Modern young people often do not understand why the war was called the Patriotic War, and even the Great. And how is World War II different from it? Maybe these are completely different historical events that do not intersect each other? And what other domestic wars were on Russian soil? And why are they called that?
There are a lot of questions. To find the answer to them, it is worth looking into the history of Russia.
Patriotic War of 1812
Every patriot should know the history of his homeland. To find the answer to the question of why the war was called the Patriotic War, you need to understand what this word means. In another way, the country in which a person was born and lives is called the Fatherland. And all wars aimed at protecting their homeland bear this proud title.
In 1812, Napoleon attacked Russia in order to conquer and enslave the Russian people. But he did not succeed. This war entered the history of Russia as the Patriotic War of 1812 . Naturally, everything was different for France. Even now they will not understand why the war was called the Patriotic War, because for them it was aggressive.
The Second World War
In September 1939, the first day, fascist Germany, together with its henchmen - Italy, Japan and some other states - unleashed a world fire, in which 1.7 billion people took part. This is almost eighty percent of the world's population. And almost one hundred and ten million people fought directly in the armies of all the countries drawn into this horror.
In 1941, Hitler attacked the Soviet Union. That is what our Motherland was called in those years. And the entire Soviet people stood up for the defense of the Fatherland.
On the part of the Nazis, it was a predatory war. The fascists, led by Adolf Hitler, did not understand why the war was called the Patriotic War. Many are still arguing, arguing that it was an action to free peoples from communist terror. But in fact, there was no question of any liberation. The Nazis simply tried to carry out a new division of lands, to enslave other peoples.
But our people waged a liberation struggle, defended their homeland and other countries. Now it’s clear why the 1941-1945 war was called the Patriotic War? Although it’s worthwhile to understand well that the name of an event depends on whose point of view it is considered.
The treacherous attack in 1941 on the Soviet Union
Although the world war was already raging on earth, the Soviet people were convinced that Hitler would not dare to encroach on our homeland. Moreover, a non-aggression treaty was concluded between the Soviet Union and Germany.
However, Hitler basely violated him. On the night of June 21-22, a graduation party was celebrated for everyone who had finished school. No one could have thought that it was precisely at dawn after such a wonderful holiday that shots would be thundered, bombs would fall from the sky, and blood would pour. And yet it happened. On June 22, 1941, at four in the morning without warning, Germany launched a treacherous attack on the Soviet Union. Immediately in a vast space, from the Carpathian mountains to the Baltic Sea, fascist troops crossed the border of our country.
The Nazis planned to destroy the culture of a huge country, and turn its people into slaves who would work for Germany. The invaders bombed cities and villages, railways and ports, airfields and train stations. A great many people, including children, old people and women, were killed by the most cruel images: they were burnt alive, buried, shot, torn to pieces.
But the people did not want to give up. Even the smallest towns heroically defended themselves. Many beautiful songs about the exploits of unknown soldiers were invented by people. “At an unfamiliar village at an unnamed height” heroes have laid their heads, the memory of which will live for centuries. That is why the war of 1941-1945 was called the Patriotic War. After all, the Soviet people fought for their country.
War is not a game, it is death and pain ...
The search for an answer to the question of why the Great Patriotic War was called the “Patriotic War” makes us go back to those distant terrible years. Not liberation came to the Soviet Union, but a terrible monster named "fascism", insatiable and cruel. There was nothing sacred for him.
The Nazis committed atrocities in the occupied lands as if they themselves were never human. A huge part of the population was taken out and imprisoned in concentration camps. There the atrocities of the invaders were especially sophisticated. Blood was taken from children for transfusion of the wounded, terrible diseases were inoculated and people were monitored. They even tried to create a new creature that would be the bearer of the human gene and animal, using prisoners for their inhuman experiments.
Not only Patriotic, but also Great
Not only men of military age went to the front. Volunteers simply blocked all the points that were involved in mobilization. There were elderly people, and very young boys, and girls. There were a lot of respectable elders and snotty kids. At first, these were immediately driven home, to the mother under the hem. “Not long be this damned war!” - everyone was talking.
However, after the first two years it became obvious: the end of these horrors will not come soon. And they remembered everything about the old people and the kids who were so eager for battle at the beginning of the war. Now it became clear that each pair of hands is valuable. The twelve-year-old boys got up to the looms next to the elderly men and women. Together, they worked eighteen hours a day, releasing ammunition and military equipment.
So, having rallied against fascism, our Motherland managed to cleanse its lands of fascist cholera. But the Red Army did not stop there. Soviet tanks reached Berlin itself, liberating other countries from the fascist yoke along the way. A great thing has been done by our country. A huge number of people saved, of various nationalities and religions. That is why the war is called the Great Patriotic War.