Semyon Hitler
Semyon Konstantinovich Hitler was a Jewish Red Army machine gunner who was killed during the Siege of Sevastopol.
Biography
Semyon was born in the Ukrainian SSR to a Jewish family. Semyon became a member of the Komsomol and later joined the Red Army in 1940. He was called to the front by the Orininsky District Military Registration and Enlistment Office. He participated in the defense of Odessa and was a heavy machine gunner in the 73rd Separate Machine Gun Battalion of the Tiraspol Fortified Region. On September 9, 1941, he was awarded the Medal "For Courage." The award nomination noted: "As a heavy machine gunner, Comrade Hitler destroyed hundreds of enemy soldiers with his machine gun's accurate fire over eight days of continuous combat. During the advance on Hill 174.5, Hitler supported a rifle platoon with heavy machine gun fire. However, the enemy, coming from the rear, surrounded the platoon and scattered it. Meanwhile, Comrade Hitler, alone and already wounded, kept his composure and continued firing until he had expended all his ammunition. He then abandoned his position and crawled stealthily through enemy-held territory for more than 10 kilometers. He returned to his unit with his machine gun." On July 3, 1942, Semyon Konstantinovich died in the battle for Sevastopol.At the instigation of the family of Semyon Konstantinovich, a legend of the following content became popular: the commandant of Orinin discovered the Hitler family, but, having checked their documents, he was afraid to send a family bearing the Fuhrer’s surname to the ghetto.