Video: The Legend of Soviet Intelligence: Why Hitler Declared Nadezhda Troyan His Personal Enemy
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
October 24 marks the 98th anniversary of the birth of the legendary Soviet intelligence officer Nadezhda Troyan. At 22, she became a Hero of the Soviet Union, taking part in the preparation and conduct of the operation to destroy Hitler's governor in occupied Belarus, Gauleiter Wilhelm Cuba. These events formed the basis of the plot of the film "The clock stopped at midnight", and Nadezhda Troyan herself became a living legend of Soviet intelligence. Why Hitler declared the girl his personal enemy, and how her fate developed in the post-war period - further in the review.
Nadezhda Troyan was born in the Belarusian town of Drissa (later - Verkhnedvinsk), Vitebsk region. Her father fought during the First World War, was a Knight of the St. George Cross, and her mother was engaged in housekeeping. Nadezhda was proud of her roots and said that her surname, translated from Belarusian, is a pitchfork with three prongs. True, she did not live in her homeland for long - her parents moved from city to city in search of work, she studied at school in Krasnoyarsk, then entered the Moscow Medical Institute at the sanitary and hygienic faculty, and then transferred to Minsk. There she was found by the Great Patriotic War.
During her school years, Nadezhda showed great ability in learning foreign languages and knew German perfectly. When Minsk was occupied by the Nazis, the girl distributed leaflets and dreamed of getting in touch with the partisans. She saw no other way for herself. "", - said Nadezhda. Once she heard a conversation in German, from which it followed that the next day an operation was scheduled to destroy a local partisan detachment, and passed this information to her friend, nurse Nyura Kosarevskaya - according to Nadezhda's guess, she was involved in the partisan movement. Thanks to her warning, the detachment managed to escape, and a few days later Nyura told her friend that the partisans were ready to meet with her.
Soon the whole family of Nadezhda moved to the reconnaissance and sabotage "Uncle Kolya's Brigade". Nadezhda participated in rail operations - together with other partisans, she derailed enemy trains, performed reconnaissance missions, provided medical assistance to the wounded, fired a machine gun, participating in attacks on enemy columns.
In 1943, Stalin gave the order to destroy the Hitlerite governor in Belarus, Wilhelm Kuba. For 2 years, according to his instructions, 400 thousand of Nadezhda's compatriots were destroyed. It was widely known for his appeal to his fighters: "".
Hunting in Cuba was conducted by more than 10 detachments - both special forces of the NKVD, and the intelligence department of the Red Army, and partisan detachments. However, several attempts to assassinate his life were unsuccessful - Wilhelm Kube was very careful. The Germans even called the Gauleiter "lucky Cuba." Once partisans blew up in one of the Minsk theaters, as a result of which 70 fascists were killed and 110 more were wounded, but it turned out that Cuba left the theater a few minutes before the explosion. Another time, an explosion thundered during a banquet, 36 high-ranking Nazi officials were killed, but the Gauleiter remained invulnerable again.
The partisan detachment of Nadezhda Troyan chose one of the most difficult and dangerous paths - to find approaches to the mansion where the Gauleiter lived. Of course, his home was carefully guarded, but the partisans counted on Nadezhda's talent to gain confidence in people and win them over to themselves. In addition, in all operations, she showed incredible composure for a 20-year-old girl.
The girl lived up to expectations - she managed to establish contact with the maid who worked in the Cuba mansion, Elena Mazanik, and persuade her to give the partisans the layout of the rooms and other important information about the inhabitants of the house. Elena was rarely released from the house, and she came up with an excuse - she allegedly went to the doctor to treat her teeth, while she herself met with Nadezhda at that time. A member of another military intelligence detachment, Maria Osipova, handed the maid an English magnetic mine with a clock mechanism, which Elena fixed under the bed of Wilhelm Cuba. An explosion occurred during the night, and Hitler's governor was destroyed.
Still not knowing about the success of the operation, Nadezhda Troyan, meanwhile, had to carry another mine for Mazanik, hidden in the cake, into the cordoned off city. Already on the spot, she learned that the Nazis were looking for the participants in the assassination, but, despite the increased danger, she took the risk and did not get rid of the mine, knowing that it would be useful to the partisans. She managed to go through all the posts and return to her squad.
After the murder of Cuba, mourning began in Germany, and Hitler declared all three girls who participated in the destruction of his governor as his personal enemies. However, Nadezhda Troyan, Elena Mazanik and Maria Osipova managed to be transported to Moscow, where in October 1943 they were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union - "For exemplary performance of a combat mission behind enemy lines and for their courage and heroism." Later, Nadezhda was also awarded the Orders of the Red Banner of Labor, the First Class of the Patriotic War, the Red Star, Friendship of Peoples and medals.
After the end of the war, Nadezhda Troyan decided to continue her studies at the Institute. Sechenov, received a diploma in 1947, married a war correspondent Vasily Koroteev, gave birth to two sons. Later she defended her thesis, became an assistant professor of the department of hospital surgery and vice-rector at the same institute. Troyan was a practicing surgeon who performed many operations. In addition, Nadezhda Viktorovna was actively involved in social activities, worked in the committees of war veterans and the defense of peace, was a co-chairman of the International Organization for Health Education and a member of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
On September 7, 2011 Nadezhda Troyan passed away one and a half months before her 90th birthday. She lived a long, difficult life, full of trials, which she managed to overcome with honor. She was called a living legend of Soviet intelligence, but even after the feat accomplished in the war, she continued to serve people and help thousands of veterans in peaceful life.
Until now, the fates of these extraordinary women amaze and delight: 9 fatal Soviet intelligence officers.
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