Project: “Nobody is Forgotten”

The purpose of our research: to reveal new facts from the history of the Great Patriotic War; to discover forgotten heroes of the War and to preserve their memory.

The main idea: Thousands of our citizens perished during the war, carrying out special tasks and participating in secret operations. Unfortunately their names are often lost or unknown.

We found the diary of one of the participants of those war years. Reading the yellow pages of the diary, we feel the atmosphere of that period and learn new facts from our war history. New names have been uncovered.

This task is very noble. We know and remember the names of our relatives, the famous heroes of the War, and we honor their memory. But a lot of names of the soldiers buried in our graves are still unknown. And we were very glad to find this diary of an absolutely unknown man, Victor Lidov, in the family of his sister. This man became dear to us. And we hope that our pupils will learn the history of this horrible war through the fate of this once Unknown Soldier reflected in his diary.

Tasks: to learn the history of the War, the defense of Moscow; to make a translation of the diary into English; to make a presentation of the project, using modern computer technology; to find songs of the war period and learn them; to bring pupils up with a patriotic spirit; to teach pupils to respect the memory of all those who never come back from defending our Motherland.

Methods of investigation: an analysis of the diary; linguistic; searching.

The results:

1. We found materials about the War, about the defense of Moscow.

2. These materials were translated into English.

3. We found and translated the diary of a participant of the War.

4. We learned war songs.

5. The presentation of the project was made.

6. Pupils performed a concert dedicated to war songs.

Introduction

We want to speak with you today about the most cruel and terrible war in the history of peoples on our planet. This war has broken normal life and dreams, ruined cities and towns, and millions of people were killed. Many unknown soldiers have been buried in battlefields…

The main idea of our project is to remember all those who have never returned home. We are going to tell you about an unknown hero of the war – Victor Lidov, whose diary has been saved since those days.

We’ll show you a piece of the peaceful life which was interrupted by the war. People all over the world want to live, love, laugh, be happy, sing and dance.

65 years have passed since the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. We know from books and textbooks the history of this war, sometimes the participants of those events tell us about the war themselves.

But we don’t know all the names of the Heroes of the Great War. We will try to honor all those who were forgotten, whose names were lost in history.

We shall tell you the history of one man’s fate. He is a real hero and it is our duty to remember his name.

Victor Michailovich Lidov was born in Moscow in the Russian Empire in the middle of World War I, and grew up in the Soviet Union on the Eve of World War II. He was a famous sportsman, master of sports in swimming and skiing. He was 25 when the War started. He had just entered the Physical Training Institute.

The war changed all his plans and dreams. And he began to write. The first record in his diary is: “Moscow the 22nd of June…”

The yellowed pages of his diary have been silent for six decades…

My hand trembled from touching history and with shivers, I’m reading these lines.

Nobody has read these lines for six decades. This man’s voice has not been heard for six decades. And now we will listen to him…

LIDOV'S DIARY

30 June. At night of the 23rd of June, there was a sudden firing, waking me up. Planes are flying, anti-aircraft guns are shooting, and putting it briefly it appears to be war.

People are frightened. They ran to the underground, dressed in anything they could put on. There was a major panic. Rumors began to be spread. My brother saw, with his own eyes, two planes brought down by anti-aircraft guns which fell on Sokolniki. In the morning, the announcement that the alarm was only training appeared in the newspapers.

1 July. I handed in an application to enlist as a volunteer for the army. I thought that while my brothers were at home, I should go to war. I came home and they surprised me with the same application. I wish that we could all be in the subunit together.

11 July. I’m enlisted and serve in a volunteer special purpose detachment of NKVD troops. All sporting Moscow is in this detachment.

The training is badly arranged. Much time is spent in vain. The chief lieutenant of our group couldn’t explain how to find the sides of the world by means of the clock. Under fighting conditions, our mood and unity will undoubtedly be different. There is much of the sapping affair in our schedule. Where, when and what shall we explode?

21 July. The Germans stubbornly continue to attack. The battles are for the city of Smolensk. All who are not working, are being evacuated from Moscow. The cards are given.

19 August. Somewhere the cruel and inexorable war has been going on. Millions of the best people are lost, but we are as inside the Christ’s shirt. We hold competitions between the detachments and even often go to Moscow.

29 September. The battles for Odessa, Leningrad are conducted. The enemy strikes the throat and the heart.

Somewhere in Bessarabia, Vanyushka was killed. He cut into the enemy’s plane. His mother and wife are crying. The son has only one question from morning to night: “Mummy! Where is my dad? He is killing fascists, isn’t he?”

Your father has beaten off vile creatures, my boy. But we, I will take our revenge for you!

Ira has quickly and suddenly gone with a partisan detachment. To go to the very enemy’s heart and to know that there won’t be any mercy in the case of failure is a caring exploit. Maybe it’s more than to ram or destroy the enemy’s tank by land mine. It’s dangerous, the blood is boiling and everything is done instinctively there. Here it’s more like action in cold blood, courageous and brave.

27 August. On the 16th an announcement was read on the radio about the break in the front. The government and diplomatic corps left Moscow.

Those nearer to the top began to panic. The plant directors dismissed the workers, having paid off their wages for a month in advance. Some of them told the workers directly: “Steal what you can, don’t leave anything for the Germans”, and they stole. Taken were biscuits from ”Babaevka”, flour from grain elevators, ham from meat works, even measuring devices from machine plants.

There was an awful panic. During the night, the day and next night, people were leaving Moscow by any transport. On the 19th Stalin’s decree giving permission to fire on them for such a disgrace was published. And they are being fired on. There will be fewer scoundrels, but panic must be stopped as soon as possible.

7 November. Today is a parade of our army. We are demonstrating our force. And we are strong if we can arrange such a parade only 100 kms from the enemy lines.

I believe there will be a time when we’ll beat them as grouses and then we`ll take it out on them. Many Gretchens will not see their husbands. While there is life there is hope, it will be so sooner or later.

At their approach to Moscow, the Germans are brought up short and probably will break their teeth, and maybe a head. To tell the truth, they failed. By December 16 they had had many chances to invade Moscow if the pressure had been stronger. The absence of mined fields, street barricades, big reserves and mainly panic, gave them great possibilities. Istra, formerly a flowering town-garden, is now in ruins. All stone buildings are ruined, the wooden once are burnt. There are wire balls, puddles of frozen water, burning-out fire brands, and pieces of torn roofs. Corpses are everywhere in the streets. The town has died out. Istra is crying out for vengeance and we will take revenge for millions of disfigured and murdered people, for our suffering.

VICTOR'S LAST RECORD

I am 26. It is too much. And I am not highly educated yet. The war! How much grief and misfortune you have brought. We must fight, reconnoiter.

It’s our fate and it will be found out who will get an order and who a piece of lead.

V. Lidov was buried in a brotherly grave at the place of his death in Byelorussia. After the war, a monument was erected there. His 15-year-old brother died in the war. Victor’s diary had been saved in his sister’s family for all these years. The memory about him and thousands of forgotten heroes must be kept in our mind forever.

Advisor: G.Y. Semenova

Research advisors: A.S. Nikulin, L.F. Lebedeva