Zinaida Portnova is one of the youngest heroines of the Soviet resistance movement during World War II. The teenager fought against German occupiers in partisan ranks on Belarusian territory, conducting bold sabotage operations. Her story became in the Soviet Union a symbol of youthful heroism and sacrifice in the struggle against fascism.
Childhood in Leningrad and War Outbreak
She was born in July 1926 in Leningrad as daughter of a railway worker. The family relocated in the second half of the thirties to a locality on occupied Polish territory. The war outbreak and German invasion found her as a fifteen-year-old far from her native city.
In 1942, she joined a partisan organization operating in the vicinity of a Belarusian locality. Despite her young age, she was accepted into resistance movement structures conducting diversionary activities. Belarusian forests became her home for the next two years of intense fighting.
Sabotage and Partisan Operations
She participated in numerous operations directed against German military facilities and communication lines. In 1943, at merely sixteen years old, she joined a special unit conducting the most risky missions. Her determination and courage drew the attention of partisan commanders.
The most spectacular operation was poisoning a meal intended for German officers at one of the stations. She added poison to soup served to soldiers, which resulted in the death of over ninety of them. This act of sabotage caused panic and massive reprisals against the civilian population in the region.
For two years, she also conducted intelligence activities, gathering information about German troop movements. She transmitted data about planned operations and locations of supply warehouses. Her reports enabled effective attacks on convoys transporting weapons and ammunition.
Arrest and Brutal Interrogations
In 1944, German security services arrested her during one of the reconnaissance missions. She was subjected to torture intended to extract information about partisan structures and planned operations. Despite brutal interrogations, she did not betray her comrades or camp locations.
During an escape attempt from her prison cell, she killed a guard with his own weapon. Recaptured, she was sentenced to immediate execution by firing squad. According to some accounts, during the execution of the sentence, she activated a grenade, killing several present German officers.
She died at eighteen years of age, not living to see the war’s end or the liberation of occupied territories. Her body was abandoned in an open field as a warning to other resistance movement members. Local population found the remains and secretly buried them with honors befitting a hero.
Postwar Recognition and Commemoration
In 1964, Soviet authorities posthumously awarded her the highest state decoration – the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Her story became a mandatory element of school curricula throughout the USSR. Dozens of schools and pioneer groups adopted her name.
In Belarus, in the locality where she conducted partisan activities, a monument commemorating her deeds was erected. Films were made and books written presenting her life as a model of patriotism for the young generation. Museums dedicated to the resistance movement display items related to her activities.
In Poland and other Eastern Bloc countries, her figure was promoted as an example of struggle against fascism. To this day, she remains one of the most recognizable figures of the youth resistance movement. Her story inspires subsequent generations of researchers studying World War II history.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- https://allthatsinteresting.com/zinaida-portnova
- https://www.unilad.com/news/world-news/zinaida-portnova-world-war-2-killing-nazis-596842-20240502
- https://www.przezwieki.pl/nastolatka-ktora-otrula-nazistow-historia-ktora-trzeba-poznac/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinaida_Portnova
Margot Cleverly
Margot's journey into women's history began with a box of forgotten letters in a Cambridge archive – suffragettes whose voices had been silenced for over a century. Since then, she's been on a mission to uncover the stories history overlooked.
What she writes about: Queens who ruled from the shadows. Scientists whose male colleagues took credit. Revolutionaries who risked everything. But also ordinary women – those who survived wars, raised families through upheaval, and shaped their communities in ways no one bothered to record.
Margot turns historical figures into real people. She writes with warmth and detail, making centuries-old stories feel surprisingly relevant. Rigorous research meets accessible storytelling – no dusty academic jargon, just compelling narratives backed by solid facts.
When she's not writing, you'll find her in regional archives, collecting oral histories, or visiting sites connected to the women she writes about.