FACES OF WAR

Second occupation

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FACES OF WAR

The World War II has left an indelible mark in the history of our country and our city. Rostov-on-Don is among the top ten the most affected cities.

NOVEMBER 1941

Bloody
Week

November 1941 — 27^th month of the World War II. A profound crisis in which the Red Army was has not yet been overcome:
the Germans continued to advance in all strategic directions.

On November 5, units of the Army Group "South" led by Field Marshal von Rundstedt, launched an active offensive towards Rostov-on-Don. The main objective of the offensive was Caucasus and its oil. The city was protected by the 56^th Army led by General Remezov.

10 000 000

sq.m. of soil was dug out during the construction of fortifications.

Tens of thousands of residents of Rostov during the construction of fortifications and defenses dug anti-tank ditches and escarps, trenches and shelters for the military equipment, dugouts and observation posts.

Mikhail Vdovin

resident of Rostov-on-Don

10 000 000

sq.m. of soil was dug out during the construction of fortifications.

Tens of thousands of residents of Rostov during the construction of fortifications and defenses dug anti-tank ditches and escarps, trenches and shelters for the military equipment, dugouts and observation posts.

Mikhail Vdovin

resident of Rostov-on-Don

All residents were mobilized for construction of fortifications.
Defenses were built in Rostov and in its suburbs. Working hours norm was declared. If one didn't have a work delivery statement, he wouldn't get a bread-ticket.

— Mikhail Vdovin

Residents of Rostov building fortifications on the outskirts of Rostov.

Mom was going out to dig anti-tank ditches, behind Chkalovskiy. Digging work was mainly assigned to old men and teens.

In 1941 I was 12 years old. My mom had two more children: Sasha - ten, Vera - four, Nadia was one year and eight months only.

— L. Shabalina

We were digging until late night. There and back home - walking. Trams were not operating. Later on, a soldier has told me that trenches didn't stop tanks. A convoy approached, the lead tank shot a trench in one place showering the ground, then dragged it making an exit and entrance, and the convoy continued to advance.

Residents of Rostov building fortifications on the outskirts of Rostov.

All residents were mobilized for construction of fortifications.
Defenses were built in Rostov and in its suburbs. Working hours norm was declared. If one didn't have a work delivery statement, he wouldn't get a bread-ticket.

— Mikhail Vdovin

Mom was going out to dig anti-tank ditches, behind Chkalovskiy. Digging work was mainly assigned to old men and teens.

In 1941 I was 12 years old. My mom had two more children: Sasha - ten, Vera - four, Nadia was one year and eight months only.

— L. Shabalina

We were digging until late night. There and back home - walking. Trams were not operating. Later on, a soldier has told me that trenches didn't stop tanks. A convoy approached, the lead tank shot a trench in one place showering the ground, then dragged it making an exit and entrance, and the convoy continued to advance

I vividly remember the sounds of air raid alerts. On the radio, the speaker's stressed voice endlessly repeats:
Citizen! Air raid alert! Air raid alert!
And factory whistles begun buzzing nastily. Trains begun screaming tearfully and shortly. Longing pulls at heartstrings. The insides go down somewhere. And lips involuntarily whisper a prayer.

— Evgeniy Komissarov

Граждане! Воздушная тревога! Воздушная тревога!

I clearly remember the first "baptism". When walking around I've noticed that passerbys begun to bustle. They look at the sky. I see them, flying! Nine heavy German bombardiers are flying in V formation. Usually during this time everyone cramps closer to shelters, crevices. I as well ran towards my shelter. My dad built it in the yard. It was a real dugout - a trench, covered with wood and logs, showered with soil. There we were storing food, water, candles. In case we get tumbled down. We had an emergency exit. It rested against a fence. We were like gophers; we could watch what was happening on the street through the fence slots by leaning out of the shelter. Later, when the war entered the city, we saw the true value of our construction.

I was already in the yard when I heard the whistle of falling bombs, I ran into the house to warn my parents, and the first bombs began to blast right in our yard. We were about to run to the dugout; however, it was too late. It blasted so hard that it smashed all windows around Separate explosions merged into a single thunder. The house is all shaking. The floor was all of a dither. We holed up in a corner, behind a wardrobe. It drops on us. We hold it with our hands. Mom is crossing herself. Lamp shade is dangling under the ceiling. Plaster is crumbling on our heads. Chunks of soil and stone get in through broken windows. Stench of smoke and gas all over. The feeling of some dumb animal despair. And a thought: "May it end sooner! Any end would do, just end sooner!" When it all ended, we went out to the yard, we saw the yard completely gone. Logs all around. Freshly dug soil all over. The fence is on the ground. Wood hanging on wires. Smoke and burnt stink.

We came into senses and started to sort out: why this German was bombing us that hard, what kind of object did he find here? Realized really quickly: planes were attracted by a very tall pipe sticking out right next to our house. It belonged to a very small foundry. We, all residents of the street, were begging the principle of the "pipe" to take it away, so that it doesn't appeal the German planes as a tasty target. Principle was a dead set on it: "I can't, - he said, - I have a technological process bound to this pipe". We: "To hell with your processes, life of people is worthier". A bomb has settled our dispute. During the next bombing, the pipe was destroyed by a blast wave.

— A. Agafonov

And a thought: "Let it end sooner! Any end would do, just end sooner!"

We were living in a country-side, in a Red city-garden, on 125 2-ya Koltsevaya str. So, I have a view of a "man from country-side".

The city was getting prepared for defense. We had members of a construction battalion stay in our house three times. They were digging trenches and constructing defenses.

They usually had a wheat soup for lunch, they called it "blonde-soup". And said that it makes guts stick together. Back then the food was still available. My mom was bringing home giant carps and roasted them in a box.

Soldiers were coming in the evening all exhausted, cold, and as they said were "warming their hearts with borscht". Among them there was a huge illiterate guy Yasha, he was from Ural. Georgian guy Shota was teaching me how to play on cymbals. There also were Kostya, Vanya, Panteley Karpovich. I asked him: "How many people are in the company?" He was laughing: "A company has choir singers" We became friends. When they left, my mom was corresponding with them. Almost all of them died near Taganrog. Vanya gone missing, Panteley Karpovich returned without a leg - he was telling stories about our residents.

— V. Semina-Kononykhina

"How many soldiers are in the company?"
He was laughing:
"A company has choir singers"

There was no heavy urban warfare in the city. We later saw our tanks knocked out on the streets. I've seen a German whippet. It had its front side of the turret shot through We got inside it and noticed the blood of Germans. Opened a glove compartment, there were thigh-highs, perfume. Looked like Nazis stole them and carried with themselves. Perhaps, gifts for their would-be girlfriends... Our surrounded soldiers were still in the city, residents were hiding them.

— V. Lemeshev

Pelageya Klimova

witness of the first occupation

There was no heavy urban warfare in the city. We later saw our tanks knocked out on the streets. I've seen a German whippet. It had its front side of the turret shot through We got inside it and noticed the blood of Germans. Opened a glove compartment, there were thigh-highs, perfume. Looked like Nazis stole them and carried with themselves. Perhaps, gifts for their would-be girlfriends... Our surrounded soldiers were still in the city, residents were hiding them.

— V. Lemeshev

Pelageya Klimova

witness of the first occupation

There was no urban warfare, despite the city's preparation for defense. We had a barricade on the corner of Voroshilovskiy avenue and Krasnoarmeyskaya street. It was blocking the whole street, although there were small passages for pedestrians inside, and there was an extensible joint for trams to pass. Such barricades were in other places as well. But the thing is nobody was ever using them. When our troops were retreating, cars dragged on. We rarely saw trucks. Barricades did only harm. Retreating soldiers didn't know how to get around them and how to get to the crossing. Although, there was no need for a crossing, Don froze. But how to get to Don? Try getting through one street - blocked, try another - blocked too. The by-pass was quite far. Indeed, we were showing the way. But some were dropping cars.

On the corner of the street there stood one, with shells. When Germans arrived, they ordered to drop them into the anti-tank ditch. It was dug on the other side of the street. There once were private houses, now there is a Regional trade council stationed. We've never seen killed Germans. Although we saw two Red Army soldiers frozen to death on Teatralnaya square. Moreover, one of them was lying in a way as if he was covering his eyes with hands. We looked under his hand, turns out, a bullet got him right between his eyes.

— A. Agafonov

Для нас было интересно: что же это за немцы?

The first occupation was fast and strange. At the beginning, the city was heavily bombarded. And on November 19, 1941 - silence. The only thing we heard: in the area of Bolshiye Saly, from the Voenved direction, and current Northern residential area was a heavy cannonade. That's were Germans were advancing. Our soldiers successfully retreated across the Don. There were no urban warfare and battles for each house. And the images that remained from those days are the images of the seize of Rostov, not it's defense of November 1941. The first seize of Rostov wasn't easy for Germans, thought the city didn't get much damage as well. The mood, especially our, the boys, was kind of unclear. We were wondering: who are these Germans? And if during the first time the German troops entered the city, as they did during the second occupation, we, probably, wouldn't have been afraid of them that much. But those who entered were soldiers of SS, their motorized infantry. They had embroideries on their sleeves: "Adolf Hitler" I saw such embroideries many times. They were matched by height: large, many of them, especially officers, had rings which had a "Death's head" depicted. These rings were made of either silver or aluminum."

— Shagan Chagaev

We were wondering: who are these Germans?

EIGHT BLOODY
DAYS

The first occupation lasted eight days and went down in history as the "bloody week".


The "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler" division executed and tortured hundreds of civilians: old men, women, children, especially in the Proletarskiy district of the city.

Near the house No. 2 of the 1^st Sovetskaya street there was a pile of dead corpses of the residents of this house; 61 people were murdered on the 36-liniya str, near a daycare, on the corner of 40-liniya str Nazis opened fire towards people standing of line for bread, murdered 43 people: old men, women and children; up to 200 residents were shot to death from machine guns by Nazi on Armenian cemetery.

Ruined building in the city center

Debris removal by residents of Rostov-on-Don

Nazi tanks on the streets of Rostov

Ruined building of the Central Department Store

50 people, old men, children indiscriminately — for one Nazi.

All were afraid of Germans: for a small guilt — execution on the spot. Occupants were behaving brutally if their men were killed. One German was murdered close to the forest school on the 34-liniya street, they immediately brought hostages out and executed them. 50 people, old men, children indiscriminately — for one Nazi.

— Yuliya Turbina

The first occupation was sudden. Our family was not able to evacuate and, in the morning, we went out to the balcony. And saw a running Red Army soldier, a boy who was taking off his tunic on the run. He threw his rifle through the fence as well. He was alone, apparently a survivor. He run across the Gorkogo street, and literally after fifteen minutes a column of German motorcycles appeared. There were no less than 50 of them. They all were well-equipped, in helmets, with guns. The impression of this was terrible — poor, torn-apart Red Army soldier and this mechanized, well-armored, powerful column. The feeling was: superhuman arrived, and it will last forever.

— L. Grigoryan

Мы бегали в парк, где лежали трупы расстрелянных.
И у нас родилась тогда отчаянная мысль — отомстить.

The first time we saw Germans was on the corner of the Krasnoarmeyskaya and Voroshilovskiy. It was a motorcycle column. A motorcyclist with an assault rifle sat at the wheel while a machine gunner was in a sidecar body. We had our eyes open wide. We stood as a group: Mishka Guschin, Leonid Zakryzhevskiy and others. We were almost fourteen, already teens. The day was very cold, freezing. Skies covered with dark clouds. And all of that was adding to depressing impression.

One motorcyclist grinned; his grin seemed scary to me. And he shouted: "Stalinjugend". We already knew what Hitlerjugend means. He laughed and showed us: "Poof-poof"... And then, with no jokes, he turned the machine gun turret towards us and fired a burst above our heads. We burst out like sparrows. And immediately got inside the yard. We were choked by a boyish anger: if only we could respond with a rock! A dead-end hatred is especially painful...

— A. Agafonov

And then, with no jokes, he turned the machine gun turret towards us and fired a burst above our heads

On November 21, the second day of occupation, in Novoye poseleniye - the district we were living in, stores were still selling bread in exchange to our tickets. What were the sellers doing with the money afterwards though? There was already nobody to hand the money over to. This also was a sign of a suddenness of the entry of Germans into the city. Germans were held back in the area of Chkalov and Ordzhonikidze villages. They, on the other hand, entered to the city from Khapry, Western junction, through Krasniy city-garden, Botanical garden, went to the station and Novoye poseleniye district. Germans posted orders right away: for weapon storage - execution, for disobeying the occupation authorities - execution, all Jews must re-register. We found out from Germans that there are battles near Moscow in Khimki area, our media never informed us about this. And we never knew that Leningrad is in a blockade for two months already.

— Mikhail Vdovin

ROSTOV
OFFENCIVE
OPERATION

NOVEMBER 1941

ROSTOV
OFFENCIVE
OPERATION

НОЯБРЬ 1941

On November 27, first divisions of the 56^th army forced the Don overice and burst into Rostov, where ferocious urban warfare took place. On November 29, units of the 37^th army breached the German defenses and entered the area north to Sultan-Saly, on the other side, 56^th army overtook the control of Chaltyr. The same day, after a three-day urban warfare, divisions of the 56^th and 9^th armies liberated Rostov-on-Don completely.

Shagan Chagaev

Offencive of Soviet army

witness of Rostov's liberation

Defense line of the Wehrmacht

On November 27, first divisions of the 56^th army forced the Don overice and burst into Rostov, where ferocious urban warfare took place. On November 29, units of the 37^th army breached the German defenses and entered the area north to Sultan-Saly, on the other side, 56^th army overtook the control of Chaltyr. The same day, after a three-day urban warfare, divisions of the 56^th and 9^th armies liberated Rostov-on-Don completely.

Shagan Chagaev

Offencive of Soviet army

witness of Rostov's liberation

Defense line of the Wehrmacht

The first day our soldiers entered the city, a note of the Peoples' Commissariat of Internal Affairs signed by Molotov was released: "On brutal behavior of Nazi-German occupants in Rostov-on-Don" and leaflets: Particularly, the execution of Viya Cherevichkin - a 14-year-old boy from trade school, was reported in the note.

I saw the executed Vitya Cherevichkin, we've been to the spot. However, he wasn't executed on the spot indicated in the leaflet. He was executed in the park named after Frunze. And he was older. That I discovered later, when collecting materials about him for my novel. Back then, we just saw him lying without a headwear as if leaning towards a wall. Bullets ripped patches out of his cotton-padded jacked. He was holding a decapitated pigeon on his hand. Corpses of other pigeons were lying next to him. Later he became legendary. One of the streets was named after him, and a song - "There once lived Vitya Cherevichkin" was composed. Motion picture images and documentary photographs about him were featured at the Nuremberg trials.

— A. Agafonov

Warfare on the streets of Rostov.
Rostov offensive operation

The result of the Rostov offensive operation on November 29, 1941 Rostov was liberated

СASUALTIES

WEHRMACHT

RED ARMY

30 000

33 111

Staff

154

54

Tanks

245

24

Arsenal

93

11

Mortars

1145

12

Motor vehicles

СASUALTIES

WEHRMACHT

RED ARMY

30 000

33 111

Staff

154

54

Tanks

245

24

Arsenal

93

11

Mortars

1145

12

Motor vehicles

Liberation of Rostov in November, 1941 — was Red Army's one of the first successful offensives during the war, which along with the counter-offensive outside Moscow led to the halt of the German offensive on Soviet-German front line in winter.

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With contributions from the Center for support of gifted and talented children "Steps of Success".

Website by — RUFORMAT®

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