact with the invaders. Subsequently, the document included explanations about who to take on the account. Among others were: • women who became the wives of German soldiers; • those who run brothels or brothels; • citizens who worked for the Germans in their institutions, those who provided them services; • persons who left with the Germans voluntarily, as well as members their families.
Needless to say, the position of the inhabitants was between "a rock and a hard place" - if they please the Germans in order to save their lives, then their own state will then rot in the camps. That is why the inhabitants of villages and cities that were captured by the Nazis preferred to behave as if they did not see or understand anything and stay as far away (as far as possible) from the invaders. Anyone who tried to somehow earn money for a piece of bread for himself or his children could be counted among the traitors, often this stigma remained for life.
It was especially difficult for young and attractive women, because the attention of the enemy for them meant certain death. Most of the women who had connections with the Germans shot their own, often pregnant or already with children. German intelligence, as evidence of Russian brutality, collected and preserved data that after the liberation of Eastern Ukraine, 4,000 women were shot for having ties with German soldiers, and three witnesses' testimony was enough for the verdict to be brought into effect. However, among women there were also those who used the attention from the Germans for their own benefit.
Olympida Polyakova
She is Lydia Osipova, went over to the side of the Nazis because of her dislike for the political system that existed in the USSR. Many collaborators switched to the German side precisely for ideological reasons, in the 30s a wave of repression swept across the country, people were intimidated, tiredness from the oppressive constant fear and worries affected. Against this background, the German occupation looked to some as a salvation from the Bolsheviks. Often it was the German side that presented information in this way, thanks to which those who were tired of the Soviet regime willingly supported them.
Together with her husband Polyakov, the journalist and writer Olympiada led a nomadic lifestyle, the head of the family taught mediocre disciplines in mediocre technical schools, periodically working as a watchman. Most likely, this is how they tried to avoid arrest, because they did not sympathize with the authorities.
By the time the war began, the writer was already over 40, then she worked in Pushkin in the newspaper "For the Motherland", the publication was also an occupation one. For the first time, she liked her work, because after the capture by the Germans, she became an anti-Bolshevik mouthpiece. In the same years, she began work on a book, which would later glorify her "The Diary of a Collaborator." In it, she describes in detail that her actions were forced and does not consider them as betrayal, but on the contrary, as a manifestation of patriotism. She considers fascism to be evil, but passing, while the real danger, in her opinion, came from the Bolsheviks. The Polyakov couple quickly became disillusioned with the Germans, and often blamed them behind their backs, but at the same time they did not stop cooperating with them even after the war.
In 1944, she retreated with the Germans and so ended up in Riga and lived in the former apartments of the Jews. The book mentions that other settlers wore things of Jewish women, but she could not bring herself to. From Riga, they went to Germany, where they changed their names to the Osipovs, according to the official version, out of fear of persecution by the Bolsheviks. After the end of the war, Polyakova-Osipova lived for another 13 years, died and was buried in Germany.
Svetlana Gayer
The most controversial story of the "betrayal" of the Motherland. The girl was born in Ukraine, her grandmother was also involved in her upbringing, who came from the noble family of the Bazanovs and spoke excellent German. Before the start of the war, the father of the family was arrested, a year later he returned, but already a completely different, broken man. He told his family about the terrible torments that he had to endure and in many ways this influenced her worldview and value system.
She graduated from high school with a gold medal and entered the Faculty of Western European Languages, but that was 1941 and her fate in the end turned out to be completely different from what it could have. Her mother refused to be evacuated, stating that she would not go with her daughter's father's killers, but she was given a choice. She stayed in Kiev. On the street, she accidentally met the German commander-in-chief, and he offered her a job as an interpreter. Her fate hung in the balance many times, because a young girl with excellent knowledge of the language attracted the attention of the Gestapo, she was summoned for interrogation. But there were always people who extended a helping hand to her, and from the German side. She has repeatedly emphasized that she has deep respect for this nationality and her gift to the Germans was the translation of Dostoevsky's five major novels.
By the time the war ended, she and her mother were already in Germany, Svetlana began to study at the university. Throughout her life, she was engaged not only in translations, becoming an outstanding person in this field, but also taught Russian at universities.
She was repeatedly asked about the differences between the Nazi and Stalinist regimes, in her opinion there are similarities between them. Remembering her father, she drew a parallel between how her father looked after his arrest in the NKVD and the prisoners of concentration camps, and emphasized that murderers are murderers, no matter what country they belonged to and what nationality they were.
Antonina Makarova
The girl, who was destined to become that very Tonka - a machine gunner, was born in a large family. Her favorite heroine of the film was Anka the machine gunner, it was under the impression of her that she volunteered for the front, as soon as she was 19 years old. Soon enough, she is captured, from which she flees along with the soldier Nikolai Fedchuk. Together they made their way to "their own", although Tonya was sure that they were looking for partisans to join them, and Nikolai intended to return home, but did not inform his companion. When they got to the soldier's homeland, he left her and went to his wife and children, despite all the pleas not to leave her. In the village, she did not take root and again went to the front, wandering through the forest, and was captured for the second time.
Tonya cheated, falling into the hands of the police, began to vilify the Soviet regime in order to have at least some chance of survival. The Germans entrusted her with all the most difficult work of killing women, children, old people. Every evening she emptied the barn, which could hold up to 27 people, shooting prisoners, then got drunk and spent the night with one of the policemen. The rumor about the cruel Tone quickly spread, a real hunt was announced for her.
After the hospital, where she ended up with syphilis, she was sent to a German concentration camp, but the Red Army was no longer approached. She managed to get a nurse ticket and pretend to be a nurse. In the hospital, she met her husband and took his last name. Together with him, they left for a Belarusian city, gave birth to two daughters, she worked in a garment factory and was respected by her colleagues.
However, she did not manage to get away from punishment, in the 70s the process of searching for women executioners was intensified. For a year, Antonina was followed, they tried to talk, when there was enough evidence, an arrest followed. She did not admit what she had done, and her husband and children, having learned the truth, left the city. At the end of the investigation, she was shot.
Seraphima Sitnik
In 1943, communications chief Serafima Sitnik was wounded and captured after the plane in which she was flying crashed. During the first interrogation, the rude and assertive Seraphima said that she would not talk to those who killed her mother and child. The Germans took this chance and found out the address where her family lived. It turned out that the relatives were alive. Meeting with them became a turning point in the fate of a woman soldier. She agreed to cooperate.
The serious injury she received did not allow her to fly further, however, she fought in the ranks of the Russian Liberation Army. Seraphima's spouse Yuri Nemtsevich at this time mourned, as he thought, his deceased wife. He even wrote on his plane: "For Sima Stinik" and fought even more desperately for himself and his deceased wife. What was the surprise of the spouse and former colleagues when they soon heard the voice of the missing Sima from the speaker, she called to surrender and go over to the side of the enemy. It is difficult to imagine what her husband experienced at this moment, but his wife's betrayal did not destroy his military career, he rose to the rank of general.
As for the fate of Seraphima herself, it is known that she did not live long, her role ended there, and she herself was shot.
Vera Pirozhkova
A colleague and ideological ally of Olympiada Polyakova, she saw the German occupation as a way to get rid of Soviet oppression and become freer. She was born and raised in an intelligent family, repression, persecution and restrictions, which were so widespread in the country during this period, were especially painful and difficult for her. In her book, she enthusiastically described how the cultural life of her hometown flourished after it was captured. She ridiculed and even despised those who did not see the advantages of the Nazi regime. She worked in the same newspaper with Olympiada Polyakova "For the Motherland" and was one of the famous authors who glorified the Germans. Later she became the editor of the publication.
By the end of the war, she fled to Germany, but life there did not work out, after the union broke up, she returned to her homeland.
Various reasons pushed women to take the side of Germany in this war, but most of them remained true to themselves, and only then chose whose ideas they should fight for. In the end, they, like the most ordinary Soviet women, did not want much - a quiet family life, a beloved spouse and children, a beautiful house, and not to defend someone's ideas at the cost of their own lives.
Today there is a lot of controversy about how lived the captured Germans in the Soviet camps after the victory of the USSR in the war.
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