At the age of 11, she became a messenger, saved an entire village from death. The story of the life and exploits of Euphrosyne Bazyleva

The other day, Efrosiniya Bazyleva turned 91, but the war veteran has so much enthusiasm that he can’t turn his tongue to call her grandmother. She remembers everything that happened more than 80 years ago, when she became a liaison of a partisan detachment as an 11-year-old girl. She saved an entire village from death and survived the death of her dearest people - her brother and sister. We met with Efrosinia Ivanovna on the eve of Victory Day.

Efrosinia Ivanovna has few pre-war memories: her parents worked on the collective farm for days, the children helped at home with the housework, in the garden. They did not live well, but together. The older sisters Vera, Olga, Maria and brother Vasily already worked at the enterprises and factories of the Mogilev region. She, along with the younger Misha and Sasha, studied at the village seven-year school.

- What do children need, especially during school holidays: run around the street, fool around, play football , - begins the difficult story of Efrosiniya Bazyleva. - I remember well when on the radio the commentator announced in a firm voice: the war has begun, the Motherland is in danger! Even then I asked my mother: what does the Motherland mean? She replied: this is the place where you were born and you must protect it, even as a child. This is what true patriots do. I realized this years later, when I experienced the death of loved ones.

In July 1941, the Germans, moving to Smolensk, could not get past Mogilev, leaving it in the rear so as not to disrupt the attack on Moscow. It was decided to send units to storm the city. The first attempt ended in failure. Mogilev was guarded by only one division - the 172nd rifle division. The townspeople came to the aid of the soldiers. They erected fortifications, dug an anti-tank ditch - an obstacle 25 kilometers long skirted the city. Thousands of inhabitants wiped their palms with blood every day to keep the enemy out of their native land. Among them was the family of our heroine.

- The Nazis thought that they would capture our city very quickly, but that was not the case. He lasted 23 days! Everyone rose to his defense: workers of factories and factories, old people, women and children. Moscow sent entire echelons to our aid . Airplanes with soldiers arrived at the military airfield, which became a strategic facility. Ordinary residents were ready to join the battle at any moment, - continues the veteran. - My older sister Maria then worked at the 11th school. She met with the commanders of the arriving divisions. When the German began to get closer to the city, it was decided to organize an underground, which included our whole family, because we knew every corner, every street by heart.

When the battles for Mogilev subsided and the front rolled back to the east , the father, together with his eldest sons, went to the Buinichsky field several times to "clean up" - this is how Ivan Filippovich called the collection of weapons left after bloody battles. The mother and daughters also had their own task.

- We pretended to collect rye ears, and we ourselves slowly went out to the railway for scattered ammunition. Three times we managed to make such visits. Father hid rifles and machine guns in a cart, in which he made a double bottom, and covered it with straw. He sat us down from above, so we drove home. If they met Germans on the way, then he said that he was taking the Kinder to his grandparents. He himself delivered weapons to the partisans, - says Efrosinia Ivanovna. - When it became dangerous, he brought weapons home, hid them in the cellar. The partisans themselves came for equipment. When the Nazis became aware of this, dad and brothers were in mortal danger. They went to the partisans.

The eldest sister, Vera, who graduated from the courses of cooks in peacetime, worked by profession at the railway station. She was appointed HEAD of the underground organization at the station. Together with the workers of the canteen, she transmitted data on the arrived trains with the Germans, the number of equipment and weapons, ammunition and other equipment. Another sister, Maria, managed to get to the airport where the German camp was located. And 11-year-old Bronechka, as her relatives called Euphrosyne, also did not want to sit idle. The girl ran up to the commanders and asked for a task for herself, to which they answered, they say, wait, your time will come.

- Guys from nearby villages went to the forest to partisan. We needed someone who would inconspicuously keep in touch with them, reporting on the movements of the Nazis. That's how I turned out to be a liaison of Osman Kasaev's partisan detachment, where my father and older brothers had already fought, - the interlocutor recalls. - The invaders at that time did not even think that children could perform feats. I came to visit my sister at the station. She handed over all the information and important documents: she hid it under the lining of her jacket, then in the insoles of her shoes. I managed to slip out of the city. She ran faster to the detachment to the partisans. The path is not close: five kilometers, and even through the railway. Only miraculously, I remained unnoticed for a long time.

Efrosinia Bazyleva was a messenger until 1943. All this time, the partisans smashed the Nazis, undermined the bridges across the Dnieper and the railway on their way, so as not to let them go forward. Our heroine participated in one of these operations.

- Brought information when the partisans were preparing to undermine the railway. I was nimble, without hesitation. I say, they say, let me put a mine, you just tell me where, in what place. I got everything right the first time. We moved further away, suddenly we hear an explosion: German wagons rose into the air. We then together reported to the command that I also took part in this operation, - Efrosinia Ivanovna says proudly.

The Germans began to follow the house where Bronechka lived with her mother and went on the trail of Vera. She herself was seized and thrown into the prison of Mogilev. They mocked and tortured the girl for a long time, demanded that she give out all the appearances and passwords, but the brave underground woman was silent to the last. Maria and Euphrosinia managed to see their sister a few hours before the execution, but they did not manage to hug or talk.

- We knew that Vera was being held in prison, so we decided to take the package. We came to the building, there was a German car, there were a lot of Nazis around. They saw how she, barely alive, was dragged out into the street and thrown into a car. They took away and shot our dear sister. I still don’t know where her grave is,” Efrosinia Bazyleva says in a low voice and, with tears in her eyes, stops her story to take a breath. It can be seen that the memories of those years are given to her with great difficulty and pain in her heart. - At that very moment, an incredible feeling of hatred for the Nazis appeared. Even I, a young girl, wanted to wipe them off the face of the earth. I resolutely declared that I was ready to perform any task in order to avenge Vera's death.

May 9 for Euphrosyne Bazyleva is one of the main holidays of the year. On this day, the veteran receives many congratulations from relatives and friends, and is sure to participate in the parade. Another unshakable tradition is the laying of flowers at the monument on Victory Square.

In order not to fall into the clutches of the Germans, the sisters Olga and Maria went to the partisans. Only Bronechka remained at home with her mother. The girl continued to carry out various assignments. So, on one of the nights, when partisans were supposed to come to the village, several dozen Germans gathered. The girl needed to be warned of the ambush. Mom tearfully asked her daughter: "My dear, take a can, tell the Germans that you are going to your aunt for MILK. You yourself run to ours and say that they are not allowed to go to the village now."

- She put on me a casing, felt boots, tied a scarf, and I went on a mission. The Germans, suspecting nothing, let me through. She passed several houses, left her can on the porch of a neighbor, explained to her what was happening, and she rushed through the gardens to meet the partisans. It was hard to run, the snow was waist-deep, the cold was terrible ... But I had a goal - to have time to warn our heroes, so I couldn’t think of anything else, ”the interlocutor says. - She fell into the snowdrifts, cried, but got up and ran again. I got to the railway, but I can’t get up, I began to clutch at some bushes. All the time I think: where did I get these forces from, so small, hungry. But I climbed onto the rails, sat down to catch my breath and burst into tears again: the partisans were about to come, but what if we missed each other ...

I just thought about how people in white capes appeared from the right side. Euphrosinia waved to them, and the partisans immediately ran up to the girl. She told them about the ambush. If you go to the village now, then you can call trouble on yourself and on the villagers. After all, the Germans did not spare either children or adults for assisting the partisans. People were shot or driven into huts and burned alive.

- The partisans praised me. When they found out that I was carrying out the task of my mother, they promised to inform the authorities about this so that we would be presented for the award. Only later, before the end of the war, I was really awarded for the feat that saved our entire village, ”she notes. - In the spring of 1944, the Nazis took my mother to a concentration camp located on the territory of the Mogilev Pipe Foundry. Local residents managed to redeem her from captivity for food. We immediately went into the forest.

The biggest holiday that she remembers to this day was the liberation of her native Mogilev. Near the city there was a huge lawn strewn with bells, soldiers marched along it with an accordion and sang victorious songs.

I still close my eyes and see this amazing picture. We survived, defeated the German monsters, although many remained forever on the battlefields. We must keep eternal memory of these heroes, passing it on to new generations, - the veteran is sure. - The Nazis killed my sister Vera, the eldest brother Vasily, who was drafted into the army before the start of the war, did not return home. We always waited for his letters, in which he asked me to take care, because I also perform important tasks. With fighting, our Vasya reached the very Koenigsberg, and on April 15, 1946, a funeral came to him.

In the album, along with old black-and-white photographs of her large family, Efrosinia Ivanovna has carefully kept the last letter from her brother, which he sent from the front on February 7, 1945, for all these years. She admits, rereading it over and over again, she memorized every word, every comma.

- Hello, dear parents, Olya, Misha, Bronechka. I send you warm greetings from the front. I am alive and well, and I wish you the same. We take strong revenge on the Fritz for the shed blood and for our sister Verochka. Olya, write what news you have . Hello to all friends. Kisses to all relatives. For Sister Bronechka: I wish you good success in your studies and I ask you to write letters to me more often. Everything that you wrote to me before, I carefully keep and often re-read, I remember my own sister. I kiss you and wait for an answer, - the interlocutor reads an excerpt from the letter, brushing away tears from her cheeks.

After the liberation of Mogilev, an active revival of the city began: schools, shops, medical institutions were opened, factories and plants were restored, and the work of urban transport was improved. In 1946, the first post-war bus route was launched.

After the war, Efrosiniya Bazyleva again sat down at the school desk. Then she entered the Mogilev Pedagogical Institute. For many years she taught Russian language and literature in one of the secondary schools in MINSK. A happy accident brought her to her future husband. He was originally from the Mogilev region, and worked and lived in the capital.

- We ended up in the same company, and it turned out that his brother graduated with a gold medal from the school where my sister Maria was DIRECTOR. And so they began to communicate. True, he went to Minsk , but he wrote letters. Then he returned with a proposal to marry him, - says Efrosinia Ivanovna. - My husband passed away a long time ago, I had to raise my son Valera alone, who followed in the footsteps of my brother and sister - he became a military man. In the 1980s he fought in Afghanistan, so he knows not only from my stories how much grief and pain the war brings.

Efrosinia Bazyleva is one of the oldest residents of the Sovietsky district of the capital. Last Tuesday, the war veteran celebrated her 91st birthday. Despite the venerable years, she is still an active member of the veterans' organization. No event is complete without it. During our meeting, the heroine managed to list at least three important meetings, which she definitely needs to attend on the eve of May 9th. Among the priority cases are communication with schoolchildren and stories about the events of the harsh war years.

- It is interesting for children, because it is one thing to read in a book or on the Internet, and quite another when you have a living witness of those events in front of you. They listen carefully and ask questions. For example, once they asked how we celebrated the New Year in the war! No way. Then no one thought about the holidays. Everyone fought shoulder to shoulder against the Nazis, she notes. - Today's children can't believe it when I tell you that I first tried sweets only after the war. I remember how dad brought a whole bag of sweet pillows, and we looked at them with surprise. Now the children have everything they could wish for, including the most important thing - a peaceful sky over our beloved Belarus.

The project was created at the expense of targeted collection for the production of national content.

Marina VALAKH,

photo - Ramil NASIBULIN,

newspaper "7 days".