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IMAGE OF STALINGRAD AS VIEWED BY WITNESSES AND CONTEMPORARIES (1942-1943)

Y. S. Vasilyev, E. E. Krasnozhenova

Abstract

Based on the eyewitnesses and contemporaries’ memoirs, the paper shows the image of Stalingrad in 1942-1943, when German troops reached the Volga and the city got involved in a fierce battle. The analysis of eyewitnesses’ accounts revealed everyday problems of the local population during the occupation. The food problem worsened significantly, food was extremely scarce, the population of the city starved. The paper presents the policy of the occupational authorities in Stalingrad. Most of the city's enterprises were destroyed. The number of local residents reduced significantly: they were exterminated in concentration camps, subjected to looting and terror, mobilized for forced labor. Based on the analysis of German correspondence, the authors show the image of Stalingrad which the Wehrmacht soldiers had. It Stalingrad German soldiers were defeated, which marked the beginning of the Nazi armies’ collapse. The image of Stalingrad in the foreign press, especially, in the allies’ media is presented. Street fighting in Stalingrad city captured all the attention of the British and American public, virtually overshadowing all the other news coming from other fronts of war. The battle of Stalingrad was estimated as the battle of global significance, a symbol of Victory.

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DOI resolver: doi.org/10.5593/sgemsocial2017/22/S08.035

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