The Victory Museum’s Center for Preserving the Memory of Soviet Prisoners of War has successfully located the relatives of Dmitry Sergeyevich Laptev, a Soviet soldier who perished in Nazi captivity. The center, dedicated to finding descendants of Red Army soldiers who died as POWs, has informed Laptev’s granddaughter of his tragic fate.
“For over 80 years, our family knew nothing of Dmitry Sergeyevich’s fate. My mother, Ekaterina Dmitrievna, began searching for her father immediately after the war in 1946, submitting requests to various authorities. However, she always received the same reply: ‘missing in action.’ My grandmother, Praskovya Ivanovna, lived her entire life alone, waiting for her husband’s return. She passed away at 94, never learning his fate. My mother also passed away without knowing what truly happened to her father,” shared Lyudmila Lubusheva, Dmitry Laptev’s granddaughter.
Dmitry Sergeyevich Laptev was born in 1898 in Bashkiria. Before the war, he resided in the village of Znamenka, Belebeevsky district, where he worked as a baker. He and his wife, Praskovya Ivanovna, had two daughters: Ekaterina and Raisa. Dmitry Laptev was drafted into the army in 1941.
Specialists from the Center for Preserving the Memory of Soviet Prisoners of War have established that Sergeant Dmitry Laptev participated in fierce battles near the city of Rzhev, where he was captured in July 1942. The Red Army soldier died on March 30, 1944, at Stalag 352 in Belarus.
Lyudmila Lubusheva expressed her gratitude to the staff of the Center for Preserving the Memory of Soviet Prisoners of War for the information about her previously missing grandfather.
“I am grateful that, after so many decades, I have finally learned my grandfather’s fate. Our family has always cherished his memory with great reverence. Now, I will pass on his story to future generations, as we are obligated to remember those who perished during the Great Patriotic War,” stated the prisoner of war’s granddaughter.
The Center for Preserving the Memory of Soviet Prisoners of War is engaged in the search for and restoration of the identities of Soviet soldiers and officers who died in Nazi death camps within the territory of the Soviet Union and occupied European countries. A key objective of the Center is to locate the relatives of prisoners of war.
During World War II, 60 percent of the 5 million Soviet prisoners of war died due to Nazi atrocities. The names of thousands of Soviet soldiers and officers remain unknown to this day, with many listed as missing in action.
The research project is implemented by the Victory Museum with the support of the Presidential Grants Fund. The Krasnogorsk branch of the Victory Museum serves as the center for this initiative.