Young Guard Reborn

Donbass youth on the defence of their motherland again

The small town of Krasnodon in Donbass is home to the Young Guard, a famous WWII underground organisation. A group of local school students united to resist the Nazi occupiers who took the city in 1942. Young partisans, some of them as young as 14, carried out arson and sabotage and disseminated leaflets. Despite brutal conditions under Nazi occupation and the risk of being arrested, the teenagers continued their activities.

Just a few days before the Red Army came to liberate Krasnodon, the Gestapo had arrested almost all members of the Young Guard. The teenagers were brutally tortured and thrown to die in a deep pit. The heroic story of the Young Guard was one of the most popular children’s book in the Soviet Union.

The Young Guard has inspired generations, including the Krasnodon locals. When the war broke out in Donbass in 2014, some teenagers joined people’s militia to resist the Ukrainian army. The documentary tells stories of young men from Krasnodon and nearby cities in Donbass who defend their home despite their young age.