Stalinism in Wartime Flashcards

1
Q

What was Operation Barbarossa?

A

Nazi invasion of Russia, 3-pronged to Leningrad, Moscow and Kiev. Failed to capture Moscow and Russia launched a successful counter-offensive. In 1942 the Germans re concentrated on the Caucasus Oil Fields to the south.

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2
Q

When did the momentum shift in Barbarossa?

A

The monumental tank battle at Kursk in 1943, led by Zhukov and won by Russia.

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3
Q

What were the main factors Russia were able to repel the Germans?

A

Winter came, and Soviet resistance stiffened. The Nazis also failed to use their 1 million + prisoners effectively.

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4
Q

With which forces did Germany invade with?

A

3 million soldiers, 3500 tanks and a Luftwaffe support force.

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5
Q

Why was Stalin taken by surprise by the invasion?

A

Stalin ignored intelligence agents and British government in warning of a Nazi buildup of troops and invasion. He expected the Nazi-Soviet pact to also win breathing space.

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6
Q

What was Stalin’s first move as wartime leader?

A

He convened the Politburo and demanded the German air force be destroyed and invading forces annihilated. He left the public announcement to Molotov, because he could not bring himself to do so.

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7
Q

What did the war bring a significant need for?

A

A clearly defined structure of governmental and military authority, which took over a week to establish.

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8
Q

What was Stavka?

A

The Supreme Military Command, responsible for all military planning and consisting of all marshalls of the SU, Chief of Staff and heads of services.

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9
Q

What was GKO?

A

State Defence Committee, civilian body responsible for organisation and coordination, exercises absolute authority over all Party, state, military and other organisations and directs the wartime economy.

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10
Q

Why does Stalin return from his dacha, and what does he do?

A

The Politburo visited him and he agrees to restructuring. He assumes command of Stavka and the GKO and makes his first wartime address, warning that if Russia lose then they shall fall into slavery.

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11
Q

What happened from July 1941 onwards with Stalin?

A

He assumed supreme political and military command, and appealed constantly to peoples love of their country and played on the threat to their culture.

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12
Q

How did Stalin respond when the Germans got close to Moscow?

A

He ordered the evacuation of the government, but insisted that the annual Red Square was to continue.

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13
Q

How did Stalin’s leadership style change?

A

He understood the need to let his military commanders plan campaigns, increasingly leaving planning to his General Staff. Zhukov was heavily relied upon.

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14
Q

Where did wartime opposition come from under Stalin?

A

There wasn’t any outright opposition, but not all Russians were supportive and the NKVD never stopped being vigilant.

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15
Q

What did Hitler nurture hope for, and was disappointed by?

A

He hoped the invasion would spark an anti-Stalinist revolt, but instead national minorities welcomed Germans as liberators.

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16
Q

What role did National Minorities assume?

A

Some acted as Hilfswigge, or formed movements such as the Russian Liberation Movement in the Ukraine which had 50,000 soldiers fighting under the Waffen-SS.

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17
Q

How many Slavs joined Hitler?

A

Over a million, with over 250,000 Cossacks.

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18
Q

How did Hitler cripple himself with the national minorities?

A

Kill 75% and enslave the rest, as Hilfswigge not soldiers.

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19
Q

How did pre-war ‘terror tactics’ help with the war effort?

A

Order 227 - Not One Step Backwards, any soldier who tried to retreat was to be shot on sight, with over 150,000 shot under this. Penal battalions created from those who broke discipline. They did the most dangerous jobs such as clearing minefields, with average of 50% casualty rates. Blocking units were added behind penal units to prevent desertion.

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20
Q

What was seen as a potential threat to state security during this time?

A

Multinationalism, so Stalin took action to prevent political disintegration.

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21
Q

How did Stalin handle political disintegration?

A

He dissolved the Volga German republic and sent its peoples elsewhere. He also deported suspect ethnic groups, such as the Crimean Tartars and around 1.5 million people had to uproot. Only 2/3 survived the journeys to Kazakhstan.

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22
Q

How did the war change military structure?

A

He addressed officers grievances, for example by downgrading the rank of political commissars and bringing back special rank badges. He put an emphasis on political education of troops and increasing numbers chose to join the Party.

23
Q

How did Party membership change during the war?

A

Over 8.6 new members joined the Party, with 6.5 million of those being military. In 1945 the military formed half of Party membership.

24
Q

How did the war strengthen belief in the communist system?

A

Although nationalism had been emphasised previously by the Marxist struggle by May 1945 Stalin could declare that victory had shown the superiority of the socialist system. It was a victory for communism over fascism and therefore a vindication of Stalinist systems.

25
Q

How had Hitler succeeded in taking Russian resources and farmland?

A

German-occupied territory had 63% of Russias coal and 41% of its arable land.

26
Q

did Hitler fail in taking Russian resources and farmland?

A

As the Russians retreated they followed a ‘scorched earth’ policy, rendering farmland useless and 1500 Soviet factories had been moved over the Urals to eastern Russia.

27
Q

How was the USSR poised to manage a wartime economy?

A

Its existing centralised, planned economy made it easier as People’s Commissars were established to supervise wartime production, while compulsory state orders allowed for quick changes. The whole population was used and rigorous labour controls ensured maximum production.

28
Q

How was national expenditure redistributed?

A

Military spending increased to 57% and munitions contributed 76% of all production. 3500 new industrial enterprises were built.

29
Q

What was industrial output like by mid 1943?

A

It exceeded Germany, making 238 million units of ammunition in 1942 alone.

30
Q

How were food problems difficult to solve?

A

The grain harvest of 1942 was 1/3 of 1940, and survival was ensured by strict rationing and demanding quotas on collectives but peasants were allowed to keep their cottage industries alive.

31
Q

How did Western investment help Russia?

A

They supplied essential war materials such as telephones.
17.5 million tonnes of military equipment sent to USSR.
Lend-Lease gave 11 billion dollars of aid.
6430 planes & 5 million tonnes of food.

32
Q

How did the war help to reunite Russian society?

A

Around 120,000 signed up in Moscow alone, some believing they were fighting in the name of Russia and some following the tradition of pioneers who fought in the civil war. This produced widespread social cohesion.

33
Q

Which new law was introduced in December 1941?

A

Mobilised all undrafted workers for war work. All men 16-55 had to devote themselves. White-collar workers sent to factories & pensioners and students asked to work.

34
Q

How did standard working practices change?

A

Overtime obligatory and holidays suspended - 77 hour work week. Factories under martial law and unauthorised absence punishable by death.

35
Q

How was army discipline tightened?

A

Offence to be taken captive - their families would be deprived of rations. 8.6 million soldiers killed, twice that of the allies. Largely male losses meant families in Russia struggled to survive.

36
Q

How did the USSR suffer a food shortage?

A

1/4 of deaths during the war were due to starvation, a comprehensive rationing system maintained but allowances low. Allies provided tinned spam but that was only given to the military.

37
Q

Why did health problems escalate?

A

Many became refugees, some relocated with their factories and some were fighting under siege. The priority was building-first, accommodation second so thousands were forced to live in tents during the 1941 winter.

38
Q

How was gulag labour used during the war?

A

They built airports, landing strips and roads and produced vital war supplies, but with a 25% death rate.

39
Q

How did Stalin play on the ‘Great Patriotic War’?

A

People were encouraged to sacrifice for Holy Mother Russia against the godless invaders. Non-Russian nationalities were told to join their Russian brothers in the heartland and Pravda carried deeply patriotic, anti-German messages. In 1943 the Socialist anthem was replaced by a nationalistic song.

40
Q

Why did artists enjoy more freedom?

A

Stalin wanted to foster an atmosphere of national reconciliation and previously banned individuals were permitted to work again as long as they avoided socialist criticism.

41
Q

What was the impact of Shostakovich’s Symphony 7?

A

It was performed at the height of the siege, and broadcasted on loudspeakers all throughout the city and hailed as a denunciation of fascism.

42
Q

How did the role of the Church change?

A

There was a respite in the reopened Churches persecution. The Russian Patriarch was reinstated and Stalin encouraged attendance and made the Church essentially an arm of the government to encourage nationalism.

43
Q

How did the war bring a reaffirmation to the importance of the family?

A

In July 1944, new measures were introduced to combat the falling birth rate and deaths brought about. Taxes increased for those with 2 children, divorce restrictions tightened, abortion forbidden.

44
Q

How did the role of women change?

A

They were expected to be essential workers and raise large families. By 1945 over half of workers were female. Other women joined the military, one being Pavlichenko who killed 309 Germans before her own death. Women were not recognised and experienced a pay decrease during this period.

45
Q

Who were partisans during the war?

A

Formed from people left living in German-occupied territory, some used guerrilla tactics to sabotage operations. By 1943 there were 300,000 partisans, many being women. Zoya was made a hero of the Soviet Union for her refusal to betray her comrades - pictures of her tortured body became forceful propaganda pictures.

46
Q

How did Stalin’s reputation change during wartime?

A

He turned into a national superhero and held in greater awe - betrayal was impossible due to his support.

47
Q

How did Stalin himself change during the war?

A

He became seemingly more suspicious - returning POWs went straight to gulags. Any collaborationists who fought with the Germans executed, Cossacks wiped out. Other abroad servicemen interrogated by NKVD.

48
Q

How did Stalin’s government’s international reputation change?

A

Stalin claimed the war proved the system’s unquestionable vitality, making the government a popular nationalist government and in international terms it emerged from war with a reputation for military power. It also had a band of satellite states in Eastern Europe.

49
Q

In what way did post-war government stay the same as pre-war government?

A

Stalin saw no reason to run things differently as his method had won them the war. It vindicated direct, coercive mobilisation. He retained Head of Gov and Party Secretary and chose similar men to serve in his Politburo.

50
Q

How many people in the Western provinces had no home?

A

25 million.

51
Q

How many soldiers and civilians died?

A

19 million civilians, 9 million soldiers.

52
Q

How were the war years arguably easier for people?

A

They offered ordinary people more opportunity for individual initiative and brought State and people closer. It gave new hope of change and comradeship among soldiers spread liberal thinking - officers were lobbying for liberalisation.

53
Q

How was Soviet society opened to Western influence?

A

Lend-Lease and movement of soldiers disproved propaganda of drab and dismal West. Films, books, jazz and fashion were in restaurants and shops, but this changed under High Stalinism.