the great patriotic war and Stalin's dictatorship, 1941-1953 Flashcards

Question

what was the response of the Russian civillians to the German attack?

Answer 1

although some viewed them as liberators in Baltic states and Ukraine, most remianed loyal to the motherland and fought to defend their soil rather than to defend Stalin

Answer 2

to maintain discipline

Answer 3

whole factories put on 20,000 trains and moves hundreds of miles East by the end of 1941, 1525 factories moved 3,500 new factories built 1942 huge new industrial centre built, allowing for Russian production to out perform Germany by 1943

Answer 4

vast amount of foreign aid Lend Lease programme from the USA sent huge quantities of arms, industrial goods and food - 5% of USSRs GNP and was critical for avoiding economic collapse 300,000 US trucks Krushchev "without them our losses would have been colossal"

Answer 5

stripped of men, horses and machinery 1945 - 4/5 collective farmers were women 1945 - output was only 38% of 1940 level half of the population did not receive rations as it was reserved for soldiers private trade revived peasants managed to keep towns and soldiers fed under appaling conditions

Answer 6

Germans astounded at persistence soldiers feared own officers as much as the Germans propaganda enforced idea of threat hated invaders

Answer 7

500,000 women served in armed forces 500,000 women in civillian support staff Womens School for Sniper Training turned out 1061 snipers - killed 12,000 Germans 3 womens air regiments - 'night witches' women made up 25% of active partisans

Answer 8

made up 53% of workforce during war 41% of workers who restores Donbass mines were women 80% of agricultural workers were women 66 hour working week and expectation to look after family

Answer 9

units were established to do guerilla warfare each unit had NKVD cell attached to it reduced pro-German collaboration and established one of the most successful guerilla war campaigns in WW2

Answer 10

Stalin abolsihed League of Godless in 1945 as the church supported the USSR in the war amjority of churches reopened during war

Answer 11

country so vast that blitzkreig tactics didn't work Russian population 3x bigger than Germany as war progress Russian technology and industrial power got stronger Zhukov good leader propaganda and patriotism

Answer 12

no equipped for climate and scale of war After Dec 1941 had to fight two front war not self-sufficient Hitler made strategic mistakes lost experienced general and replaced them with sycophants brutal invasion increased resistance of partisans and popualtions

Answer 13

Stalin's allies in the West threatened to Hitler's war Mass bombings by RAF and USAD allied secret intelligence eg Bletchley Park codebreakers Lend Lease programme D-Day pulled more German forces westwards

Answer 14

victory established the USSR as a superpower lost legacy of defeat and being vulnerable to other countries galvanised soviet economy validated success of communist ideology expanded territory Stalin still anxious about security with USA atomic bomb

Answer 15

Fourth five year plan set up with ambitious targets 33% of the plan was set aside for the redevelopment of Ukraine industrial production shifted from military capability to civillian economy mining and electricity was down 50% plan's targets were met or exceeded due to rebound effect: steel production increased of 12-27 million tonnes, coal from 149-261 million tonnes and electricity production doubled command economy economy remained overloaded by military expenditure due to cold war rate of expansion still behind western europe - more consumer goods such as vacuums and liberalisation of culture

Answer 16

food shortages and poverty in rural areas persisted 40% of collective farms were lost during invasion severe labour shortage and drought in 1946 stopped recovery phasing out of rationing put more pressure on farmers as demand for food increased devaluation of the rouble in Dec 1947 made goods cheaper in the cities but wiped out savings in the kolhoz peasantry that they had accumulated through the war Stalin wrote Economic Problems of Socialism suggesting that there would not be any innovation or reform although it was completely necessary by 1953

Answer 17

status elevated as leader who defeated Germany relying on bureaucratic structures government subordinates played off against each other relaxation of social controls ended with the end of the war Stalin decreased influence of military officials more ruthless and less predictable politburo reduced to advisory body new appointments were obedient bureaucrats

Answer 18

returned prisoners of war or anyone who hahd spent time outside of the USSR during the war was now a class enemy people in the newly incooperated needed to show unwavering loyalty - could be sent to the gulags 1947 outlawed marriage to foreigners and equipped hoteks and restaurants with surveillance principles of secret police state were strengthened Beria in charge from 1938 NKVD split into external and internal sections 12 million in gulags between 1945-1953

Answer 19

giants of russian literature (Dostoyevsky) criticised fro lacking socialist qualities and removed from publication publishers and writiers purged and expelled from Unions of Soviet Writers soviet realism continued to be promoted anti american culture promoted anti-semitism increased scientific studies hampered by marxist principles which undermined research Lysenko used political influence in science and his ideas CCP adopted his ideas and caused the Great Chinese Famine 1959-1962 western influence completely blocked

Answer 20

saviour of the nation living genius in all fields "father of the peoples" "God-like veneration" cult climaxed at 70th birthday celebrations towns competed with each other renaming themselves after stalin stalin prizes replaced noble peace prizes

Answer 21

party rivalry developed between Moscow and Leningrad Stalin was paranoid about leaders in Leningrad becoming too powerful Stalin resented the pride the city took in holding out form the German seige nad wanted to take credit Zhdanov pushed aside in 1948 after he refused to condemn Yugoslavian communism Stalin purged the Leningrad party

Answer 22

stalin resurrected an accusation that the doctors had something to do with the death of zhdanov in 1952 as an excuse to purge doctors for being part on a zionist conspiracy to murder members of the politburo anti- semitism excuse for those close to stalin to prove loyalty , threatened with excecution if they did not obtain confessions

Answer 23

expansion into Eastern Europe major alarm for the west communist ideology increasingly attractive as economy bad - wanted drastic change west rejected idea of USSR needing a buffer zone

Answer 24

American diplomat in Moscow dispatched Long telegram to Washington urging greater action as the USSR were wanting global expansion and containment Novikov telegram from the USSR diplomat in America scathing of US ambitions

Answer 25

Churchill spoke of threat of iron curtain expanding across Europe increased hostility of communists

Answer 26

1947 truman committed the US to a policy of intevention globally to limit the spread of communism took over financial responsibilty for supporting anti-communist regimes

Answer 27

economic assistance to countries to rebuild their economies to make communism less appealing $17 billion to Britain, France... dollar imperialism Stalin made communist version - COMECON