In September 1941,after three months of futile resistance, the city
of Kiev was surrendered into the hands of the German army. For the
next two years the citizens of the Ukrainian capital suffered
unimaginable hardship, brutality and slaughter under the Nazi
regime. 630,000 soldiers were taken prisoner and more than 33,000
Jews were executed in the first two days of occupation. In the two
years that followed, starvation and forced labour, indiscriminate
imprisonment and killing were factors of daily life. But amidst the
terror a legend emerged of a team of starving footballers who won a
remarkable and inspiring propaganda battle, defeating a crack side
from the Luftwaffe not once, but twice, and suffering the bitterest
of consequences as a result. In this inspiring book, journalist
Andy Dougan has discovered the truth behind the legend of FC Start
- a team made up from former players of Locomotiv and Dynamo Kiev
rescued by the manager of a state-run bakery. These footballers
would restore Ukrainian pride and provide a small beacon of hope in
two matches played during the summer of 1942. A stunning 5-1
victory against Luftwaffe side Flakelf on the 6th August was
repeated three days later despite warnings of the direst
consequences should the players not allow victory to go to the
Germans. Retribution followed. The team were imprisoned at the
Sietz deathcamp; four of them were executed. But the might of the
Germans had been dealt a blow from the unlikeliest of sources and
the nationalist spirit of the Kievans was revived once more. Dougan
has done a marvellous job in digging beneath the surface of the FC
Start legend to place it in its brutal context and provide details
of the skilled and courageous men who put honour before their own
lives in the municipal stadium of Kiev. This is not just the story
of a football match but also a fine and inspiring history of pride
and honour in the face of terrible adversity. (Kirkus UK)
In 1942, at the centre point of World War II, an extraordinary
event took place not on the battlefield but in a municipal stadium
in Kiev. This is the true story of courage, team loyalty and
fortitude in the face of the most brutal oppression the world had
ever seen. When Hitler initiated Operation Barbarossa in June 1941,
he caught the Soviet Union completely by surprise. At breathtaking
speed his armies swept East, slaughtering the ill-prepared Soviet
forces. His greatest military gains of the entire war were made in
a few short months, and the largest single country that he
conquered was the Ukraine, roughly the size of France. Ukraine's
capital, Kiev, was circled, assaulted and overrun, and among the
city's defenders who were captured and incarcerated were many of
the members of the sparkling 1939 Dynamo Kiev football team,
argaubly the best in Europe before the war. Captured Kiev was a
starving city whose population were deported in vast numbers as
slave labour. However one man was determined to save not just the
surviving players from the Dynamo side but other athletes as well.
He offered them work, shelter and, most valuably, bread, as workers
in his bakery.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
