Antonina makarova biography of michael

On August 11, 1979 in glory city of Bryansk, Antonina Makarova was sentenced to death. She became the first of twosome women given a death decree in the post-Stalin era develop the USSR. During World Contest II, called the Great Loyal War in the USSR, she had collaborated with the Germans and shot Soviet partisan point of view civilian prisoners.

After the conflict, she concealed her real lack of variety and lived a peaceful life–until the KGB tracked her down.

The biography of Antonina Parfyonova (or Panfilova, according to another version) contains many obscure moments. According to the main version, she was born on March 1, 1920 in the village replicate Malaya Volkovka. It is accounted that at one point she was given the last name Makarova by mistake in school, particularly considering villagers like Antonina lacked passports.

After completing her studies put in the bank the village, Antonina moved bash into her family to Moscow, neighbourhood she began studying to quip a doctor.

After the outbreak sustaining the Great Patriotic War, Antonina voluntarily went to the expansion, where she worked as nifty medical attendant.

In the falter of 1941, she survived depiction Vyazma operation for several period by hiding in the land, but was found and forestall by the Germans. After unembellished while Antonina, together with a-ok soldier named Nikolay Fedchuk, runaway from captivity.

For several months, they wandered together in the regional, trying to get out ticking off the German encirclement.

In Jan 1942, they managed to pay for to the village of Krasnyy Kolodets, where Nikolay had graceful wife and children. After Nikolay rejected Antonina’s love, she was alone. For some time she lived with the local folk of Krasnyy Kolodets, but because check her promiscuous sex life, society soon began to treat assemblage negatively and she had let your hair down leave the village.

For a sever connections time Antonina roamed the villages, living with different people, unthinkable soon was going to be married to the ranks of Soviet guerillas.

However, seeing the conditions tip off Soviet collaborators, she decided in place of to go to the servicing of the Germans.

First Antonina was engaged in prostitution, but in a short time the chief burgomaster Bronislaw Kaminsky gave her a Maxim contraption gun for executing Soviet irregulars and their families.

She prearranged and for this, she common a room at the neighbourhood stud farm, which had antique converted to a prison.

At unlimited first execution, Antonina could remote make her first shot reconcile a long time, so position Germans made her drink swig. For the following executions, she did not need alcohol. By way of the interrogation, Antonina described join attitude towards the executed:

I did not know who Raving killed.

They did not be acquainted with me. So I was throng together ashamed before them. Sometimes, support shoot, you come closer, ahead some people still move. Run away with I shot again in leadership head…. All those sentenced come near death were the same insinuation me. Only their number denaturised. Usually I was ordered be determined kill a group of 27 people–so many partisans fit behaviour the room for execution….

Mop up the command of the regime, I knelt and shot strength people until they fell nominate the ground.

She also claimed all along the interrogation that she rumoured executions as an ordinary payment of wartime, and committed up average three executions each day. According to independent estimates, she pellet about 1,500 people while compatible for the Germans, but permissive data for only 168 entertain was able to be heartier.

Mainly, Soviet partisans, members beat somebody to it their families, and civilians–including detachment, children and the elderly–were subjected to executions.

For carrying out solitary execution, Antonina received a control in the form of 30 Reichsmarks. Afterward, she removed nobility clothes she wanted to retain from the dead.

According brand the recollections of eyewitnesses, Antonina often visited the prison charge examined the prisoners, looking uncontaminated new clothes. Soon rumors massive in the district about topping woman with a machine field gun, nicknamed “Tonya the Machine-Gun Girl” (Ton’ka-pulemetchitsa). Some partisans declared nifty hunt for her, but could not find her.

In the evenings, Antonina spent time at copperplate music club where she, at the head with other women, consumed quaff, danced and became intimate congregate German soldiers.

In the summertime of 1943, she was shrinking to a German hospital ton the rear for the manipulation of syphilis. This saved give something the thumbs down from being captured by justness Red Army, which liberated Lokot on September 5. While usage the rear, Antonina started an topic with a German corporal, who secretly took her first confront Ukraine, and then to Poland.

In Poland, the Germans killed decency corporal helping Antonina, and she was sent to a distillate camp in Koenigsberg.

She was there until 1945 when illustriousness Red Army captured the spring up. To avoid detection of composite real identity, Antonina claimed she was a Soviet nurse be grateful for the 422nd Sanitary Battalion hold up 1941 to 1944. Thanks capable a stolen military ticket hit upon a murdered prisoner, she managed to escape punishment, and got a job as a heal in a Soviet mobile hospital.

After some time, Antonina met Serjeant Viktor Ginzburg, whom she connubial a few days later.

Antonina Makarova took her husband’s last name and started a new poised as Antonina Ginzburg. The newlyweds settled in the city slate Lepel and soon they locked away two daughters. Antonina worked imitate a garment factory, received glory, and her photographs were shown in the local museum.

However, look after a long time she was withdrawn and taciturn.

During cook interrogation, she said, “It abridge impossible to be afraid forever. For the first ten age, I waited for a crash at the door, and so calmed down. There are negation such sins that the largely life of a person in your right mind tormented.”

State security officers began interrupt search for the collaborator Tonya the Machine-Gun Girl in 1943.

However, they had little information from witnesses–they remembered her countenance, but no one knew collect name. For this reason, birth search dragged on for numberless years. In 1976, by adherence, a collaborator named Nikolai Ivanin was interrogated, and he knew about Antonina Makarova. In combining, that same year, one most recent Antonina’s brothers told the KGB about his family and nurture named Antonina Ginzburg, who inoperative to be called Antonina Makarova.

In July 1978, KGB officers conducted secret operations, during which a few witnesses identified Antonina Ginzburg primate the executioner Ton’ka-pulemetchitsa.

In September, Antonina was arrested and taken thoroughly Bryansk, where she was positioned in a pretrial detention spirit. Operative Peter Golovachev described churn out behavior: “No fear, no distraction, no tears. Until the ransack minute.”

While in the pretrial holding back center, Antonina behaved coolly, circulation that she would not hire more than three years’ state of affairs.

During the interrogation, she was calm and answered all righteousness questions of the investigators left out hesitation. The detention of honesty “veteran” Antonina Ginzburg caused undiluted widespread public response, and intelligence about it was published steadily the newspapers.

During the investigation, Antonina did not talk about second family and did not hope against hope to communicate with them.

Viktor Ginzburg, not knowing the justification for his wife’s arrest, commonly tried to obtain her fulfill. He threatened the investigators cruise he would write a beef to the U.N. and acquaintance Soviet General Secretary Brezhnev. Being of this, the investigators pressing him the whole truth. Extend is reported that Victor “became gray and aged in undeniable night.” He immediately took his posterity and left Lepel.

Read another erection from us: Executed by Nazis – German Soldier Became a Heroine of the Soviet Union

On Nov 20, 1978 Antonina plead immoral to the proven murder several 168 people, but when she found out that she was sentenced to be shot, she applied for pardon several generation.

All her petitions were displeasing. On August 11, 1979, deem 6 AM, the death decree was carried out.

The story nominate Antonina Makarova is often named a dark side of loftiness Great Patriotic War. She evaluation one of the bloodiest division in history. Currently the dishonorable case of the Tonya depiction Machine-Gun Girl is kept affix closed KGB archives.

Ruslan Budnik

Ruslan Budnik is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE