Музейное занятие ко Дню Победы "The Great Patriotic War"

The Great Patriotic War of the USSR

Almost as long as there has been life, war has been a part of it. Mankind continues to wage war even though the consequences often breed nothing but misery. However, when a person is called to defend his or her country, or protect other defenseless people, it is his duty to fight. There is no question that there is evil in the world and we must not rest on our laurels and say it is none of our business. We cannot stand by and watch while others are being persecuted. It is the duty of mankind to uphold justice.

The Nazi invasion of the USSR in June 1941 heralded the beginning of the most titanic battle in the history of humanity. The war ended in complete defeat for Nazi Germany less than four years later with the fall of Berlin on May 9, 1941. Over 20,000,000 Soviet citizens and soldiers died in the struggle to liberate the Motherland from the fascist aggressors.

 ⊙ 1941: Invasion

The outbreak of the Second World War found the Soviet Union unprepared for the conflict ahead. Having signed a non-aggression pact with Germany in 1939, Hitler’s invasion of June 1941 caught the USSR by surprise. The first to meet the Nazi invasion were the citizens of Brest. Resistance in Brest lasted 6 weeks. The city was occupied until Soviet troops liberated it in 1944. By the end of the year 1941, the Germans had seized most of the Soviet Union’s western territory and surrounded Leningrad.

Leningrad’s horrific siege was one of the most lethal in world history. It lasted for 900 days, from September 1941 to January 1944. The city’s civilian population of almost three million refused to surrender, even though they were completely surrounded. By the first winter of the siege there was no heating, no water supply, almost no electricity and very little food. Despite non-stop air and artillery bombardment, the city’s greatest enemies were hunger and bitter cold. Exhausted people collapsed and died. The streets were littered with dead bodies. The only life-line to the mainland was the ice of Lake Ladoga – known as the “Road of Life”.

Somehow, the city survived, its heroic resistance summed up in the motto: “Troy fell, Rome fell, Leningrad did not fall”. The city became the symbol of Soviet resilience and invincibility.

Meanwhile the Germans advanced as far as Moscow, reaching the outskirts by early December 1941. Hundreds of young recruits were preparing to defend the capital. But none could imagine that before going to battle they would march on Red Square in front of Joseph Stalin and top Communist Party officials. Against the advice of his generals, with the Germans pushing on, Stalin held a military parade in Red Square on November 7 to mark the anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution.

⊙ 1942: The War Escalates

One of the most brutal standoffs in human history began in the summer of 1942 when the Germans suffered a devastating defeat in the battle of Stalingrad. A major industrial centre on the Volga River in southern Russia, Stalingrad (now Volgograd), was a coveted prize in itself. Control over it opened the way to the vital Caucasus oil fields. The horror of Stalingrad lasted for 199 days, costing an estimated 1.5 million lives from both sides. The besieged city quickly turned into a meat grinder. One building that the Germans failed to take was the so-called “Pavlov’s House”. In September 1942, a Soviet platoon led by Yakov Pavlov turned an apartment block in the city centre into an impenetrable fortress. Penned in and surrounded by Nazis, a little more than a dozen men rebuffed assault after assault. They held out for two months, until they were relieved by counter-attacking Soviet forces.

Another Stalingrad legend was sniper Vasily Zaitsev. During the battles in and around the city, he picked off more than 200 German soldiers. The Soviet press lost no time in spreading the news of his exceptional shooting skills. The story goes that the Germans decided to send a super-sniper of their own to kill him. After a dramatic cat-and-mouse game, lasting several days, Zaitsev finally outwitted his adversary. Although it doesn’t seem to be supported by either German or Soviet archives, the tale of the duel inspired the novel “War of the Rats” by David L. Robbins and a Hollywood epic “Enemy at the Gates”.

 1943: The Turning Point

1944: Counterattack

The Soviet troops held out against the enormous German army, decimating and wearing it out, until a relieving force encircled the city compelling the invaders to surrender. The crushing defeat at Stalingrad was unmatched in scale, spurring the Soviet drive towards victory… In May 1945 Berlin finally fell.

The famous photo of two Soviet soldiers unfurling a red flag over the Reichstag became an iconic image of World War II. This was a symbol of the USSR’s triumph… the victory that came at a colossal cost.

The number of Soviet deaths was at first grossly distorted – the figure Stalin gave in 1946 was seven million. The USSR’s losses are now estimated at about 26.6 million, accounting for half of all WW2 casualties. May 9, 1945 has become a national holiday – Victory Day – and is commemorated in a grand military parade on Red Square.

Konstantin Simonov - Wait for me, and I'll come back!

 Wait for me, and I'll come back!

 Wait with all you've got!

 Wait, when dreary yellow rains

 Tell you, you should not.

 Wait when snow is falling fast, 
Wait when summer's hot, 
Wait when yesterdays are past, 
Others are forgot.

Wait, when from that far-off place, 
Letters don't arrive.

Wait, when those with whom you wait

Doubt if I'm alive.

 Wait for me, and I'll come back!

 Wait in patience yet

 When they tell you off by heart

 That you should forget.

 Even when my dearest ones

 Say that I am lost, 
Even when my friends give up, 
Sit and count the cost, 
Drink a glass of bitter wine

 To the fallen friend -

 Wait!

 And do not drink with them!

 Wait until the end!

 Wait for me and I'll come back, 
Dodging every fate!

 "What a bit of luck!"

 they'll say, 
Those that would not wait.

They will never understand

How amidst the strife, 
By your waiting for me, dear, 
You had saved my life.

Only you and I will know

How you got me through.

Simply - you knew how to wait -

No one else but you. 
1941

2

1941: Invasion

• The attack by fascist Germany;
• Birth of the partisan resistance;
• Creation of the Anti-Hitler Coalition;
• The fall of Smolensk;
• The siege of Leningrad begins;
• The defense of Moscow.

Brest Fortress Siege

Brest Fortress Siege

Leningrad Siege

Ladoga Lake – “the Road of Life”

Troy fell, Rome fell, Leningrad did not fall!

Moscow Siege

1942: The War Escalates

• Renewal of the German offensive;
• The Battle of Stalingrad begins;
• The defense of the Caucasus.

  1943: The Turning Point

• "The Road of Life" opened at Leningrad;
• Dissolution of the Communist International;
• Victory at Stalingrad;
• The Battle of Kursk;
• The liberations of Smolensk, Khrakov, Donbass, and Eastern Ukraine and Belorussia.

1944: Counterattack

• The Red Army's drive into Eastern Europe and Germany;
• Liberation of the Baltic states;
• The siege of Leningrad is lifted;
• Liberation of the Russian Federation.

1945: Victory

• The Yalta Conference;
• Liberation of Poland, Hungary and Austria;
• The Fall of Berlin.

The Soviet victory in the Great Patriotic War was achieved through endless heroism of our countrymen, which brought glory to our people. No matter how people’s opinions, or even facts about our county’s history change over the years, May 9 — the Victory Day — remains unchanged.

Eternal glory to the victors!