Lewis Railton
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The 22nd of June 1941 was the date Germany launched its full-scale invasion of the Soviet Union. A series of events code-named “Operation Barbarossa” saw Anti-Semitic German leader Adolf Hitler unleash merciless and volatile actions against the Russians as they continued their attempt to conquer Europe. With serious damage inflicted on the Soviet people and their land, a point where Nazi officials reached breaking point is not often covered in the history books - ‘The Death Match’.
A game that took place 14 months after invasion was started, a newly formed team FC Start, mainly made up of professional players, who formerly had allegiance to Dynamo Kiev came face to face with Falkeif, a team consisting of the German Military. Initially being used as propaganda by the Nazi’s to show their superiority, all did not go to plan. However with propaganda being a key factor for Stalin and the Soviet Union’s rise, an example of which was the dark red kits they played in, notably similar to the Soviet flag, a loss to the Germans would massively hinder this - the players could not win either way. Posters were created to celebrate the special match that was to take place, with it stating the Germans had a “strengthened” team who were to face the USSR outfit who were on a 7 win streak with a remarkable goal difference of +31.
In front of a crowd of 2000 spectators, including local press, FC Start were able to beat the German side 5-3, with Ivan Kuzamnko and Makar Honcharenko x2 getting the goals to give FC Start a 2 goal advantage, despite the Germans leading through an early goal. Only the first half was documented. This was an unlikely victory for the Russians, who were currently suffering from the effects of invasion, which included malnourishment from the lack of food and significant fatigue. Nine days after this momentous victory for FC Start, the consequences of a Nazi defeat, which bruised their reputation they attempted to build as being superior as they lost to those they labelled “untermenschen” or subhuman, had caught up to the Soviet players, with the majority of which being imprisoned.
Eight of the FC Start squad were deported to the Syrets Concentration Camp, where two of which, Makar Honcharenko and Mikhailo Sviridovsky, had to repair shoes for the Wehrmacht. Three of the players were executed on the 24th of February 1943 - with reports giving several reasons for the execution, with none of which relating to the ‘Death Match’. Honcharenko stated 50 years after the event that "They died like many other Soviet people because the two totalitarian systems were fighting each other and they were destined to become victims of that grand-scale massacre." This links to the documents that have been produced since the abolishment of the Soviet Union suggesting that the fates of the players involved on the day were in now way related to the outcome of the match. For example, Sviridovsky and goalscorer Makar Honcharenko were able to survive the entirety of World War II, with the latter becoming a media figure in the sixties, telling the story of the infamous match. However, he was in denial of this version after the collapse of the Soviet Union, suggesting that this was a propaganda ploy from the Russian authorities to increase their support and diminish the reckless Nazi approach.
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