The Death Match – reality or fiction?

In Kiev and beyond it one football match is well known, which calls “the death match”. In Soviet times like memory of the brave footballers were installed monuments, filmed movie. But was this fight fatal for the Kiev football players? They died as a result of the victory or for other reasons?

WeLoveUA will try to understand the history of events that occurred over 70 years ago.

Football game, which is called the “the death match” was held on August 9, 1942 at the stadium “Zenith” (now the “Start” near Ohmatded). The match was between the Kiev team “Start” and the German “Flakelf» (Flakelf).

Prehistory

“The Death Match” took place during the occupation of Kiev by Nazi troops  in 1941-1943.

Wanting to distract the local population from the war and to show that they give the occupied city to develop as in the sports and cultural terms, the Germans organized a football competition, which in addition to the “Start” was attended by teams of Ukrainian Nationalists, the German railroad, the Romanian infantry, Hungarian anti-aircraft gunners.

Before “the death match” command “Start” held 10 fights and won all of them, and, on average per game scored 5 goals and passed – 1.

“Flakelf” Team

“Flakelf” was the strongest team of the occupation forces. Its players were pilots and anti-aircraft gunners from the best parts of the Air Force in Germany “Luftwaffe”. Team personally supervised Hermann Goering – Adolf Hitler’s right hand. As with the “Start”, “Flakelf” had only  victories, so their mutual game was chained great interest.

“Start” command

By the time the team of Kiev “Dynamo”, since 1936 was a regular participator of the Soviet championship. In addition, in 1936 cinema screens released film “Goalkeeper”, starring precisely Dynamo. After the film, in modern parlance, the players became movie stars.

Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War (June 22, 1941), part of the command went to the front, some of them were evacuated.

On September 19 the Germans occupied Kiev. At the same time to the city has returned a lot of people, among them several Dynamo players: goalkeeper Nikolai Trusevich, defender Alexei Klimenko, midfielder Ivan Kuzmenko, forwards Makar Goncharenko and Nicholas Short. Later in Kiev appeared coach Michael Putistin.

Director of bread-baking plant №1 and passionate football fan called the guys to work. Altogether the company settled eight”Dynamo” players and one “Locomotive” player. Beefed up, the director of the players created a factory team called “Start”.

Several of the players worked in the Kiev police under the supervision of the occupying forces.

Duel

This game was a rematch between “Start” and “Flakelf” and the first game between these teams took place on the same field on 6 August. “Start” won with a score of 5: 1, which has hurt the ego of German players who choose to play a rematch game and win. The rematch held on August 9 and went down to the history as the “the death match”.

One more detail – the German players could boast a good physical shape, while the people from Kiev were more than year under occupation, starved and worked hard, they were almost exhausted.

The stadium was packed. As the game losing 2: 0, the “Start” won with the score 5: 3. It should be said that the Germans threatened our players, warning that in case of victory, they will be hanged right on the gate.

After the match

About events after the match was born the legend that the following decades was the official information – Soviet players immediately arrested and shot. This refutes the archival photographs, on which the players of both teams were sealed in a friendly atmosphere, and the night after the game, players held in the apartment of theirs coach.

The players were still alive after the match is the fact. They played with the “Ruh” team on August 16. They won with a score of 8: 0, this game is for “Start” was the last one.

The death of football players

On August 18 players were taken straight from the factory and arrested. However, the Gestapo left only eight “Dynamo” players, the other team players were released.

Regarding the reasons for the arrest has several versions. On one of them, “Dynamo” was the NKVD team and its players were agents. On the other – the players were arrested for stealing bread from the factory. There were others, but the real reason was never established.

A search of the apartment of Nikolai Korotkih was found the photo of a player in the form of NKVD.

Forward of  “Dynamo” died under torture. The rest of the players transferred to Syretsky concentration camp – one of the most bloody. On February 1943 were shot Kuzmenko, Klimenko and Trusevich.

The final investigation of this the case ended only in the 2000s. The investigation revealed that players were shot on the orders of the chief of the camp, but could not figure out the cause.

Today

About the match in 1942 in Kiev today resemble three monuments: at the stadium “Dynamo” and “Start”, and also in the area of the former Syrets concentration camp.