Lesson 7 Experiences: Civilians in Leningrad

Question 1

Reasons for the Siege of Leningrad.

Answer 1

acquisition of lebensraum (living space) his was also linked to the racial beliefs of the Nazis
context of the war of annihilation

belief that Slavs were inferior to native German population and were wasting resources -> complete annihilation and destruction
key objectives of
Army Group North. : base of Russia’s Baltic Fleet and had more than 600 factories
fighting outside the city descended into attritional trench warfare

Question 2

Experiences of civilians at Leningrad

Answer 2

civilian rations had dropped to 250g of bread a day for
workers and 125g a day for children, the elderly and the unemployed.
-During the winter of 1941-42, 100,000 people were dying per month
from starvation.
* People ate whatever they could get a hold of including wallpaper glue,
petroleum jelly, pigeons and their pets.
* Theft and murder were a constant threat and the authorities arrested over
2000 people for cannibalism.
- Soviets managed to
create a land bridge across the frozen Lake Ladoga that could be used
to supply the city.
* The city managed to survive until a Soviet offensive broke through the German
lines.
* By the end of the siege, which lasted almost 900 days, an estimated
800,000 civilians had died.