The shortest night of the year: how long, customs, holidays. The shortest night of the year: how long, customs, holidays From June 21 to 22 night

The weather was great in Berlin on Saturday 21 June. Already in the morning the day promised to be hot, and many of our employees were preparing to leave the city in the afternoon - to the parks of Potsdam or to the Wannsee and Nicholassee lakes, where the swimming season was in full swing. Only a small group of diplomats had to stay in the city. In the morning an urgent telegram arrived from Moscow. The embassy was to immediately convey to the German government the above-mentioned important statement.

I was instructed to contact the Wilhelmstrasse, where the Foreign Office was located in the pompous palace of Bismarck's time, and to arrange a meeting of the embassy representatives with Ribbentrop. The officer on duty at the minister's secretariat replied that Ribbentrop was not in the city. A call to the First Deputy Minister, Secretary of State, Baron von Weizsacker, also failed. Hour after hour passed, and none of the responsible persons could be found. Only at noon did the director of the political department of the ministry, Verman, appear. But he only confirmed that neither Ribbentrop nor Weizsacker was in the ministry.

It seems that some important meeting is taking place at the Fuehrer's headquarters. Apparently, everything is there now, - explained Werman. - If you have an urgent matter, tell me, and I will try to contact the management ...

I replied that it was impossible, since the ambassador was instructed to convey the statement personally to the minister, and asked Werman to let Ribbentrop know about it ...

The matter on which we sought a meeting with the minister could not be entrusted to secondary officials. After all, it was about a statement in which the German government was required to explain in connection with the concentration of German troops along the borders of the Soviet Union.

From Moscow that day they called several times by phone. We were rushed to carry out our assignment. But no matter how much we turned to the Foreign Office, the answer was the same: Ribbentrop is not there, and it is not known when he will be. He is out of reach, and he, they say, could not even be informed of our appeal.

At about seven o'clock in the evening, everyone went home. I had to stay at the embassy and seek a meeting with Ribbentrop. Putting my desk clock in front of me, I decided to meticulously, every 30 minutes, call the Wilhelmstrasse.

Through the open window overlooking Unter den Linden, Berliners could be seen strolling in the middle of the street along a boulevard lined with young linden trees, as usual on Saturdays.

Girls and women in bright colorful dresses, men, mostly elderly, in dark old-fashioned suits. At the gates of the embassy, \u200b\u200bleaning on the jamb of the gate, a policeman in an ugly Schutzman helmet was dozing ...

I had a large sheaf of newspapers on my desk - in the morning I could only skim through them. Now it was possible to read more closely. In the Nazi officialdom "Volkischer Beobachter" several articles by Dietrich, the head of the press department of the German government, have been published recently. The press attaché of the embassy reported on them at one of our last internal press conferences. In these clearly inspired articles, Dietrich always hit one point. He spoke of a certain threat that hung over the German Empire and which hinders the implementation of Hitler's plans to create a "thousand-year Reich." The author pointed out that the German people and government were forced, before embarking on the construction of such a Reich, to eliminate the threat that had arisen. Dietrich, of course, promoted this idea for a reason. I remembered his articles on the eve of the attack of Hitlerite Germany on Yugoslavia in the first days of April 1941. Then he talked about the "sacred mission" of the German nation in Southeast Europe, recalled the campaign of Prince Eugene in the 18th century in Serbia, occupied at that time by the Turks, and quite transparently made it clear that now the same path must be taken by German soldiers. Now, in the light of the facts known to us about the preparations for the war in the East, Dietrich's articles on the "new threat" acquired a special meaning. It was hard to get rid of the thought that the rumor circulating in Berlin, in which the last date of Hitler's attack on the Soviet Union - June 22 - appeared, might be correct this time. It also seemed strange that we could not contact either Ribbentrop or his first deputy during the whole day, although usually, when the minister was not in town, Weizsacker was always ready to receive a representative of the embassy. And what is this important meeting at Hitler's headquarters, at which, according to Werman, all the Nazi leaders are? ..

When I called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs again, the official who answered the phone politely uttered the stereotypical phrase:

I have still not been able to contact Herr Reichsminister. But I remember your appeal and take action ...

To the comment that I would still have to bother him, since this was an urgent matter, my interlocutor kindly replied that this did not bother him at all, since he would be on duty at the ministry until morning. Again and again I called on Wilhelmstrasse, but to no avail ...

Suddenly, at 3 am, or at 5 am Moscow time (it was already Sunday, June 22), the phone rang. Some unknown voice announced that Reichsminister Joachim von Ribbentrop was waiting for the Soviet representatives in his office at the Foreign Office on Wilhelmstrasse. Already from this barking unfamiliar voice, from the extremely official phraseology, something ominous breathed. But in answering, I pretended that we were talking about a meeting with the minister, which the Soviet embassy was seeking.

I don't know anything about your appeal, ”said the voice on the other end of the line. “I have only been instructed to convey that Reichsminister Ribbentrop is asking Soviet representatives to come to him immediately.

I noticed that it would take time to notify the ambassador and prepare the car, to which they replied:

The Reich Minister's personal car is already at the entrance of the Soviet embassy. The minister hopes that Soviet representatives will arrive immediately ...

Leaving the gates of the embassy mansion on Unter den Linden, we saw a black Mercedes limousine at the sidewalk. At the wheel was a chauffeur in a dark jacket and a cap with a large varnished visor. Sitting next to him was an officer from the Totenkopf SS Division. The crown of his cap was decorated with the emblem - a skull with crossed bones.

On the sidewalk, waiting for us, stood an official of the Foreign Ministry protocol department in full dress. With emphasized politeness, he opened the door for us. The ambassador and I, as an interpreter for this responsible conversation, sat in the back seat, the official settled down in a reclining chair. The car rushed down the deserted street. The Brandenburg Gate flashed to the right. Behind them, the rising sun has already covered the fresh greens of the Tiergarten with crimson. Everything foreshadowed a clear sunny day ...

As we drove out to Wilhelmstrasse, from a distance we saw a crowd outside the Foreign Office. Although it was already daylight, the cast-iron canopy was brightly lit by floodlights. Photo reporters, cameramen, journalists were bustling around. The official jumped out of the car first and opened the door wide. We left, blinded by the light of Jupiters and the flash of magnesium lamps. An alarming thought flashed through my head - is it really a war? There was no other way to explain such a crowd on the Wilhelmstrasse, and even at night. Photo reporters and cameramen accompanied us relentlessly. Every now and then they ran ahead, clicking the locks, when we climbed the stairs covered with a thick carpet to the second floor. A long corridor led to the minister's apartment. Along it, stretched out, stood some people in uniform. At our appearance, they loudly clicked their heels, raising their hand up in a fascist greeting. Finally we turned right into the minister's office.

At the back of the room was a desk. In the opposite corner was a round table, most of which was occupied by a heavy lamp under a high shade. Several chairs were in disarray.

At first the hall seemed empty. Only at the desk sat Ribbentrop in his everyday gray-green ministerial uniform. Looking back, we saw in the corner, to the right of the door, a group of Nazi officials. When we made our way across the room towards Ribbentrop, these people did not budge. Throughout the entire conversation, they remained there, at a considerable distance from us. Apparently, they did not even hear what Ribbentrop was saying: this ancient high hall was so large, which, according to the plan of its owner, was supposed to emphasize the importance of the person of Hitler's foreign minister.

When we came close to the writing table, Ribbentrop got up, silently nodded his head, held out his hand and invited us to follow him to the opposite corner of the room at the round table. Ribbentrop had a swollen crimson face and dull, as if stopped, inflamed eyes. He walked in front of us, head down and staggering a little. "Isn't he drunk?" - flashed through my head.

After we sat down at the round table and Ribbentrop began to speak, my assumption was confirmed. He apparently really drank thoroughly.

The Soviet ambassador was never able to present our statement, the text of which we took with us. Ribbentrop, raising his voice, said that now it will be about something completely different. Stumbling over almost every word, he began to explain in a rather confused way that the German government had data on the increased concentration of Soviet troops on the German border. Ignoring the fact that over the past weeks, the Soviet embassy, \u200b\u200bon behalf of Moscow, had repeatedly drawn the attention of the German side to the egregious cases of violations of the Soviet Union border by German soldiers and aircraft, Ribbentrop said that Soviet servicemen violated the German border and invaded German territory, although such facts in reality was not.

Ribbentrop further explained that he summarized the content of Hitler's memorandum, the text of which he immediately handed us over. Then Ribbentrop said that the German government viewed the situation as a threat to Germany at a time when she was leading a life-and-death war with the Anglo-Saxons. All this, said Ribbentrop, is regarded by the German government and personally by the Fuhrer as the intention of the Soviet Union to stab the German people in the back. The Fuhrer could not tolerate such a threat and decided to take measures to protect the life and safety of the German nation. The Fuhrer's decision is final. An hour ago, German troops crossed the border of the Soviet Union.

Then Ribbentrop began to assure that these actions of Germany are not aggression, but only defensive measures. After that Ribbentrop got up and stretched out to his full height, trying to give himself a solemn air. But his voice clearly lacked firmness and confidence when he uttered the last phrase:

The Fuehrer instructed me to officially announce these defensive measures ...

We also got up. The conversation was over. Now we knew that the shells were already bursting on our land. After the robbery attack had taken place, the war was officially declared ... Nothing could be changed here. Before leaving, the Soviet ambassador said:

This is a blatant, unprovoked aggression. You will still regret that you made a robber attack on the Soviet Union. You will pay dearly for this ...

We turned and headed for the exit. And then the unexpected happened. Ribbentrop, the seed, hastened after us. He became a patter, in a whisper, as if he was personally against this decision of the Fuhrer. He even allegedly dissuaded Hitler from attacking the Soviet Union. Personally, he, Ribbentrop, considers it insane. But there was nothing he could do. Hitler made this decision, he did not want to listen to anyone ...

Tell Moscow that I was against the attack, - we heard the last words of the Reich Minister when we were already going out into the corridor ...

The camera shutters clicked again, the movie cameras began to buzz. The sun was shining brightly on the street where a crowd of reporters greeted us. We approached the black limousine, which was still at the entrance, waiting for us.

On the way to the embassy we were silent. But my thought involuntarily returned to the scene just played out in the office of the Nazi minister. Why was he so nervous, this fascist thug, who, like other Hitlerite bosses, was a fierce enemy of communism and treated our country and the Soviet people with pathological hatred? Where has his insolent self-confidence gone? Of course, he lied, claiming that he dissuaded Hitler from attacking the Soviet Union. But what did his last words mean? We couldn't have an answer then. And now, remembering all this, you begin to think that Ribbentrop, at that fateful moment when he officially announced the decision that ultimately led to the death of the Hitlerite Reich, may have stirred some kind of gloomy premonition ... then an extra dose of alcohol? ..

Having approached the embassy, \u200b\u200bwe noticed that the building was heavily guarded. Instead of one policeman who usually stood at the gate, a whole line of soldiers in SS uniform now lined up along the sidewalk.

The embassy was waiting for us impatiently. While there they probably did not know why Ribbentrop had called us, but one sign made everyone wary: as soon as we left for Wilhelmstrasse, the embassy's connection with the outside world was interrupted - not a single telephone worked ...

At 6 o'clock in the morning Moscow time, we turned on the receiver, waiting for what Moscow would say. But all our stations transmitted first a gymnastics lesson, then a pioneer dawn and, finally, the latest news, which, as usual, began with news from the fields and messages about the achievements of the foremost workers. I thought with dismay: did not Moscow know that the war had already begun several hours ago? Or maybe the actions on the border are regarded as border skirmishes, albeit on a wider scale than those that have taken place over the past weeks? ..

Since the telephone connection was not restored and it was not possible to call Moscow, it was decided to send a message by telegraph about the conversation with Ribbentrop. The coded message was instructed to take Vice-Consul Fomin to the main post office in an embassy car with a diplomatic number. It was our bulky ZIS-101, which was usually used for travel to official receptions. The car drove out of the gate, but 15 minutes later Fomin returned on foot alone. He managed to return only because he had a diplomatic card with him. They were stopped by a patrol. The driver and the car were arrested.

In the garage of the embassy, \u200b\u200bin addition to the "zis" and "emoks", there was a yellow compact car "Opel-Olympia". We decided to use it to get to the post office and send a telegram without attracting attention. This little operation was designed in advance. After I got behind the wheel, the gates swung open, and the nimble Opel jumped out into the street at full speed. Quickly looking around, I breathed a sigh of relief: there was not a single car near the embassy, \u200b\u200band the SS men on foot looked after me in confusion.

It was not possible to hand over the telegram immediately. At the main Berlin post office, all the employees stood at the loudspeaker, from where Goebbels' hysterical cries were heard. He said that the Bolsheviks were preparing a stab in the back for the Germans, and the Fuhrer, having decided to move his troops to the Soviet Union, thereby saved the German nation.

I called one of the officials and handed him a telegram. Looking at the address, he exclaimed:

What are you, to Moscow? Haven't you heard what is being done? ..

Without getting into a discussion, I asked to accept the telegram and write out a receipt. Back in Moscow, we learned that this telegram had never been delivered to its destination ...

When, returning from the post office, I turned from Friedrichstrasse to Unter den Linden, I saw that four khaki cars were parked near the entrance of the embassy. Apparently, the SS have already concluded from their oversight.

In the embassy on the second floor, several people were still at the reception. But the Moscow radio did not mention a word about the incident. When I went downstairs, I saw from the office window boys running along the sidewalk, waving specials. I went out the gate and, stopping one of them, bought several editions. The first photographs from the front were already printed there: with a pain in our hearts we looked at our Soviet soldiers - wounded, killed ... The report of the German command said that at night German planes bombed Mogilev, Lvov, Rovno, Grodno and other cities. It was clear that Hitler's propaganda was trying to create the impression that this war would be a short walk ...

Again and again we come to the radio. Folk music and marches are still heard from there. Only at 12 o'clock Moscow time we heard the statement of the Soviet government:

Today, at 4 o'clock in the morning, without presenting any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country ... Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours.

"... Victory will be ours ... Our cause is just ..." These words came from the distant homeland to us, who found ourselves in the very den of the enemy.

Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb Another title: Night at the Museum 3 Director: Sean Levy Writers: David Guyon, Michael Handelman, Mark Friedman, Thomas Lennon , Ben Garant Director: Guillermo Navarro, Composer: Alan Silvestri, Artist: Martin

Night and death. Night and Love In the poem "Menagerie" (1916), dedicated to the war that gripped Europe, the poet writes about the battle that the peoples entered at the beginning of the 20th century - "at the beginning of an outraged era." This poem echoes Derzhavin's ode To the Taking of Ishmael, where

NIGHT It's not scary during the day. Daytime - light. Everything is as it was: life goes on. Is there good and evil in it Or there is no good and evil - The same rhythm and the same course. Wheels creak and oar splash, Heavy noise of a truck, The world has not died, has not disappeared: The same caress of the breeze, The sky is also blue, Though devoid of miracles ...

XIV. Night It was chilly and cold in the cell. It was pouring from the high, frozen window, and the asphalt floor was wet as after rain. The straw mattress on the iron bunk was incredibly dirty and damp. Reluctantly, I made the bed and, without undressing, lay under my coat, trying

Night Filimonov, with the means of reinforcement, had long ago broken away from our battalion in the direction of Ivankovo. The battalion, pounding mud, walked along the country road. Behind the black domes of churches, towers of bell towers. Soon they were covered with darkness. The wind intensified. But the rain began to subside, there was no rumble

Saturday 16 June to Friday 22 June 1945 Nothing more significant. And I won't write anything else, time is passing. It was Saturday around 5 pm when the bell rang outside. Widow, I thought. And it turned out to be Gerd, in a civilian dress, brown, hair still

"Silent Night, Holy Night" But it was an air raid alert. American aircraft raid. Illuminated stripes, searchlights on watchtowers, streetlights on the roads, bulbs in all rooms, headlights of cars went out. I realized that the barbed wire, which was

LETTER TWO June 19, night You liberate in me my feminine essence, my darkest and most inner being. But this makes me no less clairvoyant. All my sight has a reverse side - blinding. My gentle (the one who makes me ...), all my inseparable

Night of June 22 Saturday June 21 was almost the same as the previous ones, full of warning signals from the fleets. Before the weekend, we usually stopped work earlier, but that evening, my soul was restless, and I called home: - Don't wait for me, I'll be late. Vera Nikolaevna, my wife,

June 8 - June 14, 1979 This morning we undocked Progress-6, and in the evening we took the Soyuz-34 unmanned spacecraft to the same berth. The need for "Soyuz-34" was due to two reasons. The first was that the Soyuz-32 spacecraft on which we flew

On June 21, when only a few hours remained before the attack of Hitler's Germany on the USSR, the Soviet government wanted to meet with the German authorities once again and discuss the state of Soviet - German relations. The USSR Embassy in Berlin was ordered to arrange a meeting with the German government in order to prevent war through negotiations. All attempts by our diplomats to contact the government on Wilhelmstrasse have yielded no results. An urgent telegram came from Moscow about the immediate transfer to the German government of the above-mentioned important statement. But on Wilhelmstrasse "some important meeting" was taking place, which was attended by all the German leaders. This caused concern among the Soviet diplomatic corps in Berlin. Throughout Saturday, June 21, they could not find any of the German leaders with whom they had to contact.

“Meanwhile in Moscow at half past nine in the evening on June 21, the People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov, on the instructions of the Soviet government, invited the German Ambassador Shelenburg to his place and informed him of the contents of the Soviet note on the numerous violations of the border by German aircraft. After that, the People's Commissar tried in vain to induce the ambassador to discuss with him the state of Soviet - German relations and to clarify Germany's claims to the Soviet Union. In particular, the question was posed to Schulenburg: what is Germany's dissatisfaction with the USSR, if any? Molotov also asked what explains the increased spread of rumors about an imminent war between Germany and the USSR, what explains the mass departure from Moscow in recent days of employees of the German embassy and their wives. In conclusion, Schulenburg was asked the question of what explains “the absence of any response from the German government to the reassuring and peaceful TASS report of June 14”. Schulenburg did not give any intelligible answer to these questions ... "

Already on the night of June 22, German planes bombed Mogilev, Lvov, Rovno, Grodno and other cities. Hitler's propaganda tried to create the impression that this war would be a short walk.

At 6 o'clock in the morning, in the USSR on the radio, there were no reports of the attack. The impression was that Moscow did not know about this, or that Germany's actions were regarded as border skirmishes, only of a broader scale than before. In any case, all the stations transmitted first a gymnastics lesson, then a pioneer dawn and, finally, the latest news, which, as usual, began with news from the fields and messages about the achievements of the foremost workers. Only at 12 o'clock Moscow time, Molotov spoke on the radio. He read out the statement of the Soviet government:

Today at 4 o'clock in the morning, without making any claims to the Soviet Union, without declaring war, German troops attacked our country ... Our cause is just. The enemy will be defeated. Victory will be ours!

Volunteers go to defend their homeland.

Vyacheslav Molotov, People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs of the USSR:

"The adviser to the German ambassador, Hilger, when he handed the note, shed tears."

Anastas Mikoyan, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee:

“Immediately, members of the Politburo gathered at Stalin's. We decided that we should make a radio speech in connection with the outbreak of the war. Of course, it was suggested that Stalin should do it. But Stalin refused - let Molotov speak. Of course, this was a mistake. But Stalin was in such a depressed state that he did not know what to say to the people. "

Lazar Kaganovich, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee:

“At night we gathered at Stalin's, when Molotov received Schulenburg. Stalin gave each of us an assignment - me for transport, Mikoyan - for supplies. "

Vasily Pronin, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council:

“On June 21, 1941, at ten o'clock in the evening, the Secretary of the Moscow Party Committee Shcherbakov and I were summoned to the Kremlin. We had scarcely sat down when, addressing us, Stalin said: “According to intelligence and defectors, German troops intend to attack our borders tonight. Apparently, the war begins. Do you have everything ready in the urban air defense? Report! " At about 3 am they released us. In about twenty minutes we drove up to the house. They were waiting for us at the gate. "They called from the Central Committee of the party, - said the person who met, - and instructed to tell them: the war has begun and we must be in place."

• Georgy Zhukov, Pavel Batov and Konstantin Rokossovsky
• RIA News

Georgy Zhukov, General of the Army:

“At 4 hours 30 minutes in the morning, SK Timoshenko and I arrived at the Kremlin. All the summoned members of the Politburo were already assembled. The People's Commissar and I were invited to the office.

I.V. Stalin was pale and sat at the table, holding a pipe not full of tobacco in his hands.

We reported the situation. J.V. Stalin said in perplexity:

"Isn't this a provocation of the German generals?"

“The Germans are bombing our cities in Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states. What a provocation it is ... ”- S.K.Timoshenko answered.

... After a while, VM Molotov quickly entered the office:

"The German government has declared war on us."

JV Stalin silently sank into a chair and thought deeply.

There was a long, painful pause. "

Alexander Vasilevsky,major general:

"At 4:00 a.m. we learned from the operational bodies of the district headquarters about the bombing of our airfields and cities by German aviation."

Konstantin Rokossovsky,lieutenant general:

“At about four o'clock in the morning on June 22, upon receiving a telephone message from the headquarters, I was forced to open a special secret operational package. The directive indicated: immediately bring the corps into combat readiness and march in the direction of Rovno, Lutsk, Kovel. "

Ivan Baghramyan, Colonel:

“… The first strike of the German aviation, although it was unexpected for the troops, did not cause panic at all. In a difficult situation, when everything that could burn was engulfed in flames, when barracks, residential buildings, warehouses were collapsing before our eyes, communications were interrupted, the commanders made every effort to maintain leadership of the troops. They adhered firmly to the battle instructions that they became aware of after opening the packages they had stored. "

Semyon Budyonny, Marshal:

“At 4:01 on 06/22/41, the People's Commissar comrade Timoshenko called me and said that the Germans were bombing Sevastopol and should I report this to Comrade Stalin? I told him that I had to report immediately, but he said: "Call you!" I immediately called and reported not only about Sevastopol, but also about Riga, which the Germans are also bombing. Comrade Stalin asked: "Where is the people's commissar?" I answered: "Here next to me" (I was already in the office of the Commissar). Comrade Stalin ordered to hand over the phone to him ...

So the war began! "

• RIA News

Joseph Geibo, deputy regiment commander of the 46th IAP, ZapVO:

“... My chest went cold. In front of me are four twin-engined bombers with black crosses on their wings. I even bit my lip. Why, these are Junkers! German Ju-88 bombers! What to do? .. Another thought arose: "Today is Sunday, and Germans do not have training flights on Sundays." Is it a war? Yes, war! "

Nikolay Osintsev, chief of staff of the division of the 188th anti-aircraft artillery regiment of the Red Army:

“On the 22nd, at 4 o'clock in the morning, we heard sounds: boom-boom-boom-boom. It turned out that it was German aviation that unexpectedly flew into our airfields. Our planes did not even have time to change these airfields, and everything remained in place. Almost all of them were destroyed. "

Vasily Chelombitko, head of the 7th department of the Academy of Armored and Mechanized Forces:

“On June 22, our regiment stopped to rest in the forest. Suddenly we see planes flying, the commander announced a training alert, but suddenly the planes began to bomb us. We realized that the war had begun. Here in the woods at 12 o'clock in the afternoon they listened to Comrade Molotov's speech on the radio and on the same day at noon received the first combat order from Chernyakhovsky about the division's advance towards Siauliai.

Yakov Boyko, lieutenant:

“Today, i.e. 06/22/41, day off. While I was writing a letter to you, I suddenly hear on the radio that the brutal Hitlerite fascism was bombing our cities ... But it will cost them dearly, and Hitler will no longer live in Berlin ... I now have only one in my soul hatred and desire to destroy the enemy where he came from ... "

Pyotr Kotelnikov, defender of the Brest Fortress:

“In the morning we were awakened by a strong blow. Broke through the roof. I was stunned. I saw the wounded and killed, I understood: this is no longer an exercise, but a war. Most of the soldiers in our barracks were killed in the first seconds. I followed the adults rushing to arms, but the rifle was not given to me. Then I with one of the Red Army men rushed to extinguish the clothing warehouse.

Timofey Dombrovsky, Red Army machine gunner:

“Airplanes poured fire on us from above, artillery - mortars, heavy, light weapons - below, on the ground, and all at once! We lay down on the bank of the Bug, from where we saw everything that was happening on the opposite bank. Everyone immediately understood what was happening. The Germans attacked - war! "

Cultural workers of the USSR

• All-Union Radio Announcer Yuri Levitan

Yuri Levitan, announcer:

“When we, the announcers, were called on the radio early in the morning, the calls began to ring. They call from Minsk: “Enemy planes over the city”, they call from Kaunas: “The city is on fire, why aren't you broadcasting anything on the radio?”, “Enemy planes are over Kiev”. Female crying, excitement: "Is it really a war? .. And now I remember - I turned on the microphone. In all cases, I remember myself that I was worried only internally, only internally worried. But here, when I said the words “Moscow is speaking,” I feel that I can’t speak any further - a lump in my throat is stuck. They are already knocking from the control room - “Why are you silent? Continue! " He clenched his fists and continued: "Citizens and citizens of the Soviet Union ..."

Georgy Knyazev, director of the USSR Academy of Sciences Archive in Leningrad:

VM Molotov's speech on the attack on the Soviet Union by Germany was broadcast on the radio. The war began at 4 1/2 in the morning with an attack by German aircraft on Vitebsk, Kovno, Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol. There are killed. Soviet troops were ordered to repulse the enemy and drive him out of our country. And my heart trembled. Here it is, the moment we were afraid to even think about. Ahead ... Who knows what lies ahead! "

Nikolay Mordvinov, actor:

"Makarenko's rehearsal was going on ... Anorov bursts in without permission ... and in an alarming, deaf voice says:" War against fascism, comrades! "

So, the most terrible front has opened!

Woe! Woe! "

Marina Tsvetaeva, poet:

Nikolai Punin, art historian:

“I remembered the first impressions of the war ... Molotov's speech, which was said by A. A, who ran in with disheveled hair (turned gray) in a black silk Chinese dressing gown. ... (Anna Andreevna Akhmatova)».

Konstantin Simonov, poet:

“I learned that the war had already begun only at two in the afternoon. He wrote poetry all morning on June 22 and did not answer the phone. And when I approached, the first thing I heard was war. "

Alexander Tvardovsky, poet:

“War with Germany. I'm going to Moscow. "

Olga Bergolts, poet:

Russian emigrants

• Ivan Bunin
• RIA News

Ivan Bunin, writer:

"June, 22. From a new page I am writing the continuation of this day - a great event - Germany this morning declared war on Russia - and the Finns and Romanians have already "invaded" its "limits". "

Petr Makhrov, Lieutenant General:

“The day the Germans declared war on Russia, June 22, 1941, had such a profound effect on my whole being that the next day, the 23rd (the 22nd was Sunday), I sent a registered letter to Bogomolov [the Soviet ambassador to France] asking him to send me to Russia to enlist in the army, at least as a private. "

Citizens of the USSR

• Residents of Leningrad listen to the news about the attack of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union
• RIA News

Lydia Shablova:

“We were cutting shingles in the yard to cover the roof. The kitchen window was open and we heard the radio announce that the war had begun. The father froze. His hands dropped: "The roof, apparently, will not be completed ...".

Anastasia Nikitina-Arshinova:

“Early in the morning the children and I were awakened by a terrible noise. Shells, bombs exploded, shrapnel screeched. I, grabbing the children, ran out into the street barefoot. We barely had time to grab some of our clothes. Terror reigned in the street. Over the fortress (Brest) planes circled and dropped bombs on us. Women and children rushed around in panic, trying to escape. In front of me lay the wife of a lieutenant and her son, both killed by a bomb.

Anatoly Krivenko:

“We lived not far from Arbat, in Bolshoy Afanasyevsky Lane. There was no sun that day, the sky was overcast. I walked in the yard with the boys, we chased a rag ball. And then my mother jumped out of the entrance in one combination, barefoot, running and shouting: “Home! Tolya, go home immediately! War!"

Nina Shinkareva:

“We lived in a village in the Smolensk region. On that day, my mother went to a neighboring village for eggs and butter, and when she returned, my father and other men had already left for the war. On the same day, residents began to be evacuated. A big car arrived, and my mother put on all the clothes she had on my sister and me, so that in winter there was something to wear too. "

Anatoly Vokrosh:

“We lived in the village of Pokrov, Moscow Region. On that day, the guys and I were going to the river to catch carp. Mother caught me on the street, told me to eat first. I went into the house and ate. When he began to spread honey on bread, Molotov's message about the beginning of the war was heard. After eating, I ran off with the boys to the river. We ran in the bushes, shouting: “The war has begun! Hurrah! We will defeat everyone! " We absolutely did not understand what this all meant. The adults discussed the news, but I don't remember that there was panic or fear in the village. The villagers went about their usual business, and on this day, and in the following cities, summer residents gathered.

Boris Vlasov:

“In June 1941, he arrived in Oryol, where he was assigned immediately after graduating from the Hydrometeorological Institute. On the night of June 22, I spent the night at the hotel, as I had not yet had time to transport my things to the allotted apartment. Towards morning I heard some kind of fuss, bustle, and the alarm signal slept. The radio announced that an important government message would be broadcast at 12 noon. Then I realized that I had overslept not a training, but a combat alarm - the war had begun. "

Alexandra Komarnitskaya:

“I rested in a children's camp near Moscow. There, the camp leadership announced to us that a war with Germany had begun. All — the counselors and the children — began to cry. "

Ninel Karpova:

“We listened to the message about the beginning of the war from the loudspeaker at the House of Defense. There were many people crowded there. I was not upset, on the contrary, I was proud: my father will defend the Motherland ... In general, people were not afraid. Yes, the women, of course, were upset, crying. But there was no panic. Everyone was confident that we would quickly defeat the Germans. The men said: "Yes, the Germans will skitter from us!"

Nikolay Chebykin:

“June 22nd was Sunday. Such a sunny day! And my father and I, with shovels, dug a cellar for potatoes. About twelve o'clock. At about five minutes, my sister Shura opens the window and says: “The radio is broadcasting:“ A very important government message will be transmitted now! ” Well, we put our shovels on and went to listen. This was Molotov. And he said that German troops, treacherously, without declaring war, attacked our country. We crossed the state border. The Red Army is fighting heavy battles. And he ended with the words: “Our cause is right! The enemy will be defeated! Victory will be ours!".

German generals

• RIA News

Guderian:

“On the fateful day of June 22, 1941, at 2 hours 10 minutes in the morning, I went to the group's command post and climbed to the observation tower south of Bogukala. At 3:15, our artillery preparation began. At 3 hours 40 minutes. - the first raid of our dive bombers. At 4:15 am, the forward units of the 17th and 18th tank divisions began crossing the Bug. At 6 hours 50 minutes near Kolodno I crossed the Bug in an assault boat. "

“On June 22, at three o'clock, four corps of the tank group, supported by artillery and aviation, which was part of the 8th Aviation Corps, crossed the state border. Bomber aircraft attacked enemy airfields, with the task of paralyzing the actions of his aircraft.

On the first day, the offensive went completely according to plan. "

Manstein:

“Already on that first day, we had to get acquainted with the methods by which the war was fought on the Soviet side. One of our reconnaissance patrols, cut off by the enemy, was later found by our troops, he was cut out and brutally mutilated. My adjutant and I traveled a lot to areas in which enemy units could still be located, and we decided not to surrender alive into the hands of this enemy. "

Blumentritt:

“The behavior of the Russians, even in the first battle, was strikingly different from the behavior of the Poles and allies, who were defeated on the Western Front. Even finding themselves in the encirclement, the Russians defended staunchly.

German soldiers and officers

• www.nationaalarchief.nl.

Erich Mende, Chief Lieutenant:

“My commander was twice my age, and he already had to fight the Russians near Narva in 1917, when he was in the rank of lieutenant. “Here, in these endless spaces, we will find our death, like Napoleon ...” he did not hide his pessimism. "Mende, remember this hour, it marks the end of the old Germany."

Johann Danzer, artilleryman:

“On the very first day, as soon as we went on the attack, one of ours shot himself from his own weapon. Clutching the rifle between his knees, he inserted the barrel into his mouth and pulled the trigger. This is how the war and all the horrors associated with it ended for him.

Alfred Dürwanger, Lieutenant:

“When we entered the first battle with the Russians, they obviously did not expect us, but they could not be called unprepared either. Enthusiasm (we have) was not even in sight! Rather, everyone was seized by a sense of the immensity of the upcoming campaign. And then the question arose: where, at what settlement this campaign will end ?! "

Hubert Becker, Lieutenant:

“It was a sultry summer day. We walked across the field, suspecting nothing. Suddenly, artillery fire fell on us. This is how my baptism of fire happened - a strange feeling. "

Helmut Pabst, non-commissioned officer

“The offensive continues. We are continuously moving forward through enemy territory, we have to constantly change positions. Terribly thirsty. No time to swallow a piece. By 10 am we were already experienced, fired upon fighters who had time to see a lot: positions abandoned by the enemy, destroyed and burned-out tanks and vehicles, the first prisoners of war, the first Russians killed. "

Rudolf Gschöpf, chaplain:

“This artillery preparation, gigantic in power and coverage, was like an earthquake. Huge mushrooms of smoke were visible everywhere, instantly growing from the ground. Since there was no question of any response fire, it seemed to us that we had completely wiped out this citadel from the face of the earth. "

Hans Becker, tanker:

“On the Eastern Front, I met people who could be called a special race. The very first attack turned into a life-and-death battle ”.