Stalinism In War Time

Question 1

What was operation Barbarossa

Answer 1

June 22 1941, Germany attacked the Soviet Union without any declaration of war, three german battle groups made rapid advances and overran eastern Poland and the Baltic states in the. North and penetrated deep into the Ukraine, capturing a million prisoners. Defeat of the USSR seemed imminent but then came soviet resistance the onset winter which badly hit the German soldiers.

Question 2

Stalin was shocked y operation Barbarossa….. why doesn’t this of been the case?

What was his initially reaction?

How did he see the nazi soviet pact?

Answer 2

His military intelligence agents and the British government had warned of a imminent attack and there was a build up of Germany forces near the soviet boarder.

Initially reaction was for someone to get in contact with hitler because he suspected that the troop advance to be a limiting act of provocation.

Stalin never expected the nazi soviet pact to last long, it was more used as breathing time during the build up of the soviet defence.

Question 3

What was Stalin first orders

Who gave the public announcement
Were they confident ?

Answer 3

Immediately met with the politburo and demanded the German Air Force to be destroyed and the invading forces annihilated.

Public announcement left to Molotov, Stalin couldn’t face to do it.

Molotov ended his speech with “ the enemy will be smashed, victory will be ours.”

Question 4

Give 2 examples of changes in authority in 1941 for war preparation

Answer 4

June 23- Stavka (supreme military command) is established. Responsible for all military planning. Consisted of: all marshals of the Soviet Union, the chief of general staff, heads of various military services.

June 30th- state defence committee set up by politburo - civil boys responsible for organisations and coordination. Has absolute authority over party, state, military and other organisations.

Question 5

How did Stalin get the country to fight ?

Answer 5

Played on the threat of there culture. People fought for their country not communism.

Question 6

Who did Stalin rely heavily on during the war… who was he

Answer 6

Zhukov - civil war veteran
Who proved his capability in the defence of Moscow in October 1941 in 1942 he was made deputy commander in red chief of the red army.

Question 7

Stalin needed to best leaders …how did he treat them

Answer 7

If military leaders showed incompetence they were removed. Eg Voroshilov and Budyenny were replaced by talented men who were brought back from the gulags where they had been sent during the terror

Question 8

What had hilter hoped

How did some Russians go against Stalin

Answer 8

That the invasion would spark an anti Stalinist revolt.

• in particularly national minorities who were treat harshly through the 1930s welcomed in the German soldiers as liberators. Waffen SS (an armed wing of the nazi party which served alongside the regular army) had 50,000 soldiers fighting against the red army. Over one million joined Hitler’s side as Slavs.
  Hilfswilliage were those who were willing to help the Germans including drivers cooks and hospital attendants.

Question 9

Stalin issues ‘not one step backwards” what was this

Answer 9

Any soldiers to fall behind was shot more that 150,000 were sentenced to death.
Those who broke discipline were labelled cowards and sent to the front to undertake the most dangerous jobs to redeem themselves.

Question 10

Multinational nature was seen as a threat…. what did Stalin do to deal with this

Answer 10

Deportation of suspect ethical groups eg-the Ingushi.
1.5 million were forced to uproot.
They were brutally treated and only 2/3 survived the journey to Siberia.

Question 11

How did Party membership increase through war time.

Did the war strengthen the communist system

Answer 11

3.6 million new members and 2.5 of these joined the army.

Yes. Although nationalism had been empathised over the Marxist struggle in the course of campaigns, by may 1945 Stalin could declare th war had shown the superiority and resilience of the soviet system

Question 12

What were Hitler’s intentions and how could they have seen to be reached by 1941

Answer 12

Intentions - seize Russia’s farmland and industry

1941- Germans occupied 
63% coal 
68% iron 
58% of it steel 
45% railway
41% arable land

Question 13

What policy did Stalin introduce to prevent the Germans from benefitting from Russia’s industry

Answer 13

Scorched earth policy - destroying anything useful to the enemy before they could retreat it. Stalin ordered both soldiers and civilians to deny the German troops basic supplies as they moved eastwards. And 1523 factories What is the opposite of a controlled observation
it’s their workers were transplanted from western Russia to the areas in the west.

Question 14

How did national expenditure change through war

Answer 14

Military budget had gone from 29% to 57%

Munition manufacture was 76% of all production

Question 15

How did the economy carry on

Answer 15

3500 new industrial enterprises were built during war.
1943 industrial output exceeded Germany and the weapons produced were superior. The yak 1 fighter aircraft are reckoned to have been amongst the best weaponry produced during the war,

Question 16

How was survival ensured

Answer 16

Strict rationing and demanding quotas on collectivised farms,.

Question 17

How did the west help the USSR

Answer 17

• UK and USA supplied essential war material which the USSR had limited production of eg - lorries and telephones. These were carried in British ships and sent over to Iran
• under he lend lease scheme of 1941- 11 billion dollars of aid was provided by the USA.
• USA supplied 6430 planes, 3734 tanks and 104 ships.

Question 18

How did the German attack help to reunite the Russia society

Answer 18

Recruitment station flooded with volunteers to fight for the motherland. 120,000 signed up in Moscow alone.
People fought for their community and locality.

Question 19

What laws created more russias devoting themselves to war efforts

Answer 19

December 1941- new law which nobalised all undrafted workers for war work. All men 16-55 and women 16-45 were required to devote themselves.
White collars workers were sent to munition factories
Pensions were encouraged to return to work
Students were asked to undertake part time work.
Over time was obligatory and holidays were suspended.
Working day was 12 hours. Working week was 70-77 hours.
Unauthorised absence from work meant you were sentenced to death.

Question 20

How was disciplinary in the army tightened

What was the killing rates ?

Answer 20

It was an offence to be taken captive- while soldiers were in captivity there family’s military ration cards were confiscated.

Twice as many red Amy soldiers killed a day in contrast to the allies.
25 million died overall and over a quarter of these were from starvation.

Question 21

Why did Heath problems escalate
(Living conditions)

How were supplies maintained

Answer 21

Housing and fuel shortage - some found themselves refugees, fleeting the Germans advance. Priorities were factories first accommodation second, through the bitter winter of 1941-42 thousands were forced to live in tents.

• gulag labour

Question 22

How did Stalin use propaganda and culture to increase war effort

Answer 22

People were encouraged to sacrifice themselves in the “holy mother Russia”
Non- Russian nationalities were told to “ join in with your Russia brothers”
Patriotic and violently anti German letters were published in the Pravda.
The socialist anthem was replaced with a new nationalistic song of the motherland.

Question 23

How did artists and musicians benefit through the war

Answer 23

Artists enjoyed more freedom, previously banned individuals were allowed to work again as long as they avoided direct criticism of Marxists Leninism.

Musicians gave concerts. Shostakovich was reprieved and composed his no.7 symphony

Question 24

What happened to churches through war time

Woman and family?

Answer 24

Churches were reopened. Russia patriarch was restored. Priests blessed troops and tanks and reinforced the feeling of devotion to the motherland.

War reinforced the importance of family. Taxes were increased with those fewer than 2 children, abortion was forbidden. Mothers of more than two were made ‘heroines of the Soviet Union’.
Women became essential members of the work force and were expected the raise large families. Over half a million women fought in the armed forces . One women was recorded as killing 309 Germans.

Question 25

How did Stalin reputation soar in wartime

How did stalins paranoia grow towards the end of the war

Answer 25

In turned into a national superhero and was held in greater awe than ever before. Paintings portraying him as a Great War time leader soon as ores all public buildings.

-his suspicious of real or imagined enemies had grown. This paranoia became more apparent when war time prisoners came home who he believed would of inherited western values. Many of them were transferred from Germany to soviet labour camps.

Question 26

How were those who betrayed the USSR treated

Answer 26

Soviet citizens who had fought for Germany were immediately executed.
The Cossacks were wiped out in reputation for there support of German allies.
Other service man retiring to the USSR from abroad were interrogated by the NKVD in filtration camps.

Question 27

How did the war help the government

Who did Stalin credit

Answer 27

Made them a popular nationalistic government and left the war with a reputation of great military power.

The soviet system… not the people. Made him realise that the USSR could solve their own problems and he had no desire to run he USSR any differently.

Question 28

How did the war treat and leave the people of Russia

Answer 28

People suffered terrible during the war
At the end - 25 million people in the western province had nothing but wooden huts to live in and many achievements of the 30s had been destroyed.
But in some ways the war was good as it gave ordinary people initiative and helped bring the state and the people closer.
Society was open to western influence during the war. Links with western allies and lend lease scheme opened the eyes of ordinary citizens and helped to disprove the propaganda image of the drab and dismal west.
The people hoped for change.