“The Unknown War” is the title of the famous documentary television series by Roman Carmen about World War II, filmed at the end of the Soviet era, in the American box office. But even today, 65 years after the Victory, the Great Patriotic War remains largely an unknown war, the history of which is thoroughly mythologized—we judge it not so much by documents and facts, but by propaganda legends and ideological cliches inherited from the USSR. Every nation has patriotic myths; during war they are absolutely necessary; belief in them strengthens the morale of the army. But two-thirds of a century after the catastrophe, the time has come not to believe, but to know - at least in order to prevent its repetition. This book is a real “attempt on mirages.” This sensational investigation refutes the most common and long-standing myths about the Second World War, restoring the true story of the greatest tragedy of the 20th century in all its horror and grandeur.