Методическая разработка на тему Nobody is forgotten, nothing is forgotten. Vitya Cherevichkin

Никто не забыт, ничто не забыто
The boy and his pigeons
There are events and dates in the history of mankind which don't grow dim, aren't erased in the national memory. One of such events is a victory of our people in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. This victory brought peace and independence to our country, saved the world from fascism and many people from destruction.
(слайд 3) Millions of people celebrate Victory Day with huge excitement all over the world. They address to events of those years again and again to learn lessons from the past that the world would never appear on the brink of disaster again.
Today, in the year of the great victory, it is important to say how great fortitude of soldiers and ordinary people, even children of the last war was.
(слайд 4) During the Great Patriotic War Rostov-on Don was twice occupied. The first victory of the Soviet forces over the Nazi army on the territory of the USSR was won near Rostov. The city honors the memory of those who gave their lives for peace and freedom on earth, who loved their city and defended it to the end. The heroic past of our city is conserved in monuments, obelisks, and streets, named in honor of the heroes. Not only adults were among them, but children were as well.
Vitya Cherevichkin`s name is familiar to many Rostovites, and the city has a park and a street, named after him. (слайд 5) A bronze monument of the pioneer-hero Vitya Cherevichkin was opened in the Pioneer Park in Rostov-on-Don in 1961. The monument looks like a boy with a pigeon, which he tightly cuddles to his chest. N.V. Avedikov, a Rostov sculptor, was the author of the monument.. (слайд 6) 4 years later the park was renamed and got Vitya`s name.
Who was this boy and why do people remember him?
Victor was born in 1925. (слайд 7)The Cherevichkins lived in the 28th Line near the junction with the 2nd Mayskaya Street. The family was rather poor. Vitya`s father worked at "Rostselmash" as a smith, and his mother was a street cleaner. When the war started, they had four children. The elder son, Sasha, was eighteen, the youngest, Galina - only three years old. They lived in one small room. Victor was like many other boys in the city: merry and naughty. He studied at a trade school. He was good at school. It didn`t only teach, but fed and gave clothes. In those years the passion for pigeons was very common among adults and boys in Rostov.(слайд 8) There were a lot of pigeons at quiet streets of Nakhichevan where the boy lived.(слайд 9) Victor kept pigeons in a shed in the back yard. But no one could imagine that this hobby would cost him his life.
After the beginning of the war, when his father and elder brother went to the front, Victor with his mother and two younger sisters stayed in Rostov.(слайд 10) The city was captured by the advancing units of the Wehrmacht and SS troops in November 21, 1941. The invaders killed people, plundered shops, houses and flats, ruined the school where Victor studied. Orders hung on the walls and ended with the word:"Execution". Frequent loud shots were heard in the Frunze Park. There was a line of defense of our troops, but the Germans quickly broke it. The German headquarters is located opposite the Cherevichkins` house. The street was cluttered up with cars and motorcycles that were right on the tramways. The German command ordered to destroy all domestic pigeons, belonged to the local population. Contrary to the injunction, the teenager hid his birds.
That day Victor left the house about two o`clock. He said he would go to feed the pigeons. Within half an hour, a German soldier with a rifle led the boy into the yard. He brought the boy to the shed where the birds were. Everybody thought that Vitya would be shot right there. While the German was thinking what to do with the pigeons, the boy opened the gate, and the birds fluttered out. They sat side by side on the roof. Then the German took Vitya to his headquarters.(слайд 11) After interrogations and tortures the arrested teenager was accused of aiding the Red Army, were brought to the Frunze Park and shot. Vitya died in November 28. The Germans were driven from Rostov with the sudden attack of 56 Army the next day. Vitya was buried together with the other soldiers of the Red Army, who died that day. The funeral took place on a cold December day with a large gathering of people in the middle of the park.(слайд 12)
The pigeons flew away the day when Vitya was killed. Before dark they sat on the roof of the shed, and in the morning they were gone.
What was the Soviet teenager shot for? Did he do the tasks of our military? In all probability, it will remain a mystery. Victor protected his relatives, and did not tell much. It is known that pigeons were considered as a reliable means of communication. No wonder that Germans forbade keeping pigeons under pain of death. Perhaps, the boy who lived opposite the headquarters sent pigeongrams to Bataysk, where our troops were located.(слайд 13) But it is not so important, whether Victor helped the Soviet army or not. The main thing is that he drew the most terrible weapon for any invaders: he showed the enemy that he despised, and was not afraid of them.(слайд 14)
The story of the Rostov boy was told at the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals. A photo of the murdered boy with a pigeon in his hand was attached to the case. The photo was taken by Soviet photojournalist Max Alpert, and appeared at Nuremberg among the number of photographs, denouncing Nazism in crimes against humanity.
Word list
to grow dim- меркнуть
on the brink of disaster-на краю гибели
fortitude-сила духа
to be conserved in smth.- быть сохраненным в
to cuddle to one`s chest- прижимать к груди
smith- кузнец
passion for pigeons – увлечение голубями
to be captured- быть захваченным
advancing units –передовые части
plunder- грабить
to be cluttered up with smth.- быть загроможденным
belonged to the local population- принадлежавших местному населению
interrogations and tortures- допросы и пытки
with a large gathering of people – при большом скоплении народа
under pain of death- под угрозой смерти
the Nuremberg Trials of Nazi war criminals- Нюрнбергский процесс над нацистскими военными преступниками
denouncing Nazism- изобличающие наци