history of the war

Chapter One: "The Peaceful Life of Leningrad."
Someone is rushing to work, everyone has their own plans. Children are running through the streets, studying in schools, kindergartens. All the children have their own desires: to go for a walk, to meet friends, to buy ice cream. At that time, little Tanya (Tanya Savicheva) was born, she was born on January 23, 1930, in the village of Dvorishchi near Gdov (Pskov region), but grew up in Leningrad. She was the fifth and youngest child in the family: she had two sisters (Evgenia and Nina) and two brothers (Leonid and Mikhail). She, like everyone else, had her own plans, dreams, desires. At the end of May 1941, she finished the 3rd grade. A fun summer was supposed to be ahead, maybe new acquaintances.
*Chapter Two, "The Nazi Offensive on Leningrad."

All the days were ordinary. But one stood out among them all... September 8, 1941, the Siege of Leningrad began. Nazi Germany encircled (blockaded) Leningrad. It was the most terrible, bloody and accurate attack by the Nazis. More than 2.5 million residents, including about 400,000 children, found themselves in the blockaded city. Food and fuel supplies were extremely limited, which led to mass starvation, aggravated by the harsh winter of 1941/1942, problems with heating and transportation. Mass deaths began... Some died of hunger, some from dehydration, and some even from the cold or explosions carried out en masse by the Nazis. Little Tanya and her family also found themselves near this city.*
*Chapter Three: "Tanya's Relatives During the Siege."

On December 28, 1941, Tanya's older sister, Zhenya, died. She almost didn't live to see the New Year. This loss was hard for the whole family, especially for Tanya. She wrote down this loss in her notebook, which Nina (her sister) gave her. January 25, 1942. Tanya's grandmother died, this loss was even harder for the girl, because her grandmother died of hunger, leaving her almost all her food. On March 17, 1942, Leonid died. Tanya wrote down all these losses in her notebook. Time passed, relatives died. Soon Tanya Savicheva herself died.*