Victory in the Great Patriotic War came at a high price to the Russian people. Millions of people have died, millions are missing. Until now, people are looking for their relatives who took part in the battles of the Great Patriotic War: great-grandfathers, grandfathers, fathers. And, if a few years ago, in search it was possible to rely only on the stories of rare acquaintances of front-line soldiers, today, thanks to modern communications, it is much easier to find your grandfather and the place where he fought.
Instructions
Step 1
It is best to start your search with the use of new Internet resources: the Generalized Data Bank "Memorial", the Public Electronic Bank of Documents "The Feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945." There is a chance that by entering the last name and first name of your grandfather, you will receive the necessary information - you will find out where he fought, in what rank, to what awards he was assigned, in what year, and for what reason he ended his participation in the battles.
Step 2
The data for filling the data banks are taken from archival official documents that are stored in the Russian State Military Archives, the Central Archives of the RF Ministry of Defense, the State Archives of the RF, the Central Naval Archives of the RF Ministry of Defense, and the RF Ministry of Defense Department for perpetuating the memory of those killed in the defense of the Fatherland. The main part of the documents - reports of combat units about losses, archival documents, which specify losses (documents of hospitals and medical battalions, funerals, trophy cards of prisoners of war, etc.), passports of burials of Soviet officers and soldiers.
Step 3
Resources are constantly being updated, so if you did not find detailed information about where your grandfather or great-grandfather fought right away, do not despair - it may appear over time. At the same time, it is worth continuing the actions and turning to the search engines who are engaged in excavations at the battle sites, the study of graves and the search for any information about the defenders of the Fatherland during the Great Patriotic War. To do this, register on the forums dedicated to this topic and ask there a question about your relative.
Step 4
They will certainly answer you, but be prepared for the fact that you will have to provide some facts about the soldier: the address of the military registration and enlistment office, which he was called up to and the year of his vocation, the number of the unit in which the sought-after fell (to obtain this data, contact the district military registration and enlistment office). If there are letters or funerals left in the family, scan them and send them to the forum. Any information is useful to help search engines, so interview all family members: grandmothers, parents - maybe someone will remember something.
Step 5
Also try to meet veterans from the city or village where your grandfather or great-grandfather was called from, or their families. You can find them through friends, if the city is small, or through the above databases, by entering a search by city and year of call. Perhaps you can find your grandfather's brother-soldiers who will tell you about where and how your grandfather fought.
Step 6
Write a letter to the publishing house of the Book of Memory, make a request to TsAMO or go to the Archives - there is a chance that there you will find the number of the unit in which your relative fought, and you can find out his fate.
Step 7
Show patience and perseverance, carefully analyze all the information available to you, and it is very likely that you will be able to find out where your grandfather fought, even if he was considered missing for a long time.
