THE EFFECT OF STALIN'S PURGES
Less than a month before Hitler invaded Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II, he signed a non-aggression pact with Stalin. Less than two years later, he broke the pact and invaded the Soviet Union in the early morning hours of June 22, 1941. There were plenty of evidence for German aggression before the war broke out, yet Stalin nevertheless signed the pact which contained the secret protocol that divided Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union. The reason for signing the pact were complex, yet one of the most important ones were the domestic factors. Among them, the terrible effect of the purges during the 1930s on the population, economy and especially the army. The purges were set off on December 1, 1934 with the murder of Sergei Kirov. He was a member of the Politburo, leader of the Leningrad party apparatus and had considerable influence in the ruling elite. His concern for the workers in Leningrad and his skill as an orator earned him considerable popularity. Stalin used his murder as a pretext for launching a broad purge that would claim hundreds of thousands of victims and have lasting repercussion felt to this day. Stalin never visited Leningrad again and directed one of his most vicious post-War purge
Taking into account the disastrous condition of Russian forces brought about from within and the severe problems of the economy, this was necessary for Stalin. In a way, by signing the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, he was buying as much time as possible to try prepare for the inevitable. The inevitable happened on June 22, 1941. Molotov broke to the Russian people the grim news about the German attack. Stalin, as if embarrassed by the disastrous collapse of his hopes, shunned the limelight. He did not utter a single word in public for almost two weeks. He apparently waited to see what the results of the first battles would be, what the attitude of Great Britain and the United States would be, and what the feeling in his own country would be. Locked up with his military leaders, he discussed measures of mobilization and strategic plans. s against the city -- Russia's historic window to the West. No segment of the society was left untouched by the purges. Anyone who caused the slightest suspicion was removed and numerous legislature was enacted to help enforce them. In 1935 a law was passed which lowered the age of criminal responsibility. That meant the death penalty could be applied to twelve-year-old children (McCauley, p.93). There was also a panic response in the primary party organizations to expel and "expose" people in order to protect oneself and to show "vigilance" (Getty, p.213) The slaughter of armed forces began on 12 June 1937 when Tukhachevsky and some top army men were executed, then spread to lower ranks and then to political comissars. The nave was completely decapitated, all eight admirals perishing. Here's a grave list of the top dead: " 3 out of 5 marshals, 14 out of 16 Army commanders Class I and II, 8 out of 8 Admirals, 60 out of 67 Corps Commanders, 136 out of 199 Divisional Commanders, 221 out of
Some common words found in the essay are:
Kirov Politburo, Moscow Leningrad, Soviet Union, Subject Stalin, Britain United, Red Army, Western Front, Non-Aggression Pact, Nazis West, July Nazis, soviet union, german aggression, june 22 1941, purges 1930s, eastern europe, secret protocol, june 22, actual casualties, 22 1941, getty p213, red army,
Approximate Word count = 1238
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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