Soviet Veterans Of The Second World War

Author : Mark Edele
Publisher : OUP Oxford
ISBN 13 : 0191553352
Total Pages : 348 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Soviet Veterans of the Second World War written by Mark Edele and published by OUP Oxford. This book was released on 2008-11-27 with total page 348 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of Soviet soldiers died in the USSR's struggle for survival against Nazi Germany but millions more returned to Stalin's state after victory. Mark Edele traces the veterans' story from the early post-war years through to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. He describes in detail the problems they encountered during demobilization, the dysfunctional bureaucracy they had to deal with once back, and the way their reintegration into civilian life worked in practice in one of the most devastated countries of Europe. He pays particular attention to groups with specific problems such as the disabled, former prisoners of war, women soldiers, and youth. The study analyses the old soldiers' long struggle for recognition and the eventual emergence of an organized movement in the years after Stalin's death. The Soviet state at first refused to recognize veterans as a group worthy of special privileges or as an organization. They were not a group conceived of in Marxist-Leninist theory, there was suspicion about their political loyalty, and the leadership worried about the costs of affording a special status to such a large population group. These preconceptions were overcome only after a long, hard struggle by a popular movement that slowly emerged within the strict confines of the authoritarian Soviet regime.

Author : Robert W. Thurston
Publisher : University of Illinois Press
ISBN 13 : 9780252026003
Total Pages : 296 pages
Book Rating : 4.04/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The People's War written by Robert W. Thurston and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The People's War lifts the Stalinist veil of secrecy to probe an almost untold side of World War II: the experiences of the Soviet people themselves. Going beyond dry and faceless military accounts of the eastern front of the "Great Patriotic War" and the Soviet state's one-dimensional "heroic People," this volume explores how ordinary citizens responded to the war, Stalinist leadership, and Nazi invasion. Drawing on a wealth of archival and recently published material, contributors detail the calculated destruction of a Jewish town by the Germans and present a chilling picture of life in occupied Minsk. They look at the cultural developments of the war as well as the wartime experience of intellectuals, for whom the period was a time of relative freedom. They discuss women's myriad roles in combat and other spheres of activity. They also reassess the behavior and morale of ordinary Red Army troops and offer new conclusions about early crushing defeats at the hands of the Germans--defeats that were officially explained as cowardice on the part of high officers. A frank investigation of civilian life behind the front lines, The People's War provides a detailed, balanced picture of the Stalinist USSR by describing not only the command structure and repressive power of the state but also how people reacted to them, cooperated with or opposed them, and adapted or ignored central policy in their own ways. By putting the Soviet people back in their war, this volume helps restore the range and complexity of human experience to one of history's most savage periods.

Author : Claude R. Sasso
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1428915966
Total Pages : 66 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Soviet Night Operations in World War II written by Claude R. Sasso and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 1982 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Brandon M. Schechter
Publisher : Cornell University Press
ISBN 13 : 1501739816
Total Pages : 571 pages
Book Rating : 4.11/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Stuff of Soldiers written by Brandon M. Schechter and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2019-10-15 with total page 571 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Stuff of Soldiers uses everyday objects to tell the story of the Great Patriotic War as never before. Brandon M. Schechter attends to a diverse array of things—from spoons to tanks—to show how a wide array of citizens became soldiers, and how the provisioning of material goods separated soldiers from civilians. Through a fascinating examination of leaflets, proclamations, newspapers, manuals, letters to and from the front, diaries, and interviews, The Stuff of Soldiers reveals how the use of everyday items made it possible to wage war. The dazzling range of documents showcases ethnic diversity, women's particular problems at the front, and vivid descriptions of violence and looting. Each chapter features a series of related objects: weapons, uniforms, rations, and even the knick-knacks in a soldier's rucksack. These objects narrate the experience of people at war, illuminating the changes taking place in Soviet society over the course of the most destructive conflict in recorded history. Schechter argues that spoons, shovels, belts, and watches held as much meaning to the waging of war as guns and tanks. In The Stuff of Soldiers, he describes the transformative potential of material things to create a modern culture, citizen, and soldier during World War II.

Author : David A. Schwind
Publisher : Schiffer Military History
ISBN 13 : 9780764348297
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.99/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Blue Seas, Red Stars written by David A. Schwind and published by Schiffer Military History. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union decorated 217 men of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine who had performed "heroic acts" during convoy and anti-submarine duties in the Atlantic. For the last decade, David Schwind has made it his mission to identify and track down every remaining medal and capture the stories of these brave men. This book is the culmination of that quest. Based on extensive archival research and in-person interviews with over 100 recipients or their families, Schwind takes the reader on a photographic and biographical odyssey exploring the lives of each recipient, illuminated by over 600 never before published photographs of exceptionally rare Soviet and American medals, photographs, and related documents still in the possession of the veterans and their families today.

Author : Boris Sokolov
Publisher : Helion Studies in Military His
ISBN 13 : 9781909982642
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.44/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Role of the Soviet Union in the Second World War written by Boris Sokolov and published by Helion Studies in Military His. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book investigates several controversial issues regarding the role of the Soviet Union and the performance of the Soviet government and Red Army, to which the author provides some provocative answers. The primary question explored by the author, however, regards the effectiveness of both the Red Army and of the Soviet military economy. Dr. Sokolov argues that the chief defect of the Soviet military economy was the disproportionate emphasis on the production of tanks and aircraft at the expense of transportation means and the means of command and control. This leads the author to look at the role of Lend-Lease during the war. Through the delivery of radio sets, trucks, jeeps, locomotives, fuel, explosives and so on, the author concludes that Lend-Lease was critical to the Red Army, and that the Soviet Union would not have been able to wage a long war against Germany without the Lend-Lease supplies - a conclusion that defies decades of Soviet claims to the contrary. Finally, the author looks at the still very controversial and hot topic of Red Army losses in the war, which was taboo for decades, arguing that this is an effective measure of the Red Army's military performance. He and other scholars have estimated that the Red Army's losses were on the scale of 27 million, three times larger than the official estimates, and approximately 10 times greater than the German losses on the Eastern Front. He argues that such horrendous casualties and such an unfavorable ratio for the Red Army were the result of the relatively low value placed on human life in both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union, and the much more destructive nature of the Soviet totalitarian regime as compared with the Third Reich, which cowed the Soviet generals and officers into total subservience. Due to the elimination of all political opposition and the total control over people's lives, soldiers and civilians could not protest against the crude tactics that resulted in such a very high rate of losses.

Author : Seweryn Bialer
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 656 pages
Book Rating : 4.86/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Stalin and His Generals written by Seweryn Bialer and published by . This book was released on 1984 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : Mark Scott
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 258 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Yanks Meet Reds written by Mark Scott and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How World War II ended in Europe. What happened when the Allied advance from the west met the Soviet attack from the east as told by U. S. & Soviet veterans who were there at the Elbe River April 25, 1945. Their impressions 40 years later. Elements of the U. S. 69th Division meet forces of Gen. Zhadov's 5th Guard Army at Strehla. How two 104th "Timberwolves" captured a cousin of the famed Red Baron. How for 32 hours, between the American & Soviet lines, they were held prisoners of Totemkopf troops that were threatened with Nazi reprisal if they surrendered, & annihilation if they didn't. How they influenced the considerations of SS commanders sweating out the dilemma while Hitler decided whether to die in the Alps or Berlin. The observations of Studs Terkel & Andy Rooney who reported the historic meeting for Stars & Stripes, & Ann Stringer who filed the first news story with UPI. A moving expression of hunger for peace & the sacrifices required to attain it.

Author : Vladimir Kotelnikov
Publisher : Helion
ISBN 13 : 9781914059599
Total Pages : 576 pages
Book Rating : 4.9X/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Lend-Lease and Soviet Aviation in the Second World War written by Vladimir Kotelnikov and published by Helion. This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 576 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seventy years have passed since the Second World War yet the books and articles still keep coming in a never-ending stream discussing the question of what role the deliveries of arms and materials by Soviet allies played in the victory of the Red Army. In Russia, the American Bell P-39 Airacobra fighter along with the Studebaker US6 truck and canned stewed meat became the symbols of Allied help to the USSR during the Second World War. Other aircraft which arrived to the country under the Lend-Lease program are less known but also made a valuable contribution to the victory. The author of this book for the first time has assembled a huge volume of information related to the delivery of aviation equipment from the UK and USA. Based on documents from Russian and foreign archives, museums, and veterans' recollections, the author has made a qualitative and quantitative appraisal of the influence of these deliveries upon the Soviet war effort and airpower during the conflict. The book details the routes of the aircraft deliveries to Russia, the modifications which were done in order to suit the demands of the Russian climate and specifics of their front-line use, as well as the process of the new aircraft being mastered by the units of the Red Army Air Force. The first foreign aircraft arrived in the Soviet Union with No. 151 Wing RAF in 1941, and their use expanded rapidly - they took part in the counteroffensive near Moscow, the battles for Stalingrad and the Kursk salient, and operations of the war up to the battle for Berlin and the capitulation of Japanese forces in the North China. The author includes the results of the combat assessments of the aircraft, which were done at the Scientific Testing Institute of the Air Force, as well as reports from front-line regiments, and multiple combat episodes, detailing the views of the Soviet designers and pilots on the British and American aircraft. A separate chapter provides information about the aircraft which were not officially delivered but appeared in the Soviet Union accidentally. For the first time an attempt has been made to assess the influence of the deliveries of material and equipment upon the Soviet aviation industry and war effort. The author's impressive text is supported by nearly 700 color and b/w photographs, 100 color aircraft profiles, plus maps, charts etc.

Author : Paul Schmitt
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780979719912
Total Pages : 80 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Soviet Second World War Veteran Badges written by Paul Schmitt and published by . This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: