February 1942. Leningrad is dying of starvation.
Daniil Kytinen (Finnish: Daniel Kytönen) is a baker. He works in a workshop that smells of life and warm bread. Thousands of loaves pass through his hands during every shift. The smell drives him insane. His stomach twists in spasms. It seems simple enough: “to pinch off a tiny piece of warm crumb, no one would notice.” But Daniil doesn’t take a single gram. He knows that every gram of flour is someone’s life. He bakes bread for others while turning into a living skeleton himself.
On February 3rd, right during his shift, the baker collapsed and never got up again. Doctors officially stated the cause of death as “dystrophy”.
Daniil Kytinen died of hunger while holding tons of food. He proved that even in hell, one can remain a human being with a clear conscience. His name was entered into the Blockade Memorial Book. It was a quiet act of heroism. But it was people like him, who honestly did their duty in hell, that allowed Leningrad to endure.
