Chapter 5

Chapter 5: The Great Fatherland War


A)
1.The photograph of the Soviet citizens on page 11 shows people so enthusiastic to see the Nazis that they might have been Germans themselves. As the German soldiers drive through, there are smiling people crowded on the sides of the road, doing the Nazi salute and cheering like they were welcoming their own men.
2.Some Soviet citizens were not treated well under Stalin's reign. Anyone who didn't support communism, or was an “undesirable” – Jews, homosexuals, etc – lived horribly under Stalin. There were also others, such as peasants or farmers, who were forced into collectivization and essentially made no wages or reaped any benefits for their work because the government owned everything. These people probably thought that life under a dictator like Hitler was preferable to life under a dictator like Stalin; or perhaps they were only thinking of the immediate future and were willing to welcome anyone as long as it freed them from Stalin.
3.Based on sources A,C, and D, there are several reasons that the same Nazis the Russians welcomes might have been less welcome a year later. For one, there was the complications to daily life that being invaded by the Germans entailed: Everything that the Germans could use to their advantage had to be hidden or destroyed, which probably made life uncomfortable for the Russians, especially farmers and peasants who had to get rid of food. The invasion of the Nazis essentially forced the Russians to destroy their own country and resources so that the Nazis wouldn't benefit from them; however, then the Russians couldn't either. Source C shows that by a year later, the Nazis were looked at as “Fascist invaders” rather than liberators. The oath talks about “revenge” “for the burning of [their] cities and villages...the murder of [their] children...and the torture and atrocities committed against [their] people.”
B)

1.Stalin was essentially telling his people to destroy everything they had that might be of value to the Germans, even if it was something that the Russians themselves needed. Bread, wheat and petrol should all be destroyed, and the land occupied by enemies must be sabotaged – bridges and roads, telephone and telegraph lines, etc. Stalin basically told his people to destroy their own country.
2.I think that Stalin hoped that he might drive the Nazis out by making conditions unbearable to live in. With the lack of food and supplies, the Nazis would starve and freeze and be unable to move forward with their attack, and the ruination of communication lines and roads would make progression and coordination much harder. Stalin hoped that, given these difficulties, the Germans might give up.
3.a) I think that the lives of the Soviet people would be most negatively affected in the areas wher Stalin's commands were carried out. In addition to most likely being murdered and having their homes destroyed by the Germans, they had no food, no supplies, no methods of communication or transport.
b) I think that the lives of the German soldiers were probably not much better – they wouldn't be able to move easily across the country, and they weren't able to take things from the Russians because the Russians had nothing. However, they did have what Germany supplied them with. On the other hand, the weather made life very difficult, because the ground was either muddy or, when winter came, frozen over. The sub-zero temperatures caused a large number of deaths in the army, and automatic weapons could not be used because of the cold.

C)
1.
The German Invasion of Russia Similar to German Campaigns in Europe:


1.Method of Attack
– Invasion: Destroyed most of the airforce while it was still on the ground, took prisoners and supplies. Occupied major areas such as the Ukraine, the Crimea, all rich farming and industrial areas. Massacred Jews, people taken as slave labor.

2.Length of Campaign
– 1941-1942 until Germany was defeated.

3.Effects on Civilians
– Civilians were massacres, homes burned, villages ruined, people taken as slaves. The people also suffered because of Stalin's “scorched earth” methods.

4.Result of Campaign
– Germany failed, left.

HW #3

1. Discuss a political cause of WWII that could be related to the reading.

A political cause of WWII related to this reading could be Japan's land-hunger and the weakness of the LN. The invasion of Manchuria shows, for one, the weakness of the League of Nations: Japan was a leading member of the LN, but that didn't stop it from invading one of the other leading members, China. Furthermore, it shows the desire for land that was also a problem with Germany. There wasn't enough genuine desire for peace, and apparently there wasn't enough threat of retribution. All of these things are political problems. No member of the LN wanted to take economic or military sanctions against Japan, so the LN had to try to use persuasion; however, before anything could be done, Japan resigned from the League, rendering it powerless in the situation.

2. Discuss an economic cause of WWII that could be related the the reading.

An economic cause of WWII related to this reading could be Japan's invasion of Manchuria and the LN's inaction. Japan invaded Manchuria in part because of economic things: The "territory is more than three times as large [as Japan]...but [was] inhabited by only one third as many people...its wealth of forestry, minerals and agricultural products [was] also unrivaled elsewhere in the world". Japan had a lot to gain in the long run if it had Manchuria. Britain, one of several nations that essentially "controlled" the LN, would not enforce an economic boycott because Japan would declare war and seize Hong Kong and Singapore, Britain's major ports in Asia. So the LN was unable to do anything because it wasn't truly looking out for world's best interests; it was too controlled by several nations.


3. Discuss an ideological cause of WWII that could be related to the reading.

An ideological cause of WWII that could be related to the reading is Japan, Germany and Italy's hatred of communism. In 1936 the Comintern ordered communists the world over to join with other political parties to help stop the spread of fascism. In response, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact that said they would oppose Communism and "consult with each other if either was attacked or threatened by the USSR." Italy joined in 1937, which made it so that the 3 most aggressive countries in the 1930s were allied with each other.

4. Answer question A from Chapter 8.

A)

1. I think that the rising sun represents Japan.

2. The dark clouds in the foreground represent the looming threat of Japan's power. Japan claims that their rise is a good thing, with "Asia for the Asians", etc., but for Western powers it is a threat to their sovereignty.

3. I think that the point the cartoonist is trying to make it that Japan's rise, though supposedly a rising sun and a new day, is really bringing war and death and destruction to the world. It begins with the invasion of China, but the dark clouds over the rest of the world and the rays convey that it will spread.

5. Answer question B from Chapter 8.

B)

1. I cannot tell from the picture what is on the family's sled, so I don't know what kind of a family it is.

2. The family was probably leaving Shanghai because of the effects of Japan's Chinese invasion. The living conditions were terrible, because the "looting, rape, torture, murder and pointless destruction", so obviously the family would be trying to get away - perhaps to the countryside where the Chinese Communists were still in power, for the most part. The family would be carrying their possessions because it might be all that was left of what they owned. They probably weren't planning to go back, so they would of course bring what they had left to them.