Topic 5: The Second World War and After 1941-53 Flashcards
1
Q
When was the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed?
A
23rd August 1939
2
Q
What did the Nazis and Soviets agree to in the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
A
Poland would be divided between the USSR and Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany would not attack the USSR
3
Q
What did both Hitler and Stalin know about the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
A
That it was a temporary deal
4
Q
When did the Nazis invade the USSR?
A
22nd June 1941
5
Q
Under what operation did the Nazis invade the USSR?
A
Operation Barbarossa
6
Q
What did Nazi commanders expect of the Soviet forces before the invasion?
A
That Soviet forces were primitive and victory was expected by early Autumn
7
Q
How many Soviets died between 1941 and 1945 (Civilians included)
A
Estimated 27 million
8
Q
Why were there Soviet setbacks in 1941?
A
- Operation Barbarossa was a surprise to the Soviets
- Stalin had purged the army
- The Nazis were highly trained
9
Q
Who had warned Stalin about an invasion of the Nazis?
A
His own spies and Churchill
10
Q
By Autumn 1941, what had the Nazis destroyed?
A
Most of the Red Army and Soviet Air Force
11
Q
How many civilians are estimated to have been killed by the siege on Leningrad?
A
800,000
12
Q
Why had the purges of the Red Army held the Soviets back in 1941?
A
Many experienced officers had been removed from the army
They were hastily released from the gulags after the invasion.
13
Q
By the end of 1941, how many Red Army soldiers had been captured?
A
Over 3 million
14
Q
What were the Nazi’s strengths during 1941?
A
They were highly trained, huge, and well equipped
Blitzkrieg
Nazi offensives caused chaos
They blocked the Volga at Stalingrad
15
Q
What were the short-term reasons for the survival of the USSR?
A
Geography and the weather
Economy
Stalin
16
Q
What were the long-term reasons for the survival and victory of the USSR?
A
Economy
Stalin
Propaganda
Patriotism
Siege of Leningrad
Nazi Germany’s mistakes
17
Q
What were the problems of weather for the Nazis during Operation Barbarossa?
A
Heavy rain began in November
In late November the snow came and temperatures fell to -35
The Nazi army was not equipped for this and frostbite became a real issue
Vehicles and weapons stopped working.
18
Q
Zhukov launched a counter attack with forces from Siberia. Why did the weather not affect them?
A
Siberia is famously a harsh place to live - they were used to the conditions.
They had snowsuits, goggles, sledges, and hardy ponies.
19
Q
What did Stalin refer to as helping defeat the ill-prepared Nazis?
A
General Winter
20
Q
During the Five Year Plan, industrial areas were set up in…
A
The Urals and Siberia - this meant war production continued.
21
Q
What did Stalin order to be moved east?
A
1,500 factories and 16.5m people
22
Q
What policy did Stalin follow when he ordered factories to be moved?
A
Scorched Earth
23
Q
How did Stalin appeal to the nationalist spirit during WWII?
A
Calling on citizens to defend the ‘motherland’
24
Q
What did Stalin refer to the war as?
A
‘The Great Patriotic War’
25
Stalin decided to stay in Moscow during October 1941. Why did that help?
It gave the people confidence and they were willing to stay and fight.
26
Where were armament factories built?
Places like Chelyabinsk in the Urals
27
What was Chelyabinsk nicknamed?
Tankograd because it produced T-34 tanks
28
Compared to Nazi Germany, how many aircraft had the USSR produced in 1945?
In 1945, the USSR produced 20,900 aircraft compared to 7,540 for Germany.
29
How much of its national income did the Soviet Union spend on the war?
Over half
30
How many days a week did people work during WWII?
Seven days a week
31
How long did factory shifts last during WWII?
12-18 hours
32
Why was Stalin so conscious about keeping food supplies available?
He was aware that food shortages had been a major factor in bringing down the Tsar
33
What did Stalin give that boosted morale?
A series of speeches
34
What did Pravda (newspaper) call Stalin?
'The genius organiser of our victories'
35
In 1942, Stalin was named as...?
Man of the Year by Time Magazine
36
What did Stain set up and lead?
The Soviet High Command (Stavka) and State Defence Committee (GKO)
37
What title did Stalin give himself?
Supreme Commander
38
Why was Stalin an able and effective leader of the Stavka and GKO?
He had a good command of detail
39
What was Stalin prepared to listen to during WWII?
Advice of others
40
Who was appointed as Deputy Supreme Commander in 1942/
General Zhukov
41
What did General Zhukov do during the war?
Defence of Moscow
Liberation of Stalingrad
Final attack on Berlin
42
Why did Stalin end his persecution on the Orthodox Church?
He knew people needed religion to get through the war
43
What prevented tactical withdrawals during WWII?
Stalin's inflexible mentality
44
What happened to General Pavlov?
General Pavlov who tried to hold the front line in the first week of the war was sentenced to death for ‘cowardice, panic mongering, criminal negligence, and unauthorised retreats’
45
What was Order 270
Virtually banned commanders from surrendering
'fight to the last'
46
What was Order 227?
- 'not a step back'
Established that each front had to create penal battalions to be sent to the most dangerous sections of the front lines with everyone else behind them to shoot if they tried to run away.
47
How many soldiers were sent for punishment to minefields and other suicide missions during WWII?
430,000
48
Who was liable to arrest if a soldier deserted?
The soldier and their families.
49
Where were potentially disloyal national groups sent?
Siberia and Central Asia
50
Which potentially 'disloyal' groups were sent to Siberia and Central Asia
Volga Germans, Koreans and Finns
51
Where did the NKVD enter in 1944?
Chechnya
52
What happened to the population of Chechnya in 1944?
Almost all of its population were loaded onto trucks and trains and dispatched to Siberia
53
How many writers and artists joined the army to report from the front?
Over 1,000
54
How many of the 1,000 artists and writers reporting from the front died during WWII?
400
55
Artists and writer's work was controlled by what group?
The Sovinformburo
56
What did the Sovinformburo do?
They monitored everything given to the soldiers at the front for ideological mistakes
57
What were the 200 artists in Moscow doing during WWII?
Working on propaganda posters to display in Tess windows (a news agency)
58
How had the Second World War brought people together?
They saw it as their duty to protect the 'motherland'
It was an attack on the entirety of the USSR rather than one part
59
By the end of the war, how many Hero Cities were there?
7
60
When did the Siege of Leningrad begin?
September 1941
61
How many inhabitants were cut off from the rest of Russia under the Siege of Leningrad?
3 million
62
How long did the Siege of Leningrad last?
900 days
63
What did people eat during the Siege of Leningrad?
Dogs, cats, made soup from leather.
People stole bread and some resorted to cannibalism
64
How many people died during the first two months of 1942 in Leningrad?
200,000
65
When did the Siege of Leningrad end?
January 1944
66
How many people died in the Siege of Leningrad overall?
800,000
67
What did Stalin acknowledge about Allied help?
It was a 'coalition of the USSR, Great Britain, and the USA'
68
How did the Lend-Lease programme help the USSR?
The Americans supplied the Red Army with 12% of its airplanes, 10% of its tanks, and 2% of its artillery.
It kept the Red Army moving, supplying 95% of its trains and 75% of its jeeps.
Huge quantities of wheat and spam were shipped to the Soviet Union.
69
What did Khrushchev write about spam from the USA?
‘without spam, we should not have been able to feed our army.’
70
What was different about the experiences of the Allies compared to the USSR?
While the US and Britain fought in North Africa, Italy, and Western Europe together, the USSR fought largely alone.
71
Why did Nazi treatment of Jews, intellectuals and Slavs help mobilise the people
The Soviet people were under no illusion as to what would happen to them if the Nazis won.
72
What mistakes did the Nazis make?
Delaying Operation Barbarossa.
Being overly ambitious trying to take Leningrad, Moscow, Ukraine, and the Caucuses.
Refusing to let the Sixth Army retreat from Stalingrad
Refusing to turn the Nazi economy over to war production.
73
How many tonnes of bombs were dropped on Stalingrad?
More than 1,000
74
Stalin forbade evacuation of who during the Battle of Stalingrad?
Anyone, even children.
75
What was the average life expectancy of a Soviet private soldier during the Battle of Stalingrad
24 hours
76
What did penal units take part in?
Suicide missions to 'atone' for their 'sins'
77
How many Soviet soldiers had died on the Stalingrad front by the end of the battle?
1 million
78
How was the Battle of Stalingrad fought?
Fighting was often hand to hand combat using knives, sharpened spades, sub machine guns, and hand grenades.
79
Who was Vasily Zaitsev? What was his role in the Battle of Stalingrad?
Vasily Zaitsev (sniper) was officially credited with killing 225 enemies in the battle of Stalingrad alone.
80
What did the Nazis refer to Stalingrad as?
The Kessel (cauldron) because of the intensity of fighting
81
What was the casualty rate of the Red Army during the Battle of Stalingrad?
75%
82
One division of soldiers went into the Battle of Stalingrad at 1,000 men. How many survived?
320
83
What was the name of the Soviet counter-attack at the Battle of Stalingrad?
Operation Uranus
84
What was Operation Uranus?
General Zhukov had secretly gathered 1 million soldiers and used them to attack the weaker Italian, Romanian, and Hungarian troops to the north and south of the city.
This left the Nazi troops alone.
85
When did the Battle of Stalingrad end?
January 1943
86
Who surrendered at the Battle of Stalingrad?
Von Paulus
Hitler had ordered him not to
87
What was the Battle of Kursk?
The Red Army withstood a massive German assault and then counter-attacked.
For two years, Soviet forces pushed the Nazi army back into Germany.
Until May 1945, Soviet forces accepted the Nazi surrender.
88
What were the Soviet casualties at the Battle of Stalingrad?
Half a million soldiers died.
An estimated 40,000 died in the first week of German air attacks.
89
What were the Nazi casualties at the Battle of Stalingrad?
147,000 dead and 91,000 taken prisoner.
The Sixth Army (the most successful) was destroyed.
Allies (Hungary, Romania, and Italy) were shattered.
90
What did trapped civilians do during the Battle of Stalingrad?
10,000 civilians, including 1,000 children, could not escape.
They survived by hiding in cellars of ruined houses and sewers.
91
Why was Stalingrad psychologically a great boost to the Soviets?
It was Nazi Germany's first great defeat
92
What was the saying about the Battle of Stalingrad?
You cannot stop an army which has done Stalingrad
93
What did the Nazis order upon their loss of the Battle of Stalingrad?
Three days of national mourning
94
Why was the Battle of Stalingrad a turning point?
It marked the beginning of the Red Army’s advance into Germany.
95
What did Britain celebrate in February 1943?
Red Army Day
96
What was Stalin given by Churchill?
A ceremonial sword, made on the orders of King George VI
97
What did Stalin make himself after the Battle of Stalingrad?
Marshal of the Soviet Union
98
What was General Zhukov promoted to after the Battle of Stalingrad?
Marshal
99
What title was Stalingrad given?
Hero City
100
How many deaths are estimated of the armed forces after WWII?
8 million
101
How many deaths are estimated of civilians after WWII?
17 million
102
How many towns and villages in Western USSR are estimated to have been destroyed by WWII?
1,700 towns and 70,000 villages
103
How many people are estimated to have been made homeless because of WWII?
25 million
104
By 1945, what percentage of Soviet industrial production had been lost?
Almost 70%
105
How did the USSR get materials back from defeated countries?
Stripped them of factory materials, machinery, and reparations
106
When was the Fourth Five Year Plan?
1946-50
107
During the Fourth Five Year Plan, what percentage of investment was devoted to heavy industry and capital goods?
88%
108
What was ignored during the Fourth Five Year Plan?
Consumer goods
109
How many extra hours did Leningrad workers have to contribute towards the Fourth Five Year Plan?
30 hours a month on top of their 8 hour working day.
110
How many extra hours did non-workers have to contribute towards the Fourth Five Year Plan?
60 hours a month
111
How many extra hours did students have to contribute towards the Fourth Five Year Plans
10 hours
112
How many prisoners of war were used for the Fourth Five Year Plan?
2 million
113
What did 2.5m labour camp inmates have to do to help the Fourth Five Year Plan?
Cutting timber, mining gold, and mining uranium for the atom bomb.
114
What were the Soviet population prepared to endure to get the USSR back to pre-war levels?
The Soviet population were prepared to endure privation, food rationing, long hours, and low pay.
115
When was the Dnieper Dam producing electricity again?
1947
116
What production exceeded pre-war figures shortly after the war had ended?
Coal, oil, and steel production
117
What failed to reach pre-war levels shortly after the war had ended?
Clothes, shoes, furniture, and other consumer goods.
118
What was first tested in 1949?
The Soviet atomic bomb
119
By 1952, had grain production regained pre-war levels?
No
120
Why hadn't grain production regained pre-war levels by 1952?
Labour shortages
Machinery had been destroyed
Horses had been killed in large numbers (women were pulling ploughs alone)
Peasants wages were low
Little investment into improving agriculture
121
By 1953, what were a peasant's wages?
Just 1/6 of a factory worker.
122
What was the Fifth Five Year Plan?
The Fifth Five Year Plan was announced in 1952 but did not progress far until Stalin’s death in 1953.
123
What did the populations of the gulag do between 1942 and 1947?
Tripled
1942: 1.6m
1947: 4.7m
124
How did Stalin purge General Zhukov
Accused of being involved in a plot against Stalin and was sent to Odessa where he was out of the way.
125
Why did children not learn about General Zhukov in schools?
He was written out of textbooks
126
What happened to the 1.5m Red Army soldiers that had been prisoners of war
Order 290 had them declared traitors
About half were condemned to the gulag
127
What happened to Stalin's son, Yakov?
He was captured and Stalin refused offers to exchange him for high ranking Nazis saying ‘I will not trade a Marshal for a Lieutenant.’
He died in Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp in 1943
128
Who had key Politburo jobs in 1945?
Molotov, Khrushchev, Zhadanov, Malenkov, and Mikoyan
129
How many leading Party members were arrested and accused of crimes such as corruption and spying after WWII?
200
130
How many officials were removed from their positions and exiled from the city?
Around 2,000
131
Why was Molotov's wife arrested?
Giving too warm a welcome to the Israeli ambassador
132
Why did Stalin attack the Jewish population?
He believed the Jews of the USSR were not patriotic
133
How were Jews targeted after WWII?
Jews were sacked from government positions and high positions in industry.
Jewish schools, newspapers, and libraries were closed down.
Jews were thrown out of universities.
It was difficult for Jews to worship freely.
Leading Jews were imprisoned and sometimes executed.
134
Who was Stalin's personal doctor?
Professor Vladimir Vinogradov
135
What advice did Professor Vinogradov give to Stalin?
To reduce his work load
136
After Professor Vinogradov told Stalin he should reduce his workload, what did Stalin believe?
That Vinogradov was involved in a plot to kill him
137
In 1953, how many (mainly Jewish) doctors were arrested on attempted assassination charges?
Over 30
138
What do historians believe Stalin was beginning to do with the Doctor's Plot?
Deport the USSR's Jewish population
139
Why is it difficult to know how people truly felt about the USSR and Stalin?
There were no free elections, press was heavily controlled, opinion polls did not exist, and people were unable to speak freely.
140
Why were doctors reluctant to treat Stalin after his stroke?
His own doctor was in prison and they were worried about the consequences if they did something wrong
141
Explain the outpouring of grief after Stalin died
People were shocked and wept openly in the streets.
He represented stability in an ever changing world.
Crowds flocked to Moscow to see his body
Some being crushed to death
142
By Stalin's death, what had the USSR become?
An economic and military superpower
