Pletenyov A.P. gr. I-11
 My
grandfather was
born in 1910 in the
village of Ilyinskoe,
Nolinsk District,
Vyatka Province.
Before the revolution,
he went to the
parochial school of
their village.
The same church.
Photo of 2007
Church of Elijah the Prophet
in the village of Ilyinskoye.
Photo of early XX century
 This
photograph was taken
while he served in the
Leningrad militia in 19311934.
 (Up to 1960-s they served
for 3 years in the Soviet
Union).
 He had buttonholes with
two "triangles" - the title,
which meant squad leader,
today it means simply Sergeant.

After demobilization my
grandfather finished the
course of drivers. He
worked in a provincial town
of Krasnouralsk. In late 1939
he came back home to
Ilyinskoye. My grandmother
stayed there until 1941,
working at the factory as a
metal controller. In autumn
– winter of 1939/40 (First
Finnish war) my
grandfather trained new
recruits in Kyrchany, where
rallying point was located.
And then the war started ...
 The
spring of 1939 in
the history of my
family was marked by
the birth of their first
child - a girl Lida. Her
fate is similar to those
of many pre-war
children - she died
during the war,
apparently, because of
hunger.
Grandfather, grandmother with their daughter
Lida, grandmother´s brother - Pre-war photo
 Probably
my
grandmother was the
first to learn about the
beginning of the war. At
the end of the night shift
early in the morning the
entire staff of the factory
was announced that the
war had begun.
People listened in silence about the beginning of the war

The inscription on the picture: " a keepsake
to Tonya”. 17 August 1941"
At the beginning of the war
my grandfather was sent to
the North-Western Front, the
Baltic states. Hardly had he
reached the front line when
he lost his friend, with whom
he was mobilized from
Nolinsk. He was killed on the
railway platform during the
airstrike. In the Baltic or
Leningrad province
grandfather was captured
during the German offensive.
Grandma said only that he
was missing.
At the beginning of the war,
almost all the trains near the
front were under attacks by
German aircraft.
And at the end of the war
such trains were
showered with flowers
picked up in 12 countries
of Europe ...
 The
summer and
autumn of 1941 were a
tragedy for the Red
Army. The whole
regiments and
divisions surrendered.
Surrounded
somewhere in the
Baltics or Leningrad
province my
grandfather was
unable to avoid
captivity. .
Estonian volunteers on the march
 Grandfather
was held captive in the Latvian
German forest processing factory as free
labour. In the summer of 1944, along with his
comrades my grandfather escaped. Three of
their group were captured and hanged by the
Estonian nationalists. But their team was
successful.
 In
late 1944 my
grandfather was
restored to his old rank.
After that he
participated in the
liberation of the Baltics,
in blocking and
storming of Königsberg.

My grandfather. April /
May 1945. East Prussia
 My
grandfather celebrated Victory Day in the
occupation military forces in East Prussia.
 In
the summer of 1945
my grandfather was
transferred to the Far
East, took part in the
Kuril landing
operation
 although
did not
participate in active
combat operations
because of the
wounds.
 During
the war my
grandfather got 2
medals and 2 orders.
He got another medal
in 1950. He was injured
twice.

My grandpa, grandmother and I.
Early 90's.
Unfortunately my
grandfather died in
1995, when I was 6
years old, so I know
his stories only in the
retelling of my father
and grandmother. He
did not like to talk
about the war, so
there are only three
stories.
 The
first story is about how they, the
prisoners of war were escorted by
"policemen" from whom he just got a kick
butt in the back.
 The second story is about a 2-day march
on foot and padded tank from which there
was a smell of burnt flesh, and the third
story is not a military one - my
grandfather saw an elephant in the
Moscow Zoo during the transfer to the Far
East. That's it.
In the presentation materials from personal photo
collections, memories, and materials from Internet were
used.
