Kolya Shchyogolev’s fur coat, presented in the museum’s exhibition, is a silent witness to the tragic history of the Shchyogolev family. In 1942, during one of the most difficult periods of the war, Praskovya Shchyogoleva, a 35-year-old resident of the village of Semiluki, gave her life and the lives of her five children for the future victory over the Nazis.
In September 1942, the front line passed through the village of Semiluki. Local residents, fearing for their lives, moved to the neighboring Endovishche. So did the 35-year-old Praskovya Shchyogoleva and her mother Natalia Stepanovna. Praskovya by that time had six children — Tatiana, Alexander, Anna, Polina, Kolya and Nina. Nina was born just before the war. The woman’s husband, a tractor driver Stepan Shchyogolev, like all the men of the village, went to fight in the war. Praskovya did not know that he had already died.
On September 14, Praskovya and her children decided to return home to Semiluki. On September 15, 1942, an Il-2 aircraft of Junior Lieutenant Aviator Mikhail Tikhonovich Maltsev was shot down over the village of Semiluki during a combat mission. The aircraft crashed into the vegetable garden, where Praskovya Ivanovna Shchyogoleva was harvesting with her children, mother and nephew. The woman helped the wounded pilot to get out of the aircraft and told him where to hide. At that time, the Nazis with dogs were already approaching the burning plane. They began to interrogate the Shchyogolevs about the pilot’s hiding place, but no one gave Maltsev away. The enraged Nazis beat up the two women and children, egged the dogs on them, and after the torture shot them. Praskovya was 35 years old, and her mother was 72 years old. The dead children were all under 10. Anya was 9, Polina was 7, Kolya was 5, Nina was 2, and Kolya’s nephew was 6 years old.
The only surviving son of Praskovya Ivanovna, a 12-year-old Sasha, who was interrogated by the Germans separately from his mother and locked in a barn, later reported the brutal crime. During the massacre of his family, he was able to get out through a narrow hole, run away and hide.
The rescued pilot took refuge in one of the houses in the village. One of the local residents betrayed his location to the Germans. Maltsev survived captivity and was freed by the Red Army in 1945.
In September 1942, the front line passed through the village of Semiluki. Local residents, fearing for their lives, moved to the neighboring Endovishche. So did the 35-year-old Praskovya Shchyogoleva and her mother Natalia Stepanovna. Praskovya by that time had six children — Tatiana, Alexander, Anna, Polina, Kolya and Nina. Nina was born just before the war. The woman’s husband, a tractor driver Stepan Shchyogolev, like all the men of the village, went to fight in the war. Praskovya did not know that he had already died.
On September 14, Praskovya and her children decided to return home to Semiluki. On September 15, 1942, an Il-2 aircraft of Junior Lieutenant Aviator Mikhail Tikhonovich Maltsev was shot down over the village of Semiluki during a combat mission. The aircraft crashed into the vegetable garden, where Praskovya Ivanovna Shchyogoleva was harvesting with her children, mother and nephew. The woman helped the wounded pilot to get out of the aircraft and told him where to hide. At that time, the Nazis with dogs were already approaching the burning plane. They began to interrogate the Shchyogolevs about the pilot’s hiding place, but no one gave Maltsev away. The enraged Nazis beat up the two women and children, egged the dogs on them, and after the torture shot them. Praskovya was 35 years old, and her mother was 72 years old. The dead children were all under 10. Anya was 9, Polina was 7, Kolya was 5, Nina was 2, and Kolya’s nephew was 6 years old.
The only surviving son of Praskovya Ivanovna, a 12-year-old Sasha, who was interrogated by the Germans separately from his mother and locked in a barn, later reported the brutal crime. During the massacre of his family, he was able to get out through a narrow hole, run away and hide.
The rescued pilot took refuge in one of the houses in the village. One of the local residents betrayed his location to the Germans. Maltsev survived captivity and was freed by the Red Army in 1945.
