TURNING POINT OF THE 20 TH CENTURY

NATIONAL MYTHS AND THE WORLD WAR II EXPERIENCE  Each European nation has its own myths regarding WWII…

Ussr/russia “THE GREAT PATRIOTIC WAR…”

 For the USSR, World War II was the seminal event. It validated Communism and Stalin and made Russia one of the two superpowers.

Stalinism: the Soviet 1930’s  small peasant farms→huge collective farms  small industries→heavy industries →political terror →major military power Ideology was key Religion ruthlessly suppressed…cathedrals destroyed

FIVE YEAR PLANS  Central government planners set goals - Soviet industry almost catches up to rest of Europe in less than 15 years Right: Happy Peasants

COLLECTIVE FARMS

Famine in Ukraine  HARVESTS FAIL IN

ELIMINATING THE KULAKS  KULAKS WERE PROSPEROUS PEASANTS, WHO SOMETIMES LENT MONEY AND SEED TO OTHER PEASANTS  ACCUSED OF SABOTAGE  STALIN LAUNCHES A CLASS WAR

Socialist Realism  ART MUST PROMOTE THE GOALS OF THE REVOLUTION.

REWRITING HISTORY

The Terror of the 1930’s  Show trials  Forced labor in the gulag  Purges: Red Army marshals and generals decimated in

SHOW TRIALS  Public humiliation of those being purged. Started with killing of Kirov, a loyal follower of Stalin. Liquidations sometimes amounted to hundreds a day.

THE GULAG  WORK CAMPS FOR DISSENTERS OR ANYONE ACCUSED BY PARTY  MOSTLY IN SIBERIA – MASSIVE PROJECTS BUILT BY SLAVE LABOR

 STALIN REMOVED ANYONE HE PERCEIVED AS A THREAT  EVENTUALLY, ALMOST ALL THE “OLD BOLSHEVIKS” OF THE REVOLUTION WERE REPLACED BY “LITTLE STALINS” PURGES

CULT OF PERSONALITY

STALIN AND HITLER  HITLER DETESTS COMMUNISM; IS DETERMINED TO DESTROY IT  STALIN AND HITLER SIGN NONAGGRESSION PACT IN 1939  Stalin cooperates in Hitler’s invasion of Poland, grabs territory.  Refuses to believe in 1941 that Hitler would invade Soviet Union

JUNE 22, 1941 Germany Invades

What did Stalin do in the first few days?  Hid in the Kremlin…  Went AWOL  Molotov gave radio speech on 22 June  3 July: radio address by Stalin…  “Forward to victory.”

Lend Lease  US aided its allies with war materials, such as ammunition, tanks, airplanes, and trucks, and with food etc.  Made a huge difference  Studebaker trucks

Supplies coming across Lake Ladoga

Leningrad  670,000 died and are buried in mass graves…  Just an example of how Soviet citizens paid a hefty price for following Stalin’s order that no one flee a city under siege or retreat from battle…the result would be accusation of sabatoge

THE WAR WAS DECIDED  By the end of 1941, the Germans had lost the war The failure of Nazis to take Moscow – Hitler suffers his 1 st defeat against the Russians who were ordered not to retreat Diversion of resources US entry into the war

…Normandy to Germany  Race for Berlin began  Realization that where the lines were when the war ended would determine post war governments  First post-war conference Yalta…January 1945

What was the primary concern of Stalin and the USSR at the end of WWII?

THE RUSSIANS WON THE SECOND WORLD WAR AIDED BY BRITISH STUBBORNESS AND AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY…. Jay Winter, Yale