In connection with the upcoming Victory Day on May 9th, I'm writing a post in honor of those who fought during the war - my husband's grandfather was one of them.
Dau Ani (grandmother) who recently passed away in December was a veteran too. I believe I've already told you about Dau Ani's story and I remember that I promised to write a separate post about her husband. I never met him, he died in 1981 when my husband was just a child.
He was Dau Ani's brother's bestfriend. They were both renowned artists of the Republic of Tatarstan in USSR times. Republic of Tatarstan is one of the many republics in the Russian Federation. Kazan is the capital city of Tatarstan.
He and his bestfriend volunteered to go to war in defence of the country. He was once captured by the Germans and brought to the concentration camp in Lingen. Due to severe concussion, he lost 3 months of hearing and speech. After spending 3 tears in German concentration camp, he repeatedly tried to escape and finally managed to do it and made it to France where joined the resistance movement.
He managed to come back to the country after the war and in 1946 was delegated to Budapest to patrol.
According to Dau Ani's story, it was him who was the last to arrive home after the war. When Dau Ani was telling us this story (it was our last visit before she passed away) I couldn't imagine how terrible and heartbreaking it was to wait each day for your loved ones, friends and acquaintances to come back. I couldn't imagine what sort of agony it must have been for mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and children not knowing whether there is someone for them to wait for. Some come back alive but with broken spirits, some physically disabled, others simply don't come back and never heard of.
As an adult, I thought that I understood what war is and its course but after hearing such a full account from a first hand survivor I realized that all I knew about were mere theories, story-like-novels read and heard. It was only then I fully grasped the idea, the story, the FEELING of what war had brought and can bring to people's lives.
My husband's grandfather continued to paint even during the war. He & Dau Ani got married after the war. He devoted the rest of his life to painting. There are some of his artworks which I will be posting in the next few days. He died in 1981 and is survived by one daughter and two sons. The daughter is my husband's mother.
Dau Ani (grandmother) who recently passed away in December was a veteran too. I believe I've already told you about Dau Ani's story and I remember that I promised to write a separate post about her husband. I never met him, he died in 1981 when my husband was just a child.
He was Dau Ani's brother's bestfriend. They were both renowned artists of the Republic of Tatarstan in USSR times. Republic of Tatarstan is one of the many republics in the Russian Federation. Kazan is the capital city of Tatarstan.
He and his bestfriend volunteered to go to war in defence of the country. He was once captured by the Germans and brought to the concentration camp in Lingen. Due to severe concussion, he lost 3 months of hearing and speech. After spending 3 tears in German concentration camp, he repeatedly tried to escape and finally managed to do it and made it to France where joined the resistance movement.
He managed to come back to the country after the war and in 1946 was delegated to Budapest to patrol.
According to Dau Ani's story, it was him who was the last to arrive home after the war. When Dau Ani was telling us this story (it was our last visit before she passed away) I couldn't imagine how terrible and heartbreaking it was to wait each day for your loved ones, friends and acquaintances to come back. I couldn't imagine what sort of agony it must have been for mothers, wives, sisters, daughters and children not knowing whether there is someone for them to wait for. Some come back alive but with broken spirits, some physically disabled, others simply don't come back and never heard of.
As an adult, I thought that I understood what war is and its course but after hearing such a full account from a first hand survivor I realized that all I knew about were mere theories, story-like-novels read and heard. It was only then I fully grasped the idea, the story, the FEELING of what war had brought and can bring to people's lives.
My husband's grandfather continued to paint even during the war. He & Dau Ani got married after the war. He devoted the rest of his life to painting. There are some of his artworks which I will be posting in the next few days. He died in 1981 and is survived by one daughter and two sons. The daughter is my husband's mother.
You may want to read his whole story here:
Wikipedia: Фаттахов,Лотфулла
(if you're using chrome it will translate to English, if not you may opt for wiki's other language)
What a terrible time that was for so many. Not that any war is ever good. I look forward to seeing the paintings you will share.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing a bit of your interesting family history!
ReplyDeleteYou make some good points about the human emotions during the war. The waiting without knowing would be terrible.
ReplyDeleteFascinating personal history! I am off now to read his Wikipedia page. I'm looking forward to his art being posted in your next post(s)!
ReplyDeleteWe all know war is terrible but it takes a personal story sometimes to put the suffering on terms we can understand with our hearts. Such courage and perseverence to remain an artist through it all. I hope his later life brought him much happiness.
ReplyDeleteWar experience is almost unimaginable. What an impressive man!
ReplyDeleteMy husband was only away at war for a year, (Vietnam) and I know how hard that was, so I can only imagine how bad it was in WWII, when men were gone for as long as three or four years. That book "Unbroken" which I mentioned on my blog post is a true story about an American in the Army Air Corps. How he and two other managed to survive following a plane crash into the ocean is nothing short of astounding. Then they were captured by the Japanese, and had to endure unspeakable conditions and treatment as POWs. It's a very eye-opening story. The human spirit is an amazing thing.
ReplyDeleteI'll look forward to seeing the paintings you post. Your husband's grandfather's story is yet another example of a prevailing human spirit.
My father in law is a survivor of WWII - at 92, he still speaks of the war and how it shaped the rest of his life. You are lucky to have this oral and written history of your husband's ancestors.
ReplyDeleteI think that unless we personally know someone in the war -- and perhaps even then -- we have a pretty sterilized view of what being in war is. And it's different now than it was in the World Wars when pretty much everything was hand-to-hand, tank to tank, even though there was an air war as well. We see it distilled through media coverage and contact is more instant -- online or blog or phone. Back then it was so different. I believe war is always hard -- but I think much more so then, when communicating was so difficult, the transport so long. I have great respect for your husband's grandfather and all who participated in that war.
ReplyDeleteMy father was a survivor of WW 2. He rarely talk about his experience to his family.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, I just understood that War experience is unimaginably cruel, and war never has to be repeated.