** war and social upheaval: World War II European Theater -- Great Patriotic War military campaigns








World War II: The Great Patriotic War--Medical Care


Figure 1.--This Red Army young woman giving medical attention to a Son of the Regiment is not at a nurse, she is a nttlefield combat medic. All combatant countries had female nurses. As far as we know, the Red Army is the inly country to deploy femal medics.

One topic comminly ignored in World War II histories is the health care system. And in no country was the health care systenm more imprtant than the Soviet Union. This was the case for two reasons. First, was the scale of the Ostkrieg. There were more men Soviet soldiers killed and injured than in any other country. (China may have had more men, but in most cases thery were not well armed and trained.) Amd medical care was not just a humanitarian matter, saving lives and returning as many as possible to combat was a matter of military nercesity. Contrary to popular opinion, even the Soviet Union did not have exhautable manpower reserves. The Soviet military medical system made huge improvements in survivability and recovery during the War. Second, the country's civilian industrial work force produciung the implements of war by 1942 were starving. This was because Stalin's Collectivization of agriculture (early-1930s)included the murder of the kulaks (the country's best farmers) which significantly reduced harvests. The food situatipn was significantly worsened as a result of Barbarossa with the Geramsn seizing must of the most productive agricultural land of the Soviet Union. The Soviets had to severely ration food. Front line troops, workers in the arms industry, and young children got the largest allocatioins, but even they were hardly well fed. And the rert of the population bordered on starvation. There were significant health consequences to the food shortage and the Soviet health care system did not do much to aleviate them in the civilian population, but American Lend Lease food shioments did allowing some improvements (1944).

Importance

One topic comminly ignored in World War II histories is the health care system. And in no country was the health care systenm more imprtant than the Soviet Union. This was the case for two reasons.

Military Medicine

The scale of the Ostkrieg made attenion military medicine vital. The sale of the conflict launched by the Germans with Opetation Barbarossa (June 1941) was the largest military campaign in human history. It involved more men and firepower than any other campihin history. It was also th most vicious. It is believed that over 25 million Soviet military vand civilians peroshed on the conflict. The Soviets and Axis deployed huge armies heavbily armed armies. The Soiviets mobiklized some 35 million men am women to fight the Germans from a popu;ltion of 190 million people. Some 10 million men and women were killed or about 5 percent. A substantial numnber were mirdered by the Germans in POW camnps. About 15 milliom Soviet soldiers were wounded, but survived. There were more men Soviet soldiers killed and injured than in any other country. (China may have had more men, but in most cases thery were not well armed and trained.) And medical care for the Soviets was not just a humanitarian matter, saving lives and returning as many as possible to combat was a matter of military nercesity. Contrary to popular opinion, even the Soviet Union did not have exhautable manpower reserves. Given that some 14.5 5 million Soviet soldiers were wounded. Victory required tht a substantial number of the wounded recover sanbd return to combat. And here Soviet military medical system made huge improvements in survivability and recovery during the War. Cpmpetent combt medics were vital. All combatant countries had combat medics. Only the Soviets had female mdedics (figure 1). Nikolay Nilovich Burdenko (1876 – 1946) Played an imprtant role in the Soviet medical advances. He was Surgeon-General of the Red Army (1937–46). A Russian historian reporys that of the 14.5 millio wounded, fully 10.5 million were returned to to acr=ive dity. A of 7.5 milliom sick servicemen, more than 6.5 million were returned to active duty. Lethal cases among wounded were 5.3 percent anf among the sick 3.7%. Particukzary impressive is that the Soiviets significanly improved the performance of the medical serbice during the War. The Russian historiabn writes, "... the reduction of lethal cases per 0.1% signified to save life for 4-5 thousand wounded and sick. By the end of the war the lethality in penetrating cranium injuries has lowered 45.8%, in penetrating chest injuries with open pneumothorax--10%, without open pneumothorax--57%, in thoracoabdominal injuries--30%. Medical service had achieved a considerable reduction of invalidity among servicemen. In 1943 27 evacuation hospitals were transformed in recovery surgery hospitals, as for patients of these hospitals, 8% of them were returned to their ranks in the active army, 36% were able to work accordingly to their professions, 19% have recovered wording capacity after receiving a new profession." [Chizh] Soviet doctors gave special attention to burns a frostbite. Special units were set up. [Sokolov, Biryukov, Chmyrev. et al.] The German use of methamphetamine (Pervitin) is well known. [Ohler] The Soviets had a drug of their own, although not a narcotic. They used 'heat pills'-- 2,4-Dinitrophenol. It was of all things aa potent high explosive, herbicide, and weight-loss drug. It did not warm the soldier up, but it did reduce the pain of the cold. [Stilwell]

Home Front Civilian Medicine

Second, the country's civilian industrial work force produciung the implements of war by 1942 were starving. This was because Stalin's Collectivization of agriculture (early-1930s)included the murder of the kulaks (the country's best farmers) which significantly reduced harvests. The food situatipn was significantly worsened as a result of Barbarossa with the Geramsn seizing must of the most productive agricultural land of the Soviet Union. The Soviets had to severely ration food. Front line troops, workers in the arms industry, and young children got the largest allocatioins, but even they were hardly well fed. And the rert of the population bordered on starvation. There were significant health consequences to the food shortage and the Soviet health care system did not do much to aleviate them in the civilian population. One author writes, "With scarce resources at its disposal the regime focused its attention on workers in the defense industry. Sickness rates among this group doubled compared to the prewar period. Unable to eliminate the basic causes of illness and accidents, the regime attempted to curb sickness absence by pressuring doctors not to issue sick notes. The move proved counterproductive." [Filtzer] American Lend Lease food shioments did allowing some improvements (1944).

Food

Food was a difficult problem in the Soviet Union before World War II. Stalin for both ideological and political reasons decided to collectivize agriculture once he was in full command of the Soviet state. He hoped collectivuization because it aklso meant mechanization would increase harbvests. It was one part of the First Year Five Year Plan to rapidly industrialize, The idea was to extract more grain from the peasantry to feed industrial workers in the expanding cities. When the Ukranian peasantry resisted, he orcestrated the Ukranian Famine. Millions perished, including the Kulaks--the most prosperous peasants. They were the most prosperous of course because they were the best farmers. And as a result, instead of increasing harvests, food production plumeted. Soviet agriculture never fully recovered. It was further hampered by another of Stalin's ideological initiatives--supporting Trotim Lysenko. Lysenkoism put back Soviet genetucs, including developing hardy grain strains a generation. As a result food shortages existed in the Soviet Union before the German invasion. After the invasion, the food situation got much worse. Food was one of the most difficult problens faced by the Soviet Union during World War II. The phenomenal early successes of Barbarossa left the Germans in control of most of the best agricultural land of the Soviet Union--the highly productive black soil lands of the Ukraine and adjacent areas of Russia and Bylorussia. This had been one of the major attractions that had drawn Hitler to the East. Hitler believed that the vast tracts of productive land would feed the Reich during the War. It did not. It did meet the needs of the Whermacht, but very little food from the East reached German civilians. But it did deny food to the embattled Soviets, creating one of the Soviet regime's major problems. Thec Whermacht only fed the Soviets working for them. All other Soviets had to fend for themselves. No one really knows how mant Soviet citizens died during the War. Estimate generall range in the 25-30 million range. Some estimates are even higher. There were about 9 million military deaths. That number is fairly well accepted. Less clear is the mumber of civilian deaths. One of the leading causes of civilian deaths was starvation. The Germans starved civikians in the oxxupied areas and the Soviets Union simply did not have enough food to feed its population after the Germans occupied the Ukraine and other food producubng regions. We know that some 1 million Lenningraders starved. The numbers who starved outside Leningrad in iccupied and unoccupied regiions will never be known with any precissiion. Another 1-2 million surely starved. [Collingham, p. 317.] The actual total is probably higher, especially if you include causes that were brought on by starvation. While much of this occurred in the occupied area there are many reports of starvation in the unoccupied areas, bodies on the streets or peoopler collapsing as they worked in war plants. [Moskoff, p. 37.] One author contends that of war-related causes such as conditios brought on or worsened by chromic malnutrition are considered, theSoviet death toll would be well over 30 million. [Miller, p. 284.]

Sources

Chizh, I.M. "The contribution of the medical service to victory in World War II," in Russian Voen Med Zh (May 1995) Vol. 5, 4-9, 79.

Collingham, Lizzie. The Taste of War: World War II and the Battle for Food (Penguin Books: New York, 1962), 634p.

Filtzer, Donald. "Factory medicine in the Soviet defense industry during World War II," in S. Grant (eds) Russian and Soviet Health Care from an International Perspective (Palgrave Macmillan: 2017) pp. 77-95.

Moskoff, William. The Bread of Affluence: The Food Supply in the Soviet Union during World War II (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1990).

Miller, James R. "Conclusion: Impact and aftermath of World War II," in Susan Linz, ed. The Impact of World War II on the Soviet Union (Rowman & Allanheld: Totowa, N.J., 1985), pp. 283-91.

Ohler, Norman, Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reicfh.

Stilwell, Blake. "This is the drug Russians took to beat the Nazis during World War II," Mighty History website (April 29, 2020).

Sokolov, V., Biryukov, A., Chmyrev, I. et al. "Burns and frostbite in the Red Army during World War II," Military Med Res Vol 4, No. 5 (2017).






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Created: 4:36 PM 4/30/2021
Last updated: 4:36 PM 4/30/2021