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The Book of the Week is “Ivan’s War, Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945” by Catherine Merridale, published in 2006.
As is well known, by the mid-1920’s, Stalin had taken over Russia, in which there had been a revolution to turn the country Communist. Beginning in 1929, Stalin forced peasant-farmers to merge their land into collectives and adopt wrong-headed agricultural methods, resulting in millions and millions of deaths from famine. Elite schools in the cities were training the upper class (and a few poor boys) for leadership.
In spring 1937, Stalin ordered many top leaders in his government and military to be fired or tortured or killed, or a combination thereof. The younger soldiers had been brainwashed from birth to be anti-Fascist and therefore to hate the Germans, so they were confused when Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler in August 1939. Nevertheless, when WWII came, the Russian military incited the educated young men to lead the fight to protect mother Russia. Back home, their families were still starving.
In June 1940, the Soviet military was unpleasantly surprised by an attack on their Slavic lands by the German Luftwaffe. The now-enemy had knocked out a lot of military resources and Soviet troops had been disorganized and poorly equipped previously. Vyacheslav Molotov, Stalin’s right-hand man, used the occasion to inspire patriotism and incite additional hatred against the Germans.
Propaganda literally flew back and forth hot and heavy. German planes flying over Ukraine dropped leaflets that said Moscow had fallen and Stalin was dead. Turnover in the Red Army was extremely high due to: desertions, deaths from NKVD executions for desertions, and deaths from disease and enemy fire and bombardments.
In spring 1944, Soviet soldiers invaded Romania. They began to see peasants there and in Germany, Poland, France, Holland, Belgium and other capitalist places, who were living way better than they themselves had been, in their civilian lives. The young Soviet military men began to question how Communism was so great if they had been so economically poor.
Instead of setting fire to Romanian villages as they and the Germans had done to so many other battlegrounds as they were leaving, they looted corpses and appropriated farm animals, alcohol and material possessions for themselves. Black markets flourished.
When they finally marched into East Prussia and Budapest, the Soviets’ frenzy of hatred involved raping females, too. Peer pressure caused otherwise ethical men to become barbarians, and drunkenness made it easier to misbehave the way they did.
The Russian propaganda outlet “Pravda” portrayed the Soviets as victims of the Nazis, and called for revenge and reparations. It conveniently neglected to mention the atrocities they committed.
Stalin deflected blame from himself for millions and millions of Soviet deaths through the decades of his rule, by claiming he was suffering along with his people. He believed that Western capitalist cultures were a bad influence, so he demobilized the Russian Army from Germany in 1945– making them sign nondisclosure agreements. He also appeased them with a monetary bonus and (low quality) consumer goods. However, they were spied on by his intelligence service 24/7.
Stalin cast aspersions on the Jews during and after the war. One of numerous myths spread was that during the war, Jews held office jobs instead of fighting on the front lines. In 1945, Ukrainians in Kiev launched a pogrom.
The ravages of the war gave rise to adrenaline junkies with PTSD. After the war, they didn’t know what to do with themselves, and they continued to lead violent, empty lives. “Instead of aspiring to freedom, patriots would henceforth– wittingly or not– become complicit in the repression of the minorities, large-scale arrests, and a bleak and deadly dogma that had almost nothing in common with the libertarian promises that had drawn such crowds to Palace Square in the revolutionary months of 1917.”
After official histories of the war were published, Soviet censors prohibited the publishing of any additional war-related information. No one was allowed to see the archives. They were classified. Top secret.
Read the book to learn much more on the history of the Soviets’ experiences before, during and after WWII.
ENDNOTE: Speaking of non-disclosure and keeping up appearances, here’s a little ditty that describes Trump’s latest marital status.
FIRST LADY MELANIA
sung to the tune of “Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da” with apologies to The Beatles, their estates and to whomever else the rights may concern.
Donald had a victory in the political race.
Melania is, standing by her man.
Donald said to Melania,
“You’ll help me save face. We’ll sign an agreement to maintain the Trump brand.”
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
Donald has a radical agenda in store.
Melania, must obey her king.
She’s stiff and aloof and doesn’t care anymore.
She knows she’s not allowed to say a thing.
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
For all of their years, their marriage is a BUS-iness act.
With previous kids, their family’re reality show stars…
of Donald’s and Melania’s contracts.
Donald’s the big winner in the transactional race.
Donald lets the children lend a hand.
Melania stays at home and does her pretty face,
and at events she’s loyally standing by her man.
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
For all of their years, their marriage is a BUS-iness act.
With previous kids, their family’re reality show stars…
of Donald’s and Melania’s contracts.
Donald’s the big winner in the transactional race.
Donald lets the children lend a hand.
Melania stays at home and does her pretty face,
and at events she’s loyally standing by her man.
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
First laDY, MelAN-ia, fashion icON,
la la la la fashion icon.
For Donald it’s FUN.
But for Melania, it’s NOT!