L. Kosmodemyanskaya

The Story of Zoya and Shura


At the Buffalo Stadium

April 1949. Paris. The Buffalo Stadium. A meeting of the supporters of peace.

During the Paris Congress "peace caravans" kept coming to the stadium from every corner of France. On foot, on bicycles, in cars, and in boats along the rivers, people made their way to Paris in order to say, "We shall defend peace. We do not want war." And on Sunday, before the closing of the Congress, a huge crowd gathered on and around the Buffalo Stadium. And above it, above the sea of flowers soared white doves—the symbol of peace and tranquility.

There was amazing strength in that extraordinary parade of fighters for peace. There were French miners, sailors from Marseilles, weavers from Lyons, peasants from the north of France. A column of French mothers

went by, carrying a large placard with the inscription, "The mothers of France will never give up their sons for a war against the Soviet Union!"

The children of those who died in fascist prisons marched in the parade. In their hands were placards, "We want peace! We want to live!"

I heard someone's excited cry, "You will live because there is the Soviet Union in the world!"

diploma
"Zoya." A sculpture by M. Manizer

I will never forget one other column: members of the Resistance movement—ex-prisoners of the terrible Hitlerite "death camps." On this beautiful day, amid the wonderful spring flowers, amid the lilac, peonies and roses, they marched in striped convicts' clothes, which they had kept in memory of something never to be forgotten. They seemed to be saying, "Remember what happened! Remember the shame, the humiliation, the unbearable sufferings and torments which fascism brings upon people! Fascism means war! Remember what happened, what we lived through! May it never happen again!"

And again and again I thought: yes, one must remember and remind others of what we have lived through. That is why, overcoming my grief, I have tried to write this book. It is not those who lie in their graves that are dead. The dead are those who have forgotten the horrors of war, who want another war to break out. We have no right to forget, we dare not forget! If humanity remembers the bloody hell of fascism, it will not allow itself to be thrown into that hell again. But who, if not my Country, can remind the world of its duty? Whose voice rings loudest in every corner of the globe, in the hearts of men, if not the voice of my people?

I have in mind those men who gripped my hand tightly when they met me at the Congress, and in whose eyes there was sympathy and understanding. I have in mind the Negro woman who embraced me and patted my shoulder as much as to say that she mourned with me.

The woman from India who kept whispering to me just one word, "Zoya…Zoya…" In that word there was not only sympathy for my grief, but respect for the spirit of my people.

To save humanity from shame, from slavery and murder the Soviet state sacrificed not its gold but its blood. At the very highest price—the blood and the lives of her children—my country gave back to humanity the right to breathe.

And now, as before, all that is good and beautiful and freedom-loving is linked inseparably with our great Motherland, with the name of Stalin!

I know that the millions of brave and honourable hearts are a great, invincible force. Before it the mercenary wild beasts who threaten the world with a terrible new war are nought.

At the call of the mothers, at the call of all the democratic forces of the world the 1st of June has been proclaimed International Children's Day. Everywhere the simple people are fighting for peace—for joy and happiness, for their children's lives. May the voice of the people ring yet louder in defence of peace, in defence of children!

Yes, there was great and profound truth in the words of our delegate who spoke so nobly from the tribune of the Congress! Nowadays every person must ask himself, "What have I done to defend peace?" And if everyone really does defend peace, if all honest people unite—we will safeguard peace and secure the happiness of our children, the happiness of the nations.