Much has been written about the war in the Soviet Union. Mass editions of memoirs of commanders, notes of officers and soldiers, prose, poetry, historical research were published. There are also memories of home front workers (both ordinary workers and managers, plant directors, people's commissars, aircraft designers). All this constitutes an impressive library, according to which, it would seem, it is possible to restore historical facts with complete reliability. In addition, films were shot - feature and documentary, short and multi-part. In schools, technical schools and institutes, students in detail dealt with teachers all the stages of the great battle, which claimed tens of millions of lives. And with all this, it turned out that our people know surprisingly little about what happened during the years of World War II.
Two calendar dates - black and red
Two main dates were firmly entrenched in the consciousness of the masses - June 22, 1941 and May 9, 1945. Unfortunately, not everyone knows what exactly happened these days. In the early summer morning, "Kiev was bombed, we were announced ...", and the general summary, which was that the Germans attacked suddenly, did not declare war. This is all about the first date. The information is not entirely true. The declaration of war was, the German ambassador Schulenburg handed a note to Molotov. True, this did not matter, at that moment the Junkers and Henkeli were already gaining height above the border, and there was no time left to prepare for repelling the attack. But that’s what war is about, so as not to warn in advance about the attack. About why they did not prepare for defense, a special conversation.
About in which year the Great Patriotic War ended and on which day, at first glance, more is known. But here, not everything is clear.
Start
On June 22, what the USSR was preparing for a long time happened. An unprecedented modernization of industrial potential, called industrialization, took place. Peasant life was fundamentally rebuilt, the basis for private initiative in the village was liquidated. This led to a sharp decline in the welfare of the whole people. Large-scale efforts, as long as they did not lead to an increase in the standard of living, could be directed only at one thing — defense. Propaganda persistently inspired the idea of ​​the inevitability of war and at the same time the peacefulness of the world's first state of workers and peasants. The scenario of the upcoming fateful events was described in the feature film with the eloquent title “If the war is tomorrow”. The insidious enemy attacked, and he immediately overtook the retribution of terrible power. He was completely defeated, and real freedom came to his land, as in the USSR. Why did it turn out a little different in June 1941?
Almost the entire military power of the Red Army as of mid-June 1941 was concentrated at the western borders of the USSR. There were also stockpiles of weapons, fuel, ammunition, medicines, food and everything needed to wage war on foreign territory with little blood. Aerodromes were also maximally advanced into the frontier bands. The picking was not completed, the supply of military goods and trains with equipment continued. All this was covered in fiction and in many memoirs.
We can conclude that the Patriotic War to protect his country by Stalin was not planned.
What Hitler Counted on
The German Fuhrer hoped mainly, apparently, to the discontent of the population of the Soviet regime. German intelligence agents reported on the monstrous consequences of more than twenty years of communist rule, the repression that beheaded the Red Army, millions of starving peasants on collective farms, an intimidated working class and suppressed intelligentsia. The Führer practically had no doubts that with only one approach to the borders of the USSR, the Wehrmacht, the population would come out joyfully to meet the “liberators”. Such situations, by the way, took place in some western regions, but in general, hopes did not come true.
How did Germany prepare for war
If it were not for the hope of a speedy crush on the “colossus with feet of clay,” Adolf Hitler would hardly have decided to attack. The position of Germany in the early summer of 1941 could not be called brilliant. Against the background of successful actions, not very pleasant processes took place in Europe. Half of France remained "under-occupied", absolute control over Yugoslavia was never established, things went bad in North Africa, and naval operations also went with varying degrees of success. America did not enter the war, but actually already participated in it, helping Britain with its practically inexhaustible material resources.
The allies of Germany - Romania, Italy and Japan - brought more trouble than good. The beginning of the war against the USSR in such conditions could be considered a crazy step. There was practically no training, the Wehrmacht soldiers did not even have warm clothes and shoes (they never appeared), frost-resistant fuel and grease. Soviet intelligence knew about it and reported to the Kremlin.
Nevertheless, the war began for the USSR in a completely unexpected way and in an extremely disadvantageous situation for us. The Germans quickly moved deep into the territory, the situation was becoming increasingly threatening. It became clear that without participation in the defense of the whole people it would be impossible to win. And the war became Patriotic.
Patriotic War
Almost immediately after the Nazi attack, the war was declared Patriotic. This happened for the second time in Russian history. The threat arose not just in some kind of social system, but in the very existence of the country and Eurasian civilization. And what was the situation for the first time, under the king-liberator?
The Patriotic War with France was in 1812 until the Napoleonic hordes were expelled from Russian soil. Bonaparte was driven to Paris, reached it, and, having taken in 1814, the usurper emperor was not found there. We stayed a little "away", and then returned home to the brave songs. But after crossing the Berezina, all this was just a hike. Only the first year, while the battles went along the Old Smolensk road, near Borodino and Maloyaroslavets, and partisans attacked the invaders from the forests, the war was considered Patriotic.
Version one: 1944
If we draw historical analogies, then the question of what year the Great Patriotic War ended in should be answered: in 1944, in the fall. It was then that the last armed German, Romanian, Spaniard, Italian, Hungarian and any other soldier who fought on the side of Nazi Germany left the territory of the USSR. Prisoners and the dead do not count. The war itself continued, but it was no longer domestic, it entered the phase of finishing the enemy in his den with the simultaneous release of the enslaved peoples. The threat to the existence of the USSR passed, the question was only in the timing of the final defeat of the enemy and the conditions of the subsequent peace.
Version Two - May 8, 1945
True, such a version has opponents, and their arguments deserve respect. The end of the Second World War, in their opinion, coincides chronologically with the moment of signing the surrender in Karlshorst - the outskirts of Berlin. From our side, Marshal G.K. Zhukov and other military leaders participated in the ceremony, from the German - Keitel with officers and generals of the German General Staff. Hitler has been dead for eight days. The date of the historical event is May 8, 1945. The day before there was another signing of surrender, but the highest Soviet command was not present at it, so JV Stalin did not recognize him, and did not give an order to cease hostilities. The victorious end of the Great Patriotic War on May 9 was a national holiday, all the radio stations of the Soviet Union announced it. The people rejoiced, people laughed and cried. And someone else had to fight ...
Fights on May 9, after the Victory
The signing of the surrender of Germany did not mean the end of the war. Soviet soldiers died on May 9. In Prague, the German garrison, consisting of select SS men, refused to lay down their arms. The situation arose sharply, the townspeople tried to resist the Nazi fanatics, who understood that their days were numbered, and they had nothing to lose. The swift rush of Soviet troops saved the Czech capital from a bloody massacre. The outcome of the battles was a foregone conclusion, but not without losses. On May 9th, it was all over. To die on the last day of the war was a shame, but such is the soldier’s share ...
There was also a little-known war in the Far East. Quickly and decisively, the Soviet Army defeated the Kwantung group of the Japanese armed forces, reaching Korea. There were losses, however, incomparably smaller than during the war with Germany.
Patriotic war of the front and rear
May 9 is the day of the end of the Great Patriotic War because, although it was fought from the fall of 1944 not on our territory, but in fact the efforts of the whole country were aimed at overcoming the enemy’s resistance. The entire economic potential of the USSR worked on the principle of "everything for the front, everything for the victory." The fighting went west of the Soviet borders, but in the rear there was a battle of its own. Tanks, planes, guns, ships, which were to crush the Wehrmacht, Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine - everything was built in the rear.
The workers, among whom there were many women and teenagers, spared no effort to supply their native Red Army with everything necessary, they waged their war, wept enough about the funeral and did not have enough to eat. The victory in the Great Patriotic War was the result of the efforts of not only soldiers, officers, generals, admirals and sailors, but also the rest of the Soviet people. In this sense, the war was domestic from the first to the last day.
Version Three - 1955
The signing of the surrender of Germany took place in a complex and nervous atmosphere. The defeated enemy tried to maintain the appearance of some dignity, Keitel even saluted the winners with a field marshal's baton. The Allies added tension, they tried to comply with their own geopolitical interests, which, in general, is quite natural. Mutual wariness interfered with the triumph of the anticipated great holiday. It is not surprising that in this situation they forgot about a very important document, namely, the peace treaty. Wars end, and then what comes? That's right, world. But not some kind of abstract, but one about which the winners agree. The only thing left to be defeated is to accept the conditions proposed by him. The end of the Great Patriotic War in May 1945 was actual, but there was no legal formalization, they simply forgot about it.
Legal Lock
Caught up in almost ten years. On January 25, 1955, by a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces signed by Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR K. Voroshilov and Secretary of the Presidium N. Pegov, the state of war with Germany was terminated. Of course, this legislative act was symbolic, and even the most defeated state at that time was not in its previous form - it was divided into two parts, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, but teachers for historian students had a question about filling up: “What year did the Great The Patriotic War in the legal sense? " And the correct answer, which not everyone knew, is this: in 1955!
Legal subtleties today do not matter much, they are important only for those who consider themselves a connoisseur and want to show off erudition in front of others. Today, when not every high school graduate knows in which year the Great Patriotic War ended, it is not so difficult. A couple of decades ago, this was known to everyone. The events of history are becoming more distant from us, and fewer eyewitnesses can tell about them. The end date of the Great Patriotic War is recorded in textbooks, but it is also on the pedestals of the monuments.
The famous expression of one of the great commanders is known that until at least one dead soldier is buried, the war cannot be considered over. Unfortunately, our country has lost so many sons and daughters that to this day, search groups find their remains in places of past battles. They are escorted to the last journey with military honors, relatives will learn about the fate of their fathers and grandfathers, a fireworks rattles ... Can we ever say that all the soldiers who sacrificed their lives for their homeland have found worthy repose? This is unlikely, but should strive for this.