In our time, when no one knows exactly how many homeless children there are in our country (and the count is already in the millions!), This story, which happened during the Great Patriotic War, is striking in its mercy. Maybe we are so hard and live today because we have lost his great secret. But it was mercy that was the moral support of the military generation.
From the first days of the war, following the wave of the German invasion, there was a childish misfortune. Having lost their parents, orphans wandered along the forest roads. There were many such hungry, feral children in the Polotsk region of Belarus. At the end of 1941, they began to convey to each other that there was such a teacher, Forinko, in Polotsk, that we had to get to him.
Before the war, Mikhail Stepanovich Forinko worked in Polotsk as the director of an orphanage. He graduated from the Pedagogical College and studied in absentia at the Faculty of Mathematics of the Vitebsk Pedagogical Institute. In the first days of the war he went to the front. I was surrounded. He began to make his way along forest roads to Polotsk, which had already been occupied by the Germans. At night, Mikhail Stepanovich knocked on the window of his home. He was met by his wife Maria Borisovna and children - ten-year-old Gena and six-year-old Nina.
For more than a month, Maria Borisovna, as best she could, treated her husband for concussion. And he, suffering from a headache, told her what he was up to. Passing through destroyed villages, he saw orphaned children. Mikhail Stepanovich decided to try to open an orphanage in Polotsk. "I am ready to ask, to humiliate myself, if only they were allowed to collect orphans," he said.
Mikhail Stepanovich went to the burgomaster of the city. He bowed obsequiously as he held out his statement. Forinko asked to transfer an empty building to an orphanage, to allocate at least meager food rations. For many more days he went to see the burgomaster, sometimes humiliating himself to the extreme. There was a case when Mikhail Stepanovich rushed to drive the flies away from the owner of the office, persuading him to sign the papers. Then he had to convince the occupation authorities of his loyalty. Finally, he obtained permission to open an orphanage in Polotsk. Mikhail Stepanovich and his wife scrubbed and washed the walls of the dilapidated building themselves. Instead of cots, straw was laid in the bedrooms.
The news that an orphanage had opened in Polotsk quickly spread throughout the district. Mikhail Stepanovich accepted all the orphans - the kids brought in by the residents and teenagers.
Despite the fact that advertisements were posted in the city: “residents will be executed for harboring Jews,” Mikhail Stepanovich risking his life sheltered Jewish children who had miraculously escaped in the orphanage, having recorded them in other names.
A boy from a gypsy family also appeared here - he hid in the bushes when his relatives were taken to be shot. Now the Gypsy Bear, barely seeing the Germans passing by, immediately climbed into the bag stored in the attic.
… Several years ago, when I first arrived in Polotsk, I managed to find Maria Borisovna Forinko, the wife of Mikhail Stepanovich (now she is not alive), his daughter Nina Mikhailovna, as well as the pupils of that orphanage Margarita Ivanovna Yatsunova and Ninel Fedorovna Klepatskaya-Voronova … Together we came to the old building where the orphanage was located. Walls covered with moss, lilac bushes, picturesque descent to the river. Silence.
- How did the orphanage survive? - Maria Borisovna Forinko asked again. Many residents in the city had their own vegetable gardens. And despite the fact that the Germans walked around the courtyards, taking away supplies, the women brought potatoes and cabbage to the orphans. We saw something else: the neighbors, meeting Mikhail Stepanovich, shook their heads sympathetically after him: “At such a time, we don’t know how to feed our children, but he collects strangers.”
“We had to work hard,” said Ninel Fedorovna Klepatskaya-Voronova. - The older guys went to the forest for firewood. With the onset of summer, we picked mushrooms, berries, medicinal herbs, roots in the forest. Many were sick. Maria Borisovna Forinko treated us with herbal decoctions. We, of course, did not have any medicines.
They remember in what fear they lived day after day.
Passing by, German soldiers amused themselves by turning the muzzles of their submachine guns in the direction of the playing children. They shouted loudly: "Bunch!" and laughed as they saw the children scatter in fear.
In the orphanage, they learned about the arrests of partisans and underground fighters. On the outskirts of the city there was an anti-tank ditch, from where shooting could be heard at night - the Germans shot everyone they suspected of trying to resist them. It would seem that in such an environment, orphans could become like small, embittered animals, snatching a piece of bread from each other. But they didn't. The example of the Master was before their eyes. Mikhail Stepanovich saved the children of the arrested underground fighters, giving them other names and surnames. The orphans understood that he was risking his life saving the children of the executed partisans. No matter how small they were, no one let slip that there are secrets here.
The children who were hungry and sick were themselves capable of doing mercy. They began to help the Red Army men who were captured.
Margarita Ivanovna Yatsunova said:
- Once we saw how captured Red Army soldiers were driven to the river to restore the bridge. They were exhausted, could barely keep their feet. We agreed among ourselves - we will leave them pieces of bread, potatoes. What they were doing? They started like a game near the river, threw pebbles at each other, got closer and closer to the place where the prisoners of war worked. And imperceptibly they threw potatoes or pieces of bread wrapped in leaves to them.
In the forest, collecting brushwood, three orphanage boys heard a voice in the bushes. Someone called them. So they met the wounded tanker Nikolai Vanyushin, who managed to escape from captivity. He was hiding in an abandoned gatehouse. Children began to bring him food. Soon Mikhail Stepanovich noticed their frequent absences, and they told him about the wounded tanker. He forbade them to go to the forest. Taking with him old trousers and a jacket, Mikhail Stepanovich found a tanker at the appointed place and brought him to the orphanage. Kolya Vanyushin was young, small in stature. He was enrolled in an orphanage.
“I remember our evenings,” said Margarita Yatsunova. - We sit in the dark on the straw. We are tormented by ulcers, from malnutrition they fester in almost everyone - on the arms, legs, back. We retell each other the books that we once read, we ourselves come up with some stories in which it all ends with the soldiers of the Red Army coming and freeing us. We sang songs slowly. We did not always know what was happening at the front. But even now, when I remember those days, I myself am amazed at how we believed in Victory. Somehow walking around the attic, looking into every corner, Mikhail Stepanovich suddenly saw a grenade. He gathered the older guys who often went to the forest. “Tell me guys, who brought the grenade? Are there still weapons in the orphanage? " It turned out that the children brought and hid several grenades, a pistol, and cartridges in the attic. The weapon was found on the battlefield near the village of Rybaki. "Don't you understand that you will ruin the whole orphanage?" The children knew that villages around Polotsk were burning. For the bread handed over to the partisans, the Germans burned the huts together with the people. And here in the attic there is a weapon … At night Mikhail Stepanovich threw a pistol, grenades, cartridges into the river. The children also said that near the village of Rybaki they arranged a cache: they collected and buried the rifles, grenades, and a machine gun found nearby.
Through his former pupil, Mikhail Stepanovich was associated with the Polotsk underground workers. He asked to send information about the cache of weapons to the partisan brigade. And as I learned later, the partisans took everything that the orphanages had hidden in the pit.
In the late autumn of 1943, Mikhail Stepanovich learned that the German command had prepared a terrible fate for his pupils. Children as donors will be taken to hospitals. Children's blood will help to heal the wounds of German officers and soldiers. Maria Borisovna Forinko said: “My husband and I cried when we learned about it. Many of the orphanages were emaciated. They will not stand the donation. Mikhail Stepanovich, through his former pupil, gave the underground workers a note: "Help save the orphanage." Soon, the military commandant of Polotsk called on my husband and demanded to draw up a list of orphanages, indicate which of them is sick. " Nobody knew how many days were left for the orphanage to exist when the fascist execution would begin.
The underground workers sent their messenger to the Chapaev brigade. Jointly developed a plan to save the children. Once again appearing to the military commandant of Polotsk, Mikhail Stepanovich, bowing obsequiously as usual, began to say that there were many sick and weak children among the pupils. In the orphanage, instead of glass - plywood, there is nothing to heat. We need to take the children to the village. It is easier to find food there, they will gain strength in the fresh air. There is also a place in mind where you can move the orphanage. There are many empty houses in the village of Belchitsy.
The plan, invented by the director of the orphanage together with the underground workers, worked. The military commandant, after listening to the report of Director Forinko, accepted his proposal: in fact, it is worthwhile to act prudently. In the village, children will improve their health. This means that more donors can be sent to hospitals in the Third Reich. The commandant of Polotsk issued passes for travel to the village of Belchitsy. Mikhail Stepanovich Forinko immediately reported this to the Polotsk underground workers. He was given the address of Elena Muchanko, a resident of the village of Belchitsa, who will help him contact the partisans. Meanwhile, a messenger went from Polotsk to the Chapaev partisan brigade, which operated near the village of Belchitsy.
By this time, about two hundred orphans had gathered in the Polotsk orphanage under the care of director Forinko. At the end of December 1943, the orphanage started to move. The kids were placed on sleds, the elders walked on foot. Mikhail Stepanovich and his wife abandoned their house, which they built themselves before the war, left behind the acquired property. Children Gena and Nina also took with them.
In Belchitsy, orphanages were accommodated in several huts. Forinko asked his pupils to appear on the street less. The village of Belchitsy was considered an outpost in the fight against partisans.
Bunkers were built here, artillery and mortar batteries were located. Once, observing caution, Mikhail Stepanovich Forinko went to see Elena Muchanko, a messenger of the partisan brigade. A few days later, she informed him that the brigade command was developing a plan to save the orphanage. You have to be ready. In the meantime, dissolve the rumor in the village that the children from orphanages will soon be taken to Germany.
How many people behind enemy lines will risk their lives to save unknown orphans. The partisan radio operator sent a radio message to the mainland: "We are waiting for aircraft to support the partisan operation." It was February 18, 1944. At night, Mikhail Stepanovich raised the children: "We are leaving for the partisans!" “We were delighted and confused,” recalled Margarita Ivanovna Yatsunova. Mikhail Stepanovich quickly distributed: older children will carry babies. Stumbling in deep snow, we walked towards the forest. Suddenly, two planes appeared over the village. Shots were heard at the far end of the village. Senior adolescent orphanages walked along our sprawling column: they made sure that no one was left behind, not lost."
To save the orphans, the partisans of the Chapaev Brigade prepared a military operation. At the appointed hour, planes swept over the village on low level flight, German soldiers and policemen hid in shelters. At one end of the village, partisans, getting close to the German posts, opened fire. At this time, at the other end of the village, Forinko was taking his pupils into the forest. “Mikhail Stepanovich warned us not to shout or make noise,” said Margarita Ivanovna Yatsunova. - Freezing. Deep snow. We got stuck, we fell. I was exhausted, I have a baby in my arms. I fell into the snow, but I can't get up, I have no strength. Then the partisans jumped out of the forest and began to pick us up. There was a sleigh in the forest. I remember: one of the partisans, seeing us chilled, took off his hat, mittens, and then a short fur coat - covered the kids. He stayed light himself. Thirty sledges were taking the children to the partisan zone. More than a hundred partisans took part in the operation to rescue the orphanage.
The children were brought to the village of Yemelyaniki. “They met us as relatives,” recalled MI Yatsunova. - Residents brought milk, iron pots with food. It seemed to us that happy days had come. The partisans staged a concert. We sat on the floor and laughed."
However, soon the children heard in the village anxiously saying that "there is a blockade." The brigade's scouts reported that German troops were gathering around the partisan zone. The brigade command, preparing for the upcoming battles, was also concerned about the fate of the orphanage. A radiogram has been sent to the mainland: “Please send airplanes. We need to take the children out. " And the answer was: "Prepare the airfield." In wartime, when there was not enough of everything, two planes were allocated to save the orphanage. The partisans cleared the frozen lake. Contrary to all technical regulations, the planes will land on ice. Director of the orphanage M. S. Forinko selects the most weak, sick children. They will go on their first flights. He himself and his family will leave the partisan camp on the last plane. That was his decision.
In those days, Moscow cameramen were in this partisan brigade. They captured the footage left over for history. Pilot Alexander Mamkin, heroic-looking, handsome, with a good-natured smile, takes the kids into his arms and seats them in the cockpit. Usually they flew at night, but there were also daytime flights. Pilots Mamkin and Kuznetsov took 7-8 children aboard. The sun was warm. The planes were struggling to rise from the melted ice.
… On that day, the pilot Mamkin took on board 9 children. Among them was Galina Tishchenko. She later recalled: “The weather was clear. And suddenly we saw that a German plane was above us. He fired at us with a machine gun. Flames burst from the cockpit. As it turned out, we had already flown over the front line. Our plane began to descend rapidly. A sharp blow. We landed. We started to jump out. The elders dragged the kids away from the plane. The fighters ran up. As soon as they carried Mamkin to the side of the pilot, the gas tank exploded. Alexander Mamkin died two days later. Seriously wounded, he landed the plane with his last effort. Saved us."
18 orphanages remained in the partisan village. Every day, together with Mikhail Stepanovich, they went to the airfield. But there were no more planes. Forinko, guiltily bowing his head, returned to his family. He sent someone else's children, but did not have time for his own.
No one knew yet what terrible days they had ahead of them. The cannonade is getting closer. The Germans, having surrounded the partisan zone, are fighting from all sides. Occupying villages, they drive the inhabitants into houses and set them on fire.
The guerrillas are going to break through the ring of fire. Behind them on carts - wounded, old people, children …
Several scattered pictures of those terrible days remained in children's memory:
- The fire was such that it cut off the tops of the trees. Screams, groans of the wounded. A partisan with broken legs shouts: "Give me a gun!"
Ninel Klepatskaya-Voronova said: "As soon as there was silence, Mikhail Stepanovich, taking my hand, said: Let's go look for the guys." Together we walked through the forest in the dark, and he shouted: “Children, I'm here! Come to me!" Frightened children began to crawl out of the bushes, gather around us. He stood in torn clothes, smeared with earth, and his face was enlightened: children were found. But then we heard shots and German speech. We were captured."
Mikhail Stepanovich and the orphanage boys were driven to a concentration camp. Forinko caught a cold, became weak, could not get up. The guys shared pieces of food with him.
Maria Borisovna Forinko, together with her daughter Nina and other girls from the orphanage, ended up in the village, which they were preparing to burn together with the people. Houses were boarded up with planks. But then the partisans arrived. Residents were freed.
After the liberation of Polotsk, the Forinko family got together. Mikhail Stepanovich worked as a teacher at school for many years.
