Tonka the machine-gunner: biography with photo

In this article we will talk about a woman who served as a hangman for the Hitlerites to save her life. The main character of our story is Tonka the machine-gunner. The biography of this woman, whose real name is Antonina Makarova, is presented in the article. She for about 30 years posed as the heroine of the Great Patriotic War.

This surname Antonina

In 1921 Antonina Makarova was born, the future Tonka the machine-gunner. Her biography was marked by a lot of interesting facts, as you'll see after reading this article.

A girl was born in a village called Malaya Volkovka, in a large peasant family, headed by Makar Parfyonov. She studied, like the others, in a rural school. It was here that an episode occurred that affected the entire future life of this woman. When Tonya came to study in the first form, she could not name her surname because of her shyness. Classmates also started shouting: "She is Makarova!", Meaning that Makar was called Tony's father. So, with the light hand of a local teacher, perhaps the only literate person at that time in this village, appeared in the family of Parthenov Tonya Makarova - the future Tonka the machine-gunner.

Biography, photos of victims, litigation - all this is of interest to readers. Let's talk about everything in order, starting with the very childhood of Antonina.

Childhood and youth of Antonina

The girl studied diligently, diligently. She also had her own revolutionary heroine, who was called Anka the machine-gunner. The real prototype was this film - Maria Popova. This girl once in battle, in fact, had to replace the dead machine gunner.

Antonina, after leaving school, went to continue her studies in Moscow. It was here that the Great Patriotic War found it. The girl went to the front as a volunteer.

Makarova - soldier's marching wife

On the share of Makarova, 19-year-old Komsomol, all the horrors of Vyazma boiler fell out. After the heavy fighting that was taking place in full surroundings, alongside Tonya, a young nurse, only one soldier remained from the whole unit. His name was Nikolai Fedchuk. It was with him that Tonka wandered through the woods, trying to just survive. They did not look for guerrillas, they did not seek to break through to their own, they ate what they had, they sometimes stole. The soldier did not stand on ceremony with Tonya, making the girl his "marching wife." Makarova and did not resist: the girl just wanted to survive.

In 1942, in January, they reached the village of Red Well. Here Fedchuk admitted to his companion that he was married. His family, as it turned out, lives nearby. The soldier left Tonya alone.

Antonina from the Red Well was not driven, but the locals had enough worries without her. A stranger did not aspire to go to the partisans. Tonka the machine-gunner, whose photo is presented below, tried to twist the affair with one of the men who remained in the village. Having set up local residents against themselves, Tonya eventually had to leave the village.

Assassin with salary

Near the village of Lokot in the Bryansk region, the wanderings of Tony ended. Here, at that time, the notorious administrative-territorial entity that the Russian collaborators founded was acting. It was called the Lokot Republic. They were, in fact, the same German lackeys that lived in other places. They were distinguished only by a more precise official design.

Done was detained by a police patrol. But the underground or partisan in it was not suspected. The girl liked the policemen. They took her to her, fed him, gave her drink and raped her. The latter, however, was very relative: the girl who aspired to survive agreed to everything.

Tonya did not last long the function of a prostitute at the police. Once, in a drunken state, she was taken out into the yard and put in a maxillum, a machine gun. Before him stood people - women, men, children, the elderly. The girl was ordered to shoot. For the past, at the time, not only the courses of nurses, but also the machine-gunners Tony did not make much effort. However, drunk vusmert woman was not very aware of what she was doing. Nevertheless, Tonya coped with this task.

Makarova found out the next day that she was now an official person - an executioner and that she was entitled to a salary of 30 marks, as well as her own cot. The Lokot Republic fought relentlessly with the enemies of the new order - communists, underground workers, partisans and other unreliable elements, including members of their families. Arrested people were driven to a barn that served as a prison. Then, in the morning, they were taken to be shot. 27 people were placed in a cell, and it was necessary to liquidate all in order to free up places for new victims.

For this work, neither the Germans nor the local residents who became policemen wanted to take action. And here very opportunely came Tonya, who emerged from nowhere girl with the ability to shoot.

Tonka-machine gunner (Antonina Makarova) has not lost her mind. On the contrary, she decided that her dream came true. And let Anka shoot at the enemies, and she shoots the children and women - everything will be written off by the war! But at last her life was at last settled.

1500 killed

The girl's schedule was as follows. In the morning, Tonka the machine-gunner (Antonina Makarova) shot 27 people from the machine gun, finishing the gun with the survivors, then cleaning weapons, went to dancing and schnapps in a German club in the evening, and then, at night, love with a cute German or a policeman.

She was allowed, as an encouragement, to take away the things shot. So Tonya got a whole bunch of clothes. True, they had to be repaired - these things were immediately disturbed by holes from bullets and traces of blood. Sometimes, however, Tonya allowed a "marriage". Thus, several children managed to survive, as the bullets passed over the head because of their small growth. Together with the corpses of the children were taken out by local residents who buried the dead, and handed them over to the partisans. Rumors of Tonya-Muscovite, Tonka the machine-gunner, the female executioner, crawled all over the district. It was even declared a hunt by local partisans. However, they could not get to Tonka. The victims of Makarova were about 1500 people.

Biography Tony by the summer of 1943 made another steep turn. The Red Army moved to the west, which began the liberation of Bryansk. This did not bode well for the girl, but at the time very opportunely sick with syphilis Tonka-machine gunner. The real story of her life, you see, reminds of an action-dramatic film. Because of her illness, the Germans were sent to the rear, so that she would not pererazhala sons of Great Germany. Thus, the girl managed to escape from the violence.

Instead of a war criminal, a well-deserved veteran

However, in the German hospital, Tonke the machine-gunner also soon became uncomfortable. So quickly the Soviet troops were approaching, that only the Germans were able to evacuate. Before their accomplices, nobody was concerned.

Realizing this, Tonka the machine gunner escaped from the hospital, the executioner. The story, a photo of this woman - all this is presented so that the reader will understand that the evil is always punished, although it is possible to argue long ago about the justice of what happened to Makarova at the end of her life's journey. But more on this later.

Antonina was again surrounded, this time in Soviet. But now the necessary skills of survival were perfected: she managed to get documents. They said that Tonka the machine-gunner (photo of which was presented above) all this time served as a nurse in a Soviet hospital.

The girl managed to enter the hospital at the service, where a young soldier, the hero of the war, fell in love with her in early 1945. He made an offer to Tony, and the girl agreed. Young, married, left after the war to the homeland of her husband Tony, in the city of Lepel (Belarus). So Antonina Makarova, the female executioner, disappeared. Antonina Ginzburg, honored veteran, took her place. However, Tonka the machine-gunner was not completely gone. The real life in wartime Antonina Ginzburg surfaced in 30 years. Let's talk about how it happened.

New life of Antonina Makarova

Soviet investigators learned of the monstrous deeds committed by Tonka the machine-gunner, whose biography interests us, immediately after Bryansk was liberated. They found in the mass graves the remains of about 1,5 thousand people. However, only 200 of them were identified. Witnesses were questioned, information was clarified and verified, but still they could not attack Makarova's trail.

Antonina Ginzburg meanwhile led the ordinary life of a simple Soviet man. She brought up two of her daughters, worked, met even with school children, who talked about her heroic past. So, Tonka the machine-gunner found a new life. Biography, children, occupation of her after the war - all this is very curious. Antonina Ginzburg is not at all like Antonina Makarov. And, of course, she took care not to mention the acts committed by the Tonka-machine-gunner.

After the war, our "heroine" worked at a garment factory in Lepel, in the sewing department. She served as a controller here - she checked the quality of the products. The woman was considered a conscientious and responsible employee. Often, a photograph of her was on the board of honor. Having served here for many years, Antonina Ginzburg did not make any friends. Faina Tarasik, who at that time worked at the factory as an inspector of the personnel department, recalled that she was a little talkative, withdrawn and tried to use as little alcohol as possible during collective holidays (most likely not to slip through). The Ginzburgs were respected front-line soldiers and therefore received all the benefits relying on veterans. Neither her husband nor family acquaintances nor neighbors knew that Antonina Ginzburg was Antonina Makarova (Tonka the machine-gunner). Biography, a photo of this woman interested in many. For 30 years unsuccessful searches continued.

Wanted Tonka the machine-gunner (real story)

Photos of our heroine preserved a little, since this history has not yet been removed from the classification of secrecy. In 1976, after a long search, things finally moved from a dead center. Then on the town square of Bryansk one man attacked Nikolai Ivanin, in which he recognized the chief of the Lokot prison during the German occupation. Hiding himself all this time, like Makarov, Ivanin did not deny it and told in detail about his then-current activities, mentioning at the same time Makarov (with whom he had a short-lived romance). And although he mistakenly named the investigators her full name as Antonina A. Makarova (informing at the same time that she was a Muscovite), such a major clue allowed the KGB to develop a list of Soviet citizens bearing the same name. But there was no need for him Makarova, since the list contained only women registered under this name at birth. Makarova, as we know, was required by the investigation to be registered under the name Parfenova.

First, the investigators mistakenly went to another Makarov, who lived in Serpukhov. Nikolay Ivanin agreed to conduct an identification. He was sent to Serpukhov and settled here in the hotel. However, Nikolai committed suicide in his room the next day. The reasons for this remained unclear. Then the KGB discovered surviving witnesses who knew Makarov in person. But they could not identify it, so the search was continued.

The KGB spent more than 30 years, but found this woman almost by accident. Going abroad, Parfenov, a citizen, filed a questionnaire with information about relatives. Among the Parfenovs in them as their own sister for some reason was for some reason Makarova Antonina, for her husband Ginzburg.

How did Tony's mistakes made by the teacher? After all, she was out of reach of justice thanks to her for so many years, Tonka the machine-gunner! Her biography and photos have been hidden from the public for so long ...

KGB agents operatively worked. You could not blame an innocent person for such atrocities. Antonin Ginzburg was checked on all sides. Lepel was brought in secret by witnesses, even policemen, who was her lover. And only after confirming the information that Tonka the machine-gunner and Antonina Ginzburg are one person, the woman was arrested.

For example, in 1978, in July, the investigators decided to conduct an experiment. They brought one of the witnesses to the factory. At this time, Antoninu was put out on the fictitious pretext. Watching the woman from the window, the witness recognized her. However, this was not enough. Therefore, the investigators conducted another experiment. They brought two other witnesses to Lepel. One of them pretended to be a worker of a local office, to which Makarov was allegedly summoned for pension recalculation. The woman recognized Tonka the machine-gunner. Another witness was outside the building together with the KGB investigator. She also recognized Antonina. Makarova was arrested in September on her way to the head of the human resources department from her job. Leonid Savoskin, the investigator who was present at her arrest, recalled later that Antonina was very calm herself and immediately understood everything.

The capture of Antonina, the investigation

After the capture, Antonina was taken to Bryansk. The investigators at first feared that Makarova would decide to commit suicide. Therefore, a female "whisperer" was put in her cell. This woman recalled that the prisoner was cold-blooded and is sure that because of her age she will be given a maximum of 3 years.

She volunteered for the interrogation herself and demonstrated the same composure on him, directly answering the questions. In the documentary film entitled "Retribution: Two lives of Tonka the machine gunner," Sergei Nikonenko said that the woman was genuinely sure that there was nothing to punish her, and wrote off everything that happened to the war. She behaved no less calmly when she was brought to Lokot for investigative experiments.

Tonka the machine-gunner did not deny it. Her biography continued with the fact that the Chekists in Lokte led this woman to the well-known Antonina by the way, to the pit near which she carried out the monstrous sentences. Bryansk investigators remembered how the residents who recognized her spat after him and flinched aside. And Antonina walked and remembered everything calmly, as about everyday affairs. She said that she was not tormented by nightmares. Neither with her husband, nor with her daughters, Antonina did not want to communicate. In the meantime, a spouse-front-line soldier flew by the authorities, threatened a complaint to Brezhnev himself, even at the UN, asking for the release of his wife. Until the investigators told him what was accused of Tonya.

The brave, dashing veteran after that grew old and turned gray overnight. From Antonina Ginzburg, the family disowned and left Lepel. The enemy does not want what these people had to endure.

Retribution

In Bryansk in 1978, in the fall, Antonina Makarov-Ginzburg was tried. This process was the last major in the USSR, which took place over the traitors of the Motherland, and also the only process over the punitive woman.

Antonina, however, was convinced that punishment for the prescription of years could not be too strict. She even believed that she would be given a suspended sentence. The woman regretted only that again it would be necessary to move and change the place of work because of the shame. Even the investigators themselves, knowing that the post-war biography of Antonina Ginzburg was exemplary, believed that the court would show indulgence. In addition, 1979 was declared the Year of the Woman in the USSR.

But in 1978, on November 20, the court passed a verdict according to which Makarov-Ginzburg was sentenced to be shot. It was documented that this woman was guilty of killing 168 people. These are only those whose personalities have been established. More than 1,300 civilians remained unknown victims of Antonina. There are crimes that can not be forgiven.

In 1979, on August 11, at 6 o'clock in the morning, after all petitions for clemency were rejected, a verdict against Makarova-Ginzburg was carried out. This event ended the biography of Antonina Makarova.

Tonka the machine-gunner became very famous all over the country. In 1979, on May 31, the Pravda newspaper published a large article dedicated to the trial of this woman. It was called "Fall". It spoke of Makarova's betrayal. The documentary biography of the Tony-machine-gunner was finally presented to the public. The case of Antonina turned out to be loud, even, one might say, unique. According to the court's decision, for the first time in all the post-war years, a female executioner was shot, whose involvement in the shooting of 168 people during the investigation was formally proven. Antonina became one of three women in the Soviet Union, who were sentenced in the post-Stalin era to be shot and whose execution was established reliably. The other two became Bertha Borodkina (in 1983) and Tamara Ivanyutina (1987).

Released in 2014 on the television series "The Executioner" is remotely based on this story. In the story Makarov was renamed Antonina Malyshkin, played by Victoria Tolstoganova.

Now you know who Tonka the machine-gunner is. Biography, photos and some facts related to this woman were presented in this article.