Sacha Fillipov
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[edit] Birthplace and family
Sacha Fillipov was born in 1927 in Stalingrad, Russia. Stalingrad is now known as Volgograd, but possessed the former name from 1925 to 1961. This city is situated on the west bank of the Volga River. At the time of the Battle of Stalingrad, Fillipov lived in the Stalingrad suburb of Dar Gova with his father, mother, and a younger brother who was born in 1932. Physically, Sacha’s health was frail, and he was small in stature.
[edit] Skills
Sacha Fillipov was a cobbler, or shoemaker by trade. He had already attained the status of master cobbler by 1942, at which time he was only 15 years old. He also enjoyed playing hopscotch.
[edit] Historical role
Fillipov is known to history as a result of the actions he undertook on his own initiative during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942.
[edit] Espionage activities
When the initial Wehrmacht assault on Stalingrad resulted in German battalions quickly overrunning suburbs of the city, many Russian families were caught unawares and found themselves unable to flee in time.
One such family was the Fillipovs.
While his family stayed indoors, Sacha went out and began talking with the German soldiers. He found out where the headquarters for the German staff where and proceeded to offer his services as a cobbler to the officers of the invading forces. He was informed that his services would be useful, and soon he was a regular sight behind the German lines repairing and polishing shoes and boots for the officers and soldiers.
Unbeknownst to the Germans however, he had also gone to Red Army headquarters and offered his services to the Russians in a very different kind of work: spying.
Leading a double life, young Fillipov would remove documents from the desks of German officers, report German conversations and enemy troop movements, and describe what German military activity he could see to the Russian officers, all while mending footwear for the German Army.
These forays had tangible military results. Grenade and other attacks on troop concentrations resulted from the intelligence provided by Sacha Fillipov. The Wehrmacht headquarters located in the Dar Gova area was shelled one night by Russian artillery as a result of his providing the exact firing coordinates.
His parents never knew these details at the time. They apparently knew that their son was working for the Red Army in some fashion, but they were not exactly sure how.
His spy role and death are dramatized, with some historical inaccuracies, in the film Enemy at the Gates.
[edit] Death
Fillipov did not live to see the year 1943. On the evening of December 24th (Christmas Eve), 1942, his parents were alerted by their neighbors to the effect that their son had been arrested by the Germans; Mr. and Mrs. Fillipov had been apparently been anticipating this event for several weeks.
His mother rushed out of their house to see the boy being led barefoot by a German platoon through the falling snow, accompanied by two other teenagers, one a girl. Sacha’s mother passed him some food, apparently with the thought that her son was being led off into captivity.
This was not to be the case. Although pushed out of the way by the soldiers, she continued to follow her son and the procession to a stand of acacia trees on Brianskaya street. Some neighbors and her husband joined her as they watched the children have nooses fitted to their necks. Mr. Fillipov was unable to witness the actual execution of his son and left before this order was given. Sacha’s mother stayed however as night fell and watched as the Wehrmacht soldiers hung the three children until dead, formed ranks, and marched off. Craig noted (see references) that she remained alone with the body of her son after the hanging, the neighbors having left.
[edit] References
Craig, William. Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad. Penguin Books: 1973 Pp97, 170-171, 285-286.
[edit] See also
Chuikov, V.I. Heroism Without Precedent. Moscow: 1965.
Chuyanov, A.S. Stalingrad is Reviving. Moscow: 1944.
Druzhinin, D.V. Two Hundred Fiery Days. Moscow: 1968.
Filiminov, B.V. The Immortals. Volgograd: 1965.
Grossman, V.I. Stalingrad Hits Back. Moscow: 1942.
Menshikov, M.P. The Stalingrad Battle. Stalingrad: 1953.
Semin, I.A. Stalingrad Tales. Moscow: 1961.
Wieder, Joachim. Stalingrad: How It Really Was. Munich: 1962.
Zamyatin, N.M., et.al. The Fight for Stalingrad. Moscow: 1943.
[edit] External links
Review of film “Enemy at the Gates”. Film reviewed for H-War by David R. Stone, History Department, Kansas State University: http://www.pipeline.com/~rgibson/enemygates.html
