Information about World War II

[harish]

hi ,
i am an indian who is very interested about knowing a russian account of the second world war. i have read books by british and american authors but i would like to read a book by a russian author (translated in english of course). if anyone can give me this information or even mail a firsthand account, i would be obliged.
harish

[mic692mb]

You might possibly find books and memoirs of several former Soviet Field Marshalls -

Georgi Zhukov

Ivan Konev

Konstantin Rokossovsky

These three commanders led Soviet Forces against Nazi Germany and you may be able to find these books on the internet. I hope so.

I am an American who has studied World War Two for nearly 40 years, and I am glad to help if I can.



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Michael B.

[harish]

Thank you , Michael for answering . I shall indeed browse through the net for the memoirs of the Fld Marshals.(I hope there are English translations..)
I have a few questions in my mind which I would like to ask. Is it true that while Hitler was planning his domination of Europe, Stalin too was entertaining the hopes of bringing Europe under communism.Specifically, was Stalin planning an attack on Germany while Hitler was engaged in his attack on France.The statements of German generals at Nuremberg testify to that.Is that hypothesis correct?
Secondly, is it true that, to a large extent, the Russians welcomed the Germans as liberators from Stalin's oppressive rule. I know it is true of Lithuanians and the other Baltic states, but Russians?What about the partisan squads then.
Your comments please,
Harish

[Dr_Woland]

>> Secondly, is it true that, to a large extent, the Russians welcomed the Germans as liberators from Stalin's oppressive rule. <<

It's possible, but unlikely - given the extent of the massacres and atrocities committed by the Nazi forces as they advanced into the USSR (notably at Babi-Yar, and in Minsk, and elsewhere).

Of course, since the soviet mouthpiece was in charge of the country, any records of anything other than retaliation to the German forces have been comprehensively destroyed, and "accomplices" shot.

Remember also that Stalin relocated whole populations of border-dwelling communities to the depths of Siberia and Central Asia, because he feared they might sympathise with the Germans.

Dr W.

[mic692mb]

Hitler and Stalin were competitors - neither could long stand for the existence of the other. Stalin feared the power of Germany and was advised by his Generals that a war for survival against Germany was inevitable. Hitler hated slavic peoples and just saw them as so much slave labor to feed the Reich. The peace pact was made not so much for peace but so each could buy time to prepare for the war that both knew was inevitable and to gobble up as much territory peacefully before that war began. Had Germany taken Leningrad, Stalingrad, and Moscow, and had Hitler supplied his Afrika corps properly, the German army would have invaded southern Russia via Turkey, and caused the collapse of the Soviet defenses. Seeing this, Japan would have invaded the Soviet Union from the East (it already occupied Manchuria) to be sure the Japanese Army met its German "Allies" as far from Japan as possible. None of these countries figured in the most important part of the equation, however, and that was the immense power of the United States. The Reich is gone, the USSR is gone, Nazi Germany is gone, and so is the Japanese Empire.

[Wendist]

Hello harish

May I suggest that you pay a visit to Ukraine.com where you in the history section will find a topic named "Who started World War II". Even if it may not provide all the answers you would want I think it makes for interesting reading. There is also mentioned a russian author who in his books give a rather unorthodox view on WWII.

Good luck with your search.

Regards Thomas

[harish]

In hindsight, some actions committed by hitler seem to have led to his downfall. While we may say that Hitler's action on yugoslavia delayed his attack on russia and consequently led to the destruction of the Wehrmacht, at that point of time, Russia was not expected to stand so firm against Germany. Indeed, even Churchill believed that Moscow would not be able to stand to German advances.Japan didnot join in the attack against Russia when the Germans were at the doorstep of Moscow-I wonder why?
But coming back to the main question, the Russians didnot have any defensive positions along the German frontier. Is it right to presume that there was a buildup going on for a military offense and the German attack took them unawares and by surprise?
Hello Thomas,
The history section of Ukraine.com was certainly very interesting. I read an account of WW-II by an author but is he Russian?
regards,
harish