Until June 1941, these were the most ordinary boys who strictly observed the laws of the pioneers. Studying, helping adults, playing and communicating with peers - that was the basis of their life. And when the fascist invaders came to Soviet soil, the fire of sacred love for the Motherland immediately flared up in their children's hearts, and at the cost of their own lives, the pioneers rose to its defense. Colossal trials in the form of a whole arsenal of hardships, disasters, deprivations suddenly fell on the fragile shoulders of young boys and girls. But they did not break them, but only made them more resilient, stronger and more purposeful. Valya Kotik, Zina Portnova, Vitya Korobkov, Vladimir Shcherbatsevich - this is only a small part of those who, along with adults, were not afraid to repel the enemy. And of course, one cannot fail to note the feat that Shura Kober and Vitya Khomenko accomplished. Their biographies are as similar as two drops of water.
Both of them were brought up in an incomplete family, lost their normal childhood, were members of an underground organization, and even died on the same day. What is known about these teenagers, whom almost every pioneer looked up to? Let's take a closer look at this issue.
Shura
Kober Alexander Pavlovich was born in the city of Nikolaev (Ukraine) on November 5, 1926. Geographically, he lived in a working settlement. The future pioneer hero practically did not know his father, since he lost his life even before the Great Patriotic War (during the testing of a warship on the Black Sea). From childhood, Shura showed an interest in reading. His favorite books were The Adventures of Captain Hatteras, Suvorov, The Gadfly. In addition to literature, Kober Alexander Pavlovich was fond of playing the violin and even attended a music school.
Occupation
Carefree and rosy childhood for Shura ended in August 1941. The Germans captured Nikolaev. Almost all state institutions have stopped working, including kindergartens and schools.
The Nazis allowed only two cinemas and the Hermitage Theater to function. Already in the first days of the occupation, Kober Alexander Pavlovich stood up for the defense of his native city, but his fight against the enemy was classified, and he did not immediately become a member of the underground organization. He managed to rally a small team of guys around him and began to prevent the Germans from realizing their vile plans.
So, one day, the future pioneer hero damaged the communication cable, which stretched towards the military airfield. The teenager secretly managed to collect and disguise a certain arsenal of weapons, including cartridges, grenades and rifles. Often Kober Alexander Pavlovich supplied food to the townspeople, whom the Germans made prisoners of the created concentration campShpalag-364.
Underground
Attempts to secretly fight the Nazi troops did not go unnoticed by Anna Simanovich and Klavdiya Krivda. It was with the help of these people that the teenager became a member of the underground organization "Nikolaev Center". After some time, Shura was already fulfilling responsible assignments, namely: fixing the location of fascist units, monitoring the location of military facilities and reporting all potential emergency situations. That's all, if briefly about Shura Kober. But the feat that he accomplished together with Vitya Khomenko must always be described in every detail and detail.
Vitya
Naturally, we should dwell on the biography of like-minded Alexander Kober.
Vitya Khomenko was born on September 12, 1926 in Kremenchug, Ukraine. The boy also lost his father early, who fought on the side of the Reds during the Civil War. Viti's childhood was not easy: his mother alone had to raise him and two sisters. The boy learned early what work is, and he had little time left to play with his peers. He became a real support for his mother and always helped her in housekeeping. At school, the pioneer was distinguished by diligence, diligence and discipline. From childhood, Vitya dreamed of sailing and at every convenient moment he loved to swim. When the summer holidays came, the teenager ran to the river to dive to his heart's content.
War
Vitya found out about the invasion of the German invaders when he was in a pioneer camp located not far fromNikolaev. Soon he returned home (to Nikolaev) and began to think hard about how to resist foreign invaders. The boy began to spend more time on the street, returning to his native land when it was getting dark.
Naturally, the mother wondered where her son disappeared for days on end. As it turned out, he, like Shura Kober (pioneer hero), embarked on a secret struggle against the Nazis. What did Vitya do? He tracked the city posters and unnoticed from everyone tore the printed orders of the Germans. In addition, the teenager made a homemade radio and in one of the basements of a residential building, together with friends, listened to the voice of Yuri Levitan, who transmitted the latest news from the capital of the USSR. Then the boys wrote them down on paper and secretly gave them to the townspeople and residents of the surrounding villages to read.
Access to German documents
After some time, Vitya Khomenko decides to squeeze deeper into the enemy environment. He gets a job working for the Nazis as an assistant in the kitchen of a field hospital. Even at school, the pioneer demonstrated to teachers a good knowledge of the German language, and this circumstance, coupled with such qualities as dexterity and diligence, will play into his hands: Vitya quickly won the trust of the Nazis. As a result, no one bothers the teenager to communicate with the wounded soldiers of Germany, who do not keep silent about the fact that they do not want to be killed for the sake of fulfilling the odious and unrealistic ideas of the Fuhrer. The soldiers of the Reich do not hide from the pioneer and the names of the generals and officers whose orders theyperforming.
Vitya Khomenko does not miss a single detail expressed by the Fritz. He spends a lot of time in the German canteen "Ost", where from time to time he receives a task from the Nazis: to deliver one or another package of secret documents to a specific address. For the underground organization "Nikolaev Center", this information was invaluable, and, naturally, Viktor passed on the contents of the papers received from the Germans to his commanders.
Once the Nazis gave him very important documents that were of paramount importance. In fact, it was a scheme for the advancement of fascist troops in the Caucasus. But it was not possible to transfer secret documents to the commanders of the Russian army in Moscow remotely: the radio broke down … In addition, the underground workers were running out of paper products, medicines and weapons. It was decided to deliver a secret package of documents to the capital, entrusting this responsible and risky business to two young but experienced underground workers.
The way to Moscow
They turned out to be Vitya Khomenko and Shura Kober. But how to leave the city and not arouse the suspicions of the Germans? They were able to lull the Germans' vigilance by informing them that they were going to the village to exchange basic necessities for bread.
When it was just dawn, the boys left the safe house. Shura Kober, whose biography is little known to the modern young generation, hid a secret report in a homemade bamboo stick. The way to the capital was difficult and dangerous. At first, the pioneers sailed along the Kuban River in a boat, and after it sank, they were forced to swim to the shore. After they found the place where the detachment of the Red Army was stationed, the commanders of which suggested to Alexander and Viktor the way to the headquarters of the Transcaucasian Front. At the end of August 1942, the underground fighters flew from the Georgian capital to Moscow on a military plane. After they handed over a secret package of documents to their destination. Mission completed.
Road back
Soon I had to return to Nikolaev. Pioneers and radio operator Lydia Britkin decided to deliver by plane. All three were evacuated by parachute from the aircraft when the aircraft reached the territory of the Nikolaev region. In addition to the radio operator and underground workers, parachutes with valuable cargo were dropped from the aircraft: weapons, cartridges, a device for printing campaign materials, and a radio transmitter. One such parachute landed in the wrong place. Successfully catapulted in the vicinity of the village of Sebino (Novoodessky district), Vitya, Alexander and Lida subsequently learned that the Germans had found the “x” parachute. The underground decided to act as follows: Khomenko will go to Nikolaev, and Lida and Shura Kober (pioneer hero) will stay in place to find out how events will develop further.
Khomenko got to the highway Novaya Odessa - Nikolaev, and a car came across him, in the cabin of which the Germans were sitting. Without losing his composure, the teenager raised his hand. The Germans were discouraged by this behavior, but still stopped. But Khomenko was a good connoisseur of the German language, which bribed the enemy. Fritz offered Vitya to bring him, and thus the underground worker ended up in Nikolaev. Soon he was already in the "Nikolaev Center". Shura Koberg also managed to get home safely after some time.
Viti's arrest
But there was a problem with the final transportation of valuable cargo. The communist Vsevolod Bondarenko agreed to help in his delivery, who, together with Khomenko, went to carry out the task.
In order not to arouse suspicion, Bondarenko rolled a wheelbarrow loaded with a whole pile of worn clothes, and Vitya walked next to him. There was very little left to reach their destination when a German patrol blocked the way for the underground. Khomenko and his companion were arrested.
Shura's arrest
Soon another member of the anti-fascist underground was also arrested. On one of the November nights of 1942, the Nazis drove up to the house where Shura Kober lived. In a matter of minutes, the Germans expelled the pioneer from the dwelling and pushed him into the car by force. Then he ended up in a prison cell. And the next day, Alexander met his friend Vitya Khomenko in the same place. As it turned out, the Germans reached the underground organization by introducing their man into it. And after some time, the provocateur betrayed the members of the "Nikolaev Center". The following days, the pioneers are subjected to severe torture and bloody tortures: the Germans want to find out at all costs how the underground managed to transmit a secret report to Moscow. But the teenagers did not say a word to the enemy. The massacre of the pioneers turned out to be cruel.
Execution
Them andten more underground workers were executed on December 5, 1942. The Germans set up a gallows on the Market Square, and the executioners completed their bloody mission. Shura and Vitya died like heroes. A few years later, the pioneers were awarded the Order of the Patriotic War, I degree, for their feat. In the autumn of 1959, a monument to Shura Kober and Vita Khomenko was erected in the Pioneer Square in Nikolaev.
