Yakov Dzhugashvili, a Battery Commander in the Soviet Union Red Army during the Second World War, was the eldest son of the revolutionary Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin. He was Stalin’s only child with his first wife Ekaterina 'Kato' Svanidze. His father, known for his lack of compassion even towards his family members, was particularly at odds with his eldest son and had reportedly called him a "mere cobbler" once. While serving in the army during WW2, Dzhugashvili was reportedly captured by or surrendered to the German forces invading the USSR. Disappointed in his son for several reasons, Stalin declined repeated offers to exchange him with captured German officials. It was initially believed that he had committed suicide while being held at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp; however, later findings revealed that he was shot dead by the German guards - either for disobeying orders or for trying to escape. His strained relationship with his father and the controversies regarding his capture and death have kept WW2 scholars wondering long after his death. He was survived by a son and a daughter from his marriage to Jewish dancer Yulia Meltzer.