Gromova Ulyana Matveevna is the second cousin of my mother Ovchinnikova (Kotova) Valentina Alekseevna and the cousin of my grandmother Kornienko Ulyana Fedorovna, born in 1905, a native of the Poltava region of Ukraine. Gromov Matvey Maksimovich, Uli’s father, is the cousin of my grandmother Ulyana Fedorovna Kornienko. Before my grandmother’s parents and their family left the Poltava region, they and the Gromovs were family friends.
In February 1943, my grandmother received a letter from the Gromovs, in which Uli’s parents reported her death at the hands of the German occupiers and traitorous fellow villagers who went into the service of the Nazis. My grandmother’s entire family grieved all their lives for their 19-year-old niece, who was brutally tortured and died in terrible agony. While Ulyana Gromova’s parents were alive, they maintained family ties with my grandmother’s family until the mid-70s. After the death of Matvey Maksimovich Gromov, the connection was severed.
We sacredly honor the memory of Ulyana Gromova and all our many relatives who participated in the Great Patriotic War on the battlefields and in work in the rear during these years for the benefit of the Victory of our people, including those who received state awards for their participation in the Great Patriotic War and for their work in the rear.
We would like to find all living descendants of the Gromovs.
Ulyana Matveevna Gromova was born on January 3, 1924 in the village of Pervomaika, Krasnodonsky district. There were five children in the family, Ulya was the youngest. Father, Matvey Maksimovich, who came from a family of Don Cossacks, often told children about the glory of Russian weapons, about famous military leaders, about past battles and campaigns, instilling in children pride in their people and their Motherland. Mother, Matryona Savelyevna, knew many songs, epics, and was a real folk storyteller.
In 1932, Ulyana went to first grade at Pervomaisk School No. 6. She studied excellently, moved from class to class with Certificates of Merit. “Gromova is rightfully considered the best student of the class and the school,” said the former director of secondary school No. 6 I.A. Shkreba. “Of course, she has excellent abilities, high development, but the main role belongs to work - persistent and systematic. She studies with soul, interest. Thanks to this, Gromova’s knowledge is wider, her understanding of phenomena is deeper than that of many of her fellow students.”
Ulyana read a lot, was a passionate fan of M. Yu. Lermontov and T. G. Shevchenko, A. M. Gorky and Jack London. She kept a diary where she wrote down expressions she liked from the books she had just read.
In 1939, Gromova was elected a member of the academic committee. In March 1940, she joined the Komsomol. She successfully completed her first Komsomol assignment - a counselor in a pioneer detachment. She carefully prepared for each gathering, made clippings from newspapers and magazines, and selected children's poems and stories.
Ulyana was a tenth-grader when the Great Patriotic War began. By this time, as I. A. Shkreba recalled, “she had already developed firm concepts about duty, honor, and morality. She is a strong-willed nature.” She was distinguished by a wonderful sense of friendship and collectivism. Together with her peers, Ulya worked in the collective farm fields and cared for the wounded in the hospital. In 1942 she graduated from school.
During the occupation, Anatoly Popov and Ulyana Gromova organized a patriotic group of youth in the village of Pervomaika, which became part of the Young Guard. Gromova is elected a member of the headquarters of the underground Komsomol organization. She takes an active part in preparing the military operations of the Young Guards, distributes leaflets, collects medicines, works among the population, agitating Krasnodon residents to disrupt the plans of the invaders to supply food and recruit young people to Germany.
On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, together with Anatoly Popov, Ulyana hung a red flag on the chimney of mine No. 1-bis.
Ulyana Gromova was a determined, brave underground worker, distinguished by her firmness of convictions and her ability to instill confidence in others. These qualities manifested themselves with particular force during the most tragic period of her life, when in January 1943 she ended up in fascist dungeons. As Valeria Borts’ mother, Maria Andreevna, recalls, Ulyana spoke with conviction about the fight in the cell: “We must not bend in any conditions, in any situation, but find a way out and fight. We can also fight in these conditions, we just need to be more decisive and organized ".
Ulyana Gromova behaved with dignity during interrogations, refusing to give any testimony about the activities of the underground.
"...Ulyana Gromova was hung by her hair, a five-pointed star was cut out on her back, her breasts were cut off, her body was burned with a hot iron and the wounds were sprinkled with salt, she was put on a hot stove. The torture continued for a long time and mercilessly, but she was silent. When, after the next beatings, the investigator Cherenkov asked Ulyana why she behaved so defiantly, the girl replied: “I didn’t join the organization to ask for your forgiveness later; I only regret one thing, that we didn’t have enough time to do! But never mind, perhaps the Red Army will still have time to rescue us!..." From the book by A.F. Gordeev "Feat in the Name of Life"
Ulyana Gromova died on January 15, 1943 at 9 pm in a prison cell, unable to withstand the most cruel and sadistic torture. Only her body was more mutilated than anyone else, which suggests that she resisted until the last minute of her life, without betraying any of her fellow Young Guards. The fascist henchmen did not extract a single confession from her. The surviving Young Guard members testify to this. On January 16, 1943, Ulyana Gromova, along with other Young Guard members, was thrown into the pit of mine No. 5. After 3 weeks, Soviet troops entered Krasnodon....
“Ulyana Gromova, 19 years old, a five-pointed star was carved on her back, her right arm was broken, her ribs were broken” (KGB Archives of the USSR Council of Ministers, d. 100-275, vol. 8).
She was buried in the mass grave of heroes in the central square of the city of Krasnodon.
By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated September 13, 1943, Ulyana Matveevna Gromova, a member of the headquarters of the underground Komsomol organization "Young Guard", was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
And director Gerasimov also felt sorry for the audience - the film does not show all the torture that the guys endured. They were almost children, the youngest was barely 16. It’s scary to read these lines.
It’s scary to think about the inhuman suffering they endured. But we must know and remember what fascism is. The worst thing is that among those who mockingly killed the Young Guard, there were mainly policemen from the local population (the city of Krasnodon, where the tragedy occurred, is located in the Lugansk region). It is all the more terrible to watch now the revival of Nazism in Ukraine, the torchlight processions, and the slogans “Bandera is a hero!”
There is no doubt that today's twenty-year-old neo-fascists, the same age as their brutally tortured fellow countrymen, have not read this book or seen these photographs.
“They beat her and hung her by her braids. They lifted Anya out of the pit with one scythe - the other was broken.
Crimea, Feodosia, August 1940. Happy young girls. The most beautiful, with dark braids, is Anya Sopova.
On January 31, 1943, after severe torture, Anya was thrown into the pit of mine No. 5.
She was buried in the mass grave of heroes in the central square of the city of Krasnodon.
Soviet people dreamed of being like the brave Krasnodon residents... They swore to avenge their death.
What can I say, the tragic and beautiful story of the Young Guards shocked the whole world, and not just the fragile minds of children.
The film became the box office leader in 1948, and the leading actors, unknown VGIK students, immediately received the title of Stalin Prize Laureate - an exceptional case. “Woke up famous” is about them.
Ivanov, Mordyukova, Makarova, Gurzo, Shagalova - letters from all over the world came to them in bags.
Gerasimov, of course, felt sorry for the audience. Fadeev - readers.
Neither paper nor film could convey what really happened that winter in Krasnodon.
But what is happening now in Ukraine.
On January 3, 1924, a girl was born who was named Ulyana. And she became a role model for several generations of children not only in her native Donbass, but also in all corners of Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Several generations of children, right up to the collapse of the USSR, when the images of the real heroes of our past were overshadowed by Hollywood idols, read Fadeev’s novel “The Young Guard”, dreaming of being the same as his heroes.
Ulyana Gromova. Photo from the early 1940s.
"Ulyana Matveevna Gromova was born on January 3, 1924 in the village of Pervomaika, Krasnodonsky district. There were five children in the family, Ulya was the youngest. Father, Matvey Maksimovich, often told children about the glory of Russian weapons, about famous military leaders, about past battles and campaigns, instilling in children pride in their people and their Motherland. Mother, Matryona Savelyevna, knew many songs, epics, and was a real folk storyteller.
In 1932, Ulyana went to first grade at Pervomaisk School No. 6. She studied excellently, moved from class to class with Certificates of Merit. “Gromova is rightfully considered the best student of the class and the school,” said the former director of secondary school No. 6 I.A. Shkreba. “Of course, she has excellent abilities, high development, but the main role belongs to work - persistent and systematic. She studies with soul, interest. Thanks to this, Gromova’s knowledge is wider, her understanding of phenomena is deeper than that of many of her fellow students.”
Ulyana read a lot, was a passionate fan of M. Yu. Lermontov and T. G. Shevchenko, A. M. Gorky and Jack London. She kept a diary where she wrote down expressions she liked from the books she had just read.
In 1939, Gromova was elected a member of the academic committee. In March 1940, she joined the Komsomol. She successfully completed her first Komsomol assignment - a counselor in a pioneer detachment. She carefully prepared for each gathering, made clippings from newspapers and magazines, and selected children's poems and stories.
Ulyana was a tenth-grader when the Great Patriotic War began. By this time, as I. A. Shkreba recalled, “she had already developed firm concepts about duty, honor, and morality. She is a strong-willed nature.” She was distinguished by a wonderful sense of friendship and collectivism. Together with her peers, Ulya worked in the collective farm fields and cared for the wounded in the hospital. In 1942 she graduated from school.
During the occupation, Anatoly Popov and Ulyana Gromova organized a patriotic group of youth in the village of Pervomaika, which became part of the Young Guard. Gromova is elected a member of the headquarters of the underground Komsomol organization. She takes an active part in preparing the military operations of the Young Guards, distributes leaflets, collects medicines, works among the population, agitating Krasnodon residents to disrupt the plans of the invaders to supply food and recruit young people to Germany.
Portrait of Ulyana Gromova
On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Great October Revolution, together with Anatoly Popov, Ulyana hung a red flag on the chimney of mine No. 1-bis.
Ulyana Gromova was a determined, brave underground worker, distinguished by her firmness of convictions and her ability to instill confidence in others. These qualities manifested themselves with particular force during the most tragic period of her life, when in January 1943 she ended up in fascist dungeons.".
Here we will interrupt the narrative of the “Young Guard” website to talk about this event in more detail. They came for the Hive on January 10th.Oleg Artyushenko in his article about Ulyana leads her mother's testimony.
"
The door swings open and the Germans and police burst into the room.
—Are you Gromova? - said one of them, pointing to Ulyasha.
She straightened up, looked around at everyone and said loudly:
- I!
- Get ready! - the policeman barked.
“Don’t yell,” Ulya answered calmly.
Arrest of Ulyana Gromova
Not a single muscle moved on her face. She easily and confidently put on her coat, tied a scarf around her head, put a piece of oatcake in her pocket and, coming up to me, kissed me deeply. Raising her head, she looked so tenderly and warmly at me, at the table where the books lay, at her bed, at her sister’s children, fearfully peeking out from the other room, as if she was silently saying goodbye to everything. Then she straightened up and said firmly:
-I'm ready!"(end quote)
In conclusion, Ulyana showed amazing courage and fortitude. She, as best she could, encouraged her cellmates - girls from the "Young Guard", read poetry to them, sang Ukrainian folk and Soviet songs with them, which infuriated the guards. And even, according to the testimony of the same Oleg Artyushenko, she was planning an escape. It didn’t work out... And then we’ll give the floor again to the “Young Guard” website.
"Ulyana Gromova was hung by her hair, a five-pointed star was cut out on her back, her breasts were cut off, her body was burned with a hot iron, her wounds were sprinkled with salt, and she was placed on a hot stove. The torture continued for a long time and mercilessly, but she remained silent. When, after yet another beating, investigator Cherenkov asked Ulyana why she was behaving so defiantly, the girl replied: “I didn’t join the organization to then ask for your forgiveness; I only regret one thing, that we didn’t manage to do enough! But nothing.” “Perhaps the Red Army will still have time to rescue us!”"This is from A.F. Gordeev’s book “Feat in the Name of Life.” But here is an excerpt from the Soviet archives - the result of an examination of the body of a young underground worker, which was removed from a mine by Soviet soldiers who liberated Krasnodon in February 1943:"Ulyana Gromova, 19 years old, had a five-pointed star carved on her back, her right arm was broken, her ribs were broken".
Desperate to get any testimony from the girl, Hitler’s executioners threw her into the pit of mine No. 5 on January 16, 1943, along with a whole group of other underground workers. Together with Ulyana, her best friend, classmate, and, according to some reports, secret lover Anatoly Popov also died. On September 13, 1943, Ulyana Gromova was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
Ukrainian postcard with a portrait of Ulyana Gromova
Eternal memory and the Kingdom of Heaven!
Ulyana Gromova was born on January 3, 1924 in the village of Pervomaika, Ukraine. She studied at secondary school No. 6, an excellent student and an activist, and repeatedly received certificates of merit. In March 1940 she joined the ranks of the Komsomol.
When the Great Patriotic War began, Ulyana was finishing ninth grade. In June 1942, she received a high school diploma, and in mid-July, the Krasnodon region was occupied by German troops. Gromova, along with several young people from Pervomaika, joined the Young Guard in September, and in October she was elected a member of the organization’s headquarters.
Young Guards distributed anti-fascist leaflets and carried out sabotage at city enterprises. On the night of November 7, 1942, in honor of the 25th anniversary of the October Revolution, Ulyana and two friends hung a red flag at one of the schools in the village. Other Young Guards in Krasnodon carried out the same action, hanging red flags on the tallest buildings in the city. A month later, on December 6, 1942, young underground workers burned down the labor exchange, where lists of people intended to be transported for forced labor to Germany were kept.
On New Year's Eve 1943, Young Guards made a daring attack on German cars with New Year's gifts for Wehrmacht soldiers and officers. Following this raid, the Gestapo and police followed the organization. Starting on January 5, 1943, the Gestapo began mass arrests of underground members. Ulyana Gromova was arrested on January 10, and on January 16, she, along with other Young Guard members, was shot and thrown into the pit of mine No. 5. A month later, Soviet troops entered the city. Gromova’s body was lifted from the mine and buried on March 1, 1943 in a mass grave of Young Guards on the central square of Krasnodon.
The title of Hero of the Soviet Union was awarded posthumously to Ulyana Gromova by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 13, 1943.
Memory of Ulyana Gromova
The novel by the Soviet writer A. A. Fadeev “The Young Guard” is dedicated to the feat of the “Young Guards”, where Ulyana Gromova became the prototype of the character of the same name.
In the Soviet feature film “The Young Guard” (1948) directed by Sergei Gerasimov based on the novel of the same name by A. A. Fadeev, the role of Ulyana Gromova was played by the aspiring actress Nonna Mordyukova.
In many cities of the former Soviet Union, monuments have been erected to the Youth Guard hero Ulyana Gromova, and streets are named after her.
River tugboat "Ulyana Gromova".
In 1949, a hydrographic vessel of the Pacific Fleet was named after Ulyana Gromova.
In the city of Nizhny Tagil there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In the city of Kaliningrad, a street was created in honor of Ulyana Gromova. This street is popular.
In the city of Kursk there is a camp named after Ulyana Gromova.
In the city of Tolyatti there is a street and a high relief monument to Ulyana Gromova.
In the city of Pervouralsk there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In St. Petersburg there is Ulyana Gromova Lane
In Chelyabinsk there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In the city of Orel there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In Lipetsk there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In Ulyanovsk there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In the city of Uralsk (western Kazakhstan) there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In the city of Kemerovo there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In the city of Aksai (Rostov region) there is Uli Gromovaya Street.
In the city of Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo region) there is Ulyana Gromova Street.
In 2017, the Post of the Lugansk People's Republic issued a block of stamps “Young Guard 75 years”. Depicted on one of the block stamps.