Soviet women from the Herouville concentration camp created the Rodina partisan detachment after escaping in 1944

Soviet women held in the Herouville concentration camp in France planned and carried out their escape on the night of May 7-8, 1944.

After the escape, thirty-seven women, instead of thinking about their own salvation, decided to continue the fight against the Nazis.

This is how the women’s partisan detachment “Motherland” was formed, the name of which symbolizes their connection with the Soviet Union and the fight against Nazism.

MOSCOW, September 27 – RIA Novosti. Stanislav Aristov, head of the Department of History and Cultural Studies at the National Research University "MPEI", shared in a conversation with RIA Novosti details about how Soviet women, held in a concentration camp in France, escaped and created a detachment in which they fought the Nazis in the ranks of the French Resistance.

The historian said that Soviet women planned their escape from the Herouville concentration camp in advance. They established connections with French members of the Resistance and people helping the underground. On the night of May 7–8, 1944, thirty-seven women managed to leave the camp. They had to travel tens of kilometers, hiding from German patrols and police, before they could reach the French partisans.

“In my opinion, what happened next is especially important. After the camp, hard work and escape, these women had every reason to think first of all about their own salvation. But they made a different decision - to continue the fight,” Aristov emphasized.

This is how, according to him, the women’s partisan detachment “Rodina” was formed. The name of the detachment is symbolic, the scientist noted.