Anna Nikolina
NAME- Anna Nikolina
NATION- Soviet Union
DATE (S) OF INTERVIEW (S)- August 1984
PLACE OF INTERVIEW (S)- Bamberg, Germany (telephonic)
LANGUAGE (S) CONDUCTED- Russian (through interpreter)
SIGNIFICANCE OF SUBJECT- NKVD Colonel, infantry officer in World War II, operated with partisan units. One of three persons who raised Soviet flag over the Reichstag on May 1, 1945.
OTHERS IN ATTENDANCE- Dr. Naille Sidtikova
FORMAT- Q & A standard.
Q- When and where were you born?
A- I was born in Russia in 1918, in a large family.
Q- When did you join the army?
A- I was in the army after the start of the Great Patriotic War, but before I was working as a political representative in Moscow where I was in school. I was working on a degree in political science, which was stopped because of the war.
Q- Did you work with or have experience with propaganda operations?
A- Yes, we worked on trying to make the people understand that the Germans were not their friends. Many traitors had become German subjects and many more had been captured. The early days were very tense. Our Commissar for Propaganda was Comrade [Ilya] Ehrenberg. We were well aware of the broadcasts by our propaganda, as well as the voice of Comrade Ehrenberg. He urged us to seek revenge against the Nazis who had raped and murdered our people. This was also part of the plan to raise more partisan forces as we advanced across Europe. The power of the propaganda cannot at any time be underestimated, either by us or by the Nazis.
Q- What was your job in the army?
A- I was a representative of the Military Police and Security Service. My job was to locate those who were not patriotic and determine who had been collaborators. I was also in charge of morale when assigned to various units, which was sometimes difficult. Creating effective partisan units was another and perhaps the most important job. There were many who did not like the Communist system, although we had delivered them from Imperial evil. We were the only hope for Mother Russia, and we had to show the people that we were the best hope and that the Red Army would be victorious. Those who aided the enemy would be handled by us when we caught them. We also supplied the partisans and trained them in fighting, recruiting more as we went along, explaining to them why we were their friends and their best hope for freedom.
Q- Where did you serve during the war?
A- I was at Leningrad, Moscow and in the Baltic Soviet Republics, Poland, and into Germany. All these great battles.
Q- Were you always informed of the situation at the front, or was there a media blackout on certain events?
A- The Ministry for Propaganda did not allow everything to be made available due to the need for security.
Q- Were there any events that you learned about later that were suppressed?
A- Yes. The defeat at Smolensk is one I remember, because I was also near there in 1941. The Germans had completely defeated and captured an army, but we were not informed. We knew what had happened because rumours spread. We were told not to listen to these rumours, and anyone repeating them would be shot. I saw this happen. But what is difficult to understand is why so many of these soldiers became traitors. We were fighting for our homeland and they betrayed our cause. Their actions are unforgivable.
Q- When did the Red Army begin supporting the partisans?
A- Comrade Stalin ordered the partisan war in July 1941, but we were not able to completely support them until later in 1942 and early 1943, after we had more weapons.
Q- You fought in the Battle for Berlin. What was that like?
A- We fought all the way through the Baltic nations and Poland, and prepared for the last great fight. We engaged great numbers of Germans earlier at the Seelow Heights, where we took a great number of casualties. This was a very terrible fight, many times hand to hand, and I was there as well. We women fought with the men, and everyone knew that all people had to give their best. We also collected millions of people freed in other countries who had been under German rule, and our ranks were made strong. Finally, in April [1945] we began to enter Berlin. The Germans had placed tanks and guns, also artillery on street corners, in buildings, houses, and underground. Every place had guns and we lost many soldiers. We had to fight street by street, and we had our places to reach by certain times and days. I was with the group that was to take the Reichstag. We fought for almost four days and lost many soldiers, but finally after our planes had bombed we fought our way into the great building of Hitler, and my commander said to me; ‘Major, place our flag on this place,’ and I looked for a way to get up. There was a great hole from a bomb, and the steel was destroyed and sticking up. I climbed there and another soldier helped, and we tied on our flag. It was raining a little, and I looked out over the Nazi city; smoke was everywhere, and I knew that we had won the war. This was filmed by a cameraman and has become famous, and sometimes you may see this on a documentary.
Q- Yes, I have seen this footage. So you became a hero because of this film?
A- Not really, because it is difficult to show that it is me, since we all wore the same type of uniform, men and women.
Q- What did you do after the war?
A- I stayed with the Security Service and retired many years ago. I also work with historians who study the war, and I also teach our young people about the war and why we had to fight. It is very important that children learn the truth about their history, and how we fought the greatest war in history, and won.