In the bleakest days of World War II, the Soviet Union was on the brink of collapse. The German army, relentless and brutal, was closing in on the city of Stalingrad, a symbol of Soviet resistance. With the war effort faltering and casualties mounting, a desperate order was issued: all able-bodied men and women were to be conscripted to defend the motherland. The leaders knew that if Stalingrad fell, all would be lost.

Panic and fear swept through the nation. Every moment that passed meant more lives were lost, and even the privileged children of the elite were not spared from the call to arms. Among them was the son of a wealthy and influential man, a young man terrified of the battlefield.

His father, determined to save him, used his connections with high-ranking military commanders. He devised a plan, coaching his son on how to feign a debilitating condition: bone spurs. He meticulously explained the symptoms, instructing his son to groan and cry out in pain when his feet were touched, to convince the commanders of his ailment. “Son, be sure to yell out when they touch certain places on your feet,” he said, believing his plan was foolproof.

The next day, the proud father dropped his son off at the conscription office. Over the next two weeks, the young man presented his fabricated condition to fifteen different commanders. Each time, he was met with growing suspicion and fury. His story, once a clever ruse, was now a blatant symbol of cowardice in a nation that demanded ultimate sacrifice.

Finally, the young man was brought before the Soviet President himself. As he began to explain his bone spurs, the President’s face hardened. In a voice filled with rage, he bellowed, “Take this coward outside and put him against the wall and shoot him.” And so it was done.

A month later, the father received a small wooden box containing his son’s remains. Tucked inside was a note, a final, cold message from the state: “Only cowards have bone spurs. The Soviet Union does not tolerate traitors.” The city of Stalingrad would not be saved by the privileged, but by the relentless courage of those who fought and died for it.