The Panfilov Guardsmen in The Post-war Era
In spite of the Afanaseev report, the wartime version of the events was upheld. The 1965 official History of the Great Patriotic War claimed that the Twenty-Eight Panfilov Guardsmen knocked out 18 tanks and killed 70 enemy soldiers. Memorials to the fallen heroes were built throughout the Soviet Union, including five 12-meter tall statues near the site of the battle and the Twenty-Eight Guardsmen Park in Alma Ata. The municipal anthem of Moscow makes a reference to the city's "twenty-eight brave sons".
During the Perestroika, the still-living Ivan Dobrobabin petitioned the Military Prosecutor General for rehabilitation, claiming that he never hurt anyone during his service in the Hilfspolizei. Dobrobabin's plea attracted media attention to the case, which resulted in the eventual declassification of the Afanaseev report.
Read more about this topic: Panfilov's Twenty-Eight Guardsmen, Chronology
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