“I am dying, but I do not give up. Farewell, Motherland! The Kirovites are the defenders of the Brest Fortress. "I'm dying, but I'm not giving up." When the last defender of the Brest Fortress died

June 22, 1941 at 4 o'clock in the morning, an event occurred that turned the life of every citizen of our country. It seems that a lot of time has passed since that moment, but there are still a lot of secrets and reticences. Over some of them we tried to lift the veil.

Underground heroes

"AiF" conducted a special investigation, looking through the archives of the Wehrmacht. The conclusions were stunning.

“The losses are very heavy. For all the time of the fighting - from June 22 to June 29 - we lost 1121 people killed and wounded. The fortress and the city of Brest are captured, the bastion is under our complete control, despite the cruel courage of the Russians. Soldiers are still being fired upon from basements, lone fanatics, but we will soon deal with them.”

This is an excerpt from a report to the General Staff Lieutenant General Fritz Schlieper, commander of the 45th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht- the one that stormed the Brest Fortress. The official date of the fall of the citadel is June 30, 1941. The day before, the Germans launched a large-scale assault, capturing the last fortifications, including the Kholm Gate. The surviving Soviet soldiers, having lost their commanders, went into the cellars and flatly refused to surrender.

Memorial complex "Brest Fortress - Hero". Ruins of the White Palace. Photo: RIA Novosti / Yan Tikhonov

lone ghosts

“After the capture of the citadel, the guerrilla war in the casemates went on for at least a month,” explains Alexander Bobrovich, historian-researcher from Mogilev. – In 1952, an inscription was found on the wall of the barracks near the Bialystok Gate: “I am dying, but I do not give up. Farewell, Motherland. July 20, 1941. They fought according to the “shoot-and-run” tactics: they made a couple of accurate shots at the Germans and went back to the cellars. August 1, 1941 non-commissioned officer Max Klegel wrote in his diary: “Two of ours died in the fortress - a half-dead Russian stabbed them with a knife. It's still dangerous here. I hear gunfire every night."

The archives of the Wehrmacht dispassionately record the heroism of the defenders of the Brest Fortress. The front went far ahead, the fighting was already going on near Smolensk, but the destroyed citadel continued to fight. On July 12, "a Russian rushed from the tower to a group of sappers, holding two grenades in his hands - four were killed on the spot, two died in the hospital from wounds." 21 July " Corporal Erich Zimmer, went out for cigarettes, was strangled with a belt. How many fighters were hiding in the casemates is unclear. There is no consensus on who the last defender of the Brest Fortress could be. Historians of Ingushetia refer to the testimony Stankus Antanas, a captured SS officer: “In the second half of July, I saw an officer of the Red Army get out of the casemates. Seeing the Germans, he shot himself - in his pistol was the last cartridge. During the search of the body, we found documents in the name of Senior Lieutenant Umat-Girey Barkhanoev". The latest case - captivity Major Pyotr Gavrilov, head of the defense of the Eastern Fort. He was taken prisoner on July 23, 1941 at the Kobrin fortification: a wounded man killed two German soldiers in a shootout. Later, Gavrilov said that he hid in the basements for three weeks, making sorties at night with one of the fighters until he died. How many more such lone ghosts remained in the Brest Fortress?

In 1974 Boris Vasiliev, author of the book "The Dawns Here Are Quiet...", published the novel "Not on the Lists", which received no less fame. book hero, Lieutenant Nikolai Pluzhnikov, fighting alone in the Brest Fortress ... until April 1942! Mortally wounded, he learns the news that the Germans are defeated near Moscow, leaves the basement and dies. How reliable is this information?

- I must note that the novel by Boris Vasiliev is a purely artistic work, - shrug Valery Hubarenko, director of the memorial complex "Brest Hero Fortress", Major General. - And the facts of the death of the last defender of Brest given there, unfortunately, do not have any documentary evidence.

Monument "Courage" of the memorial complex "Brest Hero Fortress". Photo: RIA Novosti / Alexander Yuriev

Flamethrowers against courage

Meanwhile, on August 15, 1941, a photo of soldiers with flamethrowers "performing a combat mission in the Brest Fortress" appeared in the Nazi press - living proof that skirmishes in casemates went on for almost two months after the start of the war. Having lost patience, the Germans used flamethrowers to smoke out the last brave men from the shelters. Half blind in the dark, without food, without water, bleeding, the fighters refused to surrender, continuing to resist. The inhabitants of the villages around the fortress claimed that the shooting from the citadel was heard until mid-August.

- Presumably, the end of the resistance of the Soviet border guards in the fortress can be considered August 20, 1941, - believes Tadeusz Krolewski, Polish historian. — A little earlier German commandant of Brest, Walther von Unruh, Colonel of the General Staff Blumentritt visited and ordered "urgently put the fortress in order." For three days in a row, day and night, using all types of weapons, the Germans carried out a total cleansing of the Brest Fortress - probably, these days its last defenders fell. And already on August 26, two people visited the dead fortress - Hitler and Mussolini ...

Myself Lieutenant General Fritz Schlieper in the same report he indicated: he cannot understand the meaning of such fierce resistance - "probably the Russians fought purely out of fear of execution." Schliper lived until 1977 and, I think, did not understand: when a person rushes with a grenade at enemy soldiers, he does not do it because of someone's threats. And just because he is fighting for his homeland ...

Little Known Facts

1. The Brest Fortress was stormed not by the Germans, but by the Austrians. In 1938, after the Anschluss (annexation) of Austria to the Third Reich, the 4th Austrian division was renamed the 45th Wehrmacht infantry division - the same one that crossed the border on June 22, 1941.

2. Major Gavrilov was not repressed, as indicated in the credits of the movie hit "Brest Fortress", but in 1945 he was expelled from the party ... for losing his party card in captivity!

3. In addition to the fortress, the Nazis could not take the Brest railway station for 9 days. Railway workers, police and border guards (about 100 people) went into the basements and made sorties at night on the platform, shooting Wehrmacht soldiers. The soldiers ate cookies and sweets from the buffet. As a result, the Germans flooded the basements of the station with water.

On July 20, 1941, in the Brest Fortress besieged by the Nazis, an unknown soldier made an inscription on the wall: “I am dying, but I do not give up! Farewell, Motherland." Presumably with a bayonet.

It is rightly considered that this inscription is a symbol of the steadfastness and courage shown by Soviet soldiers in the Great Patriotic War. And it would seem, what difference does it make who exactly made this inscription? The problem, however, for some figures, let's call them "historians", is that the inscription was found in the barracks of the 132nd separate battalion of the NKVD escort troops. You can’t really tell that the “symbol of stamina and courage” was created by a guard! And therefore, in the same Wikipedia we can read that: " According to other sources, the inscription was found in the casemates at the Bialystok gates of the fortress and has nothing to do with the location of the escort battalion. The cadet of the machine-gun school of the 44th Infantry Regiment, Timeren Zinatov, called himself the author of this inscription.

After passing through it, we find ourselves on an article by a certain Alexander Polanuer, a member of the Writers' Union of Russia from the city of Volgograd (this is how the article is signed). Which claims that the inscription was made in another place, and has nothing to do with the location of the NKVD battalion. "This was once pointed out by the researcher of the history of the defense of the fortress, lieutenant colonel of the reserve Yu. V. Fomin (Bryansk)". The statement is also supported by a link. We pass through it.

And we get to the page of the forum of the Search Movements, where the question of the defenders of the Brest Fortress is really discussed, but there is not a word about the inscription on the wall. After a long search on the forum, such a statement behind the authorship of a certain Fomin really comes to light. This assertion, of course, is not supported by anything. This is where Wikipedia's "encyclopedia" ends. There are no more links.

But there is also Timeren Zinatov, who, let me remind you, according to Wikipedia, claimed that it was he who made this inscription. Here is all the information about him. He served as a cadet in the 44th Infantry Regiment. During the defense of the fortress he was wounded and taken prisoner. Twice escaped from a German concentration camp - the second time successfully. It is strange that after the first unsuccessful attempt, he remained alive, but no information about this could be found. He finished the war in the army, as he had begun, as an ordinary soldier. For the defense of the Brest Fortress he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree. After the war, he worked at construction sites in the Far North, built BAM, and when he retired, he settled with his family in the city of Ust-Kut, Irkutsk Region.

As if he had repeatedly stated that it was he who made that famous inscription, and “tired of proving his authorship”, he arrived in Brest in September 1992 and committed suicide by throwing himself under a train at the Brest railway station. Seven thousand rubles were found on him, which he brought from home for his own funeral, and a suicide note with curses to the Yeltsin government. He asked to be buried in the fortress.

From Zinatov's suicide note (published in newspapers): "... if then, during the war, he had died of wounds, I would have known: he died for the Motherland. But now - from a dog's life. Let them write on the grave like that ... Don't consider me crazy ... We were heroes, but we die in poverty! Be healthy, do not grieve for one Tatar who protests one for all: "I am dying, but I do not give up. Farewell, Motherland!"

In this whole story, it is strange that it is impossible to find at least some evidence that the war veteran Timeren Zinatov really attributed the authorship of the Brest inscription to himself. He repeated it in his suicide note - yes, but to whom, when and under what circumstances he told that he was the creator of the original, is unknown.

By the way, Viktor Kozhemyako, a well-known Soviet and Russian journalist and columnist for the Pravda newspaper, wrote articles and essays about him. But for some reason he did not mention that Zinatov considers himself the author of that inscription. Moreover, according to the memoirs of Timeren Zinatov recorded by Kozhemyako, he was captured on June 30th. How he could make the inscription on July 20th is unclear.

Today, of course, it is impossible to establish the truth. It can only be stated that the appearance after the death of Zinatov of a version of his authorship was very timely as part of a large-scale campaign to, let's say, revise the history of the USSR in general and the Second World War in particular.

V 1992 phrase"I'm dying, but I don't give up. Farewell, Motherland!"repeated in his suicide letter a member of the defense of the Brest FortressTimerian Khabulovich Zinatov. ( and )

Timerian served as a cadet in a regiment commanded by his countryman major Gavrilov . In the first days of the defense he was wounded, on June 30 he was taken prisoner. Twice escaped from a German concentration camp - the second time successfully. He ended the war in the army as he began - as an ordinary soldier. For the defense of the Brest Fortress he was awarded the Order of the Patriotic War II degree. After the war, he traveled all over the country, worked at construction sites in the far North, built BAM, and when he retired, he settled with his family in Ust-Kut.

Exactly Zinatov wrote to Smirnov about the battle banner of the 44th regiment.
“... When our headquarters was on fire, we - Amosov, Gushchin and I - pulled the regimental banner out of the fire and hid it under the kitchen of the dining room of the 44th regiment in the basement.
Whether this banner has been preserved or not, I do not know, since a lot of time has passed ... "
(From the chapter “New Names, New Facts”, p. 357 “Children's Literature”, 1965. It is not known why, but this fragment was omitted in the Internet versions of the Book).

Every year he came from Ust-Kut to the fortress, gave cakes to the museum staff and spent almost all his vacation there.Timerian Khabulovicheveryone knew it well. He was very modest, unobtrusive, he knew how not everyone is given - to listen to others. His relatives said that he always refused to use the benefits of a participant in the war.Zinatovnever asked for help with buying a car, TV, refrigerator. When his family, knowing the cool character of his grandfather, secretly still wrote him down on scarce furniture, he made a scandal at home:“I defended the Motherland, not privileges!”. But if it was necessary to ask for something for others, he was the first.
Interview withTimerian Zinatovamong others was published in the book"Faces of the Century"written by one of the leading journalists"Pravda" Ryazan Viktor Kozhemyako.


On his last visit,in September 1992,everything was as usual. Once again, having arrived in Brest from his native Ust-Kut, Timerian for a long time he wandered along the streets of the city sacred to him, along the empty legendary citadel. On Friday, he said goodbye to the museum staff and said that he was leaving for the weekend. And no one could think thatTimeryan Khabulovichcame to the fortress for the last time in order to say goodbye to this memorable place for him forever.

When the staff of the memorial came to work on Monday, a call came from the transport prosecutor's office, which left everyone in a state of shock.
A terrible tragedy happened, so terrible that at first no one simply could believe what had happened. Defender of the Brest Fortress, who survived here in the bloody cauldron of 1941,Timeryan Khabulovich Zinatovcommitted suicide by throwing himself under the wheels of a train at the Brest railway station. Someone later will remember a neat old man standing on the platform for a long time with a suitcase. Older people always come to the station with a margin. He calculated everything before throwing himself under the train.

With him they found seven thousand rubles, collected by him for his own funeral, and several suicide letters with curses, as he wrote,"Yeltsin-Gaidar government" - for all this life arranged by them, for the humiliation of veterans, for betraying the Great Victory. He asked to be buried in Brest in the clothes he was in. He couldn't live like this anymore.

The Union broke up, savings burned out, young people began to reproach the old people for historical mistakes.

Why Timerian so often visited the fortress? He, like many soldiers who fought here, felt protected only in the fortress. Here, no one ever doubted that they were real heroes, and not invented.
The people who fought could not even imagine that they might someday be thrown in the face:"Why did we win, now we would drink Bavarian beer" ...

From the last letter of Timerian Khabulovich:

“... If then, during the war, I had died of wounds, I would have known: I died for the Motherland. And now - from a dog's life. Let them write this on the grave... Don't think I'm crazy...”
“... I want to die standing, than on my knees to ask for a beggarly allowance to continue my old age and reach the coffin with an outstretched hand! So, dear ones, do not judge me hard and enter into my position. I leave the funds, if they don’t rob, I hope there will be enough for burying, I don’t need to bury the coffin. I’m in what I have, that clothes will be enough, just don’t forget to put the certificate of the city executive committee in your pocket for our descendants. We were heroes, and we die in poverty! Be healthy, do not grieve for one Tatar who protests one for all: “I am dying, but I do not give up. Farewell, Motherland!

His wife later said:

“... dug up potatoes, dressed better and said that he would go to the Brest Fortress. His family was never particularly interested, all the fortress and the fortress. No one then could have imagined that he was going to die in his fortress ... "

The story of the tragic death of Timerian Zinatov shocked the whole country.
The Brest city authorities covered the expenses for the funeral. They buried the hero at the expense of the article"current maintenance of improvement objects".

Grave Timerian Khabulovicheveryone knows at the city cemetery: there are two monuments on it: one - from the Brest City Executive Committee, the second - from the government and veterans of Tatarstan.
“I died for the Motherland, I survived for the Motherland”, - said in recent years a laconic Zinatov, when they tried to convince him that today there is no such idea that would cost a human life. He thought otherwise. What will happen to the Motherland and to us when the last hour of duty leaves his earthly guard. One of the newspapers told how, after the war, an inscription was found in the casemates of the Brest Fortress, scrawled on the wall with a bayonet:“I’m dying, but I don’t give up. Farewell, Motherland! 22/VII-41".

Death LettersTimerian Khabulovich Zinatovamong other priceless relics of the legendary defense are stored today in the memorial museum"Brest Fortress-Hero".

When Mussolini translated this inscription, he cried out: "This people cannot be defeated." Now it is easy to talk about the senselessness of the resistance of the defenders of the Brest Fortress, that the front was already far away. But it was precisely such fierce pockets of resistance that prevented the Nazis from fulfilling their plan and taking Moscow before winter. These are precisely those drops of blood that undermined the power of the German machine.
Or like this melted clock, with the hands stopped at 4 in the morning. These are all symbols of that bygone era. Let's just walk through the ruins of the Brest Fortress...

The German command expected to capture the fortress within a few hours, but the 45th division of the Wehrmacht was stuck in Brest for a week and, with significant losses, suppressed separate centers of resistance of the heroic defenders of Brest for another month.

The main entrance to the memorial complex "Brest Fortress"

The obelisk of the Fortress-Hero is visible in the center.

This is a burnt brick, the Germans burned out the premises of the casemates with flamethrowers, in which the defenders of the Fortress hid

The Brest Fortress was built in the middle of the 19th century on the site of an ancient city, on islands formed by the Western Bug and Mukhavets rivers, their branches and canals. It consisted of 4 fortifications: Central (Citadel), Terespol (Western), Volyn (Southern), Kobrin (Northern).

The citadel is an island surrounded by a closed two-story barracks 1.8 km long with walls almost two meters thick. Its 500 casemates could accommodate 12 thousand soldiers with the necessary equipment for combat operations and food supplies. The niches of the walls of the barracks with loopholes and embrasures were adapted for firing from rifles and cannons.

The Citadel was covered by Kobrin, Terespol, Volyn bridgeheads. The Kobrin fortification was erected on the site of the Kobrin suburb. It consisted of 4 bastion forts and 3 ravelins. It was connected with the Citadel by the Brest and Bialystok (Brigitsky) gates and bridges across the Mukhavets River.

The sculptural composition "Thirst", symbolizing the most tragic part of the defense of the hero-fortress Brest - the excruciating thirst experienced by its heroic defenders due to the Germans blocking access to the river.
Now the helmet always contains water and bouquets of flowers from grateful visitors.

"Bayonet" of the Brest Fortress, installed in the center of the citadel. The monument is dedicated to the defenders of the fortress, the stele is in the form of a Russian rifle bayonet - a faithful friend in battle and defense. Below, under the obelisk, there is a mass grave of the defenders of the fortress. A symbol of heroic events - the "Bayonet" obelisk sparkles in the sun with titanium facets - this composition, unique in scale and work, was installed in 1971 and is one of the highest statues in the world.

St. Nicholas Cathedral. The cathedral was built in 1856-1879. Subsequently, the temple was repeatedly visited by Russian emperors, from Alexander II to Nicholas II. After the annexation of Brest to Poland in the 20th century, the cathedral was converted into a church according to the project of the architect Julian Lisetsky, having undergone significant changes in the facade area. And before the war, films were shown here ...

Guard of honor

Peace and War

Fortress building. The Kholm Gates were one of the four gates of the Ring Barracks leading to the citadel of the Brest Fortress, named after the former name of the city of Helm, since once the road from the gate led south towards this city. Built in the classical style at the beginning of the 19th century. They lead to the bridge across the southern branch of the Mukhavets River.

It was here that fierce battles took place in the first days of the war.

I ran into a patrol, the feeling that I was transported in a "time machine" to 41 years

The Terespol Gate was the first to receive the main blow from the Germans from the southwestern side. In the building of the gate, which resembled the architecture of the Kholm Gate, there was a tower in which families of border guards lived - wives, children, and water supply from the bank of the river passed here. Bug and supplied the nearby barracks and the entire fortress with water. To the left of the gate there were barracks, stables, ammunition depots. In the first days of the battles, all the buildings were badly destroyed and many commanders, their families and soldiers died, and the fortress was left without water.

Without words...

Monument to the heroes-border guards at the Terespol Gate. Cast in bronze and made of granite, the sculptural composition conveys the tragic atmosphere of those days. Border guards going on an open attack, behind a stylized wall of fortifications a mother with a child and a woman giving a wounded soldier some water, symbolically from a helmet. All of them froze in a single impulse not to let the enemy through, not to give him the opportunity to cross the borders marked by a border post with the coat of arms of the USSR.

There are 2 museums on the territory of the Brest Fortress. Museum of War-Territory of Peace, opened with the help of Gazprom Transgaz Belarus

It is more modern and tells about the horrors of war and the cost of human life.

This is a medallion of soldiers, in which information about the soldier was stored, it was from them that the names were restored.

Thousands and millions of Soviet people ended up in German camps

But according to this photo, the remains of the soldiers who defended the fortress were found

An improvised firing wall.

Why did they fight?

Old photographs convey the atmosphere of that time

And this is the traditional Museum of the Defense of the Brest Fortress.
The construction of the fortress on the site of the center of the old city and the Brest castle began in 1833 according to the project of the military topographer and engineer Karl Ivanovich Opperman. Initially, temporary earthen fortifications were erected, the first stone in the foundation of the fortress was laid on June 1, 1836. The main building work was completed by April 26, 1842. The fortress consisted of a citadel and three fortifications protecting it with a total area of ​​​​4 km² and the length of the main fortress line of 6.4 km.

On March 3, 1918, the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed in the Citadel, in the so-called White Palace. The fortress was in the hands of the Germans until the end of 1918, and then under the control of the Poles.

In 1920, during the Soviet-Polish war, it was taken by the Red Army, but soon lost again, and in 1921, according to the Peace of Riga, it went to the Second Commonwealth. During the interwar period, the fortress was used as a barracks, a military warehouse and a political prison.

1941...

These are the pass letters that the Germans threw off the planes

And this is the preserved inscription on the walls of the fortress

And here you can see what the fortress was in 1944

Road of memory, along the lit candles.

Meeting-requiem "Candle of Memory".

It's just very strong, to tears, when you see the portraits of the defenders, where they were found during excavations.

Often, being in a deadly critical situation, a person leaves some message or letter about what happened to him and what are the circumstances of his current situation. Thus, he makes himself felt, and very often the information that he provided makes it possible to understand the whole essence and logic of the events that happened to him. This is a normal psychological situation - being in a practically hopeless situation for himself, a person still wants to be heard or seen by people who could understand him. In the war, the records left by soldiers or officers made it possible to understand what happened to their unit and what its future fate was. One of the most striking recent examples, when a note left shed light on what is happening with people who are in mortal danger, is a note by Lieutenant Commander D. Kolesnikov, a member of the crew of the Kursk submarine that sank in 2000. As it turned out from this note, the crew of the nuclear submarine did not die completely and concentrated in the last, as yet unflooded 9th compartment of the submarine. But in addition to the notes that people leave in a critical situation for themselves, the so-called records on stones are also very common. Stones can also speak, shedding light on what is happening with people. "Talking Stones" are monuments to those people who finally decided to declare themselves and convey this information to others. The most striking example of "talking stones" is the inscriptions on the walls of the Brest Fortress.

More recently, enthusiasts and active forum participants http://fortification.ru/forum/index.php?topic=3453.255 found inscriptions on the walls of the ring barracks in the southwestern part of the Central Island (to the left of the Terespol Gates). This section of the ring barracks is the best preserved and has not been restored. In addition to the traditional inscriptions "Kolya was here" or "Svetka + Lekha = love", you can also find autographs with the names of the Brest Fortress servicemen.


The inscriptions were dated 1931, 1940 and other years and contained mainly the names of those who left these inscriptions.


There were even inscriptions in Georgian.
A curious fact, in fact, it would be nice to go on a raid and study the fortress walls. At the same time, I immediately remembered the most famous and legendary "talking stones" - the inscriptions left by Soviet soldiers and officers in June-July 1941.


The inscription reads as follows: “We were three Muscovites - Ivanov, Stepanchikov, Zhuntyaev, who defended this church, and we swore an oath: we will die, but we will not leave here. July 1941". Unfortunately, the inscription was partially subjected to ideological censorship, the word "church" was slightly retouched, because according to the canons of that time, religion was considered "opium for the people." Below is a photo of this church.





In fact, this building was not a church. It was related to religion during the Polish rule (1921-1939). And after Brest was occupied by units of the Red Army, this building became known as the Red Army Club of the 84th joint venture.
As for the inscription on the wall of the church, according to S.S. Smirnov there was a sequel. The inscription wall itself has not survived. The words left on the wall were as follows:
“I was left alone, Stepanchikov and Zhuntyaev died. The Germans were in the church itself. The last grenade remained, but I won’t give myself up alive. Comrades, avenge us!”
The next well-known inscription left on the outer wall near the Terespol Gate.


Its content reads: “There were five of us: Sedov, Grutov I., Bogolyub, Mikhailov, Selivanov V. We took the first battle on June 22, 1941 - 3.15 hours. We will die, but we will not leave.” It is quite possible that this inscription was left by the border guards, who moved from the territory of the Western Island along the bridge to the Terespol Gate. In general, in the event of a combat alarm, the units of the 6th and 42nd rifle divisions stationed in the fortress were to begin an organized withdrawal from the fortress and go to concentration points. In fact, the writing on the wall is an actual violation of the order. However, given that the border guards were not subordinate to the People's Commissariat of Defense, I fully admit that this inscription was left by them. In addition, the presence of inscriptions is confirmed by Valentina Sachkovskaya (Zenkina), who was the daughter of the foreman of the musician platoon and passed by the Terespol Gate after the battles in the fortress. The exact time of the start of the offensive of the 45th Wehrmacht infantry division, fixed on the wall, is noteworthy - 3.15 am.


The following inscription, left in the western part of the ring barracks: “There were three of us, it was difficult for us, but we did not lose heart and we will die like heroes. 1941 June 26”
In 1958, in the ruins of the White Palace, employees of the archive of the Brest Fortress found an inscription on the wall " We die without shame".


The original inscription is kept in the Museum of the Defense of the Brest Fortress.


And here, in fact, is the building of the White Palace in June 1941.


The building itself has not survived to this day, since most of it was blown up by German sappers along with the defenders of the fortress. The building of the White Palace itself is the last center of organized defense on the central island of the citadel.
Well, let's move on to the last record that we managed to fix and save to this day. Without a doubt, this is the most famous and soul-stirring autograph of the 20th century.


The inscription made on the wall of the barracks of the 132nd separate battalion of the escort troops of the NKVD of the USSR reads as follows:
. Just below the inscription was the word "Dying...". Apparently, the last strength left the unknown and he died. The most valuable information was the date - July 20, 1941. That is, the battles in the fortress continued on the 29th day of the war, when the advanced units of Army Group Center were already in the Smolensk region. In his report to the command of the 4th Army, the commander of the 45th Infantry Division of the Wehrmacht, Lieutenant General F. Shliper noted: “ Losses are very heavy. For all the time of the fighting - from June 22 to June 29 - we lost 1121 people killed and wounded. The fortress and the city of Brest are captured, the bastion is under our complete control, despite the cruel courage of the Russians. The soldiers are still being fired upon from the basements - lone fanatics, but we will soon deal with them.". Who were these loners? And how long did the last battles in the fortress last? Thanks to the "talking stones" it is already known for certain that the fighting went on in the second half of July.
The commander of the 44th joint venture, Major P.M., is considered the last official defender of the Brest Fortress. Gavrilov. He, exhausted and wounded, was captured by the Germans on July 23, 1941 in the northern part of the fortress.
Who was the last defender or among the last defenders of the fortress, historians failed to establish. The facts are known that the shooting continued in August. From the diaries of non-commissioned officer Max Klegel, date - August 1, 1941: “ Two of ours died in the fortress - a half-dead Russian stabbed them with a knife. It's still dangerous here. I hear gunfire every night". The estimated date for the end of resistance in the fortress is August 20. Just at that time, photographs began to appear in the German military press, showing soldiers of a flamethrower platoon "performing a combat mission" on the territory of the Brest Fortress. The last survivors were burned alive by fire.

It is also known that the military commandant of Brest, W. von Unruh, was given the task of "putting the fortress in order" by August 20, as high-ranking officials were soon to arrive. On August 26, the territory of the Brest Fortress was visited by A. Hitler and B. Mussolini.

And although the authorship of most of the inscriptions on the territory of the Brest Fortress could not be established, the fact of fierce fighting in the fortress a month after the start of the war is indisputable. Original inscription "I'm dying, but I'm not giving up! Farewell, Motherland. 20/VII-41" stored in Moscow in the Central Museum of the Armed Forces.