Monuments to the children of war, as a rule, become the object of close attention and special respect from both local residents and visiting travelers. Why? What is the reason? The thing is that the concept of childhood and military operations are in principle incompatible. Agree, kids have no place where shells are exploding, houses are burning and women are crying in despair.
Even in the most modest settlements, monuments to children-heroes of the war are carefully guarded, flowers are often brought to them, and it is they who take pride of place in the list of attractions of a particular city, town, village.
This article aims to tell just about such places. The reader will also learn which monuments to the children of the war in Russia should be visited first. After all, it's no secret to anyone that everyone, from young to old, took a direct part in the Great Patriotic War.
Section 1. Children during the war years. Disappointing statistics
According to the statistics known to us, about 27 million citizens died during the Great Patriotic WarUSSR, and only 10 million of them were soldiers, and the rest were women, children, old people.
Unfortunately, how many children specifically died during the war is unknown, and how much it crippled children's lives - even more so. The children of the war did not know a joyful childhood, they did their best to bring the Victory closer and managed to take a sip of grief with a full cup … Many of them ended up in a foreign land, and how many were killed, as they say, unborn …
Monuments to the children of the Great Patriotic War are in many cities of our country. And this is far from accidental, because thousands of boys and girls in this terrible time went to the military registration and enlistment offices, added a couple of years to themselves and went to the front to defend their homeland, which means they died for it.
Suffering, hunger, the early death of their peers made the children excessively adults, brought up in them fortitude, courage, an incredible ability to exploits and self-sacrifice. Only the names of some of them have come down to us. Four children of the war became Heroes of the USSR: M. Kazei, V. Kotik, Z. Portnova, L. Golikov.
Section 2. How children helped the front
In today's children, monuments to the children of war often cause not only curiosity, but also bewilderment. It is really difficult for the younger generation to understand how their peers could come to the rescue of real soldiers.
Meanwhile, the guys helped the front as much as they could, for example, they collected rifles, grenades, cartridges, machine guns left over from the battles and handed it all over to the partisans. Many schoolchildren played the role of scouts,were in partisan detachments, rescued wounded soldiers and even fearlessly helped organize the escape of our prisoners of war from concentration camps. Children set fire to German warehouses, blew up railway cars, steam locomotives. The "children's front" was especially massive in Belarus, which is why monuments to the children of the war are literally found here at every step.
Girls were no less actively involved in the underground struggle in the occupied territory. For example, German officers working in the canteens of retraining courses poisoned the enemy's food more than once. They also participated in various acts of sabotage, distributed leaflets among the population, conducted reconnaissance.
From the first days of the war, the children of our country had a great desire to somehow help the front. In the rear, they built defensive fortifications, were on duty on the roofs of houses, collected scrap metal, important medicinal plants, and actively participated in collecting things. In addition, thousands of children literally worked for days at factories, various factories and even at defense enterprises, replacing absent adults, their own parents. They worked no less actively in agriculture, growing vegetables and fruits for hospitals. In school workshops, children sewed underwear, knitted warm clothes for army soldiers. They helped the wounded in hospitals, gave them concerts to cheer them up.
Section 3. Monument to the children of the war in Krasnoyarsk
To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the victory in the Great Patriotic War On May 7, 2005, a monument to the children of the war was opened in Krasnoyarsk (at the intersection of Mira Street and Paris Commune Street). This place has been chosenfar from accidental. During the war, a hospital was located behind the current sculpted children's figures. Strange, but this local landmark was far from being immediately established. It took the public a long 9 years.
The monument was created by sculptor K. Zinich and architect A. Kasatkin. It is noteworthy that the creator himself was posed by his own children: 8-year-old daughter Karima and 5-year-old son Ernest. The girl was holding a piece of bread, a daily ration of besieged Leningrad, and the boy posed with a can, in which water was carried from the Neva. Behind the children were sledges, on which the wartime kids transported the dead to the common graves.
Section 4. Monument in Ulyanovsk
Almost all monuments to the children of the war have their own history, and the Russian city of Ulyanovsk is no exception. The money for this sculpture was also collected by the inhabitants of the region, and it was installed on the square of the 30th anniversary of the Victory.
The idea of creating this monument did not belong to one person, but to a whole council of veterans. The sculptor was Muscovite M. Galass.
Today it is known that the bronze monument cost the residents of the city 3 million rubles.
Section 5. Monument to the children of the war in Vladimir
In Vladimir, the monument "Children of War" is made in the form of a map of the USSR with silhouettes of children's hands.
The history of the opening of this memorial is also touching. Participants - many of them were these very children of the war - laid at its foot not only flowers, but also children's toys. Since then, a peculiartradition: every May 9, students from local educational institutions bring gifts and souvenirs here, many of which are homemade.
Section 6. Monument in Lidice
The crime that was committed against the children of Lidice greatly shocked the sculptor - Professor M. Uchitilova. Therefore, in 1969, she decided to create a bronze sculpture of child victims of the war.
Surprisingly, the monument was created for about 20 years and today it looks like a composition consisting of 82 children's statues (40 boys and 42 girls), depicted in a size slightly exceeding life size. Every year, a lot of tourists come here seeking to take a photo.
Monuments to the children of war are likely to attract attention for decades to come. And there is nothing surprising in this. The terrible war, unfortunately, touched many families, which means that you should definitely not forget about it.
