In 1950, under the ruins near the Brest Fortress, the remains of documents were found, indicating fierce battles in the first months of the war. Previously, there was an opinion that the military operations in June-July 1941 were given to the Germans without much loss. However, the discovered papers said otherwise. Soldiers and officers of the Red Army fought to the last drop of blood. Among them was Efim Moiseevich Fomin, the regimental commissar mentioned in the found document. His name was unknown until 1950.
June 22nd
Before presenting the biography of Efim Moiseevich Fomin, one must remember the tragic events that occurred in 1945. After all, the name of this man is inextricably linked with the history of the Brest Fortress, more precisely, with the capture of the ancient citadel by the Germans.
In the early morning, at four o'clock, over a quiet and surprisingly non-military garrison, located in a picturesque area, new, hitherto unseen stars appeared. They aredotted the horizon, and their appearance was accompanied by a strange rumble, which, however, could not be heard by either Efim Moiseevich Fomin or other officers. The garrison was asleep. His awakening came only when the predawn haze was lit up by violent flashes of explosions and a monstrous roar rose up, shaking the earth within a radius of several kilometers. Thousands of German mortars opened fire on the border strip. Thus began the war.
The Ruined Fortress
The German army failed to implement the Barbarossa plan, but the first months of the war were successful for it. No one could tell about what happened at the end of June in the Brest Fortress. Witnesses of bloody battles were silent stones. But a miracle happened, and they started talking. In 1944 Brest was liberated. Then on the walls of the ruined fortress they found inscriptions made by Soviet soldiers and officers in the first days of the war. One of them reads: "I'm dying, but I don't give up." Some of the inscriptions were signed by soldiers.
Last Witnesses
The name of Efim Moiseevich Fomin was not found on the walls of the Brest Fortress. The aforementioned document testifies to his feat, as well as those few witnesses and participants in the battles who, fortunately, survived. Some of them were captured, after the end of the war they were sent to camps. Such was the fate of all Soviet soldiers who found themselves in the occupation. Only a few managed to move first the German concentration camp, and then the domestic one. But those who survived told in the battles for the Brest Fortress, includingand about the defense of the citadel in the area near the Kholmsky Gate, which was led by Efim Moiseevich Fomin.
Fighting in the early days of the war
Back to the June 21 event. The sudden roar of cannonade, shells, bombs. The people awakened by the explosions are in a panic… Efim Moiseevich Fomin takes command of the unit. He is in the central fortress, instantly gathers fighters, and instructs one of them to lead the counterattack. Thus, the Soviet soldiers destroy machine gunners who broke into the very center in the citadel. And then there are battles that continue, according to many historical sources, until the end of July. Efim Moiseevich Fomin was an active participant in the defense of the Brest Fortress in the first four days of the war.
Legends of the Citadel
How the Soviet soldiers defended the citadel became known only at the end of the war. Then those that survived were sent to camps. And only in 1954 began rehabilitation. They started talking about the Brest Fortress. There were many legends and myths.
How did the fighters manage to hold out for so long? Probably, the whole thing is in a powerful stone fortress? Or in superior weaponry? Or, perhaps, in the training of military personnel? The Brest Fortress was indeed defended by military professionals. Only, unfortunately, there were very few of them, because the main part was on the exercises. As for the fortress, yes, this imposing citadel was able to prevent enemy attacks … in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the twentieth century, and with modern German aviation, the powerful walls of the fortress lost allmeaning.
The defense of the fortress rested solely on the incredible patriotism, courage of Soviet soldiers, such as Commissar Yefim Moiseevich Fomin. From June 21 to June 22, there was only one battalion and several units in the position. Three lieutenants lived in a hostel, and Fomin was also here. The day before, he received a vacation, during which he planned to bring his family, who was in Latvia, to Brest. But he was not destined to leave the fortress. A few hours before the start of the war, he went to the station. There were no tickets. Had to go back.
One of the shells hit the commissar's office. Fomin almost suffocated from the acrid smoke, but he still managed to get out of the room. Thanks to an experienced command, the fighters took up defense within a few hours. The commanders' wives and children were sent to the basement. Fomin addressed the soldiers, urging them to remember their duty and not to panic. The machine gunners took up positions on the second floor near the windows.
At the Kholmsky Gate
Fomin and his fighters took up a position not far from the Kholmsky Gate. A bridge was located here, along which the Germans made many attempts to reach the center of the fortress. The enemy did not manage to reach the gate for several days. Ammunition, the amount of which did not at all correspond to wartime, was spent very sparingly. Once one of the fighters said that the last cartridge should be kept for himself. Commissar Efim Moiseevich Fomin objected, stating that he should be sent to the enemy. And you can die in hand-to-hand combat.
But die in hand-to-hand combatFomin failed. On June 26, the enemy captured the Soviet command. The half-dead commissar fell into the hands of the Nazis and was soon shot.
Portrait of the commissioner
Efim Moiseevich Fomin did not receive the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. But in 1957 he was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin. What this man was like is known from the memories of a few of his colleagues.
He ended up in the Brest Fortress three months before the start of the war. But already in this short time he managed to gain authority among officers and soldiers. Fomin knew how to listen, was an understanding and sympathetic person. Perhaps he acquired these qualities due to a difficult fate. According to the memoirs of his colleagues, he was short, black-haired, with intelligent, slightly sad eyes.
Short biography
The future commissar was orphaned at the age of six. In 1922 he was sent to an orphanage located in Vitebsk. In need, maturity comes very early. By the age of 15, Yefim had already graduated from secondary school and became a completely independent person. For some time he worked at the Vitebsk shoe factory, then moved to the city of Pskov.
The nomadic life of the military began in 1932. Fomin traveled to Pskov, Crimea, Latvia, Moscow. He rarely saw his wife and son. His short life was spent traveling. The military career was successful, but shortly before the war he was sent to Brest on an unfair charge. Few photos of Fomin Efim Moiseevich have survived to this day. One of them can be seen in thisarticle.
The hero of today's article was not a fearless, experienced warrior. For many years he wore a military tunic, but he had a chance to go to battle only in the last days of his life. The morning of June 22 was a baptism of fire for Commissioner Yefim Fomin.
A lot of books have been written about the heroes of the Brest Fortress and no less films have been made. The image of Yefim Fomin was embodied by talented actors on the stage and in the cinema. In 2010, the film "Brest Fortress" was released, where Pavel Derevyanko played the commissar.
