在二戰中德軍包圍列寧格勒期間,有一群蘇聯植物學家為保存珍貴的穀物種子而餓死在成堆穀物前的故事. 用鞠躬盡瘁,死而後已.大概可以做為他們的寫照.
之前就看過這個故事, 不過後來就找不到了. 這次在看"蘋果 誘惑與背叛"一書時, 才找到了這蘇聯種子銀行的創立者瓦維洛夫. 然後經過多次的搜尋終於找到其他的成員. 他們是
Alexandr Stchukin, Georgi Kriyer, Dmitri Ivanov, Liliya Rodina, M. Steheglov, G. Kovalesky, N. Leontjevsky, A. Malygina, A. Korzun. 以下是節譯的內容
這個精力充沛的活動似乎都停止在1940年，當這個偉大的科學家在一個被逮捕入獄, 瓦維洛夫的工作人員，則持續留在研究所，了解維持這些由世界各地蒐集來的種子至關重要。當德軍圍困列寧格勒 1941年，這群工作人員採取了措施來保護這些不可替代的財富。
在殘酷的寒冷天氣，工作人員燒了可能清除的家具和木材，以保持珍貴的馬鈴薯不被凍結。圍城延續期間，塊莖需要播種更新。工作人員發現土壤內被圍困的城市，足以長出來的塊莖，這樣他們便不會丟失種源。他們種植並看守他們.儘管到處爆炸和槍彈。同時,他們不得不從防範塊莖和種子會被挨餓的人，老鼠所吞噬，所以他們輪流 24小時執勤。圍城持續了八百八十天。
瓦維洛夫的工作人員，銘記他們的貢獻，死於飢餓，而不是食用圍繞在他們周圍精心收集的小麥，豆類，大米，玉米和馬鈴薯。 9名工作人員餓死。
Alexandr Stchukin，負責花生，死在他的辦公桌。其他跟隨的是 Georgi Kriyer,Dmitri Ivanov, Liliya Rodina, M. Steheglov, G. Kovalesky, N. Leontjevsky, A. Malygina, A. Korzun. 1943年瓦維洛夫自己在監獄中死亡，有報導說他死於飢餓，也有人說是營養不良。 "
資料來原: Margaret Lauterbach / My Hero
http://www.margaretlauterbach.com/about_me.htm
Vavilov worked hard long hours, saying "life is short." He infused his staff with the same energy and enthusiasm for increasing the world's food supply.
This energetic activity seemed to come to a halt in 1940, when this brilliant scientist was arrested in one of Stalin's terrible purges. Arrested for what? It must have been for being a geneticist that a man named Lysenko (who claimed to be a geneticist) wanted out of his way. Jealousy may have been the motive. Vavilov's staff, left behind at the Institute, understood the vital importance of preserving this collection of the world's seeds. When the German Army laid siege to Leningrad in 1941, the staff took heroic measures to preserve those irreplaceable treasures.
During brutally cold weather, the staff burned pieces of furniture and all wood they could scavenge, to keep the precious potatoes from freezing. The siege dragged on, and the tubers needed to be renewed. Staff members found soil within the beleaguered city sufficient to grow out the tubers so they wouldn't be lost. They planted and guarded them in spite of the bursting shells and gunfire. They had to guard tubers and seeds from starving people and rodents, so they took turns on 24-hour guard duty. The siege lasted 880 days.
Vavilov's staff, mindful of their charge, died of starvation rather than consume any of the carefully gathered wheat, beans, rice, corn and potatoes that surrounded them. Nine staff members starved to death. Alexandr Stchukin, in charge of peanuts, died at his desk. Others who succumbed, were Georgi Kriyer, Dmitri Ivanov, Liliya Rodina, M. Steheglov, G. Kovalesky, N. Leontjevsky, A. Malygina, and A. Korzun. In 1943 Vavilov himself died in prison, some reports say he died of starvation, others say malnutrition.
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