There is no statute of limitations for human losses. No matter how much time has passed since the end of the war, the relatives of the dead or missing soldiers will always remember them and collect information bit by bit about the last known events in their lives. But the relatives of those who are not on the lists of the dead are in particular pain, because the fate of the soldier is unknown. To facilitate the search for information, the RF Ministry of Defense has created a special Internet service "Memorial", which is a constantly updated database on losses in the Great Patriotic War, containing original documents from the archives.
Instructions
Step 1
Enter the address of the General Database "Memorial" into the search bar of your browser https://obd-memorial.ru/. Wait a few seconds for the initialization to take place and you will be redirected to the main search page. Here you can immediately start searching the military archives database, familiarize yourself with the list of information sources, tips for working with the service
Step 2
On the "Set Destiny" tab, fill in the active fields with the information you have. In most cases, this can only be the first and last name. Click the "search" button to activate the search for documents by the specified parameters. If you want to customize your search parameters, go to the "advanced search" tab. Here it will be possible to select a separate type of documents, such as orders, filing cabinets, lists of burials, etc.
Step 3
In the window that opens, you will see the search results and will be able to more accurately determine the fate of the warrior by selecting from the list the line in which the data most closely match the information you have. For example, here it will be possible to focus on the place of conscription of a serviceman. To go to the page with personal data, click on the active part of the line in the place where the last name, first name and patronymic of the missing soldier are written. Here you can find out about the fate of the soldier: the number of the unit in which he served, military rank, the place where he disappeared, date and circumstances of the tragedy. In some cases, this will be an indication of the captivity, indicating the camp (name, number and location) and the date of death.
All this information will be confirmed by attached copies of scanned original documents from the archives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the "Passports of military burials" fund.
