HW 10

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.