When the 900 day siege of Leningrad was finally lifted and the Germans fell back from the advancing Red Army, Leningrad was revered as a “Hero City” by the majority of Russians. A city Hitler thought would fall like a leaf held its own against cold, deadly winters and little supplies. But what many didn’t know were the darker secrets to the survival of the city—namely, the illegal consumption of human flesh. Inside the walls of Leningrad, moral and legal questions came to light on a daily basis concerning the cure for hunger provided by cannibalism, the methods of dealing with homicidal cannibals, and the legal prosecution of active cannibals while maintaining a certain level of secrecy so as not to stain the city’s reputation.
In September of 1941, under the orders of Adolf Hitler and Operation Barbarossa, the Germans completed their encirclement of Leningrad, or what is today known as St. Petersburg. The idea was to bring the city to its knees with the use of as little resources as was possible, and continue Operation Barbarossa, or the invasion of Soviet Russia. The day Leningrad was enclosed by the Germans and their Finnish allies was the first day of this unsuccessful 900 day siege, a siege that would cause some of the greatest desperation of WWII and the corresponding deaths of anywhere between 400,000 and 800,000 people. The only route for evacuees or supplies was the frozen Lake Ladoga, which was constantly bombed by the Germans—1 in 4 trucks that crossed this frozen path fell through the ice and killed those on board. The city was provided with about 1/3 of what was needed for coal, 1/12 of what was needed for sugar, and meat was a rarity. As the days went on and the siege lingered, hunger drove the remaining i...
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Panfilenko. Report on Cannibalism. 21 Feb. 1942. Official Report. Leningrad.
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With time, tragedies become statistics. The lives lost culminate to numbers, percentages, and paragraphs in textbooks,and though a recognition of its occurrence becomes universal, an understanding of its severity dies with those who lived it. “Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941” is a literary medium by which the nature of tragedy is transmitted. Set in the post-battle Leningrad, the poem encapsulates the desolation not of war and its aftermath. Paramount in this translation is figurative language. Olds’ use of simile and metaphor in “Leningrad Cemetery, Winter of 1941” allows the reader to understand the incomprehensible horrors of war and, through contrast, the value of life.
The battle of Stalingrad has often been referred to as the turning point of World War II. Stalingrad, now called Volgograd is located on the river Volga in the southern part of western Russia. It was of extreme importance because it was the last stronghold protecting the vast oil fields that lay beyond it to the east. Hitler believed his Operation Barbarossa would be an easy victory, claiming that troops would be home for Christmas. There was much symbolism in Hitler’s decision to attack Stalingrad and that was due to that it was named after the Russian leader Stalin and would cause a great loss of morale in the Russian army if the German army could capture it. The German 6th Army ran into incredibly fierce resistance on the part of the Russians. As the battle waged on for nearly 3 months the daily bloodbaths of the street battles began to take their toll on both sides. Russia’s use of snipers began to cost the Germans more and more lives everyday. Most famous of...
On June 22, 1941, Adolf Hitler gave the green light for the commencement of Operation Barbarossa to capture the heart of USSR, Moscow, in order to gradually diminish the power of the Allied forces in WWII. However, Hitler’s masterminded plan eventually began falling apart due to his own carelessness and over-confidence. For instance, Hitler miscalculation of postponing the operation to focus on other matters by several weeks proved to be crucial as the ferocious Russian winter arrived significantly earlier causing many German soldiers to freeze to death, while the Russians accustomed to the weather used it to their advantage (Royde-Smith). Hitler also underestimated Stalin’s ability to prepare enough troops due to his belief of German superiority,
Military historians have described Stalingrad was not only noteworthy as it was a turning point of the Germany’s invasion on Eastern Front and even of the entire Second World War. The ultimate defeat of Germany in Stalingrad was resulted from Hitler’s military misjudgment and indecisiveness in setting single operational objectives, which paralyzed the whole German forces and turning the tide of war in the Russians’ favor. The initial missions of the offensive in 1942 were the advances of forces to cut off the west bank of Volga River, which served as the important link for the transport of Soviet oil supply from the Transcaucasus oil fields to the Red Armies in Central Russia. Before Stalingrad, the plan went well and achieved substantial opening successes in the capture of few important territories.
Did they have a good quality of life before the death that turned them into someone’s dinner?” (Steiner 845). With these questions the author tries to hook up his audience and make them think about how and where does everyday meat comes from.
War of the Rats, written by David L. Robbins, and the movie Stalingrad, directed by Joseph Vilsmaier, are two excellent sources to be used in furthering one’s understanding of the second world war and specifically the battle of Stalingrad. Both of these sources cover generally the same material. They both are dramas about the battle of Stalingrad, yet each has their own unique perspective upon the war. These two sources can be used together to increase one’s knowledge on the subject at hand.
Haydock, Michael D. 1999. City Under Siege: the Berlin Blockade and airlift, 1948-1949. Brassey's, Inc.
Bell, Rachel. "Historical Perspective." All about Cannibalism: The Ancient Taboo in Modern Times. Crime Library, n.d. Web. 20 Mar. 2014. .
The battle fought between the Soviet Red Army and the Nazi Wehrmacht over the “city of Stalin” for four long months in the fall and winter of 1942-3 stands as not only the most important battle of the Eastern front during World War II, but as the greatest battle ever fought. Germany’s defeat at Stalingrad ended three years of almost uninterrupted victory and signaled the beginning of the end of the Third Reich. In this way, Stalingrad’s significance was projected beyond the two main combatants, extending to all corners of the world.
World War II was seen around the globe as a war to end all wars. Combat like this had never been experienced before and it was the largest scale battle in recent history. The death tolls for all sides skyrocketed to heights that had never been reached in any battle ever before. There was one man at the center of it all, one man who came to personify the root of living, breathing evil. That man was Adolf Hitler and to the rest of the world, he was a superhuman military machine who had no other goal but to achieve world domination through destruction. But the roots of the Battle of Stalingrad all began in 1941 when Hitler launched operation Barbarossa. Hitler’s powerful army marched across the east, seemingly unstoppable to any force. Stalin’s Red Army was caught completely off guard and their lines were completely broken apart. A majority of the country’s air force was destroyed when airfields were raided and many of the planes never even got the chance to leave the ground. Hitler’s army finally came to Leningrad where the city was besieged. The city held for 900 days and never gave way to the relentless Germans. At the cost of 1.5 million civilians and soldiers, the Red Army stopped Hitler from advancing further and postponed his plan to sweep over the south. Another cause for the retreat of Hitler was the brutal Russian winter, which Hitler and his army were completely unprepared for and the icy cold deaths would continue to haunt the Germans.
As the Soviets fought back the oncoming German army, it was evident that blitzkrieg was unsuccessful. As the Germans had never experienced Russian winters before; they were unaware of the freezing cold temperatures. Without proper clothing and material, this caused devastating effects. With Stalin choosing to stay in Moscow this raised the morale, and was an important aspect that led to the Moscow victory. Christian goes on to state, “A longer, drawn out war allowed Russia to exploit its reserves of raw materials and labour. In this sense, the battle of Moscow was a turning
Spencer, Colin. The Heretic's Feast: A History of Vegetarianism. Hanover, NH: U of New England, 1996. Print.
The Moscow-Leningrad railway destroyed, air bombardment destroyed air and river supply lines, water and food supply storages, along with power stations that supplied electricity. This created inhumane living conditions, and ultimately death for hundreds of thousands of residents in Leningrad. Rations of the food remaining were inadequate to feed the masses and priority of food were given to soldiers and manual workers who continued to work building weapons needed to support war efforts. Residents supplemented their food rations eating zoo animals, rodents, and family pets. “Hundreds, perhaps thousands, resorted to cannibalizing the dead and in a few cases people murder for their flesh” (Siege of Leningrad begins, 2014). Remaining fuel is to be used in weapon building, leaving residents to use household items, such as books, furniture, and floorboards, as fuel for warmth. Thousands of people died daily from freezing temperatures in the winters, disease, and starvation. During winter months, supplies made its way to Leningrad over the frozen Lake Ladoga and by barges when the lake was not frozen. Not all attempts were successful, due to German air and artillery attacks. Attempts to support Leningrad with supplies were also made by the building of a road, more than 200 miles long to Zaborie. However, many parts of the road were impassable due to snow or
Gascoigne, Bamber. "World War II - The Blitz." History World. (2001): n. page. Web. 29 Sep. 2011. .