Liberation of Poland and the end of war in Germany

Liberation of Poland and the end of war in Germany

I bought an archive of unknown negatives by Georgy Homzor in Moscow. The name of the Soviet photojournalist Georgy Homzor was familiar to me before. Some of the negatives were in envelopes with signatures made by the photographer's hand. As it has appeared, not only this archive but also the life and destiny of this man is unique.

Georgy Khomutov was born on April 15, 1914 in the village of Ivashky, Kharkov region (Ukraine). He lived in Moscow since 1930, and from 1938 he began to work as a photo correspondent for the "Izvestia" newspaper. During the war Georgy Khomutov worked as a retoucher in the newspaper "Krasnaya Zvezda". Doing his work, having retouched a photograph, Georgy signed it "Khom. 30 r." Which meant - Khomutov made the photo, the payment is thirty rubles. For this reason, Georgy began to be called in accordance with his signature - "Georgy Khomzor". And it was under this name that Georgy became a famous frontline photo correspondent.

 Georgy Khomzor worked in the Caucasus in 1942 and on the 1st Ukrainian Front from March 1943. He photographed the forcing of the Dnieper River, the capture of Kiev and the liberation of the right-bank Ukraine, participated in the battle for Dresden and Berlin, and photographed the historic meeting of American and Soviet troops on the Elbe River in Germany. He was always in the middle of the action and shooting under extreme conditions. There were 15 bullet holes on board the airplane on which Homzor was shooting in Vinnitsa. The pictures were delivered to the editorial office literally on the second day after the events, which was incredibly fast in wartime.

Georgy Khomzor was awarded the Order of the Red Star, the Order of the Red Banner and the medal "For the Defense of the Caucasus". And in the awarding documents the double name of the photographer - Khomzor-Khomutov is mentioned. Georgy Khomutov died in 1990 and was buried at the Vagankovskoye cemetery in Moscow.