Figure 1.-- |
|
There is one rarely discussed question concerning the Great Patriotic War. Did Stalin's rule weaken the Soviet Union or was his regime critical in the defeat of the NAZIs. Here the answer is unclear. Some authors point to the rapid expansion of heavy industry during the Stalinist era. While this is true. It is also true that industrial expansion under the TSar was also going forward at a rapid rate. And it was proceeding in a more raional manner than under the Soviets. (Note today that there are almost no Soviet factories able to sell products other then arms abroad.) Some have argued that collectivization played a role in resisting the NAZIs. This we are not sure about, but we do know that collectivization substantially reduced agricultural output which weakened the Soviet Union economically. Certainly Stalinist policies such as the famine in the Ukraine engineered by Stalin created opposition to the Soviet state. This oposition was not, however, effectively exploited by the NAZIs who with their racial mindset were intent upon genocide. Stalin surely gave great priority to building an army a huge army. We doubt if a democratic regime would have made a comparable effort. On the other hand, Stalin purges of the Red Army seriously weakened the professional competence of the command structure. Stalin while shaken in the first few days of Barbarossa soon seized command of the war effort. While his military strategy in many instances proved costly, his tyranical rule did hold the Soviet people commited to victory regardless of the cost. We wonder if any democratic regime could have done the same. Certainly the French were not prepared to pay the same price as they did in World War I. We wonder if the British would have continued to resist if the Channel had not stopped the Wehrmacht. We doubt seriously if America would have been prepared gto accept the same casualties as experienced by the Soviet people.
The Great Patriotic War is an extremely sensitive issue in Russia for several reasons. Among older Russians it is proabably the cost of the War in terms of casualties and destruction. The Soviet people suffered unimaginable suffering during the War. Few families wee unscarred by the War. With younger people is is more of a nationalistic matter. The Russian people have since the fall of the Soviet Union learned aboutthe crimes of Stalin and the mismanagement of subsequent leaders. Along with the much declined power of the Russian state, Russiand have learned that their country for the entire Soviet era has nothing to be proud about. Rather the Soviet era is a depressing litany of crimes, abuses and mismanagement. While President Putin claims that the disollution of the Soviet Union was the greatest geo-political catastrophe of the 20th century, in fact the only real positive achievement of the 20th century was the defeat of NAZI Germany. Thus the sensativity of the Russians in discussions of the War are understandable.
There is one rarely discussed question concerning the Great Patriotic War. Did Stalin's rule and Communism weaken the Soviet Union or was his regime critical in the defeat of the NAZIs. Here the answer is unclear. To assess this question we cnnot just discuss the War years, but also the years leading up to the War as well as the post-War era.
The question of the role of Stalin and Communism in defeating NAZI Germany and saving Russia, as well as the rest of the Western world, is one that I have often considered. A Russian reader reviewing the HBC section on the Great Patriotic War questions whether America or other democratic nation could have sustained the devestation exprienced by the Soviet Union and continue to fight the NAZIs. Here is the message he submitted. Given the concern with casualties expressed in various American wars, this would seem a fair question.
Here we do not want to frame the debate as America vs. Russia. Rather the more interesting discussion is the capabilities of democratic and totalitarian countries to wage war.
Many Soviet programs in the pre-War era affected the countries military preparadness. This is a very difficult question to assess Just what the overall impact we are not certain. There is no consensus among historians as to the overall impact of Stalin and Communism to prepare the Soviet Union for War.
After World War I, the Soviet Union engaged in secret military cooperation with the Germans. Early German work on tanks was done in the Soviet Union so they could evade the provisions of the Versailles Trety restricting the German military.
Some authors point to the rapid expansion of heavy industry during the Stalinist era gave the Soviets the industrial base to wage war with an industrial nation like NAZI Germany. Russia's limited, but rapidly growing industry under the Tsar was unable to adequately supply its armies. While this is true. It is also true that industrial expansion under the TSar was also going forward at a rapid rate. And it was proceeding in a more rational manner than under the Soviets. (Note today that there are almost no Soviet factories able to sell products other then arms abroad.) This even under the Tsars or under the democratic regime Kerensky attempted to establish, Russia would have had a larger industrial infrastructure. In fact it may have been larger than that built by the Soviets.
Stalin's brutal collectivization of agriculture, especially the campaign against the Kulacks in the Ukraine, had a detrimental impact on Soviet agriculture which contibues to this day. Declines in agricultureal production mean that the surplus generated from agriculture was not available to invest in industry. Some have argued that collectivization played a role in resisting the NAZIs. This we are not sure about, but we do know that collectivization substantially reduced agricultural output which weakened the Soviet Union economically. Certainly Stalinist policies such as the famine in the Ukraine engineered by Stalin created opposition to the Soviet state. This oposition was not, however, effectively exploited by the NAZIs who with their racial mindset were intent upon genocide.
Stalin surely gave great priority to building an army a huge army. He can not be faulted for not devoting needed resources to prepare the Soviet Union to fight the NAZIs. We doubt if a democratic regime would have made a comparable effort. On the other hand, Stalin purges of the Red Army seriously weakened the professional competence of the command structure. It is difficult to assess, but some of the Red Army's poor performance after the NAZI invasion (June 1941) was the result of Stalin's decimation of the officer corps.
Any assessment of World War II has to include Stalin's role in launching the War. Soviet historians often discuss the War as if it begun with Barbarossa, the NAZI invasion (June 1941). Of course the war began much earlier with the NAZI invasion of Poland (September 1939). And this was made possible by the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939). After which the Soviets also invaded Poland and several other countries (Finland, estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania). Once the NAZis attacked the Soviets, Stalin complained that the Western Allies were not doing enough. Unsaid was the fact that the Soviet Union was forced to fight alone because that as a result of Stalin's Pact with Hitler, the Wehrmacht could launch an offensive in the West and destroy the French Army. All during this time and later when Britain was fighting alone, the Soviets were delivering huge quantities of strategic materials, oil, minerals, and food to support the NAZI War economy. Soviet histories of the War, ignore the fact that Hitler and Stalin were essentially allies for the first two years of the War.
Stalin after invading Poland (September 1939) moved major elements of the Red army and Red Air Force forwarsd into Poland. They moved out of well prepared defenses intto more vulnerable forward positions. As a result, they were vulnerable to the German invasion when it came. Stalin while shaken in the first few days of Barbarossa soon seized command of the war effort. While his military strategy in many instances proved costly, his tyranical rule did hold the Soviet people commited to victory regardless of the cost. We wonder if any democratic regime could have done the same. Certainly the French were not prepared to pay the same price as they did in World War I. We wonder if the British would have continued to resist if the Channel had not stopped the Wehrmacht. We doubt seriously if America would have been prepared gto accept the same casualties as experienced by the Soviet people.
Of course the greatest tragedy of the War for the Soviets was the incredible number of people killed. There was also incredible damage that ocurred to physical property. The Soviet Union destroyed factories that could not be evacuted to deny their use to the Germans. There was also ennormous damage done during the fighting. And then the NAZIs as they retreated destroyed as much as possible. A Russian reader tells us that the Soviet Union's rapid recovery occurred in part because of Stalin and the Communist regime. Here we are not at all sure. We note a very rapid recovery in other countries such as West Germany and Japan. I think our reader is correct that recovery was relatively rapid, but a factor that has to be taken in consideration is the the new industrial plants that were built produced low-quality products very inefficemtly. As a result, Russia today is left with industrial infrastructure that is inefficent and incompetitive in addition to the source of pollution which has resulted in major enviromental problems. Russia today with a well educated population and huge natural resources is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Its economy is essentially a third-world economy sustaimed by the export of petroleum and other natural resources.
Navigate the Boys' Historical Clothing Web Site:
[Return to Main Great Patriotic War page]
[Return to Main World War II campaign page]
[Return to Main World War II country page]
[Introduction]
[Activities]
[Biographies]
[Chronology]
[Clothing styles]
[Countries]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Glossaries]
[Satellite sites]
[Tools]
[Boys' Clothing Home]