Военное прошлое нашей семьи

Municipal comprehensive secondary school №9

The war past of our family

(The Toropovs- the Krivilevs)

Section: English language

                                                                  Made by:  pupils of class 10 “A”

                                                  secondary school №9

            Krivileva Olga, Yusupkina Diana.

                                                            The tutor: English teacher

                                                                          Ortina I.G.                                                                                                                            

Volzhsk

2011

                             Content

1. Introduction

      The Great Patriotic war is the most tragical event of the 20-th century in history of Russia________________p.3

• importance of this project
• aims and problems of the research work
• methods of research
• description of structure of making the project

2. Main part

      The war past of my family ___________________ p.4 -5

• participation of my grandparents in the Great Patriotic war
• life of my close relatives after war

3. Conclusion_____________________________p.6

• the results of the project
• personal contribution of the author
• practical use of the project

  Sometimes we don’t notice how fast time passes. Years, centuries go by. One generation is replaced by another. Recent events left in the past and became historical. And more and more it would be desirable to learn the history of life of our predecessors.

   Life of our ancestors was greatly influenced by the Great Patriotic War. Veterans of war, who were witnesses of that historical event, remain ever less. There is no family which wouldn’t be concerned by war. The Soviet Union had great losses of people (more than 20 million) in the Great Patriotic War. The war affected our family.  

My grandfathers took part in war battles.

    Theme of my research work is the war past of my family (The Toropovs-Krivilevs).

The motive of choice of this theme is that: in 2010 our country celebrated the 65 - th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War. Various actions devoted to this remarkable date were held at our school (competitions – parades of military song, meetings with war veterans). My class teacher asked me to make a report about participation of my relatives in the war. I became interested in this theme.

 In accordance with it I laid down the aim:

• study of the biography of my  grandparents the Toropovs, the Krivilevs.    

To achieve this purpose the following problems were defined:

• to find out what contribution was made by my relatives into victory over fascist Germany;
• to acquaint the schoolmates with history of my family

In my research work I used the following methods:

• studying and analysis of documents  and photos from family archive
•  documentary materials from the library’s storage
• records of stories of my grandmother  Toropova  Polina Stepanovna.
• talks to my mother Krivileva Yelena Nickolayevna.

 I started my work with reading the following books:

1. Book of memory ''They defended their Motherland''. Publishing House ''Mary publisher'' Y-Ola, 2002
2. ''They won the victory'' Y-Ola. Publishing House ''String '' 2010

 These books are devoted to citizens of our town who participated on fronts of the Great Patriotic War and won a victory in back of the enemy in our town. In the books names of my grandfathers and grandmother are mentioned. So I am ready to tell you all the facts I learned.

  According to my grandmother’s stories, my mother’s father Toropov Nickolai Fedorovich was born in Ural region in a large family. He had 2 brothers and 4 sisters. His elder brother Lev was killed during the Soviet-Finnish war. And his other brother Alexander died in 1942. My grandpa had served in the Red army before the war in the Far East in1938. There he completed courses of military commanders. His speciality was a gunner (look at photo№ 1). My granny supposes that this photo was made before the beginning of war.

     In 1941 the Great Patriotic War began. My grandfather as most of Russian people took part in war battles in the Far East. At that time the Soviet Union was forced to keep its troops on the border with Japan, an ally of Germany.

     At the beginning of 1943 the troops of the Far Eastern Front were transferred to the Western Front. As a commander of an artillery battery, Nickolai Fedorovich participated in many military operations on realeasing of cities Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, Vienna (look at photo№ 2). At the photo underside I read the inscription: February 1944.

Looking at the map of school atlas I defined the areas, where my grand father took part in battles (look at document №1).

 My grandfather was a brave soldier. Many times he had to make difficult decisions. He was responsible of his soldiers’ lives and always tried to defend them from death. I read about it in his fighting characteristic dated 10 July 1945 (look at document №2)

    In 1944 in one of the war battles he was badly wounded and confused. First, he was taken into a field hospital and then transferred to one of the hospitals of Kazan.

 There he found out about victory.

    Nickolai Fedorovich was awarded by many medals and orders: medals ''For Valor'', ''For the capture of Budapest'', the medal ''Victory'', the order of the Great Patriotic War first degree, ''For Military Merits'', medal ''For victory over fascist Germany”

(look at photo№3). The evidence of his awards in the family archive the order’s book was kept (look at document №3). All his awards are kept in the family of his other grandson.

     My other grandfather, Krivilev Nickolai Dmitrievich graduated the Pedagogical Institute in Yelabuga, Tatarstan before the war. During the Second World War he fought in a rank of lieutenant in the battalion of the Second Ukrainian front (look at photo№4).  

In accordance with my mother’s suppositions this photo was made on 20 January   1944.

In 1943 he was wounded. However having recovered after wound my grandfather continued taking part in war operations including capture of Berlin. I underlined on the map  the place where  he  took part in the battles (look at document №4).

 Nickolai Dmitrievich was awarded by medal '' For courage'', '' Victory'', '' For capture of Berlin''.

    My grandmother Toropova Polina Stepanovna made a contribution into victory over Germany too. In 1942 she entered the Kazan Medical Institute. In 1943 the Institute became the chief of the hospital in which students (including my grandmother) supported and treated the wounded soldiers. They also did supplies of firewood, knitted gloves and socks for soldiers, sent parcels with food, clothes to the front. My grandmother has some awards too: medal ''For Valiant Labour in the Great Patriotic War'', '' In honour of 30 th anniversary of Victory'', '' In honour of 50 th anniversary of Victory' (look at photo№5).

The war ended and the soviet people started to make peaceful life.

     My grandparents got acquainted in 1948 when Nickolai Fedorovich served in the Committee of State Safeguard in Zelenodolsk. In 1950 they got married.

 Soon a young family with his small son Lev moved to Volzhsk. Later another two children were born (my uncle Victor and my mother Lena). The Toropovs brought up their children and helped them to get a good education. (look at photo №6).    From my mother’s stories I found out that this photo was made in 1973. At that time my mother was 14 years old.

    Nickolai Fedorovich had been working at Mary Paper Plant for a long time. He also worked at school number 6 as a teacher of Technology. In 1980 he died.

    My grandmother worked as a nurse at kindergartens №3, №9. Then she worked in hospital and at school №4. (look at photo №7).

 Now my grandmother is on pension.

 After the war Krivilev Nickolai Dmitrievich worked at school number 2 as a teacher of Maths. He died in 1999.

Unfortunately I have never met with my grandfather Toropov because I was born after his death. But I am proud of my close relatives.

 We, successors of the victory, live in peace thanks to our ancestors. We shouldn’t forget what they had done for our future peaceful life on the earth.  We should preserve peace in the world.      

 In conclusion I’d like to say that making a project helped me to learn much about the history of my family. I also learned about participation of the citizens of Volzhsk including my relatives in the Great Patriotic War and in the back of the enemy. I shared this information with my classmates, friends and teachers. I hope, whenever, I will tell my story to my   children.