1. Hryhoriy Mykytovych Vasiura was a Soviet senior lieutenant in the Red Army who was captured during the Nazi invasion of the USSR in 1941 and subsequently volunteered for service in the Schutzmannschaft and the Waffen-SS.
16 Facts About Hryhoriy Vasiura
1. 2.
Hryhoriy Vasiura was born on 9 February 1915 in the city of Chyhyryn.
3.
The unit had a double leadership: German Major Erich Korner was in charge, while Hryhoriy Vasiura supervised the battalion on a daily basis.
4.
Hryhoriy Vasiura was well known as the shot-put champion of the 1936 Olympics.
5.
Hryhoriy Vasiura later transferred to the 76th Waffen Grenadier Regiment of the 30th Grenadier SS-Division, where he fought until the end of the war.
6.
Usually, Hryhoriy Vasiura explained his post-war imprisonment by the fact that he had previously been taken prisoner by the Germans, and obtained an official certificate confirming this.
7.
Hryhoriy Vasiura moved to the village Velyka Dymerka and became the economic director of the Velikodymersky state farm.
8.
Hryhoriy Vasiura built a big house, was encouraged several times for conscientious work, and received a membership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
9.
Hryhoriy Vasiura married, and two of his daughters were school teachers.
10.
Hryhoriy Vasiura became an honorary cadet of the Kiev Military School of Communications.
11.
Hryhoriy Vasiura would give patriotic speeches in front of cadets and pioneers, making reference to his fictional battle feats, pretending that he was a Red Army veteran.
12.
In 1985, Hryhoriy Vasiura demanded the Order of the Patriotic War as a veteran.
13.
In November 1986, Hryhoriy Vasiura was arrested and transferred to Minsk.
14.
Hryhoriy Vasiura initially denied his guilt; he claimed that he did not participate in the punitive operation and did not kill any civilians.
15.
Hryhoriy Vasiura was executed by shooting at Pishchalauski Castle on 2 October 1987.
16.
Hryhoriy Vasiura was buried in a forest near Logoysk, in the same place where many of his victims lay.