The exploits of Soviet heroes that we will never forget.

Roman Smishchuk. Destroyed 6 enemy tanks with hand grenades in one battle

For an ordinary Ukrainian Roman Smishchuk, that fight was the first. In an effort to destroy the company, which took up all-round defense, the enemy brought 16 tanks into battle. At this critical moment, Smishchuk showed exceptional courage: letting the enemy tank close, knocked out its undercarriage with a grenade, and then set it on fire with a throw of a bottle with a Molotov cocktail. Running from trench to trench, Roman Smishchuk attacked the tanks, running towards them, and in this way destroyed six tanks one after another. The personnel of the company, inspired by the feat of Smishchuk, successfully broke through the ring and joined their regiment. For his feat, Roman Semyonovich Smishchuk was awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union with the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star medal. Roman Smishchuk died on October 29, 1969, and was buried in the village of Kryzhopol, Vinnitsa region.

Vanya Kuznetsov. The youngest cavalier of 3 Orders of Glory

Ivan Kuznetsov went to the front at the age of 14. Vanya received his first medal "For Courage" at the age of 15 for his heroic deeds in the battles for the liberation of Ukraine. He reached Berlin, showing courage beyond his years in a number of battles. For this, already at the age of 17, Kuznetsov became the youngest full cavalier of the Order of Glory of all three levels. Died January 21, 1989.

Georgy Sinyakov. Rescued from captivity hundreds of Soviet soldiers under the "Count of Monte Cristo" system

The Soviet surgeon was captured during the battles for Kiev and, as a prisoner doctor of a concentration camp in Kustrin (Poland), he saved hundreds of prisoners: being a member of the camp underground, he processed documents for them as dead in the hospital of the concentration camp and organized escapes. Most often, Georgy Fedorovich Sinyakov used an imitation of death: he taught the sick to pretend to be dead, declared death, the “corpse” was taken out with other really dead and thrown into a ditch nearby, where the prisoner “resurrected”. In particular, Dr. Sinyakov saved the life and helped the Hero of the Soviet Union, pilot Anna Egorova, who was shot down in August 1944 near Warsaw, escape from the plan. Sinyakov lubricated her purulent wounds with fish oil and a special ointment, from which the wounds looked fresh, but in fact healed well. Then Anna recovered and, with the help of Sinyakov, escaped from the concentration camp.

Matthew Putilov. At the age of 19, at the cost of his life, he connected the ends of a broken wire, restoring the telephone line between the headquarters and the detachment of fighters

In October 1942, the 308th Rifle Division fought in the area of ​​the plant and the working settlement "Barrikada". On October 25, communication was interrupted and Major Dyatleko ordered Matvey to restore the wired telephone connection connecting the regiment headquarters with a group of fighters, who for the second day the fighters held the house surrounded by the enemy. Two previous unsuccessful attempts to restore communication ended in the death of signalmen. Putilov was wounded in the shoulder by a fragment of a mine. Overcoming the pain, he crawled to the place where the wire was broken, but was wounded a second time: his arm was crushed. Losing consciousness and not being able to use his hand, he squeezed the ends of the wires with his teeth, and a current passed through his body. Communication has been restored. He died with the ends of telephone wires clamped in his teeth.

Marionella Queen. She carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield

19-year-old actress Gulya Koroleva in 1941 voluntarily went to the front and ended up in the medical battalion. In November 1942, during the battle for height 56.8 in the area of ​​the Panshino farm in the Gorodishchensky district (Volgograd region of the Russian Federation), Gulya literally carried 50 seriously wounded soldiers from the battlefield on her own. And then, when the moral strength of the fighters dried up, she herself went on the attack, where she was killed. Songs were composed about the feat of Guli Koroleva, and her dedication was an example for millions of Soviet girls and boys. Her name is carved in gold on the banner of military glory on Mamayev Kurgan, a village in the Sovietsky district of Volgograd and a street are named after her. Gulya Koroleva is dedicated to the book by E. Ilyina "The Fourth Height"

Koroleva Marionella (Gulya), Soviet film actress, heroine of the Great Patriotic War

Vladimir Khazov. The tanker who alone destroyed 27 enemy tanks

On the personal account of a young officer, 27 destroyed enemy tanks. For services to the Motherland, Khazov was awarded the highest award - in November 1942 he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. He especially distinguished himself in the battle in June 1942, when Khazov received an order to stop the advancing enemy tank column, which consisted of 30 vehicles, near the village of Olkhovatka (Kharkov region, Ukraine), while in the platoon of Senior Lieutenant Khazov there were only 3 combat vehicles. The commander made a bold decision: let the column through and start firing from the rear. Three T-34s opened aimed fire at the enemy, settling into the tail of the enemy column. From frequent and accurate shots, German tanks caught fire one after another. In this battle, which lasted a little over an hour, not a single enemy vehicle survived, and the platoon in full force returned to the battalion. As a result of the fighting in the Olkhovatka area, the enemy lost 157 tanks and stopped his attacks in this direction.

Alexander Mamkin. The pilot who evacuated 10 children at the cost of his life

During the air evacuation of children from the Polotsk Orphanage No. 1, whom the Nazis wanted to use as blood donors for their soldiers, Alexander Mamkin made a flight that we will always remember. On the night of April 10-11, 1944, ten children, their teacher Valentina Latko and two wounded partisans fit into his R-5 plane. At first, everything went well, but when approaching the front line, Mamkin's plane was shot down. The R-5 was on fire… If Mamkin was alone on board, he would have gained altitude and jumped out with a parachute. But he did not fly alone and led the plane further ... The flame reached the cockpit. Flight glasses melted from the temperature, he flew the plane almost blindly, overcoming the hellish pain, he still stood firmly between the kids and death. Mamkin was able to land the plane on the shore of the lake, he himself was able to get out of the cockpit and asked: “Are the children alive?” And I heard the voice of the boy Volodya Shishkov: “Comrade pilot, don’t worry! I opened the door, everyone is alive, we go out ... ”Momkin lost consciousness, a week later he died ... The doctors could not explain how a person could drive the car and even safely plant it, glasses were melted into his face, and only his legs were left bones.

Alexey Maresiev. Test pilot who returned to the front and to combat sorties after amputation of both legs

On April 4, 1942, in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe so-called "Demyansky Cauldron", during an operation to cover bombers in a battle with the Germans, Maresyev's plane was shot down. For 18 days, the pilot, wounded in the legs, first on crippled legs, and then crawled to the front line, eating tree bark, cones and berries. Due to gangrene, his legs were amputated. But even in the hospital, Alexei Maresyev began to train, preparing to fly with prostheses. In February 1943 he made the first test flight after being wounded. Got sent to the front. On July 20, 1943, during an air battle with superior enemy forces, Alexei Maresyev saved the lives of 2 Soviet pilots and shot down two enemy Fw.190 fighters at once. In total, during the war he made 86 sorties, shot down 11 enemy aircraft: four before being wounded and seven after being wounded.

Rosa Shanina. One of the most formidable lone snipers of the Great Patriotic War

Roza Shanina - Soviet single sniper of a separate platoon of female snipers of the 3rd Belorussian Front, holder of the Order of Glory; one of the first female snipers to receive this award. She was known for her ability to accurately fire at moving targets with a doublet - two shots following each other. On the account of Rosa Shanina, 59 confirmed destroyed enemy soldiers and officers are recorded. The young girl became a symbol of the Patriotic War. Many stories and legends are associated with her name, which inspired new heroes to glorious deeds. She died on January 28, 1945 during the East Prussian operation, protecting the seriously wounded commander of an artillery unit.

Nikolai Skorokhodov. Made 605 sorties. Personally shot down 46 enemy aircraft.

Soviet fighter pilot Nikolai Skorokhodov went through all stages of aviation during the war - he was a pilot, chief pilot, flight commander, deputy commander and squadron commander. He fought on the Transcaucasian, North Caucasian, Southwestern and 3rd Ukrainian fronts. During this time, he made more than 605 sorties, conducted 143 air battles, shot down 46 personally and in a group of 8 enemy aircraft, and also destroyed 3 bombers on the ground. Thanks to his unique skill, Skomorokhov was never wounded, his plane did not burn, was not shot down, and did not receive a single hole during the entire war.

Dzhulbars. Mine detective service dog, participant of the Great Patriotic War, the only dog ​​awarded the medal "For Military Merit"

From September 1944 to August 1945, taking part in mine clearance in Romania, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Austria, a service dog named Dzhulbars discovered 7468 mines and more than 150 shells. Thus, the architectural masterpieces of Prague, Vienna and other cities have survived to this day thanks to the phenomenal instinct of Dzhulbars. The dog also helped the sappers who cleared the grave of Taras Shevchenko in Kanev and the Vladimir Cathedral in Kyiv. On March 21, 1945, Dzhulbars was awarded the medal "For Military Merit" for the successful completion of a combat mission. This is the only case during the war when a dog was awarded a combat award. For military merit, Dzhulbars participated in the Victory Parade, held on Red Square on June 24, 1945.

Dzhulbars, a dog of the mine-detection service, a participant in the Great Patriotic War

Already at 7.00 on May 9, the telethon “Our Victory” begins, and the evening will end with a grandiose festive concert “VICTORY. ONE FOR ALL”, which will start at 20.30. The concert was attended by Svetlana Loboda, Irina Bilyk, Natalia Mogilevskaya, Zlata Ognevich, Viktor Pavlik, Olga Polyakova and other popular Ukrainian pop stars.

During the battles, the children-heroes of the Great Patriotic War did not spare their own lives and marched with the same courage and courage as adult men. Their fate is not limited to exploits on the battlefield - they worked in the rear, promoted communism in the occupied territories, helped supply troops and much more.

There is an opinion that the victory over the Germans is the merit of adult men and women, but this is not entirely true. Children-heroes of the Great Patriotic War made no less contribution to the victory over the regime of the Third Reich and their names should not be forgotten either.

The young pioneer heroes of the Great Patriotic War also acted bravely, because they understood that not only their own lives were at stake, but also the fate of the entire state.

The article will talk about the children-heroes of the Great Patriotic War (1941-1945), more precisely about the seven brave boys who received the right to be called heroes of the USSR.

The stories of child heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 are a valuable source of data for historians, even if the children did not take part in bloody battles with weapons in their hands. Below, in addition, it will be possible to get acquainted with the photos of the pioneer heroes of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, learn about their brave deeds during the hostilities.

All stories about the children-heroes of the Great Patriotic War contain only verified information, their full names and the names of their loved ones have not changed. However, some data may not be true (for example, the exact dates of death, birth), since documentary evidence was lost during the conflict.

Probably the most child-hero of the Great Patriotic War is Valentin Alexandrovich Kotik. The future brave man and patriot was born on February 11, 1930 in a small settlement called Khmelevka, in the Shepetovsky district of the Khmelnytsky region, and studied at the Russian-language secondary school No. 4 of the same town. Being an eleven-year-old boy who was only obliged to study in the sixth grade and learn about life, from the first hours of the confrontation he decided for himself that he would fight the invaders.

When the autumn of 1941 came, Kotik, together with his close comrades, carefully organized an ambush for the policemen of the city of Shepetovka. In the course of a well-thought-out operation, the boy managed to eliminate the head of the policemen by throwing a live grenade under his car.

Around the beginning of 1942, a small saboteur joined a detachment of Soviet partisans who fought during the war deep behind enemy lines. Initially, young Valya was not sent into battle - he was assigned to work as a signalman - a rather important position. However, the young fighter insisted on his participation in the battles against the Nazi invaders, invaders and murderers.

In August 1943, the young patriot, having shown an extraordinary initiative, was accepted into a large and actively operating underground group named after Ustim Karmelyuk under the leadership of Lieutenant Ivan Muzalev. Throughout 1943, he regularly took part in battles, during which he received a bullet more than once, but even despite this, he returned to the front line again, not sparing his life. Valya was not shy about any work, and therefore he also often went on intelligence missions in his underground organization.

One famous feat the young fighter accomplished in October 1943. Quite by chance, Kotik discovered a well-hidden telephone cable, which was not deep underground and was extremely important for the Germans. This telephone cable provided a connection between the headquarters of the Supreme Commander (Adolf Hitler) and occupied Warsaw. This played an important role in the liberation of the Polish capital, since the headquarters of the Nazis had no connection with the high command. In the same year, Kotik helped to blow up an enemy warehouse with ammunition for weapons, and also destroyed six railway trains with the equipment necessary for the Germans, and in which the Kievites were stolen, mining them and blowing them up without remorse.

At the end of October of the same year, the little patriot of the USSR Valya Kotik accomplished another feat. Being part of a partisan grouping, Valya stood on patrol and noticed how enemy soldiers surrounded his group. The cat did not lose his head and first of all killed the enemy officer who commanded the punitive operation, and then raised the alarm. Thanks to such a bold act of this brave pioneer, the partisans managed to react to the environment and were able to fight off the enemy, avoiding huge losses in their ranks.

Unfortunately, in the battle for the city of Izyaslav in mid-February of the following year, Valya was mortally wounded by a shot from a German rifle. The pioneer hero died of his wound the next morning at the age of some 14 years.

The young warrior was buried forever in his hometown. Despite the significance of the exploits of Vali Kotik, his merits were noticed only thirteen years later, when the boy was awarded the title of “Hero of the Soviet Union”, but already posthumously. In addition, Valya was also awarded the "Order of Lenin", the "Red Banner" and the "Patriotic War". Monuments were erected not only in the hero's native village, but throughout the entire territory of the USSR. Streets, orphanages, and so on were named after him.

Pyotr Sergeevich Klypa is one of those who can easily be called a rather controversial personality, who, being a hero of the Brest Fortress and possessing the "Order of the Patriotic War", was also known as a criminal.

The future defender of the Brest Fortress was born at the end of September 1926 in the Russian city of Bryansk. The boy spent his childhood almost without a father. He was a railway worker and died early - the boy was raised only by his mother.

In 1939, Peter was taken to the army by his older brother, Nikolai Klypa, who at that time had already reached the rank of lieutenant of the spacecraft, and under his command was a musical platoon of the 333rd regiment of the 6th rifle division. The young soldier became a pupil of this platoon.

After the Red Army captured the territory of Poland, he, along with the 6th Infantry Division, was sent to the area of ​​the city of Brest-Litovsk. The barracks of his regiment were located close to the famous Brest Fortress. On June 22, Petr Klypa woke up in the barracks already at the time when the Germans began to bomb the fortress and the barracks surrounding it. The soldiers of the 333rd Infantry Regiment, in spite of the panic, were able to give an organized rebuff to the first attack of the German infantry, and young Peter also actively participated in this battle.

From the first day, together with his friend Kolya Novikov, he began to go on reconnaissance in the dilapidated and surrounded fortress and carry out the instructions of his commanders. On June 23, during the next reconnaissance, the young fighters managed to find a whole ammunition depot that was not destroyed by explosions - this ammunition greatly helped the defenders of the fortress. For many more days, Soviet soldiers fought off enemy attacks using this find.

When senior lieutenant Alexander Potapov became the commander of 333-for the time being, he appointed the young and energetic Peter as his contact. He did a lot of good things. Once he brought to the medical unit a large supply of bandages and medicines, which were badly needed by the wounded. Every day, Peter also brought water to the soldiers, which was sorely lacking for the defenders of the fortress.

By the end of the month, the position of the Red Army soldiers in the fortress became catastrophically difficult. To save the lives of innocent people, the soldiers sent children, the elderly and women as prisoners to the Germans, giving them a chance to survive. The young intelligence officer was also offered to surrender, but he refused, deciding to continue participating in the battles against the Germans.

In early July, the defenders of the fortress almost ran out of ammunition, water and food. Then, by all means, it was decided to go for a breakthrough. It ended in complete failure for the soldiers of the Red Army - the Germans killed most of the soldiers, and captured the rest. Only a few managed to survive and break through the environment. One of them was Peter Klypa.

However, after a couple of days of exhausting pursuit, the Nazis seized and captured him and other survivors. Until 1945, Peter worked in Germany as a laborer for a fairly wealthy German farmer. He was liberated by the troops of the United States of America, after which he returned to the ranks of the Red Army. After demobilization, Petya became a bandit and robber. He even had murder on his hands. He spent a significant part of his life in prison, after which he returned to a normal life and started a family and two children. Peter Klypa died in 1983 at the age of 57. His early death was caused by a serious illness - cancer.

Among the children-heroes of the Great Patriotic War (WWII), the young partisan fighter VilorChekmak deserves special attention. The boy was born at the end of December 1925 in the glorious city of sailors Simferopol. Vilor had Greek roots. His father, a hero of many conflicts with the participation of the USSR, died during the defense of the capital of the USSR in 1941.

Vilor studied well at school, experienced extraordinary love and had artistic talent - he drew beautifully. When he grew up, he dreamed of painting expensive paintings, but the events of bloody June 1941 crossed out his dreams once and for all.

In August 1941, Vilor could no longer sit back while others bled for him. And then, taking his beloved shepherd dog, he went to the partisan detachment. The boy was a real defender of the Fatherland. His mother dissuaded him from going to an underground group, since the guy had a congenital heart defect, but he still decided to save his homeland. Like many other boys of his age, Vilor began to serve in a scout.

He served in the ranks of the partisan detachment for only a couple of months, but before his death he accomplished a real feat. November 10, 1941, he was on duty, covering his brothers. The Germans began to surround the partisan detachment and Vilor was the first to notice their approach. The guy risked everything and fired a rocket launcher to warn his fellows about the enemy, but by the same act he attracted the attention of a whole detachment of Nazis. Realizing that he could no longer leave, he decided to cover the retreat of his brothers in arms, and therefore opened fire on the Germans. The boy fought until the last shot, but even then he did not give up. He, like a real hero, rushed at the enemy with explosives, blew himself up and the Germans.

For his achievements, he received the medal "For Military Merit" and the medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol".

Medal "For the Defense of Sevastopol"

Among the famous children-heroes of the Great Patriotic War, it is also worth highlighting Kamanin Arkady Nakolaevich, who was born in early November 1928 in the family of the famous Soviet military leader and General of the Red Army Air Force Nikolai Kamanin. It is noteworthy that his father was one of the first citizens of the USSR, who received the highest title of Hero of the Soviet Union in the state.

Arkady spent his childhood in the Far East, but then moved to Moscow, where he lived for a short time. As the son of a military pilot, Arkady could fly airplanes as a child. In the summer, the young hero always worked at the airport, and also briefly worked at a plant for the production of aircraft for various purposes as a mechanic. When the fighting against the Third Reich began, the boy moved to the city of Tashkent, where his father was sent.

In 1943, Arkady Kamanin became one of the youngest military pilots in history, and the youngest pilot of the Great Patriotic War. Together with his father, he went to the Karelian front. He was enlisted in the 5th Guards Assault Air Corps. At first he worked as a mechanic - far from the most prestigious job on board an aircraft. But very soon he was appointed as a navigator-observer and a flight mechanic on an airplane to establish communication between separate parts called U-2. This plane had a pair control, and Arkasha himself flew the plane more than once. Already in July 1943, the young patriot was flying without anyone's help - completely on his own.

At the age of 14, Arkady officially became a pilot and was enrolled in the 423rd Separate Communications Squadron. Since June 1943, the hero fought against the enemies of the state as part of the 1st Ukrainian Front. Since the autumn of the victorious 1944, he became part of the 2nd Ukrainian Front.

Arkady took part in communication tasks to a greater extent. He flew over the front line more than once to help the partisans establish communications. At the age of 15, the guy was awarded the Order of the Red Star. He received this award for helping the Soviet pilot of the Il-2 attack aircraft, which crashed on the so-called no man's land. If the young patriot had not intervened, Polito would have perished. Then Arkady received another Order of the Red Star, and after that, the Order of the Red Banner. Thanks to his successful actions in the sky, the Red Army was able to plant a red flag in occupied Budapest and Vienna.

After defeating the enemy, Arkady went to continue his studies in high school, where he quickly caught up with the program. However, the guy was killed by meningitis, from which he died at the age of 18.

Lenya Golikov is a well-known invader killer, partisan and pioneer who, for his exploits and extraordinary devotion to the Fatherland, as well as dedication, earned the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, as well as the Medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War, 1st degree." In addition, the homeland awarded him the Order of Lenin.

Lenya Golikov was born in a small village in the Parfinsky district, in the Novgorod region. Her parents were ordinary workers, and the boy could expect the same calm fate. At the time of the outbreak of hostilities, Lenya had completed seven classes and was already working at a local plywood factory. He began to actively participate in hostilities only in 1942, when the enemies of the state had already captured Ukraine and went to Russia.

In mid-August of the second year of the confrontation, being at that moment a young but already quite experienced intelligence officer of the 4th Leningrad underground brigade, he threw a live grenade under an enemy car. In that car sat a German major general from the engineering troops - Richard von Wirtz. Previously, it was believed that Lenya decisively eliminated the German commander, but he miraculously managed to survive, although he was seriously injured. In 1945, American troops took this general prisoner. However, on that day, Golikov managed to steal the general's documents, which contained information about new enemy mines that could cause significant harm to the Red Army. For this achievement, he was presented to the country's highest title of "Hero of the Soviet Union".

In the period from 1942 to 1943, Lena Golikov managed to kill almost 80 German soldiers, blew up 12 highway bridges and 2 more railway ones. Destroyed a couple of food depots important to the Nazis and blew up 10 ammunition vehicles for the German army.

On January 24, 1943, the Leni detachment fell into a battle with the predominant forces of the enemy. Lenya Golikov died in a battle near a small settlement called Ostraya Luka, in the Pskov region, from an enemy bullet. Together with him, his brothers in arms died. Like many others, he was awarded the title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" posthumously.

One of the heroes of the children of the Great Patriotic War was also a boy named Vladimir Dubinin, who actively acted against the enemy in the Crimea.

The future partisan was born in Kerch on August 29, 1927. From childhood, the boy was extremely brave and stubborn, and therefore, from the first days of hostilities against the Reich, he wanted to defend his homeland. It was thanks to his perseverance that he ended up in a partisan detachment that operated near Kerch.

Volodya, as a member of the partisan detachment, conducted reconnaissance operations together with his close comrades and brothers in arms. The boy delivered extremely important information and information about the location of enemy units, the number of Wehrmacht fighters, which helped the partisans prepare their combat offensive operations. In December 1941, during another reconnaissance, Volodya Dubinin provided comprehensive information about the enemy, which made it possible for the partisans to completely defeat the Nazi punitive detachment. Volodya was not afraid to take part in the battles - at first he simply brought ammunition under heavy fire, and then stood in the place of a seriously wounded soldier.

Volodya had a trick to lead the enemy by the nose - he "helped" the Nazis find the partisans, but in fact led them into an ambush. The boy successfully completed all the tasks of the partisan detachment. After the successful liberation of the city of Kerch during the Kerch-Feodosiya landing operation of 1941-1942. a young partisan joined a detachment of sappers. On January 4, 1942, during the demining of one of the mines, Volodya died together with a Soviet sapper from a mine explosion. For his merits, the hero-pioneer was posthumously awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

Sasha Borodulin was born on the day of a famous holiday, namely March 8, 1926 in the hero city called Leningrad. His family was rather poor. Sasha also had two sisters, one older than the hero, and the other younger. The boy did not live long in Leningrad - his family moved to the Republic of Karelia, and then returned to the Leningrad region again - in the small village of Novinka, which was located 70 kilometers from Leningrad. In this village, the hero went to school. In the same place, he was elected chairman of the pioneer squad, which the boy dreamed of for a long time.

Sasha was fifteen years old when the fighting began. The hero graduated from the 7th grade and became a member of the Komsomol. In the early autumn of 1941, the boy joined a partisan detachment of his own free will. At first, he conducted exclusively reconnaissance activities for the partisan unit, but soon took up arms.

In the late autumn of 1941, he proved himself in the battle for the Chascha railway station in the ranks of a partisan detachment under the command of the famous partisan leader Ivan Boloznev. For his courage in the winter of 1941, Alexander was awarded another very honorable order of the Red Banner in the country.

Over the following months, Vanya repeatedly showed courage, went to reconnaissance and fought on the battlefield. On July 7, 1942, the young hero and partisan died. It happened near the village of Oredezh, in the Leningrad region. Sasha remained to cover the retreat of his comrades. He sacrificed his life to let his brothers in arms get away. After his death, the young partisan was twice awarded the same Order of the Red Banner.

The above names are far, far from all the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. The children accomplished many feats that should not be forgotten.

No less than other child heroes of the Great Patriotic War, a boy named Marat Kazei committed. Despite the fact that his family was out of favor with the government, Marat still remained a patriot. At the beginning of the war, Marat and his mother Anna hid the partisans. Even when the arrests of the local population began in order to find those who harbor the partisans, his family did not give theirs to the Germans.

After that, he himself joined the ranks of the partisan detachment. Marat was actively eager to fight. He accomplished his first feat in January 1943. When there was another skirmish, he was slightly wounded, but he still raised his comrades and led them into battle. Being surrounded, the detachment under his command broke through the ring and was able to avoid death. For this feat, the guy received the medal "For Courage". Later, he was also given the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War" 2nd class.

Marat died along with his commander during the battle in May 1944. When the cartridges ran out, the hero threw one grenade at the enemies, and the second one blew himself up so as not to be captured by the enemy.

However, not only the photos and names of the boys of the pioneer heroes of the Great Patriotic War now adorn the streets of large cities and textbooks. There were also young girls among them. It is worth mentioning the bright, but sadly cut short life of the Soviet partisan Zina Portnova.

After the war broke out in the summer of 1941, the thirteen-year-old girl ended up in the occupied territory and was forced to work in the canteen for German officers. Even then, she worked underground and, on the orders of the partisans, poisoned about a hundred Nazi officers. The fascist garrison in the city began to catch the girl, but she managed to escape, after which she joined the partisan detachment.

At the end of the summer of 1943, during the next task in which she participated as a scout, the Germans captured a young partisan. One of the local residents confirmed that it was Zina who then poisoned the officers. The girl was brutally tortured in order to find out information about the partisan detachment. However, the girl did not say a word. Once she managed to escape, she grabbed a pistol and killed three more Germans. She tried to escape, but she was taken prisoner again. After that, she was tortured for a very long time, practically depriving the girl of any desire to live. Zina still did not say a word, after which she was shot on the morning of January 10, 1944.

For her services, the seventeen-year-old girl received the title of Hero of the SRSR posthumously.

These stories, stories about the children-heroes of the Great Patriotic War should never be forgotten, but on the contrary, they will always be in the memory of posterity. It is worth remembering them at least once a year - on the day of the Great Victory.

During the Great Patriotic War, heroism was the norm for the behavior of Soviet people, the war revealed the resilience and courage of the Soviet people. Thousands of soldiers and officers sacrificed their lives in the battles near Moscow, Kursk and Stalingrad, during the defense of Leningrad and Sevastopol, in the North Caucasus and the Dnieper, during the storming of Berlin and in other battles - and immortalized their names. Women and children fought alongside men. Home front workers played a big role. People who worked, exhausted, to provide the soldiers with food, clothing, and thus a bayonet and a projectile.
We will talk about those who gave their lives, strength and savings for the sake of the Victory. Here they are the great people of the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945.

Medical heroes. Zinaida Samsonova

During the war years, more than two hundred thousand doctors and half a million paramedical personnel worked at the front and in the rear. And half of them were women.
The working day of doctors and nurses of medical battalions and front-line hospitals often lasted several days. Sleepless nights, medical workers stood relentlessly near the operating tables, and some of them pulled the dead and wounded from the battlefield on their backs. Among the doctors there were many of their "sailors", who, saving the wounded, covered them with their bodies from bullets and shell fragments.
Not sparing, as they say, their belly, they raised the spirit of the soldiers, raised the wounded from the hospital bed and sent them back to battle to defend their country, their homeland, their people, their home from the enemy. Among the large army of doctors, I would like to name the Hero of the Soviet Union Zinaida Alexandrovna Samsonova, who went to the front when she was only seventeen years old. Zinaida, or, as her brother-soldiers cutely called her, Zinochka, was born in the village of Bobkovo, Yegoryevsky district, Moscow region.
Before the war, she went to study at the Yegorievsk Medical School. When the enemy entered her native land, and the country was in danger, Zina decided that she must go to the front. And she rushed there.
She has been in the army since 1942 and immediately finds herself at the forefront. Zina was a sanitary instructor in a rifle battalion. The soldiers loved her for her smile, for her selfless assistance to the wounded. With her fighters, Zina went through the most terrible battles, this is the Battle of Stalingrad. She fought on the Voronezh Front and on other fronts.

In the autumn of 1943, she took part in a landing operation to seize a bridgehead on the right bank of the Dnieper near the village of Sushki, Kanevsky district, now Cherkasy region. Here she, together with her brother-soldiers, managed to capture this bridgehead.
Zina took out more than thirty wounded from the battlefield and transported them to the other side of the Dnieper. There were legends about this fragile nineteen-year-old girl. Zinochka was distinguished by courage and courage.
When the commander died near the village of Holm in 1944, Zina, without hesitation, took command of the battle and raised the fighters to attack. In this battle, her fellow soldiers heard her amazing, slightly hoarse voice for the last time: “Eagles, follow me!”
Zinochka Samsonova died in this battle on January 27, 1944 for the village of Kholm in Belarus. She was buried in a mass grave in Ozarichi, Kalinkovsky district, Gomel region.
Zinaida Alexandrovna Samsonova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union for her steadfastness, courage and bravery.
The school where Zina Samsonova once studied was named after her.

A special period in the activity of Soviet foreign intelligence officers is associated with the Great Patriotic War. Already at the end of June 1941, the newly created State Defense Committee of the USSR considered the issue of the work of foreign intelligence and specified its tasks. They were subordinated to one goal - the speedy defeat of the enemy. For the exemplary performance of special tasks behind enemy lines, nine career foreign intelligence officers were awarded the high title of Hero of the Soviet Union. This is S.A. Vaupshasov, I.D. Kudrya, N.I. Kuznetsov, V.A. Lyagin, D.N. Medvedev, V.A. Molodtsov, K.P. Orlovsky, N.A. Prokopyuk, A.M. Rabtsevich. Here we will talk about one of the scout-hero - Nikolai Ivanovich Kuznetsov.

From the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, he was enrolled in the fourth department of the NKVD, whose main task was to organize reconnaissance and sabotage activities behind enemy lines. After numerous trainings and studying in the camp for prisoners of war the manners and life of the Germans, under the name of Paul Wilhelm Siebert, Nikolai Kuznetsov was sent behind enemy lines along the line of terror. At first, the special agent conducted his secret activities in the Ukrainian city of Rivne, where the Reich Commissariat of Ukraine was located. Kuznetsov was in close contact with enemy officers of the special services and the Wehrmacht, as well as local officials. All information obtained was transferred to the partisan detachment. One of the remarkable feats of a secret agent of the USSR was the capture of the courier of the Reichskommissariat, Major Gahan, who carried a secret map in his briefcase. After interrogating Gahan and studying the map, it turned out that a bunker for Hitler was built eight kilometers from Ukrainian Vinnitsa.
In November 1943, Kuznetsov managed to organize the abduction of German Major General M. Ilgen, who was sent to Rovno to destroy partisan formations.
The last operation of the intelligence officer Siebert in this post was the elimination in November 1943 of the head of the legal department of the Reichskommissariat of Ukraine, Oberführer Alfred Funk. After interrogating Funk, the brilliant intelligence officer managed to obtain information about the preparations for the assassination of the heads of the "Big Three" of the Tehran Conference, as well as information about the enemy's offensive on the Kursk Bulge. In January 1944, Kuznetsov was ordered, along with the retreating fascist troops, to go to Lvov to continue his sabotage activities. Scouts Jan Kaminsky and Ivan Belov were sent to help agent Siebert. Under the leadership of Nikolai Kuznetsov, several invaders were destroyed in Lvov, for example, the head of the government office, Heinrich Schneider and Otto Bauer.

From the first days of the occupation, the boys and girls began to act decisively, a secret organization "young avengers" was created. The guys fought against the fascist invaders. They blew up a pumping station, which delayed the sending of ten fascist echelons to the front. Distracting the enemy, the Avengers destroyed bridges and highways, blew up a local power plant, and burned down a factory. Obtaining information about the actions of the Germans, they immediately passed them on to the partisans.
Zina Portnova was assigned more and more difficult tasks. According to one of them, the girl managed to get a job in a German canteen. After working there for a while, she carried out an effective operation - she poisoned food for German soldiers. More than 100 fascists suffered from her dinner. The Germans began to accuse Zina. Wanting to prove her innocence, the girl tried the poisoned soup and only miraculously survived.

In 1943, traitors appeared who revealed secret information and handed over our guys to the Nazis. Many were arrested and shot. Then the command of the partisan detachment instructed Portnova to establish contact with those who survived. The Nazis grabbed the young partisan when she was returning from a mission. Zina was terribly tortured. But the answer to the enemy was only her silence, contempt and hatred. The interrogations didn't stop.
“The Gestapo man went to the window. And Zina, rushing to the table, grabbed a pistol. Obviously sensing a rustle, the officer turned around impulsively, but the weapon was already in her hand. She pulled the trigger. For some reason I didn't hear the shot. I only saw how the German, clutching his chest with his hands, fell to the floor, and the second, who was sitting at the side table, jumped up from his chair and hastily unfastened the holster of his revolver. She pointed the gun at him as well. Again, almost without aiming, she pulled the trigger. Rushing to the exit, Zina yanked open the door, jumped out into the next room and from there onto the porch. There she almost point-blank shot at the sentry. Running out of the building of the commandant's office, Portnova rushed down the path in a whirlwind.
“If only I could run to the river,” thought the girl. But the sound of the chase was heard from behind ... "Why don't they shoot?" The surface of the water seemed to be quite near. And beyond the river was a forest. She heard the sound of machine gun fire, and something sharp pierced her leg. Zina fell on the river sand. She still had enough strength, slightly rising, to shoot ... She saved the last bullet for herself.
When the Germans ran up very close, she decided that it was all over, and pointed the gun to her chest and pulled the trigger. But the shot did not follow: a misfire. The fascist knocked the pistol out of her weakening hands.
Zina was sent to prison. For more than a month, the Germans brutally tortured the girl, they wanted her to betray her comrades. But having taken an oath of allegiance to the Motherland, Zina kept her.
On the morning of January 13, 1944, a gray-haired and blind girl was taken to be shot. She walked, stumbling barefoot, through the snow.
The girl withstood all the torture. She truly loved our Motherland and died for it, firmly believing in our victory.
Zinaida Portnova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The Soviet people, realizing that the front needed their help, made every effort. Engineering geniuses simplified and improved production. Women who recently accompanied their husbands, brothers and sons to the front took their place at the machine tool, mastering professions unfamiliar to them. Everything for the front, everything for victory! Children, old people and women gave all their strength, gave themselves for the sake of victory.

This is how the call of collective farmers sounded in one of the regional newspapers: “... we must give the army and the working people more bread, meat, milk, vegetables and agricultural raw materials for industry. We, the workers of state farms, must hand over this together with the collective farm peasantry. Only by these lines can one judge how obsessed the home front workers were with thoughts of victory, and what sacrifices they were ready to make in order to bring this long-awaited day closer. Even when they received funerals, they did not stop working, knowing that this was the best way to take revenge on the hated fascists for the death of their loved ones.

On December 15, 1942, Ferapont Golovaty gave all his savings - 100 thousand rubles - to purchase an aircraft for the Red Army, and asked to transfer the aircraft to the pilot of the Stalingrad Front. In a letter addressed to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, he wrote that, having escorted his two sons to the front, he himself wanted to contribute to the cause of victory. Stalin answered: “Thank you, Ferapont Petrovich, for your concern for the Red Army and its Air Force. The Red Army will not forget that you gave all your savings to build a combat aircraft. Please accept my regards." The initiative was given serious attention. The decision on who exactly will get the personalized aircraft was made by the Military Council of the Stalingrad Front. The combat vehicle was handed over to one of the best - the commander of the 31st Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, Major Boris Nikolayevich Eremin. The fact that Eremin and Golovaty were countrymen also played a role.

The victory in the Great Patriotic War was obtained by inhuman efforts, both front-line soldiers and home front workers. And this must be remembered. Today's generation should not forget their feat.

Heroes of the Great Patriotic War

Submachine gunner of the 2nd Separate Battalion of the 91st Separate Siberian Volunteer Brigade named after Stalin.

Sasha Matrosov did not know his parents. He was brought up in an orphanage and a labor colony. When the war began, he was not even 20. Matrosov was drafted into the army in September 1942 and sent to an infantry school, and then to the front.

In February 1943, his battalion attacked the Nazi stronghold, but fell into a trap, falling under heavy fire, cutting off the path to the trenches. They fired from three bunkers. Two soon fell silent, but the third continued to shoot the Red Army soldiers who lay in the snow.

Seeing that the only chance to get out of the fire was to suppress the enemy's fire, Matrosov crawled to the bunker with a fellow soldier and threw two grenades in his direction. The gun was silent. The Red Army went on the attack, but the deadly weapon chirped again. Alexander's partner was killed, and Matrosov was left alone in front of the bunker. Something had to be done.

He didn't even have a few seconds to make a decision. Not wanting to let his comrades down, Alexander closed the embrasure of the bunker with his body. The attack was successful. And Matrosov posthumously received the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

Military pilot, commander of the 2nd squadron of the 207th long-range bomber aviation regiment, captain.

He worked as a mechanic, then in 1932 he was called up for service in the Red Army. He got into the air regiment, where he became a pilot. Nicholas Gastello participated in three wars. A year before the Great Patriotic War, he received the rank of captain.

On June 26, 1941, the crew under the command of Captain Gastello took off to attack a German mechanized column. It was on the road between the Belarusian cities of Molodechno and Radoshkovichi. But the column was well guarded by enemy artillery. A fight ensued. Aircraft Gastello was hit by anti-aircraft guns. The shell damaged the fuel tank, the car caught fire. The pilot could eject, but he decided to fulfill his military duty to the end. Nikolay Gastello directed the burning car directly to the enemy column. It was the first fire ram in the Great Patriotic War.

The name of the brave pilot has become a household name. Until the end of the war, all the aces who decided to go for a ram were called Gastellites. According to official statistics, almost six hundred enemy rams were made during the entire war.

Brigadier scout of the 67th detachment of the 4th Leningrad partisan brigade.

Lena was 15 years old when the war began. He already worked at the factory, having finished the seven-year plan. When the Nazis captured his native Novgorod region, Lenya joined the partisans.

He was brave and determined, the command appreciated him. For several years spent in the partisan detachment, he participated in 27 operations. On his account, several destroyed bridges behind enemy lines, 78 destroyed Germans, 10 trains with ammunition.

It was he who, in the summer of 1942, near the village of Varnitsa, blew up a car in which the German Major General of the Engineering Troops, Richard von Wirtz, was located. Golikov managed to obtain important documents about the German offensive. The enemy attack was thwarted, and the young hero for this feat was presented to the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the winter of 1943, a significantly superior enemy detachment unexpectedly attacked partisans near the village of Ostraya Luka. Lenya Golikov died like a real hero - in battle.

Pioneer. Scout of the partisan detachment named after Voroshilov in the territory occupied by the Nazis.

Zina was born and went to school in Leningrad. However, the war found her on the territory of Belarus, where she came for the holidays.

In 1942, 16-year-old Zina joined the underground organization Young Avengers. It distributed anti-fascist leaflets in the occupied territories. Then, under cover, she got a job working in a canteen for German officers, where she committed several acts of sabotage and only miraculously was not captured by the enemy. Her courage surprised many experienced soldiers.

In 1943, Zina Portnova joined the partisans and continued to engage in sabotage behind enemy lines. Due to the efforts of defectors who surrendered Zina to the Nazis, she was captured. In the dungeons, she was interrogated and tortured. But Zina was silent, not betraying her. At one of these interrogations, she grabbed a pistol from the table and shot three Nazis. After that, she was shot in prison.

Underground anti-fascist organization operating in the area of ​​modern Luhansk region. There were over a hundred people. The youngest participant was 14 years old.

This youth underground organization was formed immediately after the occupation of the Lugansk region. It included both regular military personnel, who were cut off from the main units, and local youth. Among the most famous participants: Oleg Koshevoy, Ulyana Gromova, Lyubov Shevtsova, Vasily Levashov, Sergey Tyulenin and many other young people.

The "Young Guard" issued leaflets and committed sabotage against the Nazis. Once they managed to disable an entire tank repair shop, burn down the stock exchange, from where the Nazis drove people to forced labor in Germany. The members of the organization planned to stage an uprising, but were exposed because of the traitors. The Nazis caught, tortured and shot more than seventy people. Their feat is immortalized in one of the most famous military books by Alexander Fadeev and the film adaptation of the same name.

28 people from the personnel of the 4th company of the 2nd battalion of the 1075th rifle regiment.

In November 1941, a counteroffensive against Moscow began. The enemy did not stop at nothing, making a decisive forced march before the onset of a harsh winter.

At this time, the fighters under the command of Ivan Panfilov took up a position on the highway seven kilometers from Volokolamsk, a small town near Moscow. There they gave battle to the advancing tank units. The battle lasted four hours. During this time, they destroyed 18 armored vehicles, delaying the enemy's attack and frustrating his plans. All 28 people (or almost all, here the opinions of historians differ) died.

According to legend, the political instructor of the company, Vasily Klochkov, before the decisive stage of the battle, turned to the fighters with a phrase that became known throughout the country: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind!”

The Nazi counteroffensive ultimately failed. The battle for Moscow, which was assigned the most important role during the war, was lost by the invaders.

As a child, the future hero suffered from rheumatism, and the doctors doubted that Maresyev would be able to fly. However, he stubbornly applied to the flight school until he was finally enrolled. Maresyev was drafted into the army in 1937.

He met the Great Patriotic War at the flight school, but soon got to the front. During a sortie, his plane was shot down, and Maresyev himself was able to eject. Eighteen days, seriously wounded in both legs, he got out of the encirclement. However, he still managed to overcome the front line and ended up in the hospital. But gangrene had already begun, and the doctors amputated both of his legs.

For many, this would mean the end of the service, but the pilot did not give up and returned to aviation. Until the end of the war, he flew with prostheses. Over the years, he made 86 sorties and shot down 11 enemy aircraft. And 7 - already after amputation. In 1944, Alexei Maresyev went to work as an inspector and lived to be 84 years old.

His fate inspired the writer Boris Polevoy to write The Tale of a Real Man.

Deputy squadron commander of the 177th Air Defense Fighter Aviation Regiment.

Victor Talalikhin began to fight already in the Soviet-Finnish war. He shot down 4 enemy planes on a biplane. Then he served in the aviation school.

In August 1941, one of the first Soviet pilots made a ram, shooting down a German bomber in a night air battle. Moreover, the wounded pilot was able to get out of the cockpit and descend by parachute to the rear of his own.

Talalikhin then shot down five more German planes. Killed during another air battle near Podolsk in October 1941.

After 73 years, in 2014, search engines found Talalikhin's plane, which remained in the swamps near Moscow.

Artilleryman of the 3rd counter-battery artillery corps of the Leningrad Front.

Soldier Andrei Korzun was drafted into the army at the very beginning of World War II. He served on the Leningrad front, where there were fierce and bloody battles.

November 5, 1943, during the next battle, his battery came under fierce enemy fire. Korzun was seriously wounded. Despite the terrible pain, he saw that the powder charges were set on fire and the ammunition depot could fly into the air. Gathering the last of his strength, Andrey crawled to the blazing fire. But he could no longer take off his overcoat to cover the fire. Losing consciousness, he made a last effort and covered the fire with his body. The explosion was avoided at the cost of the life of a brave gunner.

Commander of the 3rd Leningrad Partisan Brigade.

A native of Petrograd, Alexander German, according to some sources, was a native of Germany. He served in the army from 1933. When the war began, he became a scout. He worked behind enemy lines, commanded a partisan detachment, which terrified the enemy soldiers. His brigade destroyed several thousand fascist soldiers and officers, derailed hundreds of trains and blew up hundreds of vehicles.

The Nazis staged a real hunt for Herman. In 1943, his partisan detachment was surrounded in the Pskov region. Making his way to his own, the brave commander died from an enemy bullet.

Commander of the 30th Separate Guards Tank Brigade of the Leningrad Front

Vladislav Khrustitsky was drafted into the Red Army back in the 1920s. In the late 30s he graduated from armored courses. Since the autumn of 1942, he commanded the 61st separate light tank brigade.

He distinguished himself during Operation Iskra, which marked the beginning of the defeat of the Germans on the Leningrad front.

He died in the battle near Volosovo. In 1944, the enemy retreated from Leningrad, but from time to time made attempts to counterattack. During one of these counterattacks, Khrustitsky's tank brigade fell into a trap.

Despite heavy fire, the commander ordered to continue the offensive. He turned on the radio to his crews with the words: "Stand to the death!" - and went forward first. Unfortunately, the brave tanker died in this battle. And yet the village of Volosovo was liberated from the enemy.

Commander of a partisan detachment and brigade.

Before the war, he worked on the railroad. In October 1941, when the Germans were already standing near Moscow, he himself volunteered for a difficult operation, in which his railway experience was needed. Was thrown behind enemy lines. There he came up with the so-called "coal mines" (in fact, these are just mines disguised as coal). With the help of this simple but effective weapon, a hundred enemy trains were blown up in three months.

Zaslonov actively agitated the local population to go over to the side of the partisans. The Nazis, having learned this, dressed their soldiers in Soviet uniforms. Zaslonov mistook them for defectors and ordered them to be allowed into the partisan detachment. The path to the insidious enemy was open. A battle ensued, during which Zaslonov died. A reward was announced for living or dead Zaslonov, but the peasants hid his body, and the Germans did not get it.

The commander of a small partisan detachment.

Yefim Osipenko fought back in the Civil War. Therefore, when the enemy seized his land, without thinking twice, he joined the partisans. Together with five other comrades, he organized a small partisan detachment that committed sabotage against the Nazis.

During one of the operations, it was decided to undermine the enemy composition. But there was little ammunition in the detachment. The bomb was made from an ordinary grenade. The explosives were to be installed by Osipenko himself. He crawled to the railway bridge and, seeing the approach of the train, threw it in front of the train. There was no explosion. Then the partisan himself hit the grenade with a pole from the railway sign. It worked! A long train with food and tanks went downhill. The squad leader survived, but lost his sight completely.

For this feat, he was the first in the country to be awarded the medal "Partisan of the Patriotic War."

The peasant Matvey Kuzmin was born three years before the abolition of serfdom. And he died, becoming the oldest holder of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

His story contains many references to the history of another famous peasant - Ivan Susanin. Matvey also had to lead the invaders through the forest and swamps. And, like the legendary hero, he decided to stop the enemy at the cost of his life. He sent his grandson ahead to warn a detachment of partisans who had stopped nearby. The Nazis were ambushed. A fight ensued. Matvey Kuzmin died at the hands of a German officer. But he did his job. He was in his 84th year.

A partisan who was part of the sabotage and reconnaissance group of the headquarters of the Western Front.

While studying at school, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya wanted to enter a literary institute. But these plans were not destined to come true - the war prevented. In October 1941, Zoya, as a volunteer, came to the recruiting station and, after a short training at a school for saboteurs, was transferred to Volokolamsk. There, an 18-year-old partisan fighter, along with adult men, performed dangerous tasks: she mined roads and destroyed communication centers.

During one of the sabotage operations, Kosmodemyanskaya was caught by the Germans. She was tortured, forcing her to betray her own. Zoya heroically endured all the trials without saying a word to the enemies. Seeing that it was impossible to get anything from the young partisan, they decided to hang her.

Kosmodemyanskaya steadfastly accepted the test. A moment before her death, she shouted to the assembled local residents: “Comrades, victory will be ours. German soldiers, before it's too late, surrender!" The courage of the girl so shocked the peasants that they later retold this story to front-line correspondents. And after the publication in the Pravda newspaper, the whole country learned about the feat of Kosmodemyanskaya. She became the first woman to be awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union during the Great Patriotic War.

Imagine that you are trying to save a blind man from a burning building, making your way step by step through burning flames and smoke. Now imagine that you are also blind. Jim Sherman, blind from birth, heard his 85-year-old neighbor's cries for help when she was trapped in her burning house. He found his way along the fence. Once he got to the woman's house, he somehow managed to sneak in and find his neighbor, Annie Smith, also blind. Sherman pulled Smith out of the fire and took him to safety.

Skydiving instructors sacrificed everything to save their students

Few people will survive a fall from several hundred meters. But two women made it through the dedication of two men. The first gave his life to save the man he saw for the first time in his life.

Skydiving instructor Robert Cook and his student Kimberley Dear were about to make their first jump when the plane's engine failed. Cook told the girl to sit on his lap and tied their straps together. As the plane crashed to the ground, Cook's body took the brunt, killing the man and leaving Kimberly alive.

Another skydiving instructor, Dave Hartstock, also saved his student from being hit. It was Shirley Dygert's first jump and she jumped with an instructor. Digert's parachute did not open. During the fall, Hartstock managed to get under the girl, softening the blow to the ground. Dave Hartstock injured his spine, the injury paralyzed his body from the very neck, but both survived.

A mere mortal Joe Rollino (Joe Rollino, pictured above) during his 104-year life has done incredible, inhuman things. Although he weighed only about 68 kg, in his prime he could lift 288 kg with his fingers and 1450 kg with his back, for which he won various competitions several times. However, it was not the title of "The Strongest Man in the World" that made him a hero.

During World War II, Rollino served in the Pacific and received a bronze and silver star for gallantry in the line of duty, as well as three purple hearts for battle wounds, for which he spent a total of 2 years in the hospital. He took 4 of his comrades from the battlefield, two in each hand, while also returning to the heat of battle for the rest.

A father's love can inspire superhuman feats, as two fathers in different parts of the world have proven.

In Florida, Joesph Welch came to the rescue of his six-year-old son when an alligator grabbed the boy's arm. Forgetting his own safety, Welch hit the alligator in an attempt to force it to open its mouth. Then a passer-by arrived and began to beat the alligator in the stomach until the beast finally let go of the boy.

In Mutoko, Zimbabwe, another father saved his son from a crocodile when it attacked him in a river. Father Tafadzwa Kacher started poking the cane into the animal's eyes and mouth until his son ran away. Then the crocodile took aim at the man. Tafadzwa had to gouge out the animal's eyes. As a result of the attack, the boy lost his leg, but he will be able to tell about the superhuman courage of his father.

Two ordinary women raised cars to save loved ones

Not only men are capable of displaying superhuman abilities in critical situations. The daughter and mother showed that women can be heroes too, especially when a loved one is in danger.

In Virginia, a 22-year-old saved her father when a jack slipped from under the BMW he was working under and the car fell on the man's chest. There was no time to wait for help, the young woman lifted the car and moved it, then gave her father CPR.

In Georgia, the jack also slipped, and the 1350-pound Chevrolet Impala fell on a young man. Alone, his mother Angela Cavallo lifted the car and held it for five minutes until her son was pulled out by neighbors.

Superhuman abilities are not only strength and courage, it is also the ability to think and act quickly in an emergency.

In New Mexico, a school bus driver suffered a seizure, putting children in danger. The girl waiting for the bus noticed that something had happened to the driver and called her mother. The woman, Rhonda Carlsen, took immediate action. She ran next to the bus and gestured to one of the children to open the door. After that, she jumped inside, grabbed the steering wheel and stopped the bus. Thanks to her quick reaction, none of the students were hurt, not to mention the people passing by.

A truck with a trailer was driving along the edge of a cliff in the dead of night. The cab of a large truck stopped right above the cliff, the driver was in it. A young man came to the rescue, he broke the window and pulled the man out with his bare hands.

This happened in New Zealand in the Wayoka Gorge on October 5, 2008. The hero was 18-year-old Peter Hanne, who was at home when he heard the roar. Without thinking about his own safety, he climbed onto the balancing car, jumped into a narrow gap between the cab and the trailer, and broke the rear window. He carefully helped the injured driver out while the truck staggered under his feet.

In 2011, Hanne was awarded the New Zealand Bravery Medal for this heroic act.

The war is full of heroes who risk their lives to save fellow soldiers. In the movie Forrest Gump, we saw how a fictional character saved several of his co-workers, even after he was wounded. In real life, you can meet the plot and abruptly.

Here, for example, is the story of Robert Ingram, who received the Medal of Honor. In 1966, during the siege by the enemy, Ingram continued to fight and save his comrades even after he was wounded three times: in the head (as a result, he partially lost his sight and was deaf in one ear), in the arm and in the left knee. Despite being wounded, he continued to kill the North Vietnamese soldiers who attacked his unit.

Aquaman is nothing compared to Shavarsh Karapetyan, who rescued 20 people from a sinking bus in 1976.

The Armenian speed swimming champion was jogging with his brother when a bus with 92 passengers left the road and fell into the water 24 meters from the shore. Karapetyan dived, kicked out the window with his feet and began to pull out people who were by that time in cold water at a depth of 10 m. They say that it took 30 seconds for each person he saved, he saved one by one until he lost consciousness in cold and dark water . As a result, 20 people survived.

But the exploits of Karapetyan did not end there. Eight years later, he rescued several people from a burning building, suffering severe burns in the process. Karapetyan received the Order of the Badge of Honor of the USSR and several other awards for underwater rescue. But he himself claimed that he was not a hero at all, he just did what he had to.

A man lifted a helicopter to save his colleague

The TV show site was turned into a tragedy when a helicopter from the hit series Magnum P.I. crashed into a drainage ditch in 1988.

During landing, the helicopter suddenly banked, went out of control and fell to the ground, while everything was filmed. One of the pilots Steve Kaks (Steve Kux) was trapped under a helicopter in shallow water. And then Warren "Tiny" Everal (Warren "Tiny" Everal) ran up and lifted the helicopter from Cax. It was a Hughes 500D which weighs at least 703 kg empty. Everal's quick reaction and his superhuman strength saved Cax from a helicopter pinning him in the water. Despite the fact that the pilot injured his left hand, he escaped death thanks to a local Hawaiian hero.