The Great Patriotic War claimed many lives. Millions of people went missing, millions died. Their relatives and friends are still not fully aware of the fate of most of the front-line soldiers. Many people are trying to find their relatives: fathers, grandfathers, great-grandfathers. With the help of modern communications, it has become much easier to learn about the fate of those killed or missing at the front.
Instructions
Step 1
Start your searches with modern Internet resources: everyone's accessible electronic bank of archives "The feat of the People in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945", the Generalized data bank "Memorial", which contains information about the defenders of the Fatherland. Enter in the search the name of the surname of the front-line soldier you are looking for, and perhaps you will find the necessary information, for example, find out where he had to fight, what year it was, what rank he was awarded, what awards he was assigned to, and why he ended his participation in the battles. Information for filling data banks is taken from archival official documents stored in the Central Naval Archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, in the Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for perpetuating the memory of those killed in the defense of the Fatherland. Archival documents, which specify losses (documents of medical battalions and hospitals, trophy cards of prisoners of war, funerals, etc.), documents of burials of Soviet soldiers and officers, carry a lot of information.
Step 2
Don't be discouraged if you can't find the information you need about the front-line soldier right away. The data is constantly updated, over time it will appear. In the meantime, contact the search engines engaged in excavating remains at the battlefield, studying graves and searching for a variety of information about the defenders of the Fatherland during the war. Register on special forums dedicated to this topic and ask about the front-line soldier you are interested in.
Step 3
Provide the search engines with the following information about the front-line soldier: the address of the military registration and enlistment office that called him into service, the year of his vocation, the number of the unit where the person you are interested in fell into (contact the district military registration and enlistment office to obtain this information). Scan with a scanner and post saved letters or funeral to the forum. Any information will come in handy.
Step 4
Send a letter to the publishing house of the Book of Memory, send a request to TsAMO or go to the archive yourself. It is possible that there you will find out the number of the unit in which the person you need fought in, and you will be able to find out his further fate.
Step 5
Carefully analyze all the available and received information, show perseverance and patience, perhaps you will be able to figure out where the front-line soldier you are interested in defended the Motherland, even if he was considered missing.
