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In front of me I stood a young boy, nine years old, maybe. He was covered in some handkerchief, and then with a cotton blanket was covered, was the frozen boy. Cold. Some people left, some others have changed, but the boy did not leave. I ask this boy: "What are you do not go to get warm?" And he said: "All the same, the house is cold." I say, "What are you, one live?" - "No, with mother." - "So what, mother can not go?" - "No, can not. She's dead. " I say, "How dead ?!" - "Nurse died, sorry because of it. Now I guess. I have it now only one day put to bed, and at night I put the stove. She's still dead. And cold from it ".
"Blockade Book" Ales Adamovich, Daniel Granik

35 photos + text.

"Blockade Book" Ales Adamovich and Daniel Granik. I bought it used to be, at best, second-hand bookshops on Foundry St Petersburg. The book is not reading, but always in sight. The modest gray cover with black letters are stored under a living, scary, great document, the witnesses' memories, survived the siege of Leningrad, and the authors who have been participants in those events. Read it hard, but I'd like to do it every ...

From an interview with Danilo Granin:
& quot; - During the siege of looters shot on the spot, but also, I know, without a trial let flow into cannibals. Can we blame these maddened by hunger, lost their human face accidents, which do not dare to call people, and how often have been cases where in the absence of other food ate their own kind?
- Hunger, I tell you, restraining barriers deprive: morality disappears, leaving the moral prohibitions. Hunger - it's an incredible feeling, do not let go for a moment, but, to my surprise and Adamovich, working on this book, we realized not raschelovechilsya Leningrad, and it is a miracle! Yes, cannibalism took place ...
- ... Ate children?
- There were worse things.
- Hmm, what could be worse? Well, for example?
- I do not want to talk ... (pause). Imagine that one own child fed differently, and was something that we did not write. Nobody prohibited, but ... Can we ...
- There was some amazing survival in case of a blockade that shook you to the core?
- Yes, mother nursed the children with their blood, notching his wrists & quot ;.

"... All the apartments were dead. And we are not afraid of anything. Earlier did you go? It's frustrating when the dead ... Here we have the family died out, so they were lying. And when so removed in a barn! "(M.Ya.Babich)

"There is no fear dystrophies. At the Academy of Arts on the way down to the Neva dumped corpses. I calmly climbing over the mountain of corpses ... It would seem that the weaker a person is, the worse it, but no, the fear disappeared. What would have happened to me if it is in times of peace - would have died of terror. And now, after all: there is no light on the stairs - I'm afraid. Once people ate - there was fear "(Nina Ilinichna laksa).

Pavel Filippovich Gubchevsky, researcher of the Hermitage:
- What kind of rooms have?
- Empty frames! It was a wise disposal Orbeli: all frames left in place. With this exhibition the Hermitage restored its eighteen days after returning from the evacuation of paintings! And in the war and they were hanging, empty eye sockets, a frame in which I spent several excursions.
- On blank frames?
- On blank frames.

Passer obscurity - an example of altruism mass blockade.
He was exposed in recent days, in extreme circumstances, but it is for certain its nature.
How many were there - unknown passers-by! They disappeared, returning the man's life; dragged by a deadly edge, they disappeared without a trace, even they did not manage to face imprinted in the minds of Merkle. It seemed that he, an obscure passer-by - they did not have any obligation, nor kindred feelings, they were not expecting any glory or payment. Compassion? But all around was death, and by the corpses were indifferent, surprised his hardened.
Most said to myself, death of loved ones, dear people did not reach the heart, some fire protection system in the body, nothing was perceived, had not the strength to respond to grief.

Blockade apartment can not represent in any museum in any layout or the panorama, just as it is impossible to portray cold, longing, hunger ...
Sami blockade, recalling note broken windows, sawn wood to furniture - the most dramatic and unusual. But then really hit the kind of apartment only children and visitors who have come from the front. As it was, for example, Vladimir Yakovlevich Aleksandrov:
"- You knock a long time - do not hear anything. And you have the overall impression that there were all dead. Then begins some shuffling, the door opens. The apartment where the temperature is ambient temperature appears to roll up God knows what creature. You hand him a bag with some crackers, biscuits or anything else. What struck? Lack of emotional outburst.
- And even if the products?
- Even products. After all, many hungry people had been atrophy of appetite. "

Hospital doctors:
- I remember that brought the twin boys ... That the parents have sent them a small transfer of three biscuits and three sweets. Sonia and Seryozhenka - so called these children. The boy himself and gave her of the liver, then halved biscuits.

Leftover crumbs, he gives crumbs sister. A sister throws him the following sentence: "Seryozha, difficult for men to carry the war, these crumbs eat you." They were three years old.
- Three years ?!
- They just said yes, three years, such chips! And then he took the girl and the boy stayed. I do not know, they survived or not ... »

The amplitude of the human passions in the blockade has increased enormously - from falls most painful to the highest manifestations of consciousness, love and devotion.
"... Among the children with whom I was leaving, there was a boy of our employee - Igor, a charming boy, a handsome man. His mother is very gentle, with a terrible love took care of. Even in the first evacuation he said: "Mariya you also let your kiddies goat's milk. Igor I take goat's milk. " And my children were placed even in other barracks, and I am trying not to pay anything, nor grams over the situation. And then this Igor lost cards. And now in the month of April, I'm going to somehow passed Eliseevsky store (here is the sun began to creep distrofiki) and see - sits a boy, scary, swelling skeletons. "Igor? What's the matter? "- I say. "Mariya, mom kicked me. Mom told me that she did no more than a piece of bread will not give. " - "How so? It can not be! "He was in a serious condition. We barely climbed with him on my fifth floor, I had barely dragged. My children had already went to kindergarten and still held. It was so bad, so pathetic! And all the while saying, "I do not blame my mother. She's doing the right thing. It's my fault, I lost my card. " - "I love you, I say, I will build the school" (which was open). And my son whispered: "Mom, give him something that I had brought from kindergarten."

I fed him and walked with him into the street Chekhov. Input. The room is terrible mud. Lies this distrofirovavshayasya, disheveled woman. Seeing her son, she immediately cried: "Igor, I will not give you any bread. Go away! "The room stench, dirt, darkness. I say, "What are you doing ?! After all, there are only some three or four days - he would go to school, get better. " - "Nothing! Here you stand on your feet, and I do not deserve. I will not give him anything! I'm lying, I'm hungry ... "Here is a transformation from a gentle mother of the beast! But Igor did not go away. He stayed with her, and then I learned that he had died.
A few years later I met her. It was blooming already healthy. She saw me, ran up to me and shouted, "What have I done?" I told her, "Well, what now to talk about it!" - "No, I can not. Any thoughts about it. " After some time, she committed suicide. "

The fate of the animals besieged Leningrad - is also part of the tragedy of the city. The human tragedy. Otherwise, do not explain why not one or two, and almost every tenth Blokadnik remembers, she tells of the death of a bomb elephant in a zoo.

Many, many remember the besieged Leningrad through here this condition: especially uncomfortable, terrible person and he is closer to the death, disappearance of that vanished cats, dogs, even birds! ..

"Down below us, in the apartment of the late President, stubbornly fighting for the lives of four women - three of his daughter and granddaughter - captures G.A.Knyazev. - Is still alive, and their cat, which they pulled out to save each alarm.
Recently, it has come to an acquaintance, a student. He saw the cat, and begged him to give it. Bailiff bluntly: "Give, give." Barely got rid of him. And his eyes lit up. Poor women are even afraid. Now, we worried that he will make the way for them and steal their cat.
About loving woman's heart! Deprived of the natural destiny of motherhood student Nekhoroshev and it is worn as a child, with her cat, Losev worn with his dog. Here are two instances of these rocks on my radius. All the rest have long eaten! »

A.P.Grishkevich recorded on March 13 in his diary:
"In one of the orphanages Kuibyshev district occurred the following case. March 12 the entire staff gathered in the boys' room to watch a fight between two children. As it turned out then, it has been started by them for "boyish fundamental issue." And before that there were "battle", but only verbal and because of the bread ».
Zavdomom comrade. Vasilyev said: "It is the most pleasant fact for the past six months. At first the children were, and then began to argue, then got out of bed, and now - an unprecedented thing - fighting. Previously, I would like for the case was removed from his job, now we, the teachers, were looking for a fight, and they rejoiced. Alive, then our little people. "