Victory Day is celebrated by all people in every city, town and village. We invite war veterans to the parties; listen to the stories about the battles and heroic deeds of our soldiers. It is right. But we forget about those categories of people who were only children during the war. They were born, lived at that time. They had to survive. They were not soldiers, they were only small children. They were 2, 4, 7 years old. They could do nothing but survive. It is difficult to imagine their lives. They saw the war by their own eyes, they saw horrors of it. The forgotten victims of the war were children..

“Everything is for the front, everything is for the victory!”- was the motor of the people. Nobody asked them how old they were. They worked in the fields, ploughed, sowed, cultivated vegetables, gathered in the harvest and took care of cattle. They collected warm clothes for soldiers. The people of Shirokoe sent 27 parcels with warm clothes, food and medicines to the front. We collect the information about the children of the Great Patriotic War which live in our village. We have used our interviews with them to write the diary. We have called it "A War Time Diary". “A kid of the war” Nesterenko Victor Stepanovich. “The war-time strengthened my will and character. It taught me to be persistent and capable of great endurance. Some people ask me about the secrets of my sport records. I always answer them that I am a kid of the war”

“A small bread-winner”. Shagunova Tatyana Stepanovna. “I had a big family. There were four children in it. We lived very poorly. From morning till night my mother and elder sister worked on the collective farm. I had to work at villagers’ houses and kitten-gardens to earn some food. When I came back home my younger sister and brother said “Our small bread-winner has сome” Killed in battle” Pletneva Tatyana Egorovna “There were only two men in the village. The others were fighting against fascists. Two beautiful willows grew near our house. My mother’s crying woke up me in the morning. She was standing near the willows with her arms round them and crying. My family got a horrible letter, which was called “Killed in battle”.

“Palochki” Melenteva Anna Konstantinovna. “I couldn’t attend school. I was 13. I was big enough to work. I milked cows, fed pigs. We were not paid money for our work; we received only “palochki”. It’s difficult to explain to my grandchildren what this word means. We collected food, warm clothes for soldiers and sent them to the front” A dream” Bezmenov Vasily Mihkailovich“ All my childhood I dreamed of having two things: to find the grave of my father and to put flowers on it. My dream did not come true. Very often I watch the brides and grooms leaving their bouquets on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I am sure that they do this so that their children may never know war. I do this also. I have children and I want them to grow up in peace”

“Don’t worry about me, I am defending my Motherland” Popov Fedor Semenovich. In the letter to his relatives he wrote “Don’t worry about me, I am defending my Motherland”. These are only some extracts of the diary. We have already visited about 50 old people. With tears on eyes they told us about the Great Patriotic War, about their lives, work, and thanked us for our visit. They are not forgotten for us. We need them. We are proud of them.