Corresponding Member of the USSR Academy of Sciences P. A. Zhilin
More than a year has passed since the XXV Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. The historical decisions of the Congress have an increasing impact on all aspects of public life, both in the sphere of practical and productive activities of the Soviet people, and in the sphere of creative and scientific work. In the documents and materials of the Congress, and above all in the Report of the Central Committee of the CPSU, delivered by the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, L. I. Brezhnev, the general line of the party was justified - the further development of communism in our country, the implementation of the Peace Program and the solid, reliable protection of the creative work of the Soviet people.
The peaceful foreign policy of the Soviet Union and its readiness to give a proper rebuff to the aggressor at any moment are the essence of our political and military doctrine. Back in October 1918, during the formation of the Soviet state, V. I. Lenin said:: "Every revolution is only worth something if it knows how to defend itself." 1 Guided by Lenin's doctrine of the defense of the Socialist Fatherland, our party and the Armed Forces it created managed to defend the gains of the Great October Socialist Revolution in two bloody wars - the Civil War and the Great Patriotic War. These outstanding victories most convincingly demonstrated the invincibility of the Soviet state and social system, the vitality of the organizational and theoretical principles of defending the socialist Fatherland, the unity of our peoples, and their unparalleled heroism. The victory of the Soviet Union over German fascism and Japanese militarism elevated our country and raised its international prestige. And now the results of this outstanding victory have a huge impact on the entire international atmosphere.
If you look at the path that humanity has taken in the post-war years, you can't help but see that many features of our time were formed under the influence of processes that were born in those days when the destinies of peoples were decided on the battlefields of the fiercest, most destructive and bloody war in history. The Soviet Union's victory over nazi Germany and militaristic Japan marked the beginning of a new period in human history. "During the 20th century, our country was twice at the origin of the biggest changes in the face of the world," said Leonid Brezhnev. - So it was in 1917, when the victory of October heralded the entry of humanity into a new historical era. So it was in 1945, when the defeat of fascism, in which the Soviet Union played a decisive role, raised a powerful wave of socio-political changes, about-
1 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 37, p. 122,
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It has spread all over the world, and has led to the strengthening of the forces of world peace. " 2
The revolutionary experience of our country, the experience of armed defense of the socialist state, is the most valuable asset of the Soviet people, our party, and our Armed Forces. It is not only of national significance. It is now important for all peoples fighting for their social liberation against the imperialist aggressors.
Deep assessments of the events of the Great Patriotic War are contained in the documents of the Central Committee of the CPSU, in particular in the resolutions on the 30th anniversary of the Victory over fascism, on the 60th anniversary of Great October, in the reports and speeches of Leonid Brezhnev, in speeches by party and government leaders. All progressive people of the world have a deep sympathy and respect for the historical achievements and exploits of the Soviet country, for its decisive contribution to the victory over fascism. For the masses, the lessons of war are still vital today. They allow us to get into the essence, into the social nature and character of those world forces, the confrontation of which determines the content of social processes and phenomena taking place in our era.
In their speeches at the XXV Congress of the CPSU, many state and party leaders of foreign countries highly appreciated the feat of the Soviet people. Welcoming the delegates of the congress on behalf of the Cuban people, F. Castro said:: "By showing heroic efforts and shedding their blood profusely, the Soviet workers opened the way to the future and managed to defend it. 20 million noble and selfless sons and daughters of the Soviet Union gave their lives in the Great Patriotic War. Such a terrible price was paid for thwarting the attempt of world reaction to delay the unstoppable march of humanity towards justice, prosperity and peace. " 3
It is well known that not everyone treats the results of the Second World War equally, as well as its immediate and long-term results. There is a profound difference in the assessment of the outcome and consequences of war. This can be confirmed by the attitude to such a date as Victory Day over Nazi Germany. In the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, the celebration of Victory Day has acquired a truly national character - it is a great and joyful day of their history, the celebration of the ideals of peace, democracy and socialism4 . The peoples of the former colonies celebrate the anniversary of the Victory as an event that shook the colonial system of imperialism to its foundations and ultimately led to its collapse and collapse. Progressive forces in the capitalist countries view the outcome of the war as a victory for freedom and democracy, which created favorable conditions for the struggle for the social and national liberation of the working people. But if the anniversary of the defeat of fascism is a joyous holiday for the socialist countries, the peoples of the former colonies, the international communist and workers ' movement, and all progressive people on earth, then for all representatives of the imperialist forces it is a cause for bitter reflection. Certain circles in the West are trying to ignore this date, to mute its historical resonance.
It is not difficult to understand why the consequences of the Second World War and its lessons cause discontent in imperialist circles. After all, the immediate results of the war turned out to be far from what some in the West would like to see them. The collapse of fascism meant not only the defeat of Hitler's Germany. It was the collapse of reak's hopes-
2 L. I. Brezhnev. Lenin's Course, vol. 5, Moscow, 1976, p. 286.
3 "Greetings to the XXV Congress of the CPSU". Moscow, 1976, p. 38.
4 See " The Great Victory of the Soviet People. 1941 - 1945". Proceedings of the scientific conference dedicated to the 30th Anniversary of the Victory of the Soviet People in the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1976.
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the concentration of forces for the defeat of the first socialist state in the World, the elimination of the Soviet system. The invasion of Hitler's hordes in the USSR was a logical continuation of the struggle waged by the old world against the new social system from the moment of its emergence. German fascism was nurtured, supported, and encouraged by the entire world reaction in its struggle against the Soviet Union , the bulwark of the international revolutionary liberation movement. Our country was hit by a huge blow. But the wave of invasion by enemy armies was shattered by the steadfastness and courage of the Soviet people, educated and inspired by the Communist Party. The war most convincingly demonstrated the resilience and invincibility of the socialist social, state, and political system, the unprecedented unity of the peoples of the U.S.S.R., and their unshakeable will to win. It was the Soviet Power that became the force that blocked fascism's path to world domination and led to the collapse of its political and military system. "In the longest and most difficult war in the history of our Motherland, the Soviet people performed a feat that has never been equaled by mankind,"reads the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU" On the 60th anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution." "He managed not only to defend his freedom and independence, but also made a decisive contribution to saving European and world civilization from destruction by fascist barbarians."
All this shows that the events of the Great Patriotic War, on which the course and outcome of an unprecedented armed clash between the forces of progress and justice in world history depended, are of lasting importance. That is why our party and its Central Committee constantly pay great attention to the military experience of defending our state, studying and summarizing it. A major role in this is assigned to scientists representing the social sciences, and first of all to historians.
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The study of any historical event is a long process, often fraught with contradictions and great difficulties. This is especially true for studying such a complex social phenomenon as war, especially such as the Great Patriotic War, in which the whole country and millions of people participated. Military operations were deployed simultaneously on land, in the air and at sea. They had a wide spatial scope and were conducted using a huge amount of forces and means, a variety of military equipment and weapons. The complexity of covering the history of war also lies in the fact that it often does not preserve all the documents and something remains unfixed, unknown, and forever lost. Therefore, a historian who studies the war must have not only great professional skills as a researcher, deep general and special knowledge, but also a truly scientific objectivity of judgments and conclusions. The responsibility of the researcher is also extremely great, since his works, being published in a wide readership, form public opinion about the most important events of the war, historical figures, the results and results of the war, and their impact on the subsequent course of world history.
The history of the origin, course and outcome of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War attracts the attention of many scientists - historians, economists, philosophers, sociologists, lawyers, as well as political and military figures. In many countries, extensive literature has been published, large multi-volume works have been created, memoirs of direct participants in the war have been widely distributed, and a huge number of publications have been published.-
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popular science books in large print runs. Bibliographic indexes number tens of thousands of books and collections of documents devoted to the last war. This gives grounds to assert that the military period of modern history occupies one of the central places not only in Russian, but also in world historiography. And although the "geography" of publications has not yet been fully studied, it is safe to say that there is no country in the world where books on the history of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War are not published. The largest number of books and articles are published in countries that took an active part in the war.
The Soviet historiography of the Great Patriotic War is very extensive. It has come a long way in its development. It took years and decades to accumulate facts and documentary materials, and the hard work of many researchers to comprehensively examine the multifaceted processes that took place during the war years. Overcoming the difficulties of the war and post-war period, Soviet historical science at all stages solved important problems of covering the Great Patriotic War.
Already during the war, literature on military history brought up Soviet people in the spirit of patriotism and noble traditions of defending the Fatherland. Soviet historians made a significant contribution, still insufficiently appreciated, to the formation of combat and moral qualities, the education of courage and perseverance of defenders of the Motherland. The books and pamphlets that reached the soldiers ' trenches and dugouts about the defeat of the German knight dogs on Lake Peipus, the Mongol-Tatar hordes on Kulikovo Field, the Swedish troops near Lesnaya and Poltava, about the death of Napoleon's Great Army in Russia, pamphlets and articles about the first victories in the Great Patriotic War raised the spirits of soldiers and commanders. Prominent Soviet social scientists B. D. Grekov, N. S. Derzhavin, N. M. Druzhinin, E. M. Zhukov, I. I. Mints, M. V. Nechkina, A.M. Pankratova, P. N. Pospelov, B. A. Rybakov, E. V. Tarle, M. N. Tikhomirov, P. N. Fedoseev, V. M. Khvostov and many others gave their knowledge and talent to the cause of defeating the aggressors.
The history of the Great Patriotic War began to be created already during the war. A generation of historians of wartime and the first peaceful years, who studied the war from the "fresh traces", did a lot of hard work. Research teams of the Military-Historical Department of the General Staff, military academies, military-historical groups that existed under the Ministry of Defense, specialists of the Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences were the first to study sources, raise arrays of documentary materials and introduce them into scientific circulation, form concepts, lay the foundations for modern views and assessments of military-historical events of the Great Patriotic War. A large team of historians led by I. I. Mints began collecting and preparing materials on the history of the Great Patriotic War during the war years.
At that time, military scientists - generals, admirals, officers V. I. Achkasov, E. A. Boltin, V. V. Voznenko, F. D. Vorobyov, A. I. Gotovtsev, L. M. Eremeev, N. M. Zamyatin, and I. V. Shishkin-were at the origins of the creation of the historiography of the Great Patriotic War and the development of the most important operations carried out during it by the Soviet Armed Forces. S. Isakov, I. S. Korotkov, P. D. Korkodinov, V. M. Kravtsov, G. S. Kravchenko, M. M. Minasyan, V. P. Morozov, N. G. Pavlenko, I. V. Parotkin, S. P. Platonov, N. A. Talensky, B. S. Telpukhovsky, N. A. Fokin, E. A. Shilovsky and many others 5 . Military history-
5 N. M. Zamyatin. Battle of Stalingrad, Moscow, 1943; I. S. Isakov. Voenno-Morskoy Flot SSSR v Velikoy Otechestvennoy voine [The Navy of the USSR in the Great Patriotic War]. Three years of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet people against the Germans-
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ci traveled to the Active Army, collected and processed documents at the front and army headquarters. This made it possible to create capital works in a short time. Suffice it to recall that the first three-volume study on the defeat of the German-Fascist troops near Moscow, edited by Marshal of the Soviet Union B. M. Shaposhnikov, was published already in 1943, a book about the Battle of Stalingrad was published in 1944 ,and a fundamental work on the Berlin operation was published in 1950 under the editorship of N. A. Talensky. 6
In the following years, the scope of coverage of the history of the Great Patriotic War significantly increased. This was reflected in the organization of a number of research institutions necessary for further study and generalization of the experience of the war. Thus, the Department of the history of the Great Patriotic War of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU (1957-1966) was established, which played an important role in uniting scientific personnel, collecting archival materials, and developing and publishing a 6 - volume work on the history of the Great Patriotic War .7
Since 1959, the publication of the "Military Historical Journal" has been resumed, which conducts a large scientific research work and plays a significant role in covering the history of the Great Patriotic War, the military art of the Soviet Army and Navy. Regularly published articles on various aspects of the history of the war in the magazines "Communist", "Questions of the history of the CPSU", "Questions of History", "History of the USSR", "New and modern history". The newspapers Pravda, Izvestia, Krasnaya Zvezda, and Komsomolskaya Pravda contribute in every possible way to revealing the facts of heroism of Soviet people during the Great Patriotic War. The work of the Ministry of Defense Archive, which has essentially become the archive of the Great Patriotic War, has significantly intensified.
A significant contribution to the historiography of the Great Patriotic War was made by the authors of the books of the series "World War II in Research, memoirs, documents "(M. 1964-1974) (Chairman of the editorial board, corresponding member. Academy of Sciences of the USSR A. M. Samsonov). It includes works prepared by institutes of the USSR Academy of Sciences, individual historians, and Soviet military leaders .8
In order to further expand and improve the theoretical level of research in the field of military history, the Central Committee of the CPSU decided in 1966 to establish the Institute of Military History of the USSR Ministry of Defense, which has now become a center for studying complex problems
other invaders. "Bolshevik", 1944, N 10-11; E. A. Shilovsky, N. A. Talensky, A.V. Vasiliev. East Prussian Operation of the Red Army 1945 M 1946; V. V. Voznenko, G. M. Utkin. Liberation of Kiev, Moscow, 1953; E. A. Boltin. Victory of the Soviet Armed Forces at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War. Voprosy istorii, 1955, No. 5; Vtoroi mirovoi voina 1939-1945 gg. Voenno-istoricheskii ocherk, Moscow, 1957; V. Achkasov, B. Vayner. The Red Banner Baltic Fleet in the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1957; G. A. Deborin. The Second World War. Military and political essay, Moscow, 1958; B. S. Telpukhovsky. The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941-1945. Moscow, 1959, et al.
6 "The defeat of German troops near Moscow". Hh. 1-3. Moscow, 1943; "The Battle of Stalingrad". Short essay, Moscow, 1944; "Berlin Operation of 1945", Moscow, 1950.
7 " History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941-1945". Tt. 1-6. M. 1962-1965.
8 I. M. Maisky. Memoirs of the Soviet Ambassador. War. 1939-1943. Moscow, 1965; S. S. Biryuzov. Harsh years. 1941-1945. Moscow, 1966; A. I. Eremenko. The years of retribution. 1943-1945. Moscow, 1969; "Soviet economy during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945". Moscow, 1970; I. T. Peresypkin. Svyaz v Velikoy Otechestvennoy voine [Communication in the Great Patriotic War]. Moscow, 1973; A. L. Hetman. Tanks go to Berlin (1941-1945). M. 1973; V. S. Antonov. The Road to Berlin, Moscow, 1975; N. A. Antipenko. On the main direction. Ed. 3-E. M. 1975; K. S. Moskalenko. In the South-West direction. Memoirs of the commander. Ed. 2-E. Kn. 1-2. Moscow, 1975, et al.
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military history, and above all the history of the Great Patriotic War and World War II 9 . The following sections were also created: history of the Great Patriotic War - at the Institute of History of the USSR of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR; history of the Second World War - at the Institute of General History of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR; history of the CPSU of the pre-war and war periods-at the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU.
A lot of work is being done in the institutes of history of the academies of sciences of the Union republics, in the branches of the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU, in the corresponding departments of military academies, and in the humanities departments of the country's universities. The Znanie Society, the Committee of War Veterans, DOSAAF, as well as scientific, educational and public organizations contribute to the development of the problem. A wide range of research projects on the history of the Great Patriotic War is being carried out in our country. It covers a wide range of issues related to a comprehensive reflection of the organizing and leading activities of the CPSU, the great feat of the Soviet people and its Armed Forces. In order to coordinate all this work and develop common concepts on the most important scientific problems, it is necessary to create a Scientific Council on the History of the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union at the Department of History of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, which would unite the efforts of researchers developing this most important area of Soviet historical science.
An exceptionally valuable study is the 12-volume comprehensive work "History of the Second World War", created by the Institute of Military History of the Ministry of Defense of the USSR together with the Institute of Marxism-Leninism under the Central Committee of the CPSU, the Institutes of History of the USSR and General History of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. 1939 - 1945"10 . It reveals various aspects and processes, features and characteristics of the war, its prehistory, its course and outcome, results, consequences and lessons, and their significance for the present. In fact, this work will be the first fundamental generalization of the history of the Second World War not only in Soviet, but also in world historiography.
Writing the history of the last war is not only an experience of collective creativity, but also an experience of developing a unified concept of Soviet historical science on the most important problems of the war. As a result of a comprehensive in-depth discussion at the Main Editorial Committee, the editors of the volumes developed concepts on such important issues of the history of World War II as its periodization and stages (which was important in determining the structure of the entire publication), the political nature of the war, the initial period of the Great Patriotic War, the failure of the "lightning war" plan, wars, the role of external and internal forces in the liberation of European countries, and others. All this is essential for Soviet scientists, as well as for historians of socialist countries, and for historical science all over the world. The seven published volumes of "History of the Second World War" were met with great interest by readers. This work is published in 37 foreign countries, and in the GDR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Bulgaria it is translated and published in its entirety.
9 " On the organization of the Institute of Military History. From the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU. August 27, 1966". " CPSU on the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union. Documents. 1917-1968". Moscow, 1969, p. 411.
10 Seven volumes have been published: vol. 1. The Origin of Science. The struggle of progressive forces for the preservation of peace, Moscow, 1973; vol. 2. On the Eve of War, Moscow, 1974; vol. 3. The beginning of War. Preparation of aggression against the USSR, Moscow, 1974; vol. 4. Fascist aggression against the USSR. The collapse of the strategy of the "lightning war". M. 1975; T. 5. Failure of the aggressive plans of the fascist bloc. M. 1975; t. 6. A radical change in the war. M. 1976; G. 7. Completion of a radical change in the war. M. 1976.
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According to the State Committee of the Council of Ministers of the USSR for Publishing Houses, Printing and Book Trade, 14,500 books and pamphlets on the history of the Great Patriotic War were published in the USSR from 1945 to 1973 with a total circulation of about 600 million copies. And if we take into account the works published in connection with the 30th anniversary of the Victory and later, the total number of titles increased to 16 thousand, and their circulation is over 700 million copies. The historiography of the wars of the past did not know such circulations. This suggests that military-historical knowledge has acquired a broad social significance in our country. Military history as a science serves the entire society, its older and younger generations.
It is necessary to note the great contribution of Komsomol members and pioneers in identifying documents and relics on the battlefields of the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars. Tens of thousands of young patriots take part in numerous campaigns organized for this purpose. Adopted at the fifth session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR in October 1976, the law" On the Protection and use of Historical and Cultural Monuments " provides for the preservation of monuments of the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars.
There are tens of thousands of such monuments in our country, and every year their number increases: new memorials are opened, monuments are erected, and the memory of soldiers-countrymen is perpetuated in the cities and villages of the country. The largest are the memorial complexes at Mamayev Kurgan in Volgograd, at the Piskarevskoye cemetery in Leningrad, in the hero fortress of Brest and Khatyn in Belarus, and others .11 Memorial complexes are being created to commemorate the people's feat on the battlefields of Kursk, in the hero cities of Kiev and Novorossiysk. In honor of the Victory, a monument will be erected in Moscow, on Poklonnaya Gora.
The great interest in the last war is explained by a number of circumstances. It is determined, first, by the tasks of Soviet historical science, the need for the most complete reflection in the history of the USSR of its war period, providing a solid, reliable basis for covering the history of wars in textbooks for secondary schools and higher educational institutions; secondly, the need to make the most active use of the heroics of the war years to educate our youth third, the fact that the study of military history becomes important for improving the theory and practice of military affairs, since it reveals the laws and trends of its development, warns against extremes, introduces an element of practical experience into theoretical reasoning, and provides a rich material for conclusions and generalizations.
It is known that the war and its history as an object of study are very complex. War encompasses various spheres of activity of States, parties, and classes. Here the historian deals with a huge scale of events taking place in the political, economic, ideological and military fields. Consequently, military history is by its very nature a multi-branch science, as it studies and explores war as a whole, all its social, economic, and military-technical aspects.
The study of social processes during the war years makes it possible to see them not just in a special situation, but in an aspect that allows them to give a deeper and more comprehensive assessment, compare and consider them in an integrated form both in peacetime and in wartime. Hence the extremely important practical significance
11 See G. A. Boguslavsky. To the eternal sons of the Fatherland. Monuments of the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1975. The book contains photographs of 536 monuments.
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joint efforts of specialists in the field of solving the main problem of our time - the problem of war and peace, as L. I. Brezhnev spoke about in his Report at the XXV Congress of the CPSU, outlining the main directions of fundamental research of Soviet social scientists .12
The history of the Great Patriotic War is created not only by historians. Political, state and military figures of that time, thousands of active participants in the fight against fascism, writers, playwrights, poets, and journalists write about it. New directions, new genres in literature were formed-documentary and artistic works about the war.
In our country and abroad, military memoirs are widely distributed. The memoirs of Marshals of the Soviet Union I. H. Bagramyan, A. M. Vasilevsky, A. A. Grechko, G. K. Zhukov, I. S. Konev, K. S. Moskalenko, K. K. Rokossovsky, Army Generals P. I. Batov, D. D. Lelyushenko, S. M. Shtemenko, Air Marshal A. I. Pokryshkin and others are very popular 13 . Memoirs of war veterans are evidences of great importance. No documentary materials are able to capture the complexity and dynamism of military events that took place over vast areas, to convey the character, tension, spirit of the battle or battle. In addition, quite often very important directives and orders were given orally, by radio or telephone and were not recorded in any written sources. Therefore, the historian of the Great Patriotic War, who studies individual battles, battles, operations, faces such difficulties that without the help of an eyewitness of events, he is not able to solve. If he learns about how this or that battle, this or that operation, took place from archival documents, then to answer questions about why any events developed in this way, and not otherwise, the historian often does not receive information in them. And not because the answers are somewhere in inaccessible safes, but because they are stored only in the memory of direct participants in battles and battles. First of all, those who were in the war, who survived it, who saw it with their own eyes are able to capture and convey the heroic deeds of the Soviet people and our soldiers most fully and vividly. In this regard, the memories of eyewitnesses are an important military-historical source. But no more. Without the testimonies of war participants, it is difficult to write its history, but it is impossible to know the history of the war from memoirs alone.
The broad front of research into the Great Patriotic War shows that Soviet historians are successfully implementing the important tasks put forward by the XXV Party Congress and the resolution of the Central Committee of the CPSU "On measures for the further development of social sciences and increasing their role in Communist construction" (1967). coverage of an unprecedented feat with-
12 See Materials of the XXV Congress of the CPSU, Moscow, 1976, pp. 72-73.
13 I. H. Baghramyan. So the war began. M. 1971; I. S. Konev. Notes of the front commander. 1943-1944. Moscow, 1972; K. K. Rokossovsky. Soldatskiy dolg [Soldier's Duty], Ed. 2, E. M. 1972; P. I. Batov. In campaigns and battles. Ed. 3-E. M. 1974; A. M. Vasilevsky. Life's work. Ed. 2-E. M. 1975; G. K. Zhukov. Memories and reflections. Vol. 1-2. Ed. 2-E. M. 1974; D. D. Lelyushenko. Moscow-Stalingrad-Berlin-Prague, Ed. 3-E. M. 1975; K. S. Moskalenko. Edict. op.; A. I. Pokryshkin. Nebo voiny [Sky of War], Ed. 5-E. M. 1975; S. M. Shtemenko. General Staff during the war. Book I. Ed. 2-E. M. 1975; book 2. M. 1974; I. I. Yakubovsky. Zemlya v ogne [Earth in Fire], Moscow, 1975; A. A. Grechko. Years of war. 1941-1943. Moscow, 1976; N. G. Kuznetsov. Kursom k pobede [Course to victory], Moscow, 1976; M. E. Katukov. On the edge of the main blow. Ed. 2-E. M. 1976; S. A. Krasovsky. Life in Aviation, 3rd ed. Minsk. 1976; S. I. Rudenko. Krylia pobedy [Wings of Victory], Moscow, 1976, et al.
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the Soviet people and its Armed Forces, the decisive role of the Communist Party in achieving victory in the fight against the most dangerous enemy of all mankind - German fascism; to generalize the experience of the Soviet state in mobilizing the country's forces and resources to repel the enemy; to create fundamental works on the history of the Great Patriotic War. Showing the superiority of the socialist social and state system, revealing the powerful sources of power of the Soviet Union, the greatness of Lenin's ideas of defending the socialist Fatherland, exposing the pre-war policies of the main capitalist powers that contributed to the aggression of Hitler's Germany, scientists make a positive contribution to the struggle for solving the main question of our time - the question of war and peace.
A detailed analysis of the published literature in its main areas is contained in a number of publications .14 Soviet historians investigated a wide range of issues related to the activities of the CPSU during the war in all its spheres, prepared works on the working class, collective farm peasantry, and intelligentsia, and highlighted the struggle of the Soviet Armed Forces at the front, the actions of partisans in the enemy's rear, and the military and labor exploits of women, youth ,and the Komsomol. 15 With good reason, we can say that the concrete historical, factual side of the history of the Great Patriotic War has been studied in detail.
Now the task of historiography is to generalize and analyze the literature available on the history of the Great Patriotic War, critically assess its scientific significance from the point of view of the current level of knowledge. In other words, we need to create a scientific historiography of the Great Patriotic War, which should provide answers to at least three questions: 1) with what detail and reliability is the actual side of the war considered, and is this fact a solid basis for historiography? 2) what are the advantages and disadvantages of everything published? 3) what are the challenges for further research on the history of the Great Patriotic War?
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One of the most important tasks of further study of the Great Patriotic War, its results and consequences is to further develop the international significance of the Soviet Union's victory in the war and its impact on the fate of mankind. This problem is brought to the fore primarily because, in essence, the emergence of socialism beyond the borders of one country, the victory of socialist revolutions in a number of countries in Europe and Asia, the collapse of the colonial system, the expansion of social and political rights of workers in capitalist countries, the growth of the authority of the international communist movement-all this would have been impossible fascism.
14 "CPSU-inspirer and organizer of the victory of the Soviet people in the Great Patriotic War". Historiographical Essay, Moscow, 1973; "Essays on Soviet Military Historiography", Moscow, 1974, etc.
15 "Istoriya Kommunisticheskoi partii Sovetskogo Soyuza" [History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union], Vol. 5, book 1, Moscow, 1970; Yu. V. Harutyunyan. Soviet peasantry during the Great Patriotic War, ed. 2-E. M. 1970; [I. I. Belonosov]. Soviet Trade Unions during the War, Moscow, 1970; A.V. Mitrofanova. The Working Class of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1971; V. M. Savelyev, V. P. Savvin. Soviet Intelligentsia in the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1974; V. S. Murmantseva. Soviet Women in the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1974; "War behind Enemy Lines". Issue 1. Moscow, 1974; "Leninsky Komsomol in the Great Patriotic War", Moscow, 1975; " The Party at the head of the people's Struggle in the enemy's rear. 1941-1945". Moscow, 1976; N. I. Makarov. Nepokorennaya zemlya Rossiiskaya, Moscow, 1976; G. A. Kumanev. In the service of the front and rear. M. 1976, et al.
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It seemed to the enemies of socialism that the Soviet country would not be able to recover from the wounds inflicted on it, that it would not be able to restore the destroyed national economy in the territory liberated from the enemy, that it would remain powerless for many years in the face of the imperialist powers and would be forced to seek their help. But the capitalists ' hopes of weakening the Soviet Union proved to be untenable. The Soviet people not only quickly healed the wounds inflicted on them, overcame the severe consequences of the war, but also moved their economy forward at an unprecedented pace. In the post-war period, our country is experiencing a rapid economic recovery, the flourishing of culture, education, and science, and the standard of living of Soviet people is increasing. The Soviet Union has become more powerful than ever. At the same time, the forces of world imperialist reaction were seriously weakened by the collapse of fascism. This fact was of cardinal importance for the fate of mankind and largely predetermined the evolution of the modern world.
Along with the social changes caused by the victory over fascism, a major role in the life of humanity is played by the changes that have taken place in the minds of peoples, in the minds of millions of people, in the revolutionary renewal of the world. Other socialist states sprang up alongside the Soviet Union. Not only the Soviet people, but the whole community of peoples began to build a new society, to implement the ideas of scientific communism. The formation of the world system of socialism was the second largest event in modern history after the October Revolution. The international communist and labor movement has grown immeasurably stronger, and the world revolutionary process has acquired a new and powerful scope. The Communist parties, which were at the forefront of the struggle against fascism during the Second World War and suffered heavy losses in this struggle, gained even greater authority among the broad masses than before, expanded their influence, and became the largest political force in the world.
During the Great Patriotic War, not only various armies, states and social forces collided. War also meant the confrontation of different ideologies. The focus of Hitler's strategy, which threw the main armed forces to the East, the fury and bitterness that were invested in this blow of fascism, the uncompromising nature of the life-and - death struggle that the battles on the Soviet-German front took on-all this was explained by one thing: the anti-communist obsession of the Hitlerite rulers of Germany, the socio-class struggle of the the essence of their entire policy. The bankruptcy of fascist ideology also meant the bankruptcy of the ideas that it had adopted from the arsenal of bourgeois political thought.
Consequently, one of the most important historical results of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War is that the progressive democratic forces, thanks to the victory over fascism, became stronger and firmly occupied the leading edge of history, while reaction and imperialism suffered a severe loss.
The entire subsequent course of world development, the political and spiritual life of peoples and States are linked to the results and consequences of the Second World War. And if we talk about drawing the final line under the results of the war, including the post-war status quo of the borders of European states, then they are most clearly fixed in the Final Act of the Meeting of 35 states in Helsinki. "The results achieved are worth the effort," Leonid Brezhnev said at the XXV Party Congress. - The participants of the meeting collectively confirmed the inviolability of the existing borders. A set of principles has been developed-
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a spirit of inter-State relations that fully meets the requirements of peaceful coexistence, both in letter and spirit. " 16
Solving this problem requires a lot of effort. After all, the influential circles of some Western countries do not show much desire to really abandon the psychology of the "cold war", they not only do not contribute to strengthening mutual trust and international cooperation, but also in every possible way inflate hostility to socialist countries. In this regard, a comprehensive analysis of the causes of the past war, its course and outcome, and the exposure of the real culprits of its occurrence are of not only scientific, but also political and practical significance in the modern struggle to defuse international tension and prevent a new, even more bloody and destructive war.
That is why the topic "The international significance of the victory of the Soviet Union in the Great Patriotic War and its impact on the fate of humanity" is relevant and important. It requires independent fundamental integrated development. By opening up this topic, it is necessary to show the impact of our victories throughout the war on. the policy and strategy of the Allies, the collapse of the Hitlerite coalition, the rise of the national liberation struggle, the resistance movement in the countries that fought against fascism. The comprehensive development of this topic is also important because our ideological opponents are trying to form a perverted view of the past war among the new generation of people, to silence the world-historical significance of the victory of the Soviet people over fascism. But the great feat of the Soviet people, despite all the tricks of our enemies, cannot be forgotten. "And it is not given to anyone," L. I. Brezhnev emphasized, "it will not be given to anyone to forget that the people of our time owe their very existence and freedom to the heroic Soviet people, the Soviet state, and the great socialist system!" 17
The Soviet people, defending the world's first socialist state, simultaneously helped to free the peoples of other countries from Hitler's tyranny, and set an example of international solidarity. This is the international significance of the victory of the Soviet Union in the war with Nazi Germany. And it is necessary to fully disclose this in the works of Soviet historians.
The Great Patriotic War is a national war. An in-depth study of the national character of the Great Patriotic War is of great importance. Lenin at the beginning of the twentieth century said: "Wars are now being waged by nations" 18 . All our people fought against the fascist hordes that invaded the Soviet country. He has won an armed, economic, and ideological battle against a powerful and insidious enemy. It is the duty and duty of Soviet historians to adequately reflect the national epic, the great heroic feat of the Soviet people.
The topic of "People and war" is very extensive. It covers all the activities of the people during the war: the front, the rear of the country, the struggle behind enemy lines. Although relatively much attention has been paid to the feat of the Soviet people at the front and their armed struggle as the main content of the war, a large number of studies and memoirs have been devoted to it, this topic is so deep and broad that it will remain an important object of research carried out by Soviet scientists for many years to come.
15 "Materials of the XXV Congress of the CPSU", p. 18.
17 L. I. Brezhnev. Lenin's Course, vol. 4, Moscow, 1974, p. 196.
18 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 9, p. 154.
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by historians. To an even greater extent, this applies to the coverage of the labor feat of the Soviet people, who provided the front with weapons, ammunition, and everything necessary for the defeat of the fascist invaders, and to the study of the selfless struggle of Soviet patriots behind enemy lines. In recent years, the attention of scientists to the disclosure of the national nature of the war has increased. The staff of the Institute of the History of the USSR of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR, who have created interesting studies, are working fruitfully in this direction 19 . Much has been done in republican scientific institutions. A lot of work is done by Ukrainian and Belarusian historians 20 .. Research has also become more active in other republics, territories, and oblasts .21 The general scientific community takes part in the development of these works. All this, of course, expands the scope of work. Much has already been done, especially in recent years. Nevertheless, the published literature on this topic does not yet reflect all the diversity and complexity of that historical period in the life of the peoples of the Soviet Union, which was associated with the defense of the socialist Fatherland from fascist aggression. The reality of those years is richer, brighter, and more complex than it is sometimes portrayed in some studies.
The feat of the Soviet people in the last war is great and diverse. Under the leadership of the Communist Party, he managed to stop a strong and cruel enemy, change the course of the war, and win a victory of world - historical significance. Some foreign historians, analyzing the events on the Soviet-German front, cannot or do not want to understand how the Soviet people managed to supply the multi-million-strong army in increasing numbers with the latest military equipment, ammunition, food, and everything necessary during the incredibly difficult conditions of the war and surpass the enemy, who seized the resources of almost the entire continental Europe, in the quantity and quality of weapons. They consider it a "Russian riddle", an "economic miracle". And many bourgeois historians find an explanation for all this in the American lend-lease, claiming that the supply of military equipment, strategic raw materials, and food from the United States saved the USSR from defeat in the war, and that victory "on all fronts" was primarily provided by "American industry, American resources ,and American human reserves." 22 The answer lies in all the previous activities of the party and the Soviet people, in the creation of a powerful socialist industry during the pre-war five-year plans, and in the ability to fully mobilize all economic resources in the course of the war to meet the needs of the front. One of the most important tasks of historians is to show as fully as possible the sources of the social and economic superiority of the USSR in the struggle against the fascist aggressors.
19 "The Soviet rear in the Great Patriotic War". Book 1-2. Moscow, 1974; " Smithy of Victory. Feat of the rear during the Great Patriotic War", Moscow, 1974.
20 " Ukrainian SSR in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941-1945". Tt. 1-3. Kiev. 1975; "In the battles for Belarus", 2nd ed. Minsk. 1974; " Liberation of Belarus. 1944". Ed. 2-E. M. 1974; " Underground party organs of the Communist Party of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War. 1941 - 1944". Minsk. 1975, et al.
21 " The struggle of the Latvian people during the Great Patriotic War. 1941- 1945". Riga. 1970; " The Estonian people in the Great Patriotic War of the Soviet Union. 1941-1945". Vol. 1. Tallinn. 1973; I. I. Kuznetsov. Eastern Siberia during the Great Patriotic War. 1941 -1945. Irkutsk. 1974; I. P. Babalashvili. Georgia's contribution to the common cause of victory over fascism (1941-1945). 1975; V. A. Karvialis. Liberation of the Lithuanian SSR from Nazi occupation (1941-1945). Vilnius, 1975; "Contribution of the workers of Uzbekistan to the victory in the Great Patriotic War". Tashkent, 1975, and others.
22 Q. Howe. Ashes of Victory. World War II and Its Aftermath. N. Y. 1972, p. 274.
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the meaning of the economic miracle accomplished by the Soviet people under the leadership of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
The topic of the feat of Soviet people behind enemy lines requires further development and in-depth research. In total, many books have already been published on this issue. But they are mainly devoted to the partisan movement and the actions of underground groups in individual republics and regions. At the same time, we still do not have enough generalizing historical and theoretical works that would present the struggle of the Soviet people behind enemy lines on the scale of the entire territory under occupation, and the forms of this struggle are considered in detail.
The Communist Party of the Soviet Union was a proven political leader of Soviet society, an organizer of the national struggle against the imperialist aggressors. The Central Committee of the party was the main headquarters, which exercised the highest political and strategic leadership of the armed struggle, as well as the selfless work of home front workers. All this ensured a solid, monolithic unity of the entire multinational Soviet people and a victory of world-historical significance.
Many books have been written about the Communist Party, its guiding and guiding activities during the Great Patriotic War. This topic is reflected in fundamental works on the Great Patriotic War23 . The Party appears to us in all its organizational and ideological power. Her works comprehensively reveal her colossal efforts to organize and mobilize all human and material resources in order to achieve victory over the enemy.
In the conditions of war, new forms and methods of work of the party were required, and new and most important tasks were put forward. It was necessary to rebuild the entire national economy in a military way as soon as possible, to create a powerful military economy; to strengthen the Soviet Armed Forces and develop a broad partisan movement behind enemy lines; to further strengthen the moral and political unity of Soviet society and the friendship of the peoples of the USSR, Soviet patriotism; to rouse all Soviet people for the Great Patriotic War to ensure the creation of an anti-Hitler coalition, a united front of freedom-loving peoples against fascist Germany; to rally all progressive forces for its complete defeat.
The central place in the party's activities was occupied by military-organizational work on the successful conduct of the armed struggle against the aggressor. Here is just one example. Already in the first months of the war, 5,300 thousand people were mobilized into the army and navy, and by December 1941, more than 300 divisions were formed and sent to the Active Army .24 The Party roused the entire Soviet people to fight the enemy, significantly increased the size of the armed forces, trained and educated their personnel in the spirit of high ideology, organization and discipline. It is one of the greatest achievements of our party to involve huge masses of people in active armed struggle in a short period of time under the most difficult conditions of the first period of the war. That is why the party's military-organizational activities during the Great Patriotic War need further comprehensive research.
23 "History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union", vol. 5, book 1; "History of the Second World War". Vols. 1-7; "CPSU-organizer of the defense of the socialist Fatherland", Moscow, 1974; " At the head of the defense of the Soviet Homeland. Essay on the activities of the CPSU during the Great Patriotic War", Moscow, 1975; N. D. Kozlov, A.D. Zaitsev. The Fighting Party, Moscow, 1975; A. A. Epishev. The Party-organizer of our victories, Moscow, 1976, et al.
24 "The Great Patriotic War". A brief Popular Science Essay, 2nd Moscow, 1973.
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It is especially important to reveal and show in dynamics and development the organizing and leading role of the party.
There is a need for a more in-depth study of the party's ideological activities during the war years. This important topic is still insufficiently covered, 25 although the role of the party's ideological work during the war years was unusually great. The Communist Party attached great importance to its ideological activity among the masses of soldiers and home front workers. She focused her main attention on educating Soviet people of high patriotic qualities, boundless devotion to the socialist Motherland, hatred of fascism, organization, discipline, and vigilance. The Party tirelessly waged an active, offensive counter-propaganda, exposing the fascist lies about the Soviet social and state system. The enemy failed to shake the ideological conviction of the Soviet people. During the war, it became even more hardened and strengthened, and the Soviet people rallied even more closely around the Communist Party, which staunchly and consistently defends the sacred principles of communism.
The high ideological conviction and political consciousness of the masses, achieved as a result of many years of ideological and educational work of the Communist Party, were one of the decisive factors of our victory. In the hour of deadly danger, these high patriotic qualities were manifested in the soldiers who were going to attack the enemy, in the workers, collective farmers, and all the home front workers who gave their all to achieve victory.
The decisive means of influencing the consciousness of soldiers, educating them of high moral, political and combat qualities, and ensuring victory over the enemy was the active, offensive party-political work carried out in the troops .26 It formed an organic and integral part of all the ideological and organizational activities of the Communist Party in the exercise of the Party leadership of the Armed Forces. That is why the role of party-political work in combat conditions requires even more complete coverage. It is also not enough to study the role of Communists at the front - commanders, their political deputies, employees of political departments, and military councils-in a comprehensive way. It is important to reveal concretely and at the same time deeply the nature of their work, its forms and methods, to investigate how the ideological charge received in the course of party-political work influenced the nature of military operations and their results, to what extent and how it helped to overcome the difficulties of armed struggle with the enemy.
One of the most important issues in the history of the Great Patriotic War is the theme "Komsomol and defense of the Fatherland". The Komsomol, a loyal assistant to the party, made a significant contribution to the victory, and during the harsh years of Hitler's invasion, Soviet youth showed a high political consciousness, showed the greatest examples of courage and heroism. Already in the first days of the war, tens of thousands of Komsomol members applied to be sent to the Active Army. Speaking about the feat of the young men and women of the Land of Soviets, M. I. Kalinin noted: "There is no type of weapon, there is no form of struggle in the Patriotic War, where the Komsomol would not participate, where it would not be in the first ranks"27 . It really is. During the war years, the Komsomol gave millions to the Motherland
25 " Ideological work of the CPSU at the front (1941-1945)", Moscow, 1960; G. D. Komkov. Ideological and political work of the CPSU in 1941-1945. M 1965; A. A. Epishev. Some issues of ideological work in the Soviet Armed Forces, Moscow, 1975.
26 " Party and political work in the Soviet Armed Forces during the Great Patriotic War. 1941-1945". Ed. "2-E. M. 1968;" Party and political work in the Armed Forces of the USSR. 1918-1973". Historical essay. M. 1974.
27 M. I. Kalinin. About young people. Selected speeches and articles, Moscow, 1975, p. 232.
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selfless fighters. 80-85% of its members fought with weapons in the Active army, in partisan detachments, about 11 million were at the front 28 . In the fire of battles, young patriots cherished the revolutionary and martial traditions of the peoples of the USSR, multiplied and developed them. They have justified the high trust placed in them by the Motherland and the party-to selflessly defend the gains of socialism.
Books, collections of documents, memoirs of veterans , plays, songs, and movies are devoted to the many-sided activities of the Komsomol during the war. The extensive literature on the role of the Komsomol in the last war already makes it possible to create a large, generalizing work "Komsomol in the Great Patriotic War".
Consequently, further efforts of researchers of the Great Patriotic War should concentrate on the development and generalization of the entire military period of the history of the USSR (1941-1945), all socio-political and military processes that took place during the war, and a deep disclosure of the leading role of the CPSU in achieving the Soviet people's world - historic victory over nazi Germany and militaristic Japan.
* * *
The completeness of historical research about the war can be achieved only when we have a comprehensive, chronological review and analysis of the processes and phenomena that took place in those years. Only under this condition can one correctly determine the role and place of a particular event in the war. And although we have published general works on the history of the Great Patriotic War, but its individual aspects are not studied and covered with the same depth. One of these important problems is the problem of the genesis of the Second World War and the Great Patriotic War. Questions of origin and causation are central questions in the study of any war. "It seems to me," said Lenin, " that the main thing that is usually forgotten on the question of war, that not enough attention is paid to it, the main thing over which so many disputes are being waged, and perhaps I should say empty, hopeless, aimless disputes, is the forgetting of the basic question of what is to be done. a war has a class character, what caused it to break out, what classes are waging it, and what historical and historical-economic conditions caused it. " 30 And further Lenin emphasized: "If you have not studied the policies of both groups of belligerent powers for decades, if you have not shown the connection of this war with previous policies, you have not understood anything about this war!" 31
It is precisely around the issues concerning the causes of the Second World War, determining the perpetrators of its unleashing, that all sorts of false versions are being whipped up, and an acute ideological struggle is underway. As the International Conference in Weimar (May 1975) and especially the XIV International Congress of Historical Sciences in San Francisco (August 1975) have shown, some bourgeois historians continue to
28 E. M. Tyazhelnikov. Komsomol - combat assistant of the party during the Great Patriotic War. "Questions of the history of the CPSU", 1975, N° 5. p. 5.
29 " Youth grew stronger in battle." Articles, essays, documents. Moscow, 1966; " History of the Komsomol. Live Chronicle". Tetr. 2. 1929-1945, Moscow, 1967; N. Mikhailov. We only dream of peace. Memoirs. Ed. 2-E. M. 1972; his. In those Years, Moscow, 1975; " The Fiery Years. Documents and materials on the participation of the Komsomol in the Great Patriotic War". Ed. 2-E. M. 1971; E. M. Tyazhelnikov. Leninsky Komsomol-combat assistant of the CPSU during the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1973; I. Y. Davydov. Yunost goes into battle. Moscow, 1973; "Leninsky Komsomol in the Great Patriotic War". Collection of articles and documents, Moscow, 1975; V. Eremin. Fighting youth. On the heroic deeds of young men and girls of the Soviet rear during the Great Patriotic War, Moscow, 1975, et al.
30 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 32, p. 77.
31 Ibid., page 82.
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falsify the prehistory of the war, try to whitewash imperialism - the only culprit of the world tragedy. So, many historians of Germany distort the policy of the Soviet Union on the eve of the war. Contrary to the facts, they try to prove that in the pre-war years the Comintern fought not against fascism, but only against the Social Democrats, that the USSR and the Red Army allegedly had special, close ties with the Reichswehr. They try in every possible way to distort the meaning of the non-aggression treaty concluded by the Soviet Union with Germany on August 23, 1939, claiming that this treaty was allegedly a prerequisite for Germany to start a war.
Many of our historians study the politics of imperialist states long before the outbreak of World War II, and analyze new documents that reveal, on the one hand, the sharpness of contradictions within the capitalist world, and, on the other, their class unity in order to fight against the world's first socialist state. The causality of war is discussed in detail in the multi-volume editions 32 . These and other works on a broad documentary basis convincingly prove that it was imperialism that prepared and unleashed the Second World War, expose numerous falsifications of bourgeois propaganda, which seeks to confuse the complex and contradictory pre-war processes, distort events and thereby try to remove responsibility from the true perpetrators of bloody crimes.
The origin of war is primarily a political issue. Why did the Second World War arise, what are the reasons for this? What should be done to prevent a similar or even more terrible tragedy from happening again? These issues still concern millions of people in all countries today. Marxist historians have developed coherent, deeply scientific conceptions of the origin of the Second World War and the criminal, anti-human nature of fascism as a product of extreme imperialist reaction. The works of Soviet historians help progressive forces around the world in their struggle against the attempts of the ultra-right to revive fascism, they remind us that fascism and racism were and remain the worst enemies of peoples, enemies of peace, socialism and democracy. That is why we need books and articles that trace the history of fascism and its social roots, especially since numerous publications appear in a number of capitalist countries (Germany, the United States), the authors of which are trying, in fact, to whitewash and retouch the disgusting physiognomy of German fascism and its Fuhrer. 33 Time cannot weaken the hatred of peoples for fascism and its atrocities.
One of the most important tasks is to further reveal the decisive role of the Soviet Union in achieving victory in World War II. It is well known that the real contribution of different countries to the victory was not the same. Reactionary bourgeois historians and ideologues deliberately confuse this problem, since the correct coverage of it is connected with the recognition of the decisive role of the Soviet Union. They argue that there are no scales on which to weigh the contribution to achieving the victory of a particular country, there are no criteria by which it can be measured.
Soviet historians have developed such criteria. They are based on factors that characterize the political nature of the war and its goals
32 "World History". Vol. 10. M 1965; "History of diplomacy". Ed. 2-e. Tt. 3-4. M 1965, 1975; "Documents of foreign policy of the USSR". Vol. 18-20, Moscow, 1973-1976; " History of the Second World War. 1939-1945". Tt. 1-2, etc.
33 t. Dupuy. The Military Life of Adolf Hitler, Fuhrer of Germany. N. Y. 1969; P.Schramra. Hitler-the Man and Military Leader. L. 1972; J. Strawson. Hitler as Military Commander. L. 1973; R. Payne. The Life and Death of Adolf Hitler. N. Y. 1973; W. Mazer. Adolf Hitler. Legende, Myths, Wirklichkeit. Munchen. 1973; J. C. Fest. Hitler. Einc Biographie (6. Aufl.). Frankfurt a. M. u. a. 1974, a. o.
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the warring parties, the ideology that prevails in the state, the results achieved and, above all, the political, economic and military damage caused to the enemy during the war. The size and degree of contribution of individual countries to the victory, along with objective circumstances, were largely determined by such subjective conditions as the activity of the masses in the war, the policy of the governments of the anti-Hitler coalition in mobilizing forces and funds for the needs of the struggle. Applying these criteria, it is possible to determine the scope, intensity, and effectiveness of each State's military actions and their impact on the course and outcome of the war as a whole. An analysis of these main criteria and the results of the war shows that the peoples of the Soviet Union bore the brunt of the struggle against the bloc of fascist states.
The decisive role of the Soviet people and their Armed Forces in the victory over fascism is particularly clear if we consider their activities from the point of view of achieving the three main goals of the war.
The first was to stop the German-Fascist invaders, to block the way for the further spread of aggression. As you know, on the Soviet-German front, as a result of a stubborn struggle, at the cost of great sacrifices and tension, the enemy was stopped, the path of the aggressor was blocked. There is no other example in history when a state that finds itself in such a difficult and difficult situation at the beginning of a war has won such a convincing victory over the strongest enemy. 1941-1942 - the most difficult period of the war, associated with the dramatic events of the retreat of our troops due to the unfavorable strategic situation. But the main thing was that in these most difficult conditions of the struggle, the Soviet soldiers withstood the blows of the strongest enemy, blocked the path of the aggressor, thwarted his plan of "blitzkrieg" and inflicted serious defeats on him at Moscow, Leningrad and Stalingrad, and thereby laid a solid foundation for the coming great victory. It was achieved primarily because the Communist Party and the Soviet Government quickly and effectively rebuilt the entire economy and life of the country in a military way. Success was ensured by heroism, persistent, selfless struggle, and great moral fortitude of the Soviet people.
The second important task was to deprive the enemy of the means of warfare, that is, to destroy its main manpower and military equipment. And this task was solved successfully. Hitler's army lost a significant part of its personnel troops on the Soviet-German front: 10 million soldiers and officers, 77,000 combat aircraft, 48,000 tanks and assault guns, 167,000 artillery pieces, 2,500 warships and transport vessels. 34 Thus, the Allied struggle in other theaters of military operations was facilitated, which ultimately accelerated the end of the war and led to the complete military defeat of Nazi Germany.
Finally, the Soviet Union also solved the third task - providing direct assistance to the peoples of Western European countries in freeing them from Hitler's occupation. It took a lot of effort, money and sacrifice. Here the true internationalism of the Soviet Union was revealed, internationalism in practice. In this regard, it is important and relevant to further develop in-depth issues related to the liberation mission of the Soviet Armed Forces and the role of the anti-fascist liberation movement. These are big questions of principle, around which there is a sharp, incessant ideological struggle.
34 " The world-historical victory of the Soviet people. 1941-1945". Moscow, 1971, p. 273.
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Researchers should also focus on issues related to the nature and content of the resistance movement in the occupied countries, the correlation of external and internal forces in the liberation of European countries from the fascist invaders. These are important issues. Their coverage requires a proper methodological approach.
When analyzing the events of World War II, Soviet historians assume that the main prerequisites for the resistance movement and armed uprisings in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe were objective internal socio-economic and political reasons that led to the emergence of an immediate revolutionary situation. The Soviet Army did not bring the revolution "on its bayonets," as reactionary bourgeois historians try to portray it. The defeat of the German-fascist armies on the Soviet-German front and the entry of the Soviet Army into one country or another accelerated the maturation of the internal prerequisites for the uprising, restraining the appearance of internal reaction. The driving forces of the uprisings were the workers, peasants, and democratic intelligentsia under the hegemony of the proletariat and the leadership of the communist and workers ' parties. In some cases, the opposition part of the national bourgeoisie also participated in the revolutionary events, but only as long as it corresponded to its class interests. Naturally, it did not go further than expelling foreign invaders and striving to maintain its dominance.
In this regard, historians face at least two tasks. First, it is necessary to give a deeper and more accurate account of the correlation between external (Soviet Armed Forces) and internal (Resistance movement) forces for the liberation of European countries from the fascist invaders. Revealing the activation of the Resistance movement as a legitimate general democratic, patriotic movement of the broad masses of the people, showing its forms and the leading role of communist and workers ' parties in the fight against fascism, at the same time, we should consider the conditions that ensured the success of the Resistance movement and anti - Fascist uprisings in connection with the situation on the Soviet-German front. The decisive external factor that led to the victory of the working people in these countries was the success of the Soviet Armed Forces. It was the interaction of the external factor and internal resistance forces that accelerated the processes associated with the liberation of Western European states from nazi occupation. Secondly, it is necessary to correctly determine the nature of the uprisings and revolutions that took place in the countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe during and after their liberation.
In our literature, various points of view have been expressed on this issue. According to one of them, the people's democratic revolution is a special type of social revolution, which is not a type of either bourgeois-democratic or socialist revolution. The authors who hold these views believe that the revolutionary process in these countries passed through the stages of two revolutions: the people's democratic and the socialist. Other researchers argue that the people's democratic revolution in these countries is a form of socialist revolution. Since the question of the nature of the people's democratic revolution is by no means a terminological one, but a fundamental one, it should be thoroughly studied and a unified interpretation of this very important historical and theoretical problem should be developed.
A comprehensive study of the history of wars depends on how fully a comprehensive analysis of all aspects of the social life of the belligerent classes, States, and coalitions is provided. First of all, this applies to the study of the Great Patriotic War, since it occupies a special place in history. It was a confrontation between two si-
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the fate of all mankind depended on its outcome. Therefore, the development of the root problems of the Great Patriotic War, their comprehensive and end-to-end consideration is a very important task.
The wars in defense of the Socialist Fatherland, and above all the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945, convincingly testify to the high level of Soviet military art. It prevailed over the military art of the fascist Wehrmacht and rightfully became one of the factors of our victory.
We have paid much attention to the study of the experience of waging war and armed struggle. But the task is to study in more depth the issues that are of particular interest to our time, to comprehensively reveal the ways and forms of military operations that have not lost their significance today. The experience of the Civil and Great Patriotic Wars contains excellent examples of strategic leadership, organization and conduct of such offensive and defensive operations, which were not known before in world history. Such operations as the Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, Iasi-Kishinev, Belorussian, Vistula-Oder, Berlin, and others have become classic examples of world military art. They were conducted over a vast area, under various conditions, with outstanding results and far-reaching military and political consequences. Their organization, preparation and implementation were made possible by the vast military knowledge, generalship talent and military skill of the commanders and political workers of the Soviet Army. These operations were a clear demonstration of the advantages of socialist military organization and military theory over fascist military organization and military theory.
The task now is to create generalizing works on the history of Soviet military strategy, strategic management of the war, works that reveal the scope and scale of front-line and inter-front operations, organization and implementation of strategic defense, strategic offensive and counteroffensive, preparation and conduct of operations for encirclement, in the coastal areas, in the Far North, and so on.
The positive experience of war is the basis for improving military theory. But successfully using the experience of the past means taking into account the reasons for not only victories, but also failures. A historian who reveals the experience of past battles in his works is obliged to show not only the peaks of victories, but also what created the conditions for achieving them, to show not only what shines so brightly, but also what is still in the shadows and waiting to be explored.
Of course, military history is not a collection of ready-made answers to the questions put forward by the modern practice of military affairs. V. I. Lenin pointed out that theoretical propositions, historical and practical experience should serve as a guide to live, creative action. "To keep an inheritance,"Lenin said," does not mean at all to confine oneself to inheritance. " 35 As applied to military affairs, this means that modern military theory and practice can be developed on the basis of lessons and conclusions derived from the experience of military history, but with an indispensable and absolutely mandatory consideration of everything new that has emerged in the field of military construction, military art, improvement of military equipment, etc. military historians and theorists, but also practitioners. The task of military historians is to summarize the experience and be able to convey it to military personnel in such a way as to interest them, arouse their desire to firmly assimilate this experience and apply it in their daily practice.
35 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 2, p. 542.
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Lenin insistently demanded that practical workers thoroughly study historical experience and correctly use it in their activities. "A real' business executive, '"he said," I'm not a lawyer ...He knows that capitalists and trust managers, even in the most advanced countries, have spent many years, sometimes ten years or more, studying and testing their own (and others') practical experience, correcting, redoing what they started, going back, correcting many times in order to achieve a management system that is quite suitable for this task... The basic principle of "industrial education"... It is that we take it upon ourselves and teach others to take on the most careful and detailed study of our own practical experience, according to the rule: "try it on seven times, cut it off once" 36.
Of course, now the Soviet Armed Forces are in many ways different from what they were during the Great Patriotic War. Under the influence of the rapid progress of science and technology, a truly revolutionary shift in military affairs took place. Tremendous progress has been made in arming and equipping the army and Navy, in their organizational structure, and in the theory of the art of war. The experience of the last war cannot serve as a ready-made recipe, but the basic principles of military leadership and Soviet military art have retained their vitality to this day. Therefore, we need works that not only describe the facts, but - and this is the main thing - draw reasonable conclusions, contain an analysis of the principles of action. In this sense, the experience of the Great Patriotic War is irreplaceable.
In order to increase the effectiveness of research on the history of the Great Patriotic War, it is necessary to ensure that their results and their impact extend both to practical activities and to the spiritual and moral sphere - the education of defenders of the Soviet Motherland, true patriots and internationalists. Here the value of literature on the history of the Great Patriotic War is very high. With the help of heroic and patriotic books, an important place among which is occupied by military-historical popular science works, a wide range of readers can better understand and understand the rich, truly legendary history of our great Motherland, feel even more proud of their people, for the Soviet soldier.
Popular science books about the Great Patriotic War are in increasing demand. Unfortunately, there are still very few such books published. Thus, historical biography has always been the most popular, most lucid form of military-historical research. At one time, D. A. Furmanov created the image of the legendary hero of the Civil War V. I. Chapaev. However, too few works about military leaders and heroes of the Great Patriotic War are published , 37 and not every one of them can be compared with Furmanov's remarkable book in terms of its educational and emotional impact on the reader, especially young ones. Creating popular books about the Great Patriotic War-small in volume, but deep in content, vivid in form - is one of the most important tasks of historians.
The relentless and principled struggle against bourgeois falsifiers remains a very important task that requires great attention. It is known that on the main issues of the history of the Second World War-
36 V. I. Lenin. PSS. Vol. 42, pp. 284-285.
37 P. G. Kuznetsov. General Chernyakhovsky, Moscow, 1969; S. A. Borzenko, N. N. Denisov. Nugget of Russia (S. M. Budyonny), Moscow, 1970; M. N. Gorbunov. Soldier, commander (about R. Y. Malinovsky), Moscow, 1973; V. I. Kardashov. Rokossovsky, Ed. 2-E. M. 1973; B. Polevoy. The commander. Biographical story about I. S. Konev, Moscow, 1974; S. N. Golubev. When fortresses do not give up (about D. M. Karbyshev). Petrozavodsk. 1975; V. S. Akshinsky. Kliment Yefremovich Voroshilov. Biographical sketch, Ed. 2-E. M. 1976; A. M. Arzumanyan. Admiral (I. S. Isakov), Moscow, 1976, et al.
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howling war between Marxist historians and historians of the bourgeois camp, a long and increasingly acute ideological struggle unfolded. Marxist historians strive to give a truly scientific, truthful picture of the origin, course, and outcome of the war. Historians of a different, imperialist trend, fulfilling a social order, follow the path of falsifying and distorting the events and lessons of the last war, trying to present them in a false light.
Bourgeois historians and propagandists, massively influencing the Western reader, create a falsified interpretation of the history of the war: they grossly distort its causes and political nature, spread versions that the Soviet Union won the war not because of the advantages of the socialist system, its military and economic power, but as a result of economic assistance from the United States and other allies When the armed struggle was transferred to a foreign territory, the Soviet Union allegedly pursued expansionist goals, not liberation goals, etc. All these versions have nothing to do with historical truth and require reasoned and detailed criticism. The intensification of imperialist propaganda in recent years, including through reactionary historiography of the Second World War, and the strengthening of its anti-Soviet, anti-communist character make it necessary to expand the front of the struggle against bourgeois falsifiers of the history of the Great Patriotic War. There can be no room for neutrality and compromise in this struggle. "High political vigilance is needed here," L. I. said. Brezhnev, - active, prompt and convincing propaganda work, timely rebuff to hostile ideological diversions " 38 .
* * *
These are some of the main problems of further research of the Great Patriotic War. Assessing the state of its study, paying tribute to the work done, it should be borne in mind that the history of the war still conceals a lot of unknown things, keeps many names of unknown heroes. More in-depth coverage of the war requires further identification of documentary material. The archives contain still intact layers of documents, the use of which will allow us to fully reveal the history of the war in all its diversity. We are talking about strengthening the work on creating a documentary history of the Great Patriotic War, collecting all that is valuable that makes up the source base of research. To put together everything that was connected with the war years - documents, materials, frontline letters, photographs; to preserve material sources (samples of military equipment and weapons of that time), to exhibit them in museums of the country - all this is of great importance both for the history of the Soviet state and for the memory of those who defended our country. Your homeland.
Year after year, the terrible wartime goes further and further into the past. Now this is history, which is studied only from books. But this is a story that everyone should know, remember and not forget. One of the main tasks of Soviet historical science is to recreate a complete picture of the unprecedented struggle of the Soviet people and their Armed Forces against fascism, to display with inspiration the immortal military and labor feat accomplished by Soviet people in the name of freedom and progress of the Motherland and all mankind, and to show the sources of our world-historical victory.
38 "Materials of the XXV Congress of the CPSU", p. 74.
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