Turning the pages of the history of the Great Patriotic War, sometimes you encounter very interesting episodes. Some of them were of tremendous importance in the cause of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism. One of these episodes was the feat of Nadezhda Viktorovna Troyan - Hero of the Soviet Union, during the war years a fighter of the partisan detachment, the legendary scout and personal enemy of Adolf Hitler. Fortunately, the story of the great woman did not end in bloody battles, but continued under a peaceful, victorious sky. The heroine of the article was able to achieve extraordinary results in the post-war period: a talented surgeon, a bold researcher, a prominent public figure not only of domestic but also of global scale, a simple Soviet woman. However, getting acquainted with this story should be from the very beginning.
The first steps of the future hero
The biography of Nadezhda Viktorovna Troyan could easily become a script for a feature film. The future heroine was born in 1921 in the city of Driss of the Belarusian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, later renamed Verkhnedvinsk. The girl’s father participated in the First World War and was awarded the St. George Cross. Upon returning home, he learned to be an accountant, which earned his family a piece of bread. The mother of the heroine fussed around the house, where there was always enough work. The family had two children - Nadezhda and her younger brother Eugene. In search of a better life, the family was traveling a lot: Voronezh, Irkutsk and even Grozny.
Despite the constant moving, Nadia received school education. Ten classes left behind, at that time were considered a very good help. The girl was a diligent student and achieved particular success in learning the German language, which a few years later played an important role in her fate.
Youth of Hope
Having graduated with honors from school and opening the doors of all universities in front of her, the young girl did not stop at the achieved result and decided to devote her life to saving human lives - medicine.
The girl's choice fell on the First Moscow Medical Institute. It seemed that nothing could make the “newly made” student turn off the chosen path, but life made its own adjustments.
The head of the family had a chance to work at the well-known confectionery factory "Bolshevichka", located in Minsk. The second course of study began for the girl already in the capital of the Belarusian Republic. Already not far off there were much more significant changes than moving - the native country was balancing on the verge of war.
A Sound of Thunder
Due to its geographical location, the Belarusian land was the first to take the blow of the fascist plague. From the beginning of the war, the city was subjected to brutal bombing, and on June 28, a week after the start of an undeclared war, it was occupied by the enemy. The Nazis managed to seize the territory, but they were not able to extinguish the fire of courage in human hearts. Every day in the city, the resistance movement was spreading its shoulders more and more widely.
The brave heroine did not stand aside. For young Nadia began its own, albeit without large-scale battles, but war. The girl helped the common cause, like many children of her age, to the best of her ability: she supplied captive soldiers in a nearby concentration camp with bread and rags moistened with water, painted and pasted campaign leaflets on the streets of the occupied city.
Partisan Rescue
The family moved to the small town of Smolevichi, located about fifty kilometers from the capital of the occupied Belarus, began in 1942. Soon, a partisan detachment fighting the invaders came into view of the future legend. But the girl did not succeed in establishing contact with the people's avengers.
By chance, or perhaps because of natural quickness and excellent command of the German language, Nadia overhears a snippet of conversation of German soldiers that the deployment of the partisan detachment has been opened and a raid is planned from day to day. Understanding the consequences of what she heard, the girl shares this information with her friend. Nadia had long suspected that she was connected with the partisan movement, but she could not bring her into a frank conversation.
Intuition did not let the girl down. The information collected by the brave Belarusian found its addressee, and the punitive expedition failed. Shortly after this incident, the people's avengers themselves went to their savior. Thus began the military routine of Nadezhda Troyan in the partisan detachment "The Tempest".
War under the canopy of the forest
It is widely believed that the girl worked as a nurse in a partisan detachment. Perhaps this was the case, given the medical education of the heroine, albeit not yet completed. Close Hopes Troyan claim that she had to be in machine gun crew, participating in hostilities. The family of the young partisan also moved from Smolevichi to the partisan camp. But fate prepared Nadezhda Troyan a new extremely important and dangerous test.
The heroic feat of the Soviet woman
The fascist regime tirelessly mocked the population of the republic, destroying hundreds, thousands of innocent citizens. The personification of the atrocities and atrocities perpetrated by the invaders was considered to be Wilhelm Kube, Gauleiter (Hitler's protege) in Belarus. According to historians, in the two years of Cuba’s rule, about four hundred thousand people were tortured.
The Soviet command decided to liquidate the governors in Belarus and Ukraine, and by any means. Attempts were made many times in Cuba, but he remained alive. Gauleiter should have been poisoned, blown up, bombed, shot on a hunt, rammed with a truck ... all in vain. Wehrmacht soldiers even called him "lucky Cuba." It seemed that the tormentor could not be approached, but suddenly on the horizon a spark of hope dawned. Having received the risky task of establishing contact and recruiting a suitable person from the personal servant of the governor, Nadezhda Viktorovna Troyan succeeded in carrying out difficult work. The scout managed to convince Elena Mazanik, who served as a servant in the house of Cuba, to risk everything and help eliminate the fascist executioner.
Thanks to the work done by Nadezhda Troyan, the scout Maria Osipova handed over a miniature English mine to the maid. The weapon of retaliation was mounted in the tyrant's bed and worked flawlessly.
Award finds heroes
Adolf Hitler, who received news of the Gauleiter massacre, was furious. The killed man was not only his representative in occupied Belarus, but also a close ally. From Berlin to Minsk, the Fuhrer sent a plane with a coffin made specifically for Cuba. The girls involved in the murder were named by Hitler his personal enemies.
The scale of the feat of Nadezhda Troyan cannot be overestimated: the enemy is demoralized! The misconception that in the conquered territories it is possible to commit any atrocities with impunity is destroyed. The news of the reprisal against such a high-ranking fascist strengthened the faith of the Soviet people in an inevitable victory, gave strength to continue the difficult war.
And here are the brave girls: Nadezhda Troyan, Maria Osipova and Elena Mazanik delivered to Moscow. The award was distinguished by an unprecedented decision until this day - to present all three with the golden stars of Heroes of the Soviet Union.
Under a peaceful, victorious sky
After the war, the Soviet woman began a peaceful life: medical institute with honors, PhD thesis, loving husband and two sons. Specialization in medicine was chosen to match the iron nerves and icy composure - the surgeon. A woman in this area is traditionally considered a rare occurrence. Combining medicine and teaching, she devoted many years to her native educational institution. By the way, the mentor of a female surgeon was an outstanding doctor Boris Vasilievich Petrovsky.
Success awaited the heroine in public work. The election to the highest post - the chairman of the executive committee of the Red Cross of the USSR - is the clearest example of this. Apparently, the steel character of the woman affected and the habit of not giving up, no matter what.
Everlasting memory…
Having not lived two months before her ninetieth birthday, Nadezhda Viktorovna Troyan died on September 7, 2011. Her glorious name was given to one of the schools in Moscow, where a museum exposition was organized.
The heroic feat of a simple woman is forever imprinted in the history of her native country. Such unbending great people as Nadezhda Viktorovna Troyan forged victory for their homeland. Eternal glory and eternal memory to the heroes!