Скачать или смотреть This WWII Hero Was Punished Instead of Praised

On February 8, 1945, Soviet POW Mikhail Devyataev pulled off one of World War II’s most unbelievable escapes. Trapped in a brutal Nazi camp on Usedom Island, Devyataev and nine prisoners killed a guard with a crowbar, stole his uniform, and bluffed their way onto a German Heinkel He 111 bomber. With Devyataev secretly trained as a pilot, they hijacked the aircraft and flew straight through German anti-aircraft fire and Soviet air defenses, landing safely behind Red Army lines. Instead of praise, Devyataev was accused of collaboration and sent to filtration camps. Only later was his name cleared when his intelligence on Nazi V-1 rocket sites proved crucial. The victory was bittersweet—most of his fellow escapees were sent to penal battalions, and only three survived the war.