Ivan Afanasyevich Zavtrikov was born on May 25, 1939, in the village of Drazhnya, Svetlogorsk District, Gomel Region, Byelorussian SSR. During the Great Patriotic War, as a child, Ivan Zavtrikov ended up in the Nazi concentration camp "Ozarichi". From the memoirs of Ivan Afanasyevich: “The war, the Nazi concentration camp, liberation, refugee and the subsequent events of my life were reflected in my memory in separate fragments - and as I grew older, subsequent events became more complete and concise. At first the Germans drove us around and locked us in a barn, apparently were ready to burn us. But then for some reason the barn opened, everyone was pushed out into the street and chased somewhere. Nobody knew where. Along the way, those who fell from exhaustion and could not get up were shot. We ended up in a concentration camp, which was located on an island in the Pinsk swamps (Belarus). Logs were laid for the passage to this island. Those who stumbled and fell into the quagmire could not get out. Those who tried to help were shot ... The liberation of the prisoners of the Ozarichi concentration camp took place after the start of Operation Bagration - the operation to liberate Belarus.