In 1955, Soviet radio broadcast the series "Looking for the Heroes of Brest Fortress", which caused unprecedented response. The contributor to the
program is Sergei Smirnov, a very popular writer.
He is committed to studying the early events of the Patriotic War , discovering the shining points behind the defeat, and bringing the unknown hero back from forgetting.
Before this, the Soviet people knew almost nothing about the fortress and its heroic guardians.
1941 In the early morning of June 22, 1941, the German army suddenly attacked Brest Fortress , and the Soviet army fired the first shot in the Patriotic War here.
With the support of artillery and Aviation , the 45th Infantry Division of the German Army used 20,000 troops to prepare to take down the fortress within 3 hours and annihilate the 9,000 Soviet troops stationed there.
Unexpectedly, on the first day of the attack alone, the 45th Division lost 281 soldiers and 21 officers.
The defenders fought desperately and bravely in the absence of helplessness and no food and water.
From June 30, the casualties of the 45th Division had already accounted for 5% of the total casualties of the 117 German divisions on the Eastern Front.
Berlin asked Ferriz Sreip, commander of the 45th Division, to submit a detailed battle report.
This report was completed on August 7, 1941. In March 1942, the Soviet army seized a copy.
Smirnov's radio program content comes from this report.
Smirnov believes that the number one hero in the fortress is Major Peter Mikhailovich Gavrilov.
On the evening of June 29, the fortress east was blown up by German heavy artillery. The major led 12 survivors to resist tenaciously and was eventually dispersed by the German army.
htmlOn July 23, Gavrilov, who was alone in the tunnel, was seriously injured and captured.
The German army report said that Gavrilov was ragged, skinny, unshaven, covered in dust, and was in a coma. He was extremely weak and even had difficulty swallowing. The moment before he was captured, he still struggled to drop bombs and shoot with a gun, killing and injuring many people.
radio calls on listeners to provide clues to help find hero Gavrilov. After
, Smirnov published the book "Brest Fortress" and won a grand prize. Gavrilov is a household name.
On the morning of December 24, 1955, Smirnov suddenly received a strange call.
The other party said: I am the team leader you are looking for.
On the same day, the news of finding Gavrilov caused a sensation throughout the Soviet Union.
Gavrilov was born in 1900 in a baptized Tatar family in Alvedino Village, Kazan Province. He lost his father at a young age and entered the factory to work at the age of 15.
1918, he volunteered to participate in Red Army , and fought with Kolchak and Denikin's army successively. He stayed in the army after the civil war.
1922 became a member of the Communist Party of Russia (Bolshevikstan). He got married in 1925 and adopted an orphan.
1939, Fulongzhi Military Academy graduated from , was awarded the rank of major, and served as the commander of the 44th Regiment of the 42nd Infantry Division.
He led his delegation to participate in the 1939-1940 Winter War against Finland , and moved to the west of Belarus after the war. Since May 1941, he has stationed in the Brest Fortress.
On June 22, 1941, the German army besieged the fortress, and Gavrilov led 400 people to guard and wait for assistance.
A month later, on July 23, Gavrilov was captured alone and was taken to Hammerburg prisoner of war camp and Rasvenbrück concentration camp.
In May 1945, he was rescued by the Red Army.
Gavrilov entered the "filter camp" in the Far East, and the review ended in June 1946.
At that time, no evidence of his cooperation with the German army was found, and the so-called "voluntary surrender" could not be confirmed. It was decided to expel the party, deprive the military rank, and confiscate the commemorative medal of the "Twenty Years of the Workers and Peasants' Red Army" on the grounds of "losing the Party Member Certificate ".
Gavrilov, who was regained his freedom, returned to the Tatar Republic and was coldly treated by the villagers.
Because he had been captured, he was not allowed to work in collective farm , so he had to find an errand in the pottery factory.
A year later, Gavrilov moved to Krasnodar Krai . He also encountered difficulties due to his identity as a prisoner of war and had to do odd jobs.
Soon, Gavrilov met a woman who lost her family with the same hardship, and became a half-way couple, living in a semi-crypted adobe house on the outskirts of the city. adobe room near
, there are many retired soldiers who have been prisoners of war or entered concentration camps. Gavrilov has never mentioned his experience to them.
Gavrilov's second marriage has no children. He believed at the time that his first wife, Katerina Grigolieva, and adopted son Nikola, had long died.
At the end of 1955, Gavrilov heard a radio program and took the initiative to appear. His party membership and military rank were restored and the medals were returned.
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1956, survivors of Brest gathered again in the fortress, and a local woman revealed the experience of Gavrilov's original family.
Then he learned that his first wife and adopted son were not dead, and they were taken into custody by the German resettlement camp in July 1941.
There are many people in the battalion, and the German army was unable to take care of it. Caterina and Nikola took the opportunity to escape and live in remote villages. After
, Nicholas joined the guerrillas.
In 1952, Caterina was paralyzed and entered a disabled person's home in 1956.
Gavrilov then took Yekaterina to Krasnodar , but unfortunately she only lived for a few months and died in December 1956. Before his death, Nicholas was serving active service.
In January 1957, the Soviet Union awarded Gavrilov the title of " Soviet Hero ", the Lenin Medal and the "Vincent Star" Medal.
Gavrilov began to give speeches across the country, visiting units and schools, accepting interviews with delegations, filmmakers and reporters, and writing memoirs.
In 1965, the Soviet Union awarded the title of hero to the Brest Fortress, becoming the only fortress to win the title of hero to the Soviet Union.
From 1968 until the end of his life, Gavrilov lived in a new three-bedroom apartment in Krasnodar City Guangming Street (renamed Gavrilov Street in 1980).
On January 26, 1979, Gavrilov passed away.
Following his will, he was buried in the Brest Garrison Memorial Cemetery with military rituals, and he will always be with his former comrades.
