Leningrad

In September 1941 the city of Leningrad had fallen victim to a siege that would continue until January 1944. The Germans goal was to terrorize and starve the population into submission, which was accomplished through cutting off all railway access to the city and bombarding the city itself. Eventually the only path that was left was the frozen lake Ladoga, which became known as the "Road of Life." However, this route was incredibly difficult to cross; many of the convoys that attempted to cross fell through the ice, while others fell victim to strafing runs from the Luftwaffe. The efforts of the Germans to force the city into submission was successful and as one citizen recorded in their diary "We have returned to prehistoric times: life has been reduced to one thing -- the hunt for food."

As the Winter set in, fuel supplies became scarce and just to stay alive the citizens chopped down trees and break down wooden houses for heating. Also, as stated on the website Seventeen Moments in Soviet History "People ate anything to stay alive -- rats, mice, cats, dogs, birds, bark, tooth powder, glue, and (in how many instances can never be known) human flesh." When people succumbed to death they were simply left in the streets and because of the massive amount of deaths it can be assumed that many were not collected for burial when they were initially placed in the street. In January 1944 the Siege was lifted with a staggering 800,000 dieing from starvation, and another 200,000 dieing in both the defense of the city and bombardments.

This was truly a traumatic event for Russia during the Nazi invasion, but the story of Leningrad could help the war effort. The citizens of Leningrad were forced to face grueling and Hellish conditions for roughly 900 days, but the city survived. Although many people were lost the city refused to fall and approximately 600,000 still lived. I believe the Soviets viewed this event as a point of the war that they could turn to when things looked bleak to believe that they would survive no matter what the Nazis threw at them. The siege of Leningrad was an incredibly horrific event, but it can be seen as a rallying point for nationalism during the war.

The Siege of Leningrad

Bibliography

Geldern, James von. Seventeen Moments in Soviet History. 2012. http://www.soviethistory.org/index.php?page=subject&SubjectID=1943leningrad&Year=1943 (accessed April 15, 2012).