Stalinism in Wartime

• What was the operation called by The Germans to invade the Soviet Union and when?


  - Operation Barbarossa

  - June 1941
• Why was the Soviet Union not prepared for war?

  - Red army + Air force not prepared

  - In the process of changing leadership + organisation

  - Working out defensive plans
• What was mostly lost on the first day of the war by the Soviet?

  - Most of the Soviet airforce
• How many Red Army men had been killed in the first 6 months of the war?


  - 6 million
• What was the Order number that Stalin issued in the war?

  - Order 227

  - 'No Step Back
• Where was the decisive struggle and how what % of the Soviet forces fell?

  - Stalingrad in 1943

  - 75% fell

  - Led to Germany surrendering
• 2 debates on Stalin's influence in the war

  - Germans enjoyed success at the start due to Stalin's ineffective policies and leadership

  - Stalin played a key role in inspiring Soviet troops through the war and his policies led to victory
• Evidence to back up that Stalin's leadership was not inspiring and was only able to crush domestic dissent

  - Order 227

  - Had huge losses

  --> 26m citizens + 11m soldiers died

  - The pact with Germany was broken - Poor by Stalin

  - Went against advice of Zhukov

  --> Many died and nearly lost war

  - Left most of the military campaigns to military commanders

  - He let Molotov announce the war

  - Ignored 80 warnings of German troops being built up
• Evidence to show that Stalin rallied the troops and citizens for the war

  - Head of Stavka + Government

  - Held the Soviet union together and won

  - Motivated those around him and many to join the army

  - People would let themselves be killed for Soviet to win the war

  - Germans lost 3/4 of their troops to the Red Army

  - GKO set up
• What was the pact with Germany by Stalin that said peace?

  - Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact

  - 1939

  - Broken 1941
• How many were said to of died in Soviet Union due to WW2?

  - 26m citizens

  - 11m soldiers
• What % of casualties in the alliance did Soviet have?

  - 95%
• What did Stalin do with the NVKD in the war and why?

  - Made them stay vigilant

  - As thought their would be an internal revolution
• What committee was created in the war showing Stalin's leadership

  - Civilian State Defence Committee (GKO)

  - More centralised planning + Government on the front lines
• How did the Politburo aid the war efforts?

  - Organised new military and governmental structures
• What 2 posts did Stalin have in the war and what did this allow?

  - Head of government

  - Head of Stavka (Supreme Military Command)

  - Placed all authority in his hands
• How did many minorities feel during the war?

  - They supported the Germans

  - NVKD had to be more vigilant of a revolution and siding with them
• By the end of 1942 what did the Soviet union's strength allow?


  - Mass weapons being made
• After the battle of Stalingrad what operation do Stalin launch and what city did it focus on?

  - Operation Bagration

  - Minsk
• In how many days into operation Bagration was the German army destroyed in Minsk and how many Germans was there?

  - 68 days

  - 1.2m Germans destroyed

  - Suffered 4x number of casualties
• Where did the Red Army first enter after operation Bagration?

  - Eastern Europe
• Where did Stalin want to reach and did he achieve it?

  - Berlin

  - Saw as a symbolic prize

  - Berlin surrendered in May 1945
• How many Soviet's died when Stalin tried to reach Berlin?

  - 78,000
• How was the 18 year old girl that was used as a symbol of propaganda in the war and why?

  - Zoya Kosmodemyanksaya

  - Was a partisan and caused havoc to Germans
• In 1941 what did Stalin do to ethnic groups and how many?

  - Dissolved the Volga German Republic

  - Deported them - Karachi

  - 1.5m deported

  - 1m + died
• How many joined the party in the war and what % was to the komosol?

  - 3.6m

  - 20%
• 1941 vs 1945 % of the military being in the party


  - 15% vs 50%
• Political impact of the war

  - Deportation of ethnic groups

  --> 1.5m Karachi from Volga German Region

  - Downgraded army commissioners to reduce their power

  - 3.6m joined party in war

  - 50% of army in party by 1945

  - Victory in war strengthened belief in the communist system
• What did farmers do to hinder the Germans?

  - Used scorched earth policy
• How many factories were moved to the East in the war?

  - 1523
• What were introduced to help oversee wartime productions?

  - People Commissioners

  - Tanks + aircraft
• What % of all production was munitions production?

  - 76%
• How much % did the military budget increase to in 1942 of the whole national budget?

  - 29% to 57%
• What occurred in the gigantomania projects to aid the war efforts?

  - Magnitogorsk = New furnaces built in 8 months

  - Engles plant = Production 20 days after being built
• How many new industrial enterprises were built in the Urals during the war?

  - 3500
• What was the fraction of the 1942 harvest vs 1940?

  - 1/3
• What was the phrase given to Foreign aid given to Soviet in war and how many tons were given?

  - Lend Lease

  - 17.5m tons of military equipment given from West
• What % of the Lend Lease was given to Soviet by USA?

  - 94%
• By 1943 where had Soviet overtaken in their military output?


  - Germany
• How was food shortages in the war dealt by?

  - Rationing and Quotas in the Kolkhoz's