Download The USSR in the Anti

The USSR in the
Anti-Hitler
Coalition
A German World War II poster
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Russian communism was a specifically Russian product of
a global crisis, the hallmark of which was the start of the
Era of World Wars
The Russian Revolution was an act of rejection of the
World War logic – and of its capitalist roots
In the 1920s, under NEP, USSR experienced a brief
respite from global conflict - the Soviet state was tested for
its ability to serve society’s peaceful needs
In the 1930s, the logic of global war reimposed itself
Preparation for war – and capability to win as the main
criterion of the state’s vitality and strength
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The Romanov Empire failed that test in WWI – and fell
By the time of the next test – WWII, the Russian state was
transformed into a more formidable machine
The “socialist” organization of the country was aimed at
making the state more militarily capable
A similar logic unfolded in Italy and Germany under
different forms of “socialism”
They talked of “socialism”, but they meant winning world
wars
Global civil war and interstate conflict
 Fierce Left-Right struggles in European countries since
WWI, the lure and fear of revolution
 Stalinism in Russia as a new stage in the Russian civil
war: forced modernization to strengthen the state and
make it fit for the next round of interstate wars
 Fascism as a new stage in European Left-Right conflict:
to defeat the Left internally and externally
 Projection of the internal conflicts on interstate relations
 Spain: a classic example
 Appeasement: betrayal of Czechoslovakia
 The fall of democracies across Europe was due to both
internal (Left vs. Right) and external (German policies)
factors
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As a state committed to world revolution, the Soviet Union
was viewed as a threat by Western elites
The rise of fascism was partly a response to the threat –
and anticommunism was one of the motives of Western
appeasement of Hitler
Stalin saw the prospect of a new world war as an
opportunity for the spread of communism: the WWI
template
But ultimately, WWII was not about revolution: it was an
interstate conflict of a traditional kind, similar to WWII,
waged on a global scale
The geopolitical triangle: Germany, USSR, Western
democracies (WDs)
 WDs hoped to channel Hitler’s aggression to the East,
toward conflict with Russia – reluctant to fight Germany
 Hitler was determined to prevent WDs and USSR from
joining forces: beat them one by one
 Stalin was determined to avoid war with Germany as long
as possible
 1939: A divergence of interests between USSR and WDs
– and a convergence of interests between Germany and
USSR
 The unexpected deal was logical – but only temporary
September 1, 1939: Nazi Germany invades Poland
Soviet and Nazi officers in occupied Poland, 1939
May 1940, Dunkirk: British troops evacuated from the continent
Hitler and his High Command after occupation of France, summer 1940
Hitler and Mussolini in Munich, June 1940
1940: Hitler
in occupied
Paris
1939-1941: growing tensions between USSR and Germany
 At first: division of the spoils. But then:
 Germany’s unexpected triumph in the West emboldens
Hitler
 Hitler’s strategic goal of conquering the USSR was never
abandoned – for geopolitical and ideological reasons
 Stalin expected the new war to generate a new wave of
revolutions – and intended to get involved
 By 1941, his fear of German power became the
overwhelming factor
 He was appeasing Hitler – and preparing for war against
him at the same time
 Each of the two intended to strike first
 Hitler outfoxed Stalin and delivered a crushing blow
June 1941: Plan Barbarossa
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June 22, 1941: Nazi Germany invades the Soviet
Union
Goals:
Total destruction of the Soviet state
 Colonization of the Soviet territory, together with
allies – Japan especially
 Enslavement of the population, turning the territory
into a resource base for the Third Reich
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In the first 10 days, German armies moved 550 km
into Soviet territory
In the first 20 days of the war, the Red Army lost
1/5 of its manpower – 600,000 men
By July, 20 mln. Soviets found themselves under
occupation. Nazi terror began.
Resistance
Redeployment of industry to the East
General von Richthoffen in Russia with his officers
Rolling across Ukraine: 1941
Invaders
Nazi
propaganda
poster: SS
forces kill the
Red beast of
communism
German poster
depicting
Soviets: “The
lower race”
Soviet POWs in Auschwitz concentration camp
A German patrol in a Russian village
Celebrating success in Lightning War
In the wake of German occupation
A Holy War
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWwE56y-THM&feature=related
Volunteers signing up for Red Army, 1941
Moscow, October 1941
Red Army infantry in assault
1942: The ruins of Stalingrad
Soviet “Katyusha” rocket attack
Stalingrad: street fighting
1943: Germany’s defeat at Stalingrad
Stalingrad: surrender of German Field Marshal von Paulus
Summer 1943: Soviet anti-tank unit in the Battle of Kursk
Soviet tanks and infantry at Kursk, summer 1943
German POWs in Russia
German POWs outside Moscow
Ovens in Buchenwald concentration camp
Buchenwald, 1945: Survivors of Hitler’s “Final Solution”
Berlin, 1945: Hitler’s boy soldiers
The Red Army takes Berlin, May 1945
Berlin, 1945: surrender of German High Command
Berlin, 1945:
after the
capture of
Hitler’s
headquarters
Checking out Hitler’s headquarters, May 1945
June 1945: Victory parade in Red Square
The Big Three: Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin at Yalta, Feb.1945
July 1945: Stalin, Truman and Churchill at Potsdam, Germany
DIMENSIONS OF WORLD WAR TWO
Ideological:
Global Right (The Axis: Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain,
and smaller allies)
vs.
Global Left (The USSR and the international communist
movement)
vs.
Global Center (US, Britain, Nationalist China)
1939: Right and Left make a deal, liberal democracy the
big loser; the Right and Center at war
1941: The Right attacks the Left and the US; a Center-Left
coalition is formed
1945: The Right is defeated by the Center-Left coalition;
the war’s aftermath gives a major boost to the global
Left; liberal internationalism becomes the blueprint of a
new world order
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Geopolitical
 The Axis as the challenger to the world order
 The West is torn apart by war
 USSR as a status-quo power and a victim of aggression
– not as a revolutionary state
 The battle for Russia as decisive for defeat of the Axis
challenge
 Russia’s decisive role entitles it to geopolitical gains from
common victory
 BUT: In the ideological atmosphere of 1945 (democracy,
anti-imperialism, rights of nations, human rights) a
geopolitical deal could only be couched in ideological
terms incompatible with Stalinism
 The geopolitical deal contained a timebomb: ideological
conflict between democracy and Stalinism
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Stalin’s wartime goals:
At first - survival of the country and the regime
 Later - maximum possible spoils from the victory – a
security belt in Eastern Europe
 Postwar cooperation with the West, hope for
Western economic assistance
Stalin’s foreign policy tools:
The Worker-Peasant Red Army (renamed the Soviet
Army)
Intelligence services (GRU and NKVD)
Diplomacy (Molotov, Litvinov, Maisky)
International communist movement and its allies
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World
War II
losses,
military
and
civilian
50-80 mln. dead (36 mln. in combat)
Global capitalism shattered even more than by WWI
The stage is set for WW III
Soviet losses in World War II:
 Over 27 mln. killed (13.6% of the population)
 29 mln. took part in the fighting (including 0.8 mln.
women)
 Battlefield losses – 9-11 mln. (Germany lost 3.25 mln.)
 5.8 mln. POWs (of them 3 mln. died in concentration
camps)
 1710 cities and 70,000 villages completely or partially
destroyed
 40,000 hospitals, 84,000 schools, 43,000 libraries
destroyed
 Historically unprecedented level of damage inflicted on a
country
The war took
all nine of her
sons