Table of Contents
Read Katherine Meridale, Ivan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45⑷.
Previous Article(3) Soviet Sea Tactics and the Deadly Assault: What is the "Ullah! on the battlefield.In the following section, I spoke about the manpower and assault of terror by the Soviet Union. The sight of the Soviets advancing on the Nazi army with "strength in numbers" while the corpses lay dead with the cry of "Ullah! and the sight of the dead and wounded advancing with "strength in numbers" was horrifying.
Continued in this article, written by Catherine Meridale, translated by Yoshihiko MatsushimaIvan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45."We will read the
The book reveals what each soldier went through and why he continued to fight.
Each one of them is an ordinary human being just like us.
However, the environment in which they were raised, the Soviet propaganda, the Nazi invasion, the scenes of extreme violence, and the extreme conditions of a war in which if they did not do something, they would be killed, motivated them.
A person has the potential to be anything. Depending on the circumstances, people can commit atrocities with impunity. Even if you think you are a good person, you never know what you might do. That is what this book makes you think.
So let's get started.
Stalin's Creation of the Myth of War
In 1943, the Soviet Union finally gained the upper hand. From here, politicians created war myths to further boost public morale.
Politicians collectively tried to take credit for the victory. In February of that year, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of its founding, exaggerated praise enveloped the Red Army, which Stalin called "an army that defends peace and friendship among the peoples of the world.
The Red Army "won an unprecedented and historic battle," and "brave soldiers, commanders, and political officers dyed the military flag with enduring honor."
But the feat was not accomplished by soldiers alone. Stalin's own outstanding role was emphasized as crucial. His wise leadership and "military genius" came to be described as responsible for the success.
But tens of thousands of people gave their lives for its success. The Party now also emerged as the leader and teacher of the masses. In the eyes of the people, it was as if the war was their war and the epic of the battle for freedom and dignity was also their sole domain.
The leaders took steps without moving the clock. In March 1943, the first Great Patriotic War Museum was established. The war on display had already become the official government-approved view of the war.
The glorious war myth that was born was skillfully exploited at every opportunity. The words "retreat" and "surrender" were censored out and never used.
Most egregious, however, was the concealment of evidence showing how many lives were lost in the war. The victory at Stalingrad, which involved the loss of close to 500,000 Soviet soldiers and pilots, remained a secret.
Throughout the entire duration of the war, including the Berlin offensive, more Red Army men and women died than those of the defeated. In general, the Red Army's human losses exceeded those of the enemy, with three men dying for every one enemy man. This figure was concealed by all possible means.
In some cases, there were no records of the Red Army's death toll in the first place. There was no way to count the bodies that had been thrown into holes when there was not even enough time to leave a mark at the place where a large number of dead were buried.
It was the practice of the military to report casualties in small numbers, although after 1943 it became a little less common. In some cases, they even recorded fewer bodies buried than were actually buried. A cemetery where hundreds of people were buried sometimes recorded 35 burials.
Official reports recorded fewer Soviet deaths and weapon losses, while German deaths were meticulously written down.
Even human emotions were subject to censorship. Grief was still allowed. Sadness was still allowed, because it stirred up the soldier's desire for revenge. Emotions of danger and pain were not allowed to be spoken of. The Soviet Information Service would not allow official publications to touch on the fears and suspicions of soldiers. National accounts of the war, even those dealing with the first year, were rewritten into grandiose tales of heroism.
Hakusuisha, Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45, by Catherine Meridale, translated by Yoshihiko Matsushima.P217-218
Some line breaks have been made.
Facts were interpreted and myths were created to suit the Soviet government. Anything that did not conform was silenced.
And such historical management would continue throughout the postwar period.
Censorship was relentless. For sixty years, we were forced to remain silent about many facts. Deep down in human beings there is an instinct or desire not to return to painful memories. The government took advantage of this and to good effect. Pleasant, glorious memories were more convenient for soldiers and for the state. Things were simplified and, in Stalin's words, a certain dignity was given to the veteran.
Hakusuisha, Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45, by Catherine Meridale, translated by Yoshihiko Matsushima.P219
Put a lid on what you don't want to see. This is something we all want to do. This is especially true for what we have committed in the extreme conditions of war.
Stalin took advantage of such human weakness.
Soldier Mental Illness
By Stalinist standards, individual heartbreak was considered on par with selfish desires and was eliminated. Soldiers were parts of a group. Mental maintenance was a duty, not a right. Anyone who complained, used a feigned illness, or showed signs of cowardice was either shot or sent to the punishment squad.
The Red Army ignored mental illness among its soldiers in this war. Rather, it was overlooked on the battlefield, so few records of psychological problems remain. The fact that Red Army soldiers fell victim to a sick mind, just as Allied soldiers fell victim to mental illness, was easily forgotten.
The stress that people feel is common to all armies in all countries, but the soldiers of the Red Army and the Allied Forces differed in how they faced stress.
Belov had no idea that his lethargy was a war-induced neurosis. As the war dragged on, suicides and "accidents" increased, but he had no idea that it was because his damaged psyche could not handle the strain.
Unlike their British and American counterparts, Soviet officials during the war recognized only physical factors as causes of mental derangement. Other mental illnesses were regarded as weaknesses or personal defects, which were shameful.
Thousands of soldiers, debilitated by fatigue and repeated stress, were suspected of desertion and shot dead on the battlefield. Those who were so exhausted or deranged by mental illness that they did not survive to the next battle were not recorded as dead, unlike soldiers killed on desertion charges.
Even if they were undeniably mentally ill, only extreme cases were recorded, such as the development of schizophrenia after enlistment. Various estimates suggest that only 100,000 of the Red Army's 20 million active personnel were permanently mentally ill.
For doctors who served in this war, "trauma" was a physical injury. It was not much different from a concussion or brain trauma. Combat has an impact on soldiers that goes beyond the anxiety and fatigue we all experience. The retired military doctors I interviewed in 1996 disagreed. A "contusion" was the appropriate term at the time to describe the damage caused by artillery fire.
The military doctors were unaware of the concept of trauma as it is accepted in the modern western world. They could not understand what I was talking about and asked me to explain the unknown concept of "post-traumatic stress. No wonder they were surprised. The medical books used on the front lines at the time made no mention of mental trauma, nor did my fellow doctors or Hyodo's own recollections. Delirium was weakness and shame. Shame has been removed from the history of the war, along with the darker aspects and crimes of battle.
Hakusuisha, Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45, by Catherine Meridale, translated by Yoshihiko Matsushima.P306-307
Some line breaks have been made.
It is known that many Nazi soldiers suffered from mental illness because they could not endure their own atrocities, but it seems that Soviet soldiers suffered from mental illness as well.
Moreover, the fact that it was not recorded because it did not recognize mental illness was also typical of the Soviet Union's adherence to mentalism.
Soviet soldiers were to repeat atrocities in various places during the march on Berlin, no less than those committed by the Nazis. These atrocities may have been further encouraged by the fact that they had already lost their normal mentality due to the war.
Barbarism of Soviet Soldiers Marching into Germany
In 1944, the tables were completely turned, and now the Soviets were advancing on the German positions. What was supposed to be a welcome liberation for the Nazi-occupied population turned out to be an even greater disaster for them.
That winter, many of the heroes and apostles of a glorious future were madly involved in war crimes. Historians dismissed them as savage men consumed by carnal desires. They gave in to their instincts like animals.
It was not supposed to be that way in the preparatory stages. The Party was supposed to have carefully talked to the soldiers, explained to them, and brainwashed them forcefully and cunningly. However, as if in reaction, the soldiers went on a rampage throughout Prussia, venting their frustrations that had been building up over years of suffering.
The source of their anguish was not only their wartime experiences, but also the shame, helplessness, and fear they had endured for decades. Even the Communist Party, which had preached sermons and taunted the most vulnerable parts of humanity, gave its endorsement. The soldiers took it. The Party even offered them the cover of immunity.
Neither speeches, reports, nor journalists contributing to Pravda mentioned the atrocities committed by the Soviet forces. In the public print, it was as if there had been no barbaric acts.
Naturally, there is no mention of it, even though it was written by a soldier. The brutal scenes must have been burned into the minds of thousands of soldiers on the front lines. Many witnessed the murders and rapes. But they continued to write about the weather in their letters home.
Hakusuisha, Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45, by Catherine Meridale, translated by Yoshihiko Matsushima.P346-347
Some line breaks have been made.
But one courageous Soviet soldier recorded the following
Lev Kopelev was a Soviet officer and a dedicated party member. And he was an exceptional person on this interlocutor. He had the courage to record the barbarism he witnessed and to reflect on it himself.
He turned his back on the trend of the time that did not respect morality. He did not blame the soldiers. Tyranny was a product of war, but he did not blame the enemy either. His anger was directed at the party to which he belonged. At the very least, he resented the cadres who controlled the party.
In his view, no matter how disgusting the Nazi imprint left behind, it was the leadership of the Communist Party that created the extraordinary crisis and the human tormenting devastation that was occurring before our eyes. He wrote
'Millions of people have been brutalized and corrupted. Not only the war, but also our country's belligerent, hard-line, and misguided propaganda is to blame. Such propaganda would have been necessary before the war began. It was even more so in order to continue the fight. I still believe that. But there is one more thing I have learned. From such a seed, only poisoned fruit can be produced.
The bitter harvest began long before the troops crossed the border. But the heyday came in Prussia. Teaching to win the war justified atrocities.
Hakusuisha, Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45, by Catherine Meridale, translated by Yoshihiko Matsushima.P348-349
Some line breaks have been made.
Such a seed can only bear poisoned fruit."
I believe that the meaning of these words is very serious.
To kill a brutal enemy without hesitation required an ideology as extreme as that.
But when there were no enemies to fight, the violence led to endless atrocities against the unresisting population.
In the following article, I will discuss such tyranny by Soviet soldiers.
be unbroken
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