Leningrad: A prelude to Nazi Germany's downfall

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Al Mayadeen
8 Sep 2023 20:58

On the 82nd anniversary of the siege of Leningrad by Nazi forces, learn more about the harrowing tactics used by Germans and Finns to bring down the city and its people.

Standing in the backyard of an abandoned house in the outskirts of the besieged city of Leningrad, a rifleman of the Red Army aims and fires his machine gun at German positions, on December 16, 1942 (AP Photo)

The Siege of Leningrad stands as one of the darkest chapters of World War II, when German and Finnish forces, under the command of Nazi German leader Adolf Hitler, besieged the city of Leningrad in the Soviet Union. The attack resulted in an estimated 1.2 million casualties, including 140,000 children, over approximately 842 days.

Nazi forces laid siege to the city of Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg, during World War II, from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, hoping to break Soviet resistance and capture the city.

Leningrad possessed dual significance, both ideologically and practically. It stood as the birthplace of the Bolshevik revolution and served as the strategic hub for the Soviet Baltic Fleet. The city boasted approximately 600 industrial factories, a production capacity rivaling only that of Moscow in terms of industrial output, making its downfall a strategic and primary objective of Operation Barbossa. Hilter had even planned to make the city the capital of territories that Axis forces occupied in Eastern Europe.

Leningrad was named after revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin, who dedicated his efforts to the overthrow of Russia's Czar and the establishment of the world's first constitutionally guaranteed Socialist state, in collaboration with a group of leading comrades known as Vanguards.

The events that unfolded in WWII saw extensive discussions and studies by historians and experts who took special interest in the invasion plans, the city's eventual successful defense, and the plight of its residents.

A starved population persists

Russian men and women rescue their humble belongings from their burning homes, in a Leningrad suburb on Oct. 21, 1941 (AP Photo)

Hitler tasked the besieging forces with destroying the city to the largest extent possible, using aerial bombardment and artillery shelling, before entering it in the spring to displace its residents to remote Russian regions or take them as prisoners.

During the city's siege by Nazi forces time, civilians endured the hardships of starvation, indiscriminate shelling, and air raids.

Initially, the Nazi forces planned to completely destroy the city, a sentiment echoed by the leadership of Finland, a German ally and partner in military operations.

Historian Nikita Lomagin, a professor at the European University in St. Petersburg, stated, "The Nazi leadership clearly outlined its intentions regarding Leningrad, aiming to tighten the siege to the maximum and cut off the city's resources, in the hope that the city would quickly surrender due to the lack of necessary supplies for millions of people."

This photo, taken in the winter months of 1942, shows citizens of Leningrad as they dig up water from a broken main, during the 900-day siege of the Russian city by German invaders (AP Photo)

German historians later attempted to justify such tactics. Lomagin added, "For a long time, Western German history viewed Leningrad as a fortified city, allowing for its treatment as a military target and the use of starvation as a weapon of war. International humanitarian law did not prohibit this approach." However, later historians in the Federal Republic of Germany recognized that the siege imposed on Leningrad amounted to genocide—a war to annihilate everyone in the city.

German forces cut off Leningrad from the south and west, encircling the city by land and sea, and blocking all supplies from reaching the city.

The residents of Leningrad suffered greatly during the siege, losing access to food, water, electricity, and medical care. Over a million people in the city perished due to hunger and disease.

Studies have shown that shelling and bombing by the invaders accounted for 3% of siege victims, while the majority succumbed to food shortages and sickness due to the shortage of essential goods.

The Red Army tips the balance

A Soviet anti-tank gun crew are on the alert against the Nazi invader in Leningrad, U.S.S.R., in Jan. 1943, during World War II (AP Photo)

Throughout the siege, the Soviet Red Army made several attempts to create a corridor to Leningrad, the isolated city, in hopes of transferring some essential goods.

Vyacheslav Volodin, Speaker of the Russian Parliament, said that about a million people in Leningrad had fallen victim to the siege, with most succumbing to famine.

Despite the siege, the people of Leningrad resisted bravely. They continued to work in factories and government institutions to enhance the city's defenses.

The city persevered, continuing to supply its forces and the rest of the Soviet Union with essentials. The central government led by comrade Joseph Stalin spared no effort to assist besieged Leningrad and save its residents from famine by delivering food supplies across Lake Ladoga and by air.

Simultaneously, the Soviet Red Army, under the leadership of Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov, managed to push back on the aggressors on the outskirts of Leningrad and prevented their entry into the besieged city.

The Red Army forces persisted in their attempts to break the siege on Leningrad and succeeded in creating a land corridor, 33 kilometers long and 11 kilometers wide, toward the besieged city. The Soviets then constructed what became known as the "Road of Life" along this corridor, which they controlled.

The siege was partially lifted in January 1943, allowing trains loaded with food to reach the city starting in February 1943. In 1944, the siege was dismantled, and the Nazi plan to abolish Leningrad from existence ultimately failed, leading to a Soviet offensive that eventually obliterated the fascist army in Berlin.

Leningrad did not surrender, negotiate, or yield. making it a symbol of bravery among the free from various nationalities, ethnicities, ideological backgrounds, and religions.