Grossman life and fate. Vasily Grossman: Life and Fate

Year of writing:

1960

Reading time:

Description of the work:

Life and Fate is a novel published in 1980. Although Vasily Grossman completed work on the novel in the late 1960s, it was not published for a long time, as it contained great criticism of the system built by Stalin. The novel "Life and Fate" describes the events that took place during the Great Patriotic War, you can read about this in a summary.

Based on the book, a series was filmed, there were also performances in theaters.

Summary of the novel
Life and destiny

Old communist Mikhail Mostovskoy, taken prisoner on the outskirts of Stalingrad, brought to a concentration camp in West Germany. He falls asleep to the prayer of the Italian priest Hardy, argues with the Tolstoyan Ikonnikov, sees the Menshevik Chernetsov's hatred for himself and the strong will of the "ruler of thoughts" Major Yershov.

The political worker Krymov was sent to Stalingrad, to Chuikov's army. He must sort out a contentious case between the commander and the commissar of the rifle regiment. Arriving at the regiment, Krymov learns that both the commander and the commissar died under the bombing. Soon Krymov himself takes part in the night battle.

Moscow physicist Viktor Pavlovich Shtrum and his family are evacuated to Kazan. Tesha Shtruma Alexandra Vladimirovna kept her mental youth even in the grief of the war: she is interested in the history of Kazan, streets and museums, everyday life of people. Shtrum's wife Lyudmila considers this interest of her mother to be senile selfishness. Lyudmila has no news from the front from Tolya, her son from her first marriage. She is saddened by the categorical, lonely and difficult character of her high school daughter Nadia. Lyudmila's sister Zhenya Shaposhnikova ended up in Kuibyshev. Nephew Seryozha Shaposhnikov - at the front.

Shtrum's mother Anna Semyonovna remained in the Ukrainian town occupied by the Germans, and Shtrum understands that she, a Jewess, has little chance of surviving. His mood is heavy, he accuses his wife of the fact that, because of her harsh nature, Anna Semyonovna could not live with them in Moscow. The only person who softens the difficult atmosphere in the family is Lyudmila's friend, the shy, kind and sensitive Marya Ivanovna Sokolova, the wife of Shtrum's colleague and friend.

Strum receives a farewell letter from his mother. Anna Semyonovna tells what humiliations she had to endure in the city where she lived for twenty years, working as an ophthalmologist. The people she had known for a long time amazed her. The neighbor calmly demanded to vacate the room and threw her things away. The old teacher stopped greeting her. But on the other hand, the former patient, whom she considered a gloomy and gloomy person, helps her by bringing food to the ghetto fence. Through him, she gave a farewell letter to her son on the eve of the extermination action.

Lyudmila receives a letter from the Saratov hospital, where her seriously wounded son is lying. She urgently leaves there, but when she arrives, she learns about the death of Tolya. “All people are guilty before the mother who lost her son in the war, and in vain they try to justify themselves before her throughout the history of mankind.”

The secretary of the regional committee of one of the regions of Ukraine occupied by the Germans, Hetmanov, was appointed commissar of the tank corps. Hetmanov worked all his life in an atmosphere of denunciation, flattery and falsehood, and now he transfers these life principles to the front-line situation. The corps commander, General Novikov, is a direct and honest man who tries to prevent senseless human casualties. Getmanov expresses his admiration to Novikov and at the same time writes a denunciation that the commander delayed the attack for eight minutes in order to save people.

Novikov loves Zhenya Shaposhnikova and visits her in Kuibyshev. Before the war, Zhenya left her husband, political worker Krymov. Krymov’s views are alien to her, who approved of dispossession, knowing about the terrible famine in the villages, justified the arrests of 1937. She reciprocates Novikov, but warns him that if Krymov is arrested, she will return to her ex-husband.

Military surgeon Sofya Osipovna Levinton, arrested on the outskirts of Stalingrad, ends up in a German concentration camp. The Jews are being taken somewhere in freight cars, and Sofya Osipovna is surprised to see how in just a few days many people go from a person to "dirty and unfortunate cattle deprived of name and freedom." Rebekah Buchman, trying to escape from the raid, strangled her crying daughter.

On the way, Sofya Osipovna meets six-year-old David, who, just before the war, came from Moscow for a vacation with his grandmother. Sofya Osipovna becomes the only support for a vulnerable, impressionable child. She has maternal feelings for him. Until the last minute, Sofya Osipovna calms the boy, reassures him. They die together in the gas chamber.

Krymov receives an order to go to Stalingrad, to the surrounded house "six fractions one", where the people of Grekov's "manager" hold the defense. Reports reached the political department of the front that Grekov was refusing to write reports, was having anti-Stalinist conversations with the fighters and, under German bullets, was showing independence from his superiors. Krymov must restore Bolshevik order in the surrounded house and, if necessary, remove Grekov from command.

Shortly before the appearance of Krymov, the “house manager” Grekov sent the fighter Serezha Shaposhnikov and the young radio operator Katya Vengrova from the surrounded house, knowing about their love and wanting to save them from death. Saying goodbye to Grekov, Seryozha "saw that beautiful, humane, intelligent and sad eyes were looking at him, which he had never seen in his life."

But the Bolshevik commissar Krymov is only interested in collecting dirt on the "uncontrollable" Grekov. Krymov revels in the consciousness of his significance, tries to convict Grekov of anti-Soviet sentiments. Even the mortal danger to which the defenders of the house are exposed every minute does not cool his ardor. Krymov decides to remove Grekov and take command himself. But at night he is wounded by a stray bullet. Krymov guesses that Grekov shot. Returning to the political department, he writes a denunciation of Grekov, but soon finds out that he was late: all the defenders of the house "six fraction one" died. Because of the Krymov denunciation, Grekov is not awarded the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the German concentration camp where Mostovskoy is sitting, an underground organization is being created. But there is no unity among the prisoners: brigade commissar Osipov does not trust the non-party major Ershov, who comes from a family of dispossessed kulaks. He is afraid that the brave, direct and decent Ershov will gain too much influence. Abandoned from Moscow to the camp, Comrade Kotikov gives instructions - to act by Stalin's methods. The Communists decide to get rid of Yershov and put his card in the group selected for Buchenwald. Despite his spiritual closeness to Yershov, the old communist Mostovskoy submits to this decision. An unknown provocateur betrays an underground organization, and the Gestapo destroys its members.

The institute where Shtrum works is returning from evacuation to Moscow. Strum is writing a paper on nuclear physics that is of general interest. A well-known academician says at the scientific council that a work of such significance has not yet been born within the walls of the Physics Institute. The work was nominated for the Stalin Prize, Shtrum is on the wave of success, this pleases and excites him. But at the same time, Shtrum notices that Jews are gradually surviving from his laboratory. When he tries to stand up for his employees, he is given to understand that his own position is not too reliable due to the “fifth point” and numerous relatives abroad.

Sometimes Shtrum meets with Maria Ivanovna Sokolova and soon realizes that he loves her and is loved by her. But Marya Ivanovna cannot hide her love from her husband, and he takes her word not to see Shtrum. Just at this time, the persecution of Shtrum began.

A few days before the Stalingrad offensive, Krymov was arrested and sent to Moscow. Once in a prison cell on Lubyanka, he cannot recover from surprise: interrogations and torture are intended to prove his betrayal of his homeland during the Battle of Stalingrad.

In the Battle of Stalingrad, the tank corps of General Novikov is distinguished.

In the days of the Stalingrad offensive, the persecution of Shtrum intensifies. A devastating article appears in the institute's newspaper, he is persuaded to write a letter of repentance, to confess his mistakes at the academic council. Strum gathers all his will and refuses to repent, he does not even come to the meeting of the academic council. His family supports him and, in anticipation of his arrest, is ready to share his fate. On this day, as always in difficult moments of his life, Maria Ivanovna calls Shtrum and says that she is proud of him and yearns for him. Shtrum is not arrested, but only fired from his job. He is isolated, friends stop seeing him.

But in an instant the situation changes. Theoretical work on nuclear physics attracted the attention of Stalin. He calls Strum and asks if the outstanding scientist is lacking in anything. Shtrum is immediately reinstated at the institute, and all conditions for work are created for him. Now he himself determines the composition of his laboratory, without regard to the nationality of the employees. But when it begins to seem to Shtrum that he has come out of the black streak of his life, he again faces a choice. He is required to sign an appeal to British scientists who defended their repressed Soviet colleagues. Leading Soviet scientists, to whom Shtrum is now included, must confirm by the strength of their scientific authority that there are no repressions in the USSR. Strum does not find the strength to refuse and signs the appeal. The most terrible punishment for him is the call of Marya Ivanovna: she is sure that Shtrum did not sign the letter, and admires his courage ...

Zhenya Shaposhnikova arrives in Moscow after learning about Krymov's arrest. She stands in all the lines in which the wives of the repressed stand, and a sense of duty towards her ex-husband fights in her soul with love for Novikov. Novikov learns of her decision to return to Krymov during the Battle of Stalingrad. He thinks he will fall dead. But we must live and continue the offensive.

After being tortured, Krymov lies on the floor in the Lubyanka office and hears the conversation of his executioners about the victory at Stalingrad. It seems to him that he sees Grekov walking towards him on the broken bricks of Stalingrad. The interrogation continues, Krymov refuses to sign the charge. Returning to the cell, he finds a transmission from Zhenya and cries.

The Stalingrad winter is coming to an end. In the spring silence of the forest one hears the cry for the dead and the furious joy of life.

You have read the summary of the novel "Life and Fate". We also suggest that you visit the Summary section to read the presentations of other popular writers.

Vasily Semenovich Grossman is a writer whose most talented and truthful work was published only during the thaw period. he went through the entire Great Patriotic War and witnessed the battles of Stalingrad. It was these events that Grossman reflected in his work. “Life and Fate” (a brief summary of it will become our topic) is a novel that has become the culmination of the depiction of Soviet reality.

About the novel

From 1950 to 1959, Vasily Semenovich Grossman wrote this epic novel. "Life and Fate" (a brief summary of the work will be presented below) completes the dilogy, which began with the work "For a Just Cause", completed in 1952. And if the first part absolutely fit into the canons of socialist realism, then the second took on a different tone - it sounded clearly and distinctly criticism of Stalinism.

Publication

The novel was published in the USSR in 1988. This was due to the fact that the creation that Grossman composed did not at all correspond to the line of the party. "Life and Fate" (the novel initially received reviews not just terrible, but terrible) was recognized as "anti-Soviet". After all the copies were confiscated by the KGB.

After the manuscript was withdrawn, Grossman sent a letter to him asking him to explain what was in store for his book. Instead of answering, the writer was invited to the Central Committee, where they announced that the book would not be published.

Getmanov

We continue to analyze the images of the heroes of the novel, which was written by Grossman ("Life and Fate"). Against the background of the two previous heroes, Getmanov stands out. He does not face a choice, he decided long ago that the main thing is to act expediently. At first glance, this is a very charming and intelligent character. He is completely sincere in his delusions and does not suspect that he has a "second bottom". The moment when he, worrying about the collective farm workers, underestimated their wages is indicative.

Conclusion

A very rare and interesting description of Stalin's time was presented to the reader by Grossman. "Life and Fate", a summary of which we examined, is a novel aimed at combating totalitarianism. And it doesn't matter whether he is embodied in the Nazi or Soviet regime.

The novel begins with events in a concentration camp, where the main character Mikhail Mostovsky turns out to be the will of his fate. He finds himself among his own compatriots, who do not really favor him. But, nevertheless, the prayer of the Italian priest helps him fall asleep, disputes with Chernetsov and Yershov's dominance over him only strengthen his will and help him survive in this hell.

The following events tell us that Krymov arrives in Stalingrad, who must resolve the conflict between the commander and the commissar of the rifle regiment, but he does not have time to do this, as a battle breaks out at night, and the debaters were killed.

Before us appears the family of the scientist Viktor Shtrum, temporarily living in Kazan. And although they are far from military events, the scientist's wife is full of anxiety for her son Victor, who was currently on the battlefield. The mother of the scientist, Jewish by nationality, writes a farewell letter to her son, but in it she is not at all afraid of death, and she was simply outraged by the behavior of people who, before the action of humiliation of the Jews, simply did not begin to talk to her, but drove her out of the room where she lived for a long time.

Lyudmila, having learned that her son is wounded and is in the infirmary, hurries to him, but does not have time, he dies.

We also see how the writer reveals to us the image of Getmanov, who was appointed commander of a tank corps. This man has been denouncing people all his life, pleasing his superiors. And right there on the battlefield, he scribbles an accusation against Novikov's main body, which postpones the attack for several minutes, so as not to lose a lot of fighters.

The author vividly points to another heroine - the military surgeon Sophia Levinton. She, along with other Jews, falls into the stream of prisoners of war. Human feelings do not leave her until the last minute. Knowing about the death in the gas chambers, she comforts the boy David.

Returning to one of the heroes of the novel, Krymov, we learn that he is sent again to restore order to the famous Stalingrad house, where our soldiers, under the command of Grekov, are holding the line. He wanted to accuse him of "anti-Stalinism", but Grekov dies heroically. The denunciation was nevertheless delivered to Moscow, and the title of Hero was never awarded to the brave soldiers.

There were many traitors to the Motherland among the Soviet people during the war. So, in the concentration camp where Mostovsky was imprisoned, the prepared operation plan was failed because of a traitor. And everyone died.

Upon Sturm's return to Moscow, persecution began against him, since he was a Jew, although the country really needed his work. He is forced to write a letter of repentance and admit that his work is not worthy. He, of course, refuses and expects the worst. But, Stalin, having become interested in new tests in nuclear physics, provides the scientist with all the conditions for work.

However, he is forced to sign a letter stating that there are no repressions in the Soviet country. His beloved Maria Ivanovna does not believe this and tells him about an accidental misunderstanding.

The last pages paint us a picture of the interrogation of Krymov, who does not sign a paper with a confession. And when Krymov comes to the cell and sees the parcel from his wife who returned to him, he weeps bitterly. He understands that in this life he made many mistakes.

The novel teaches us that each person must be responsible for our society, and as a free and equal citizen, has the right to freedom of thought and action.

Vasily Semenovich Grossman is a unique military writer who created a work about the events of the Stalingrad battles. The government circles decided to classify the book as "Anisovet" and forbade it to be published in the country. But a close friend of Grossman had the last copy of the work, which he took abroad and published in Switzerland.

Picture or drawing Life and destiny

Other retellings and reviews for the reader's diary

• Summary Porter Pollyanna

  Polianna is a 12-year-old girl whose parents have died. All she had left in the world was Aunt Polly. By the way, the girl's name is made up of the names of two sisters: the same aunt and the mother's name - Anna. The mother of the little heroine died a few years ago.

  Sidorov Ivan Ivanovich in a fairy tale is a kind, but very absent-minded scientist-wizard. He had many different useful inventions. There was an alarm clock machine, a machine that drives away evil people

Old communist Mikhail Mostovskoy, taken prisoner on the outskirts of Stalingrad, brought to a concentration camp in West Germany. He falls asleep to the prayer of the Italian priest Hardy, argues with the Tolstoyan Ikonnikov, sees the Menshevik Chernetsov's hatred for himself and the strong will of the "ruler of thoughts" Major Yershov.
The political worker Krymov was sent to Stalingrad, to Chuikov's army. He must sort out a contentious case between the commander and the commissar of the rifle regiment. Arriving at the regiment, Krymov learns that both the commander and the commissar died under the bombing. Soon Krymov himself takes part in the night battle.
Moscow physicist Viktor Pavlovich Shtrum and his family are evacuated to Kazan. Tesha Shtruma Alexandra Vladimirovna kept her mental youth even in the grief of the war: she is interested in the history of Kazan, streets and museums, everyday life of people. Shtrum's wife Lyudmila considers this interest of her mother to be senile selfishness. Lyudmila has no news from the front from Tolya, her son from her first marriage. She is saddened by the categorical, lonely and difficult character of her high school daughter Nadia. Lyudmila's sister Zhenya Shaposhnikova turned out to be

in Kuibyshev. Nephew Seryozha Shaposhnikov - at the front. Shtrum's mother, Anna Semyonovna, remained in the Ukrainian town occupied by the Germans, and Shtrum understands that she, a Jewess, has little chance of surviving. His mood is heavy, he accuses his wife of the fact that, because of her harsh nature, Anna Semyonovna could not live with them in Moscow. The only person who softens the difficult atmosphere in the family is Lyudmila's friend, the shy, kind and sensitive Marya Ivanovna Sokolova, the wife of Shtrum's colleague and friend.
Strum receives a farewell letter from his mother. Anna Semyonovna tells what humiliations she had to endure in the city where she lived for twenty years, working as an ophthalmologist. The people she had known for a long time amazed her. The neighbor calmly demanded to vacate the room and threw her things away. The old teacher stopped greeting her. But on the other hand, the former patient, whom she considered a gloomy and gloomy person, helps her by bringing food to the ghetto fence. Through him, she gave a farewell letter to her son on the eve of the extermination action.
Lyudmila receives a letter from the Saratov hospital, where her seriously wounded son is lying. She urgently leaves there, but when she arrives, she learns about the death of Tolya. “All people are guilty before the mother who lost her son in the war, and in vain they try to justify themselves before her throughout the history of mankind.”
The secretary of the regional committee of one of the regions of Ukraine occupied by the Germans, Hetmanov, was appointed commissar of the tank corps. Hetmanov worked all his life in an atmosphere of denunciation, flattery and falsehood, and now he transfers these life principles to the front-line situation. The corps commander, General Novikov, is a straightforward and honest man who tries to prevent senseless human casualties. Getmanov expresses his admiration to Novikov and at the same time writes a denunciation that the commander delayed the attack for eight minutes in order to save people.
Novikov loves Zhenya Shaposhnikova and visits her in Kuibyshev. Before the war, Zhenya left her husband, political worker Krymov. Krymov’s views are alien to her, who approved of dispossession, knowing about the terrible famine in the villages, justified the arrests of 1937. She reciprocates Novikov, but warns him that if Krymov is arrested, she will return to her ex-husband.
Military surgeon Sofya Osipovna Levinton, arrested on the outskirts of Stalingrad, ends up in a German concentration camp. The Jews are being taken somewhere in freight cars, and Sofya Osipovna is surprised to see how in just a few days many people go from a person to "dirty and unfortunate cattle deprived of name and freedom." Rebekah Buchman, trying to escape from the raid, strangled her crying daughter.
On the way, Sofya Osipovna meets six-year-old David, who, just before the war, came from Moscow for a vacation with his grandmother. Sofya Osipovna becomes the only support for a vulnerable, impressionable child. She has maternal feelings for him. Until the last minute, Sofya Osipovna calms the boy, reassures him. They die together in the gas chamber.
Krymov receives an order to go to Stalingrad, to the surrounded house "six fractions one", where the people of Grekov's "manager" hold the defense. Reports reached the political department of the front that Grekov was refusing to write reports, was having anti-Stalinist conversations with the fighters and, under German bullets, was showing independence from his superiors. Krymov must restore Bolshevik order in the surrounded house and, if necessary, remove Grekov from command.
Shortly before the appearance of Krymov, the “house manager” Grekov sent the fighter Serezha Shaposhnikov and the young radio operator Katya Vengrova from the surrounded house, knowing about their love and wanting to save them from death. Saying goodbye to Grekov, Seryozha "saw that beautiful, humane, intelligent and sad eyes were looking at him, which he had never seen in his life."
But the Bolshevik commissar Krymov is only interested in collecting dirt on the "uncontrollable" Grekov. Krymov revels in the consciousness of his significance, tries to convict Grekov of anti-Soviet sentiments. Even the mortal danger to which the defenders of the house are exposed every minute does not cool his ardor. Krymov decides to remove Grekov and take command himself. But at night he is wounded by a stray bullet. Krymov guesses that Grekov shot. Returning to the political department, he writes a denunciation of Grekov, but soon finds out that he was late: all the defenders of the house "six fraction one" died. Because of the Krymov denunciation, Grekov is not awarded the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union.
In the German concentration camp where Mostovskoy is sitting, an underground organization is being created. But there is no unity among the prisoners: brigade commissar Osipov does not trust the non-party major Ershov, who comes from a family of dispossessed kulaks. He is afraid that the brave, direct and decent Ershov will gain too much influence. Abandoned from Moscow to the camp, Comrade Kotikov gives instructions - to act by Stalin's methods. The Communists decide to get rid of Yershov and put his card in the group selected for Buchenwald. Despite his spiritual closeness to the Ershovs, the old communist Mostovskoy submits to this decision. An unknown provocateur betrays an underground organization, and the Gestapo destroys its members.
The institute where Shtrum works is returning from evacuation to Moscow. Strum is writing a paper on nuclear physics that is of general interest. A well-known academician says at the scientific council that a work of such significance has not yet been born within the walls of the Physics Institute. The work was nominated for the Stalin Prize, Shtrum is on the wave of success, this pleases and excites him. But at the same time, Shtrum notices that Jews are gradually surviving from his laboratory. When he tries to stand up for his employees, he is given to understand that his own position is not too reliable due to the “fifth point” and numerous relatives abroad.
Sometimes Shtrum meets with Maria Ivanovna Sokolova and soon realizes that he loves her and is loved by her. But Marya Ivanovna cannot hide her love from her husband, and he takes her word not to see Shtrum. Just at this time, the persecution of Shtrum began.
A few days before the Stalingrad offensive, Krymov was arrested and sent to Moscow. Once in a prison cell on Lubyanka, he cannot recover from surprise: interrogations and torture are intended to prove his betrayal of his homeland during the Battle of Stalingrad.
In the Battle of Stalingrad, the tank corps of General Novikov is distinguished.
In the days of the Stalingrad offensive, the persecution of Shtrum intensifies. A devastating article appears in the institute's newspaper, he is persuaded to write a letter of repentance, to confess his mistakes at the academic council. Strum gathers all his will and refuses to repent, he does not even come to the meeting of the academic council. His family supports him and, in anticipation of his arrest, is ready to share his fate. On this day, as always in difficult moments of his life, Maria Ivanovna calls Shtrum and says that she is proud of him and yearns for him. Shtrum is not arrested, but only fired from his job. He is isolated, friends stop seeing him.
But in an instant the situation changes. Theoretical work on nuclear physics attracted the attention of Stalin. He calls Strum and asks if the outstanding scientist is lacking in anything. Shtrum is immediately reinstated at the institute, and all conditions for work are created for him. Now he himself determines the composition of his laboratory, without regard to the nationality of the employees. But when it begins to seem to Shtrum that he has come out of the black streak of his life, he again faces a choice. He is required to sign an appeal to British scientists who defended their repressed Soviet colleagues. Leading Soviet scientists, to whom Shtrum is now included, must confirm by the strength of their scientific authority that there are no repressions in the USSR. Strum does not find the strength to refuse and signs the appeal. The most terrible punishment for him is the call of Marya Ivanovna: she is sure that Shtrum did not sign the letter, and admires his courage ...
Zhenya Shaposhnikova arrives in Moscow after learning about Krymov's arrest. She stands in all the lines in which the wives of the repressed stand, and a sense of duty towards her ex-husband fights in her soul with love for Novikov. Novikov learns of her decision to return to Krymov during the Battle of Stalingrad. He thinks he will fall dead. But we must live and continue the offensive.
After being tortured, Krymov lies on the floor in the Lubyanka office and hears the conversation of his executioners about the victory at Stalingrad. It seems to him that he sees Grekov walking towards him on the broken bricks of Stalingrad. The interrogation continues, Krymov refuses to sign the charge. Returning to the cell, he finds a transmission from Zhenya and cries.
The Stalingrad winter is coming to an end. In the spring silence of the forest one hears the cry for the dead and the furious joy of life.

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2. Vasily Grossman's novel "Life and Fate" shows the conflict between the individual and the state in all its depth. It's no accident to reveal...
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Old communist Mikhail Mostovskoy, taken prisoner on the outskirts of Stalingrad, brought to a concentration camp in West Germany. He falls asleep to the prayer of the Italian priest Hardy, argues with the Tolstoyan Ikonnikov, sees the hatred of the Menshevik Chernetsov for himself and the strong will of the "ruler of thoughts" Major Yershov.

The political worker Krymov was sent to Stalingrad, to Chuikov's army. He must sort out a contentious case between the commander and the commissar of the rifle regiment. Arriving at the regiment, Krymov learns that both the commander and the commissar died under the bombing. Soon Krymov himself takes part in the night battle.

Moscow physicist Viktor Pavlovich Shtrum and his family are evacuated to Kazan. Shtruma's mother-in-law Alexandra Vladimirovna retained her mental youth even in the grief of the war: she is interested in the history of Kazan, streets and museums, and the everyday life of people. Shtrum's wife Lyudmila considers this interest of her mother to be senile selfishness. Lyudmila has no news from the front from Tolya, her son from her first marriage. She is saddened by the categorical, lonely and difficult character of her high school daughter Nadia. Lyudmila's sister Zhenya Shaposhnikova ended up in Kuibyshev. Nephew Seryozha Shaposhnikov - at the front. Shtrum's mother Anna Semyonovna remained in the Ukrainian town occupied by the Germans, and Shtrum understands that she, a Jewess, has little chance of surviving. His mood is heavy, he accuses his wife of the fact that, because of her harsh nature, Anna Semyonovna could not live with them in Moscow. The only person who softens the difficult atmosphere in the family is Lyudmila's friend, the shy, kind and sensitive Marya Ivanovna Sokolova, the wife of Shtrum's colleague and friend.

Strum receives a farewell letter from his mother. Anna Semyonovna tells what humiliations she had to endure in the city where she lived for twenty years, working as an ophthalmologist. The people she had known for a long time amazed her. The neighbor calmly demanded to vacate the room and threw her things away. The old teacher stopped greeting her. But on the other hand, the former patient, whom she considered a gloomy and gloomy person, helps her by bringing food to the ghetto fence. Through him, she gave a farewell letter to her son on the eve of the extermination action.

Lyudmila receives a letter from the Saratov hospital, where her seriously wounded son is lying. She urgently leaves there, but when she arrives, she learns about the death of Tolya. “All people are guilty before the mother who lost her son in the war, and in vain they try to justify themselves before her throughout the history of mankind.”

The secretary of the regional committee of one of the regions of Ukraine occupied by the Germans, Hetmanov, was appointed commissar of the tank corps. Hetmanov worked all his life in an atmosphere of denunciation, flattery and falsehood, and now he transfers these life principles to the front-line situation. The corps commander, General Novikov, is a straightforward and honest person who tries to prevent senseless human casualties. Getmanov expresses his admiration to Novikov and at the same time writes a denunciation that the commander delayed the attack for eight minutes in order to save people.

Novikov loves Zhenya Shaposhnikova and visits her in Kuibyshev. Before the war, Zhenya left her husband, political worker Krymov. Krymov’s views are alien to her, who approved of dispossession, knowing about the terrible famine in the villages, justified the arrests of 1937. She reciprocates Novikov, but warns him that if Krymov is arrested, she will return to her ex-husband.

Military surgeon Sofya Osipovna Levinton, arrested on the outskirts of Stalingrad, ends up in a German concentration camp. The Jews are being taken somewhere in freight cars, and Sofya Osipovna is surprised to see how in just a few days many people go from a person to a “dirty and unfortunate beast deprived of a name and freedom.” Rebekah Buchman, trying to escape from the raid, strangled her crying daughter.

On the way, Sofya Osipovna meets six-year-old David, who, just before the war, came from Moscow for a vacation with his grandmother. Sofya Osipovna becomes the only support for a vulnerable, impressionable child. She has maternal feelings for him. Until the last minute, Sofya Osipovna calms the boy, reassures him. They die together in the gas chamber.

Krymov receives an order to go to Stalingrad, to the surrounded house "six fractions one", where the people of Grekov's "manager" hold the defense. Reports reached the political department of the front that Grekov was refusing to write reports, was having anti-Stalinist conversations with the fighters and, under German bullets, was showing independence from his superiors. Krymov must restore Bolshevik order in the surrounded house and, if necessary, remove Grekov from command.

Shortly before the appearance of Krymov, the “house manager” Grekov sent the fighter Seryozha Shaposhnikov and the young radio operator Katya Vengrova from the surrounded house, knowing about their love and wanting to save them from death. Saying goodbye to Grekov, Seryozha "saw that beautiful, humane, intelligent and sad eyes were looking at him, which he had never seen in his life."

But the Bolshevik commissar Krymov is only interested in collecting dirt on the “uncontrollable” Grekov. Krymov revels in the consciousness of his significance, tries to convict Grekov of anti-Soviet sentiments. Even the mortal danger to which the defenders of the house are exposed every minute does not cool his ardor. Krymov decides to remove Grekov and take command himself. But at night he is wounded by a stray bullet. Krymov guesses that Grekov shot. Returning to the political department, he writes a denunciation of Grekov, but soon finds out that he was late: all the defenders of the house "six fraction one" died. Because of the Krymov denunciation, Grekov is not awarded the posthumous title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

In the German concentration camp where Mostovskoy is sitting, an underground organization is being created. But there is no unity among the prisoners: brigade commissar Osipov does not trust the non-party major Ershov, who comes from a family of dispossessed kulaks. He is afraid that the brave, direct and decent Ershov will gain too much influence. Abandoned from Moscow to the camp, Comrade Kotikov gives instructions - to act by Stalin's methods. The Communists decide to get rid of Yershov and put his card in the group selected for Buchenwald. Despite his spiritual closeness to Yershov, the old communist Mostovskoy submits to this decision. An unknown provocateur betrays an underground organization, and the Gestapo destroys its members.

The institute where Shtrum works is returning from evacuation to Moscow. Strum is writing a paper on nuclear physics that is of general interest. A well-known academician says at the scientific council that a work of such significance has not yet been born within the walls of the Physics Institute. The work was nominated for the Stalin Prize, Shtrum is on the wave of success, this pleases and excites him. But at the same time, Shtrum notices that Jews are gradually surviving from his laboratory. When he tries to stand up for his employees, he is given to understand that his own position is not too reliable in connection with the “fifth point” and numerous relatives abroad.

Sometimes Shtrum meets with Maria Ivanovna Sokolova and soon realizes that he loves her and is loved by her. But Marya Ivanovna cannot hide her love from her husband, and he takes her word not to see Shtrum. Just at this time, the persecution of Shtrum began.

A few days before the Stalingrad offensive, Krymov was arrested and sent to Moscow. Once in a prison cell on Lubyanka, he cannot recover from surprise: interrogations and torture are intended to prove his betrayal of his homeland during the Battle of Stalingrad.

In the Battle of Stalingrad, the tank corps of General Novikov is distinguished.

In the days of the Stalingrad offensive, the persecution of Shtrum intensifies. A devastating article appears in the institute's newspaper, he is persuaded to write a letter of repentance, to confess his mistakes at the academic council. Strum gathers all his will and refuses to repent, he does not even come to the meeting of the academic council. His family supports him and, in anticipation of his arrest, is ready to share his fate. On this day, as always in difficult moments of his life, Maria Ivanovna calls Shtrum and says that she is proud of him and yearns for him. Shtrum is not arrested, but only fired from his job. He is isolated, friends stop seeing him.

But in an instant the situation changes. Theoretical work on nuclear physics attracted the attention of Stalin. He calls Strum and asks if the outstanding scientist is lacking in anything. Shtrum is immediately reinstated at the institute, and all conditions for work are created for him. Now he himself determines the composition of his laboratory, without regard to the nationality of the employees. But when it begins to seem to Shtrum that he has come out of the black streak of his life, he again faces a choice. He is required to sign an appeal to British scientists who defended their repressed Soviet colleagues. Leading Soviet scientists, to whom Shtrum is now included, must confirm by the strength of their scientific authority that there are no repressions in the USSR. Strum does not find the strength to refuse and signs the appeal. The most terrible punishment for him is the call of Marya Ivanovna: she is sure that Shtrum did not sign the letter, and admires his courage ...

Zhenya Shaposhnikova arrives in Moscow after learning about Krymov's arrest. She stands in all the lines in which the wives of the repressed stand, and a sense of duty towards her ex-husband fights in her soul with love for Novikov. Novikov learns of her decision to return to Krymov during the Battle of Stalingrad. He thinks he will fall dead. But we must live and continue the offensive.

After being tortured, Krymov lies on the floor in the Lubyanka office and hears the conversation of his executioners about the victory at Stalingrad. It seems to him that he sees Grekov walking towards him on the broken bricks of Stalingrad. The interrogation continues, Krymov refuses to sign the charge. Returning to the cell, he finds a transmission from Zhenya and cries.

The Stalingrad winter is coming to an end. In the spring silence of the forest one hears the cry for the dead and the furious joy of life.

Option 2

The novel describes the fates of the heroes connected only by the time of concentration camps, bloody battles near Stalingrad and repressions.

Mostovskoy, an ardent communist, was captured near Stalingrad and taken to a concentration camp. An underground organization is being created there and the communists, wishing the non-party Yershov to die, plant his card for those selected for Buchenwald. Soon the organization is exposed and everyone is destroyed.

The family of Viktor Pavlovich Shtrum, a talented physicist, is evacuated to Kazan. His wife is constantly worried about her son Anatoly, who is now at the front. She is sad about her daughter, who, having a difficult character, prefers loneliness and is far from her mother. And Shtrum himself blames his wife for not being able to make friends with his mother, and she had to stay in Ukraine, instead of living next to her son in Moscow. And now his Jewish mother has practically no chance of surviving in a country occupied by the Germans. Soon Viktor Pavlovich received a letter from his mother, who is now in the ghetto. In it, she says goodbye and talks about all the humiliations through which she went. Being a respected eye doctor, she was thrown out into the street by her neighbor only because she is Jewish and now only one of her former patients brings her food to the ghetto fence. Shtrum's wife, Lyudmila, received a letter from the hospital where her son is, but did not have time to see him - he died.

Shtrum soon returns to Moscow for their evacuation. His work on nuclear physics has been noticed and is up for a Stalin Prize, but he is Jewish and in danger of being arrested. He is expelled from the institute. But Stalin personally calls him, being interested in his work. Shtrum is being reinstated at the institute. Strum, having signed a letter to his English colleagues, confirms that there are no repressions in the union, and there never have been.

The secretary of the regional committee, Getmanov, was transferred to the tank corps as a commissar. He is used to living all his life in an atmosphere of lies and denunciations. He carried this over to the war. In the eyes he praises and admires his corps commander Novikov, who prevented the death of people and immediately wrote a denunciation to him that he had delayed the attack for 8 hours in order to save people.

Levinton Sofya Osipovna was taken from Stalingrad, and now they are being transported in freight trains to a concentration camp. She watches the other prisoners, and is amazed at the meanness of people. Her neighbor, Rebekah Buchman, strangled her crying daughter in an attempt to be undetected by the roundup. And all the way he takes care of 6-year-old David, who ended up in Stalingrad, because he came to his grandmother for the holidays from Moscow. All the way to the concentration camp, she took care of him, surrounded him with warmth and care, like a mother. They died together in the gas chamber.

Krymov, a political worker, was sent from Stalingrad to investigate a controversial case, but all its participants die during the bombing. Then he is given another task: to find out whether the “house manager” Grekov is conducting anti-Stalinist conversations. Krymov, reveling in his significance, is trying in every possible way to convict Grekov and it doesn’t matter to him that day after day he saves people. He removes Grekov from command, but on the same night he is wounded. He suspects Grekov and writes a denunciation of him, although he did not confirm the suspicions of an anti-Stalinist attitude. Grekov dies and because of Krymov's denunciation, he is not awarded the title of hero posthumously. But Krymov himself is accused of treason. He is being tortured at the Lubyanka. After another torture, he hears from his executioners that Stalingrad has been recaptured.

Essay on literature on the topic: Summary Life and fate of Grossman

Other writings:

1. Vasily Semenovich Grossman portrayed the Great Patriotic War in his novel “Life and Fate” as an event in history that decides the fate of not only Russia, but the whole world. The writer managed to reflect in this work the heroism of people in the war, the fight against the crimes of the Nazis, as well as Read More ......
2. Vasily Grossman's novel "Life and Fate" shows the conflict between the individual and the state in all its depth. It is no coincidence that the author chose such a historical period in the life of our country as the Great Patriotic War to reveal this topic. The writer believed that the war with Read More ......
3. Grossman debunked the structure of totalitarian regimes. Anatoly Bocharov. The mock-up of the Black Book put under the knife, the novel Life and Fate, which was “arrested”, the story “Everything Flows” tightly locked up – these are the milestones of the post-war biography of the writer Vasily Grossman. The now popularly known novel “Life and Fate”, the result of many years Read More ......
4. It is surprising that Vasily Grossman's novel "Life and Fate" came to the reader with a thirty-year delay, and yet on time. Born from the tragic experience of the great war and the post-war period, it turned out to be closely associated with the most burning moral problems of our day. In Read More ......
5. War is murder. And no matter how many people come together to commit murder, and no matter how they call themselves, murder is still the worst sin in the world. LN Tolstoy Much has been written about the Great Patriotic War. First works Read More ......
6. The main range of philosophical problems of the epic of V. Grossman "Life and Fate" is life and fate, freedom and violence, the laws of war and the life of the people. The writer sees in the war not a clash of armies, but a clash of worlds, a clash of different views on life, on the fate of an individual Read More ......
7. It seemed that V. Grossman's novel "Life and Fate" would never see a reader. Written and destroyed in the sixties, this novel was miraculously saved and returned to readers in the eighties. Some critics compare "Life and Fate" with L. Tolstoy's novel "War and Peace". Read More ......
8. A century-wolfhound throws itself on my shoulders, But I am not a wolf by my blood! Stuff me better, like a hat, into the sleeve of the Hot fur coat of the Siberian steppes ... O. Mandelstam. The novel by V. Grossman “Life and Fate” is a book imbued with the ideas of humanism, love for people. Product Read More ......