What Did Soviet Soldiers Believe and Why Did They Keep Fighting - "Learning from the Battle of Germany and the Soviet Union" Articles

Read "Ivan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45"

Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45, written by Catherine Meridale and translated by Yoshihiko Matsushima, was published by Hakusuisha in 2012. Catherine Meridale is also the author of "The Kremlin: A History of the Red City Walls," which was previously featured on this blog.

This book was also extremely exciting and interesting, and I had extremely high expectations for this book written by Catherine Meridale even before I read "Ivan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45". And in fact, the book was even more interesting than I expected. This is an amazing book.

This book answered a question I have had since I started learning about the history of the German-Soviet war.

The question was, "Why did Soviet soldiers continue to fight even though they knew they would die?

In the Russo-German War, the Soviet Union sent an incredibly large number of soldiers to assault the Nazi army, although it sounds good to call it manpower tactics. They were cruelly overrun by an overwhelming margin of force.

However, this manpower tactic resulted in the repulsion of Nazi forces.

We know that we were forced to fight as soldiers under Stalin's orders. We have also learned that soldiers were motivated by the rule that if they fled or were captured, they would be killed along with their relatives. (See the following article).

But still, I could not for the life of me understand why they were able to continue to fight so miserably.

This is analyzed in this book using interviews with people who experienced the war at the time, as well as new documents that accompanied the collapse of the Soviet Union.

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 scene of extreme violence that was so tragic, and the extreme circumstances of war that if they did not do it, 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. This book makes you think about that.

We discuss each of these in more detail in their respective articles, so please refer to them if you are interested.

Why the unusually large number of casualties in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union - War of Extermination and Ideology, "Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45" (1)

The uniqueness of the German-Soviet war lies in the fact that it was a war of extermination and a battle of ideologies. Of course, it was fought for territorial issues and economic interests, but what the leadership used to motivate the soldiers fighting the war was the idea that "we are righteous and our enemies are subhuman and disgusting. We must exterminate the enemy" was the ideology.

The Soviets then used manpower tactics to move toward the Germans. The Germans were finally defeated by the Soviet soldiers, who kept coming and coming.

Why the unusually large number of casualties in the war between Germany and the Soviet Union - War of Extermination and Ideology, "Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45" (1)

Propaganda education to create respectable Soviet people - the world of Orwell's "1984"⑵ Read "Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers, 1939-45.

Soviet propaganda education had definitely penetrated the younger generation. The words "two decades of schooling and propaganda had worked" are spoken within this article. It is an eerie phrase, isn't it? Education and propaganda use such a long period of time to have a profound effect on people's worldview. The people who have received that education and those who have not.In the first place, we see the world differently.This is a very important point.

Dreams, hopes, progress, improvements, heroes, ideals...etc.

Nothing moves people, especially the younger generation, more than these pleasant words.

Without knowing the true meaning of those words, the spirit of these young people unwittingly becomes that of Soviet soldiers.

Propaganda education to create respectable Soviet people - Read "Ivan's War: The Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45" in Ovel's "1984" world (2)

Soviet manpower tactics and deadly assaults: The shouts of "Ullah! Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45 (in Japanese)

Ullah!" was a common cry uttered by Soviet soldiers.

The Goo Dictionary says, "A word uttered at the time of an assault or in jubilation. Hail." It was written as meaning.

I don't know what kind of movie it is, but I found a video on Youtube of a scene that was probably a battle between Germany and the Soviet Union, in which they charge with a cry of "Uller! I am not sure what kind of movie it is, but I found a video of a battle between Germany and the Soviet Union, in which the German and Soviet troops charge into the battlefield with a shout of Please note that it is quite shocking.

I felt chills from the beginning of the assault scene. I think the German soldiers who were about to attack us must have been tremendously terrified.

Kill after kill, one after another, they charge at you without fear of death. There is no greater fear than this.

The reckless assault is devastating, and the Soviet soldiers retreat, but to their surprise, the Soviet command now slaughters the retreating soldiers.

In the Soviet army, retreat was not an option. As I will show later, there was an ironclad order to fight to the death. Therefore, soldiers who withdrew and returned were killed as a violation of military regulations.

Soviet soldiers were overrun by Nazi soldiers, and if they fled, they would in turn be killed by Soviet troops.

Thus, the bodies of countless soldiers on the front lines were piled up one after another. With the cry of "Ullah! was the cry of the soldiers as they were being carried out by sea.

The "Ullah!" cry on the battlefield is the cry of "Ivan's War: Records of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45" (3). Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45 (in Japanese)

Stalin's Creation of War Myths and History Management - Read "Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45," a heroic story that masks reality⑷.

In 1943, the Soviet Union finally gained the upper hand. From here, politicians created war myths to further boost public morale.

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.

Stalin's Creation of War Myths and History Management - Read "Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45," a heroic story that masks reality⑷.

Soldiers did not see their victims as human beings: the tragedy of the soldier's psychology and sexual violence, read Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45⑸.

Until then, the Soviet Union had suffered extraordinary casualties under the onslaught of German forces, but from the Battle of Stalingrad, the situation was reversed and the Soviet Union launched a reversal offensive.

Their goal was Berlin, Hitler's stronghold. Wherever they went, the Soviet soldiers committed acts of tyranny.

The atrocities committed by the invading Nazis were indeed appalling. In response, the Soviet soldiers, eager to be an eye for an eye, repeatedly looted, murdered, and raped their way into the invasion.

Soviet propaganda images of soldiers also provided cover for exonerating their own atrocities.

And it continued to persist even after the war ended and people were demobilized.

The collapse of the Soviet Union has now brought these tragic facts to light, but if it had not, they might not be known even today.

Soldiers did not see their victims as human beings: the tragedy of the soldier's psychology and sexual violence, read Ivan's War: A Record of Red Army Soldiers 1939-45⑸.

Summary - Why did Ivan fight? The Meaning of Learning the Soldier's Inner Life, Read "Ivan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45" ⑹.

Why did Ivan, "the victim of "the most caustic regime of modern times," risk his life fighting for that regime? What was "the true nature of what saved Russia?" How did a soldier deal with reality when he learned that the reward for victory was disillusionment?

Even though the nameless Ivans were the victims of the regime, they risked their lives to fight for it. It is this mystery that makes the book unique and most fascinating.

The content in this book is truly shocking. It tells of barbaric acts that make you want to turn away.

But Ivan and others who lived in such a hellish world also shed tears.

The misdeeds committed by Ivan and his colleagues are unforgivable. However, merely impeaching them will not solve anything.

Why did this happen, and what did Ivan and his friends suffer and shed tears over? I felt that it is important to find out the answers to these questions in order to prevent the repetition of the same history.

Summary - Why did Ivan fight? The Meaning of Learning the Soldier's Inner Life, Read "Ivan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45" ⑹.

Conclusion

We have continued our six-part series on "Ivan's War: A Record of a Red Army Soldier, 1939-45.

There are many details that I could not introduce. There are many more graphic and tragic descriptions in this book than I have presented in this blog.

Reading this book made me shudder at how war can change people so much.

I highly recommend this book as well. It is a tremendous book. I think it is an important book because of this kind of world we live in today.

The above is a list of "Learning from the Battle of Germany and the Soviet Union" articles on what Soviet soldiers believed and why they continued to fight.

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