The article is devoted short biography Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya is a girl who became famous for her feat during the Great Patriotic War and until the end of her tragic death maintained courage and faith in victory.
Brief biography of Kosmodemyanskaya: childhood and youth
Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was born in 1923 in a small village. As a child, she moved with her family to Siberia. IN early years I was sick a lot and seriously. Despite this, she studied excellently; knowledge came easily to her.
The outbreak of war interrupted my studies. Zoya and her brother began a harsh working life.
Many young people were then seized by a patriotic impulse. Zoya went to the front on her own. The girl was taken to school to train saboteurs. Only volunteers were taken for training, who were immediately warned of the high probability of death. The youth of that time were distinguished by incredible heroism, so a huge number of people responded to the call. Volunteers underwent strict medical control. As a result, about two thousand people were selected. The training was extensive and included mastery of all types of weapons, terrain orientation, and psychological training.
Kosmodemyanskaya, as part of a sabotage group, successfully carried out the first military operation against the German invaders, which consisted of mining roads behind enemy lines.
Feat of Kosmodemyanskaya
At the end of November 1941, group commanders received the task of burning several villages in which German units were located. During the mission, Kosmodemyanskaya’s group came across an ambush. After a short battle with superior enemy forces, the group was scattered. Only three participants in the sabotage managed to get together, among whom was Zoya. In an effort to complete the assigned task, the saboteurs entered the village of Petrishchevo. Kosmodemyanskaya managed to set fire to three houses, after which she disappeared into the forest and spent the night there. The next day, waiting until dark, the girl returned to the village to finish the job she had started.
The German soldiers stationed in the village were ready for repeated sabotage. They strengthened security and involved some of the local residents in this. Kosmodemyanskaya was setting fire to a barn with hay when a peasant hired by the Germans noticed her. He hastily called German soldiers, who surrounded the barn and took the partisan prisoner.
Zoya was subjected brutal torture, but did not even give out her name, calling the pseudonym “Tanya”. The girl was publicly hanged. Even with a noose draped around her neck, she continued to talk about the inevitable victory of the Soviet people. Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat became widely known in the Soviet Union. She was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the USSR.
Many citizens were proud of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya’s feat Soviet Union, he inspired people to continue the irreconcilable struggle against the invaders. A young girl gave her life, carrying out, although insignificant on a national scale, but in its own way an important task. From millions of acts of resistance to Hitler’s troops, a common Great Victory ultimately emerged.
Controversy surrounding the feat
During Perestroika, it was fashionable to revise the history of the Soviet period. At the same time, along with the truly necessary, revealing the hidden truth, historical research, a large number of unfounded lies appeared. Denigration of the exploits and achievements of the Soviet era was especially popular. This trend did not bypass the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
Suggestions were made about the girl’s mental instability, that in fact there were no Germans at all in the village of Petrishchevo, that Zoya did not receive any orders, but went without permission to burn peasant houses. A softer point of view was that under the name Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya there was hiding a completely different partisan who remained unknown.
All these speculations have no basis and are designed to be effective. It is always easier to criticize and question the merits of others than to do something worthwhile yourself.
A special commission worked on the Kosmodemyanskaya case, all the circumstances were carefully studied, and witnesses were questioned. There are photographs of the execution taken by the Germans. Zoya's mother recognized them as her daughter. All documentary materials confirm the authenticity of the feat.
The only thing that can downplay the significance of the feat is the very nature of the order, which consists in setting fire to the houses of the Russian population. But the girl did not think about the moral significance of her actions; she completely believed in the correctness of the government’s decisions. The burning of houses housing German soldiers was caused by dire military necessity. Zoya, even if she wanted, could not dispute decision made. She was able to do more - give her life to achieve victory. This is her feat, which should never be forgotten.
This is a story about the feat of a simple Moscow schoolgirl, a story about Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. About the courage and heroism of an ordinary Soviet girl as presented famous writer Sergei Alekseev.
The highway runs like a gray ribbon to the west. Cars are rushing along the highway. 85th kilometer from Moscow. Look to the left. Marble pedestal. A girl froze on the pedestal. Hands are tied. Proud, open look.
This is a monument to Zoya. Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
Zoya studied at a Moscow school. When the enemy began to approach Moscow, she entered into partisan detachment. The girl crossed the front line and joined the people's avengers. Many residents of the Moscow region rose up against the fascists then.
Zoya fell in love with the squad. She bravely endured all the hardships and hardships of a dangerous life. “Partisan Tanya” - that’s what Zoya was called in the detachment.
A large fascist detachment stopped in the village of Petrishchevo. At night, Zoya entered Petrishchevo and cut telephone wires and set fire to the houses where the Nazis were staying. Two days later Zoya came to Petrishchevo again. But the enemies captured the young partisan.
Zoya was interrogated by the division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Rüderer:
- Who are you?
- I won’t tell.
- Did you set the houses on fire?
— What are your goals?
- Destroy you.
They started beating Zoya. They demanded that she give up her comrades, tell where she came from, who sent her on the mission.
“No,” “I don’t know,” “I won’t tell,” “No,” Zoya answered.
And the beatings began again.
At night Zoya was subjected to new tortures. Almost naked, in only her underwear, she was driven out into the street several times and forced to walk barefoot in the snow.
- Tell me, who are you? Who sent you? Where did you come from?
Zoya didn't answer.
In the morning Zoya was taken to execution. They set it up in the center of the village on the village square. Residents were herded to the place of execution.
The girl was led to the gallows. They put it on the box. They put a noose around my neck.
The last minute, the last moment of a young life. How to use this moment? How to remain a fighter until the end?
The commandant was preparing to give the command. He raised his hand, but stopped. At that time, one of the fascists leaned towards the camera. The commandant became dignified - he needed to look worthy in the photo. And at this time...
The fascist standing nearby ran up to Zoya and wanted to hit him, but the girl pushed him away with her foot.
“I’m not afraid to die, comrades,” said Zoya. “It’s happiness to die for your people.” “And, turning slightly, she shouted to her tormentors: “There are two hundred million of us.” You can't outweigh everyone. Victory will still be ours!
The commandant twitched. I gave the command with my hand...
Minsk highway. 85th kilometer from Moscow. Monument to the heroine. People who came to worship Zoya. Blue sky. Space. Flowers...
Booker Igor 12/02/2013 at 19:00
From time to time, attempts are made to denigrate the feat of truly folk heroes Soviet era. The selfless 18-year-old Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya did not escape this fate. How many tubs of dirt were poured on it in the early 90s, but time has washed away this foam too. These days, 72 years ago, Zoya died the death of a martyr, sacredly believing in her Motherland and its future.
Is it possible to defeat a people who, retreating, leave the enemy scorched earth? Is it possible to bring people to their knees if women and children, unarmed, are ready to rip the throat of a hefty fellow? To defeat such heroes, you need to try to make sure that they no longer exist. And there are two ways - forced sterilization of mothers or castration of the people's memory. When the enemy came to Holy Rus', he was always opposed by people of High Faith. IN different years she changed the outer coverings, for a long time inspiring the Christ-loving army, and then fought under red flags.
It is significant that the first of the women who during the Great Patriotic War was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously); she was born into a family of hereditary priests. Zoya Anatolyevna bore the surname Kozmodemyanskaya, common for Orthodox clergy. The surname owes its origin to the holy miracle-working brothers Cosmas and Damian. Among the Russian people, the unmercenary Greeks were quickly remade in their own way: Kozma or Kuzma and Damian. Hence the surname that Orthodox priests bore. Zoya’s grandfather, the priest of the Znamenskaya Church in the Tambov village of Osino-Gai, Pyotr Ioannovich Kozmodemyansky, was drowned by the Bolsheviks in a local pond in the summer of 1918 after severe torture. Already in Soviet years The usual spelling of the surname - Kosmodemyansky - has also become established. The son of a martyr priest and the father of the future heroine, Anatoly Petrovich, first studied at the theological seminary, but was forced to leave it.
In 2015, all of humanity will celebrate the end of one of the most terrible wars in its history. The Soviet people suffered especially much in the early 1940s, and it was the inhabitants of the USSR who showed the world examples of unprecedented heroism, perseverance and love for the Motherland. For example, to this day the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya has not been forgotten, summary whose history is presented below.
Background
On November 17, 1941, when the Nazis were on the outskirts of Moscow, a decision was made to use Scythian tactics against the invaders. In this regard, an order was issued ordering the destruction of all populated areas behind enemy lines in order to deprive him of the opportunity to winter in comfortable conditions. To carry out the order, several sabotage groups were formed from among the fighters of the special partisan unit 9903 in the shortest possible time. This military unit, specially created at the end of October 1941, consisted mainly of Komsomol volunteers who passed a strict selection. In particular, each of the young people was interviewed and they were warned that they would have to carry out tasks involving mortal risk.
Family
Before telling who Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya was, whose feat made her a symbol of the heroism of the Soviet people, it is worth knowing a few interesting facts about her parents and other ancestors. So, the first woman to receive a title during the Second World War was born into a family of teachers. However, for a long time the fact was hidden that the girl’s paternal ancestors were clergy. It is interesting that in 1918, her grandfather, who was a priest in the church of the village of Osino-Gai, where Zoya was later born, was brutally tortured and drowned in a pond by the Bolsheviks. The Kosmodemyansky family spent some time in Siberia, as the girl’s parents feared arrest, but soon returned and settled in the capital. Three years later, Zoya's father died, and she and her brother found themselves in the care of their mother.
Biography
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, the whole truth and lies about whose feat became known to the public relatively recently, was born in 1923. After returning from Siberia, she studied at school No. 201 in Moscow and was especially interested in humanitarian subjects. The girl’s dream was to enter the university, but she was destined for a completely different fate. In 1940, Zoya suffered a severe form of meningitis and underwent a rehabilitation course at a specialized sanatorium in Sokolniki, where she met Arkady Gaidar.
When in 1941 a recruitment of volunteers was announced to staff the partisan unit 9903, Kosmodemyanskaya was one of the first to go for an interview and successfully passed it. After that, she and about 2,000 other Komsomol members were sent to special courses, and then transferred to the Volokolamsk region.
The feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya: summary
On November 18, the commanders of two sabotage groups HF No. 9903, P. Provorov and B. Krainov, received orders to destroy 10 settlements located behind enemy lines within a week. As part of the first of them, Red Army soldier Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya went on a mission. The groups were fired upon by the Germans near the village of Golovkovo, and due to heavy losses they had to unite under the command of Krainov. Thus, the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was accomplished in the late autumn of 1941. More precisely, on your own last task The girl went to the village of Petrishchevo on the night of November 27 along with the group commander and fighter Vasily Klubkov. They set fire to three residential buildings along with the stables, while destroying 20 horses of the invaders. In addition, witnesses subsequently spoke about another feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. It turns out that the girl was incapacitated, making it impossible for some German units occupying positions near Moscow to interact.
Captivity
An investigation into the events that occurred in Petrishchev at the end of November 1941 showed that Krainov did not wait for Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya and Vasily Klubkov and returned to his own. The girl herself, not finding her comrades at the appointed place, decided to continue carrying out the order on her own and went to the village again on the evening of November 28. This time she failed to carry out the arson, as she was captured by the peasant S. Sviridov and handed over to the Germans. The Nazis, enraged by the constant sabotage, began to torture the girl, trying to find out from her how many other partisans were operating in the Petrishchevo area. Investigators and historians, whose subject of study was the immortal feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, also established that two local residents took part in her beating, whose houses she set on fire the day before she was captured.
Execution
On the morning of November 29, 1941, Kosmodemyanskaya was led to the place where the gallows were built. There was a sign hanging around her neck with an inscription in German and Russian, which said that the girl was a house arsonist. On the way, Zoya was attacked by one of the peasant women who had been left without a home due to her fault, and hit her in the legs with a stick. Then several German soldiers began to photograph the girl. Subsequently, the peasants, who were brought in to see the execution of the saboteur, told the investigators about another feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. The summary of their testimony is as follows: before they threw a noose around her neck, the fearless patriot made a short speech in which she called for fighting the fascists, and ended it with words about the invincibility of the Soviet Union. The girl's body was on the gallows for about a month and was buried by local residents only on the eve of the New Year.
Recognition of a feat
As already mentioned, immediately after Petrishchevo was liberated, a special commission arrived there. The purpose of her visit was to identify the corpse and interrogate those who saw with their own eyes the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. Briefly, all the testimony was recorded on paper and sent to Moscow for further investigation. After studying these and other materials, the girl was personally posthumously awarded by Stalin high rank Hero of the Soviet Union. The order was published by all newspapers published in the USSR, and the whole country learned about it.
"Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya", M. M. Gorinov. New details about the feat
After the collapse of the USSR, many “sensational” articles appeared in the press, in which everything and everyone was blackened. This cup has not passed from Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya. As noted famous explorer Russian and Soviet history M. M. Gorinov, one of the reasons for this was the suppression and falsification of some facts of the biography of a brave girl during the Soviet period for ideological reasons. In particular, since it was considered a disgrace for a Red Army soldier, including Zoya, to be captured, a version was floated that her partner, Vasily Klubkov, had betrayed her. During the first interrogations, this young man did not report anything like this. But then he suddenly decided to confess and said that he had indicated her location to the Germans in exchange for her life. And this is just one example of juggling facts in order not to tarnish the image of the heroine-martyr, although Zoya’s feat did not require such correction at all.
Thus, when cases of falsification and suppression of the truth became known to the general public, some unfortunate journalists, in pursuit of cheap sensations, began to present them in a distorted form. In particular, in order to belittle the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, a summary of the history of which is presented above, emphasis was placed on the fact that she underwent a course of therapy in a sanatorium specializing in the treatment of nervous diseases. Moreover, like in the children’s game “damaged phone,” the diagnosis changed from publication to publication. So, if in the first “revelatory” articles it was written that the girl was unbalanced, then in subsequent ones they began to call her almost a schizophrenic, who, even before the war, had repeatedly set fires
Now you know what the feat of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was, which is quite difficult to talk about briefly and without emotion. After all, no one can be indifferent to the fate of an 18-year-old girl who accepted martyrdom for the liberation of her homeland.
On November 29, 1941, partisan Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya was hanged by the Nazis. This happened in the village of Petrishchevo, Moscow region. The girl was 18 years old.
Wartime heroine
Every time has its own heroes. The heroine of the Soviet war period was Komsomol member Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who volunteered for the front as a schoolgirl. Soon she was sent to a sabotage and reconnaissance group, which acted on instructions from the headquarters of the Western Front.
Kosmodemyanskaya became the first woman during the Second World War to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union (posthumously). At the site of the fatal events there is a monument with the words “Zoe, the immortal heroine of the Soviet people.”
Tragic exit
On November 21, 1941, groups of our volunteers went beyond the front line with the task of committing arson in several populated areas. Repeatedly, the groups came under fire: some of the fighters died, others got lost. As a result, three people remained in the ranks, ready to carry out the order given to the sabotage group. Among them was Zoya.
After the girl was captured by the Germans (according to another version, she was caught by local residents and handed over to the enemies), the Komsomol member was subjected to severe torture. After prolonged torture, Kosmodemyanskaya was hanged on Petrishchevskaya Square.
Last words
Zoya was taken outside, hanging from her chest wooden sign with the inscription "House Arsonist". The Germans rounded up almost all the villagers to execute the girl.
According to eyewitnesses, the last words of the partisan addressed to the executioners were: “You will hang me now, but I am not alone. There are two hundred million of us. You cannot hang everyone. You will be avenged for me!”
The body hung in the square for about a month, frightening local residents and amusing German soldiers: drunken fascists stabbed dead Zoya with bayonets.
Before retreating, the Germans ordered the gallows to be removed. Locals They hastened to bury the partisan, who was suffering even after death, outside the village.
Fighting girlfriend
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya has become a symbol of heroism, dedication and patriotism. But she was not the only one: at that time hundreds of volunteers were going to the front - young enthusiasts like Zoya. They left and did not return.
Almost at the same time when Kosmodemyanskaya was executed, her friend from the same sabotage group, Vera Voloshina, tragically died. The Nazis beat her half to death with rifle butts and then hanged her near the village of Golovkovo.
"Who was Tanya"
People started talking about the fate of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya after the publication of Pyotr Lidov’s article “Tanya” in the Pravda newspaper in 1942. According to the owner of the house in which the saboteur was tortured, the girl steadfastly endured the bullying, never asked for mercy, did not give out information and called herself Tanya.
There is a version that it was not Kosmodemyanskaya who was hiding under the pseudonym “Tanya”, but another girl - Lilya Azolina. Journalist Lidov, in the article “Who Was Tanya,” soon reported that the identity of the deceased had been established. The grave was excavated and an identification procedure was carried out, which confirmed that it was Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya who was killed on November 29.
In May 1942, Kosmodemyanskaya’s ashes were transferred to the Novodevichy cemetery.
Name flower
Streets were named in honor of the young partisan who accomplished the feat (in Moscow there are Alexander and Zoya Kosmodemyansky streets), monuments and memorials were erected. There are other, more interesting objects dedicated to the memory of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
For example, there are asteroids No. 1793 “Zoya” and No. 2072 “Kosmodemyanskaya” (according to the official version, it was named after the girl’s mother, Lyubov Timofeevna).
In 1943, a lilac variety was named in honor of the heroine of the Soviet people. "Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya" has light lilac flowers collected in large inflorescences. According to Chinese wisdom, lilac color is a symbol of positive spiritual strength and individuality. But among the African tribe this color is associated with death...
Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, who accepted martyrdom in the name of patriotic ideals, will forever remain a model vital energy and courage. Whether it’s a real heroine or a military image - it’s probably not so important anymore. It is important to have something to believe in, someone to remember and something to be proud of.
