Siege of Leningrad

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Siege of Leningrad Part of the Eastern Front of World War II Image:Blokada Leningrad diorama.jpg Diorama of the Siege of Leningrad, in the Museum of the Great Patriotic war, in Moscow Date September 8 1941 – January 27 1944 Location Leningrad, USSR Result Soviet victory Combatants Image:Flag of Germany 1933.svg Nazi Germany Image:Flag of Spain under Franco.svg Spanish Blue Division Image:Flag of Italy (1861-1946) crowned.svg Decima Flottiglia MAS Image:Flag of Finland.svg Finnish Naval Detachment Image:Flag of the Soviet Union 1923.svg Soviet Union Commanders Image:Flag of Germany 1933.svg Wilhelm von Leeb Image:Flag of Germany 1933.svg Georg von Küchler Image:Flag of Spain under Franco.svg Agustín Muñoz Grandes Image:Flag of Finland.svg Carl Gustaf Mannerheim Image:Flag of the Soviet Union 1923.svg Kliment Voroshilov Image:Flag of the Soviet Union 1923.svg Georgiy Zhukov Strength 725,000 930,000 Casualties Unknown Red Army: 332,059 KIA 24,324 non-combat dead 111,142 missing 16,470 civilians 1,2 million civilians from starvation

v • d • e Eastern Front Barbarossa – Baltic Sea – Finland – Leningrad and Baltics – Crimea and Caucasus – Moscow – 1st Rzhev-Vyazma – 2nd Kharkov – Blue – Stalingrad – Velikiye Luki – 2nd Rzhev-Sychevka – Kursk – 2nd Smolensk – Dnieper – 2nd Kiev – Korsun – Hube's Pocket – Baltic – Bagration – Lvov-Sandomierz – Lublin-Brest – Balkans (Iaşi-Chişinău) – Budapest – Vistula-Oder – East Prussia – East Pomerania – Silesia – Berlin – Prague – Vienna

Leningrad and Baltics 1941 - 1944 Toropets-Kholm – Demyansk Pocket – Spark – Polar Star – Krasny Bor – Lenino– Leningrad Approaches – Narva – Vilnius – Baltic

Operation Barbarossa Bialystok-Minsk – Raseiniai – Brody – Smolensk – Uman – 1st Kiev – Yelnya – Odessa – Leningrad – 1st Kharkov – 1st Crimea – 1st Rostov

The Siege of Leningrad, also known as The Leningrad Blockade (Russian: блокада Ленинграда (transliteration: blokada Leningrada)) was the Axis powers siege of Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg) during World War II and was one of the longest and most destructive sieges of a large city in modern history.

Historians speak about the Nazi genocide of the Leningrad residents in terms of the "racially motivated starvation policy" which became the integral part of the unprecedented German war of extermination against the civilian population of the Soviet Union. ^[1]

Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Timeline of the Siege of Leningrad 1.1.1 1941 1.1.2 1942 1.1.3 1943 1.1.4 1944 1.1.5 1945 2 Sides of the conflict and their actions 2.1 Fortifications of Leningrad 2.2 German offensive on the Eastern Front 2.3 Finland and Nazi Germany 3 Destruction and starvation 3.1 Ruined homes 3.2 Food shortages 3.3 Evacuation of civilian population under enemy fire 3.4 Water and power collapse 3.5 Moral strength and civilian support of military operations 4 Losses 4.1 The Road of Life 5 Soviet counter-offensive 6 Aftermath 6.1 Timeline 6.1.1 1945 6.1.2 1945 - 1970s 6.1.3 1946 6.1.4 1947 6.1.5 1949 6.1.6 1955 6.1.7 2003 6.1.8 2004 6.1.9 2007 6.2 Leningrad 6.3 Cultural influence 6.3.1 The Siege in music 6.3.2 The Siege in literature 6.3.3 The Siege in other art forms 7 Survivors and witnesses of the siege of Leningrad 8 See also 9 References 10 Bibliography 11 External links

[edit] Overview

Hitler's goal in the Barbarossa and Generalplan Ost was to either occupy or destroy the city of 4 millions (with suburbs), the former capital of Russia, with its political importance, cultural wealth, and economic strength. Upon Hitler's orders most of the suburban Palaces of the Tsars, such as the Catherine Palace, the Peterhof, the Gatchina, the Strelna, and other historic landmarks were looted and then destroyed, and incalculable amount of valuable art collections were taken to the Nazi Germany. Many Leningrad industries, factories, schools, hospitals, transportation, airports and other infrastructure were destroyed by the Nazi air-bombings and artillery shelling during 2½ years of the siege.

The siege involved joint operations by the Nazi Germany and its allies, coded as Operation Nordlicht (Operation North Light). All military operations were controlled by the Wehrmacht, including the Heer (Army), Kriegsmarine (Navy), and the Luftwaffe (Air force) in cooperation with the Finnish Naval Detachment K, Spanish Blue Division, Italian Naval Forces, and other military of the Axis. Hitler's goal was announced as taking Leningrad by force and "Celebrate the New Year's eve 1942 in the Tsar's Palaces" for which official invitations were issued by the Hitler's office. Hitler's plan failed, but the siege lasted 2½ years causing the largest destruction and human losses that ever occurred in a modern city.^[2]

All rail connections to the city were severed in August 1941. The siege started after the end of the Finnish offensive, with massive bombings of the city from August 30 through September 8, 1941, and continued in 1942, and through 1943. In June 1942 Hitler had a meeting with Carl Gustaf Mannerheim in Finland. Special Naval Detachment K under the Finnish operative command had clashes against Leningrad supply route on southern Ladoga with the assistance of German and Italian naval forces by Mannerheim's order at May 17.^[3][4] American and British food and ammunition supplies to Leningrad started in the end of 1941. British and American Arctic convoys of World War II increased supplies in 1942 and 1943, helping the civilian survivors in the besieged Leningrad, as well as the Soviet forces in the battle.

The siege was temporarily penetrated by the Soviet forces in 1943, but the Nazis closed the siege again, until it was finally ended by the Marshal Zhukov's offensive on January 27, 1944. Total duration of the siege was about 900 days. Economic destruction and human losses in Leningrad on both sides exceeded those of the Battle of Stalingrad, or the Battle of Moscow, or the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Of 1.5 million total Soviet casualties, one cemetery in Leningrad has interred one half a million civilian victims of the siege.

[edit] Timeline of the Siege of Leningrad

[edit] 1941

• April. Hitler orders to occupy and then destroy St. Petersburg, the city of 4 millions (with suburbs), the former capital of Russia, according to plan Barbarossa and Generalplan Ost ^[5]
• June 7. Nazi Germany moved two divisions into the Finnish Lapland.
• June 17. Finland ordered its armed forces to be fully mobilized and sent to the Soviet border. Finland evacuated civilians from border areas which were fortified against Soviet attack. In the opening days of the Operation, Finland permitted German planes returning from bombing runs over Leningrad to refuel at Finnish airfields before returning to bases in Nazi Germany.^[6]
• June 23. After the Nazi invasion, Leningrad commander M. Popov, started building the defense line to prepare to meet the invading armies.
• June 29. Evacuation of children and women started and lasted until railroads were destroyed by the Nazi air-bombing.
• June - July. Over 300 thousand civilian refugees from Pskov and Novgorod managed to escape from the Nazis, and came to Leningrad for shelter.
• June - July. Armies of the North-Western Front joined the front-lines at Leningrad. Total military strength with reserves and volunteers had reached 2 million men involved on all sides of the emerging battle.
• July 4. Georgi Zhukov ordered assistance to Leningrad, in wake of the beginning of the siege.
• July 17. Food rationing began in Leningrad and suburbs.
• July 19-23. First attack on Leningrad by the Army Group North was stopped 100 km south of the city.
• July 27. Hitler visited Army Group North, was angry with the slowdown, and ordered Wilhelm von Leeb and Georg von Küchler to take St. Petersburg by December 1941.^[7]
• August 27. Evacuation of civilians was stopped by the Nazis massive attacks on railroads and other exits.
• August 31. Finnish army under Mannerheim reached the St. Petersburg suburbs north of city. The Finnish offensive stopped there.^[8]
• August 20 - September 8. Artillery bombardments of Leningrad were massive, targeting industries, schools, hospitals, and civilian houses.
• September 8. Completion of the circle around Leningrad with the Finnish armies (from the North), Nazi Germany (from the South and East), with the assistance of other allies of the Axis.^[9][10]
• September 11. President of Finland, Ryti, made a statement to the Ambassador of Germany in Helsinki: "After liquidation of St. Petersburg, the Neva river should be the border of Finland."^[11]
• September 12. Joseph Stalin considered Leningrad lost, and said to Zhukov: "This situation is hopeless." ^[12]
• September 16. Dmitri Shostakovich gave radio address to citizens of Leningrad. "We shall stand up all together and defend our city" called Shostakovich.
• September 19. Nazi troops were stopped 10 km from Leningrad. Masses of citizens, women and schoolchildren came to fight in defense lines.
• September 22. Hitler issued "Directive No. 1601" ordering "St. Petersburg must be erased from the face of the Earth" and "we have no interest in saving lives of civilian population." ^[13]
• October. Food shortages cause serious starvation of civilians. Civilian deaths exceed hundreds of thousands by the end of the Autumn.
• November 8. Hitler's speech in Munich: "Leningrad must die of starvation."^[14]
• November. In massive air-bombings the Nazis destroyed all major food storages in Leningrad.
• December. Daily death tall is 6000-7000 civilians. Total civilian deaths in the first year of the siege was 780,000 citizens.^[15][16]

[edit] 1942

• January-February. The deadliest months of the siege: every month 130,000 civilians were found dead in Leningrad and suburbs.^[17]
• January. Energy supplies were destroyed by the Nazi bombardments in the entire city. Heating supplies were destroyed, causing more deaths.
• February - April. Bread rations increased up to 300 grams per one child per day. Adult worker was allowed a ration of 500 grams per day. Frozen food was delivered in limited amounts only to support active soldiers and key industrial workers. Some food supplies were delivered across the ice on Lake Ladoga. However, many delivery cars were destroyed by the Nazi air-bombings.
• January - May. Tens of thousands of children joined the "Night watch" to stop many fires from air-bombings. Many children were killed while saving the city from massive fires.
• May 16. First official decoration of schoolchildren for their courage. 15 thousand children were decorated for their courage during the siege of Leningrad.
• March - May. Cholera cases were registered in Leningrad, but the infection was isolated, then stopped. Epidemic situation was contained within several weeks, and remained under control for the rest of the year. However, hospitals were suffering from severe air-bombings, shortages of energy and food. Thousands of doctors and nurses were killed at work. ^[18] Of about 30,000 medical doctors and 100,000 medical nurses in pre-war St. Petersburg less that a half survived the siege.^[19]
• April 4. Operation Ice stoss started under the personal control of Goering. Hundreds of Luftwaffe bombers made a series of air-bombing attacks on Leningrad with fire-bombs and heavy air-bombs.^[20]
• May. Streetcars returned to some streets in Leningrad, allowing some children to go to schools that were remaining not destroyed.
• May. Boats on lake Ladoga started food deliveries to starving survivors in Leningrad.
• June 4. Hitler had a meeting with Carl Gustaf Mannerheim and Ryti in Finland. ^{[21] [22]}
• May - September. Special Naval Detachment K under the Finnish operative command had clashes against Leningrad supply route on southern Ladoga with the assistance of German and Italian naval forces.^{[23][24] [25]}
• June - September. Newer heavy artillery was stationed 10 - 28 km from the city and bombarded Leningrad with 800 kilogram shells. The Nazis made special maps of Leningrad for artillery bombardments targeting the city infrastructure, businesses, transportation, schools, and hospitals.
• August 9. Premiere of the Leningrad Symphony by the Leningrad Radio Orchestra (the only symphony orchestra remaining in besieged Leningrad) under Karl Eliasberg.
• January - December. Direct Nazi artillery bombardments of the Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments from the distance of 16 km from the Hermitage.
• January - December. Nevsky pyatachok battle attempting to break the siege. 300 thousand men were killed within the area of 1 km at Nevsky pyatachok.
• January-December. Total civilian death toll in the second year of the siege was about 500,000 citizens.^[26]

[edit] 1943

• January - December. Increased artillery bombardments of Leningrad. In 1943 the Nazis fired 6 times more shells and bombs than in 1942 on Leningrad. Total number of heavy artillery shells recorded at 147 thousand explosions. Highly explosive Navy torpedos were frequently used for night bombings, for that purpose Navy torpedos were re-equipped for air-bombings by the Luftwaffe.
• January - December. Baltic Fleet Navy aviation made over 100,000 air missions to support the military operations during the siege of Leningrad.^[27].
• January. Temporary penetration through the Nazi siege near lake Ladoga.
• January. Population of Leningrad with suburbs decreased from about 4 millions, to less than 800 thousand alive, civilians and military combined. Most remaining civilians were evacuated to Siberia, many died there.
• February. Railroad was temporarily restored, but soon was again destroyed by the nightly air-bombings.
• March - April. Epidemic typhus and Paratyphoid fever started spreading among survivors, but the epidemic was localized and contained by mutual efforts of doctors and citizens.^[28]
• January - December. Only about seven hundred children were born alive in Leningrad over the year 1943, in the aftermath of previous years of the siege. Before the war, in 1939, over 175 thousand children were born in Leningrad and suburbs, and another 171 thousand babies were 1-year-olds born in 1938. Most died in the siege, or on road seeking refuge in evacuation. ^{[29][30] [31]} [12]

[edit] 1944

• January. Before retreating the Nazis looted and then destroyed most valuable Palaces of the Tsars, such as the Catherine Palace, the Peterhof, the Gatchina, the Strelna. Many other historic landmarks and homes in the suburbs of St. Petersburg were looted and then destroyed by the Nazis, and incalculable amount of valuable art collections were taken to the Nazi Germany.
• January 27. Siege of Leningrad ended. The Nazis were forced to retreat 60-100 km away from the city.
• January. Military operation raising the siege of Leningrad was completed in cooperation between the Army and the Baltic Fleet which provided 30% of aviation power for the final blow to the Nazis. ^[32].
• February. Survivors began returning to Leningrad and suburbs, where industries, factories, schools, hospitals, transportation, airports and other infrastructure were found destroyed by the Nazi air-bombings and artillery shelling after 2½ years of the siege.
• February - December. Survivors of the siege began repairs and re-building of the ruined industries, hospitals, housing, and schools.

[edit] 1945

• Explosions of land-mines left by the Nazis caused thousands of deaths among returning citizens.^[33]

[edit] Sides of the conflict and their actions

[edit] Fortifications of Leningrad

On June 27, 1941 the Council of Deputies of the Leningrad administration decided to mobilize thousands of people for the construction of fortifications. Several defenses were built. One of the fortifications ran from the mouth of the Luga River to Chudovo, Gatchina, Uritsk, Pulkovo and then through the Neva River. The other defense passed through Peterhof to Gatchina, Pulkovo, Kolpino and Koltushy. During the 1930s, another defense line against the Finns (KaUR) had been built in the northern suburbs of Leningrad, and it was now taken into use. In all, 190 km of timber barricades, 635 km of wire entanglements, 700 km of anti-tank ditches, 5,000 earth-and-timber emplacements and reinforced concrete weapon emplacements and 25,000 km of open trenches were built by civilians. Even the gun of the cruiser Aurora was mounted on the Pulkovskiye Heights to the south of Leningrad

[edit] German offensive on the Eastern Front

The Wehrmacht had forced its way to Ostrov and Pskov, after the Soviet troops of the North-Western Front left the Baltic Soviet Republics. On July 10, both cities were captured and the Germans reached Kunda and Kingisepp whereupon they advanced to Leningrad from Narva, the Luzhski region, and from the south-east and also to the north and south of the Lake Ilmen in order to isolate Leningrad from the east and to join the Finns at the eastern bank of Lake Ladoga.

About half a million people, both military and civilians from Latvia, Estonia, Pskov and Novgorod fled from the advancing Nazis and came to Leningrad at the beginning of the war. The flow of migration to the city stopped with the beginning of the siege. Then during the siege part of civilians fled Leningrad with evacuation, albeit most people died.

The last rail connection to Leningrad was severed on August 30, when Germans reached the Neva River. The shelling of Leningrad began on September 4. On September 8, the last land connection to the besieged city was severed when the Germans reached Lake Ladoga at Orekhovets. Bombing on September 8 caused 178 fires. Hitler's directive on October 7, signed by Alfred Jodl was a reminder not to accept capitulation. German bombings killed hundreds of thousands of civilians in Leningrad

[edit] Finland and Nazi Germany

Co-belligerent Finland played a part in helping the Nazi Germany to fight against the Soviet Union, mainly to keep its independence. Hitler and Mannerheim had several meetings, including Hitler's visit to Finland on Mannerheim's birthday in June 1942.^{[21] [34]} Having recently fought the Winter War against the Soviets in 1940, Finland allowed Germany to use Finnish territory as a base for Operation Barbarossa.^{[35] [36]}

Finland first sought protection from Great Britain^[37][38] and neutral Sweden^[39], but was thwarted by Soviet and German actions. This resulted in Finland drawing closer to Germany as a counterweight to continuing Soviet pressure, and to help regain its lost territories.

Finland's role in Operation Barbarossa was laid out in Hitler's Directive 21, "The mass of the Finnish army will have the task, in accordance with the advance made by the northern wing of the German armies, of tying up maximum Russian strength by attacking to the west, or on both sides, of Lake Ladoga" (near Leningrad). ^[40][41]

Finland mobilized over 530,000 men against the Soviet Union, all Finnish military forces were located north of Leningrad, while the territories south of Leningrad were occupied by Nazi Germany. ^[42]

Cooperation between Finland and Germany increased prior to Operation Barbarossa, with the exchange of liaison officers and the beginning of preparations for joint military action. On June 7, Germany moved two divisions into the Finnish Lapland. On June 17, 1941, Finland ordered its armed forces to be fully mobilized and sent to the Soviet border. Finland evacuated civilians from border areas which were fortified against Soviet attack. In the opening days of the Operation, Finland permitted German planes returning from bombing runs over Leningrad to refuel at Finnish airfields before returning to bases in German East Prussia. Finland also permitted Germany to use its naval facilities in the Gulf of Finland.

By August 1941, the Finns had reached the northern suburbs of Leningrad, threatening Leningrad from the West, and were advancing through Karelia east of Lake Ladoga, threatening Leningrad from the North. In any event, the Finnish forces halted at the 1939 border which was in the suburbs of Leningrad (St. Petersburg). The Finnish headquarters rejected German pleas for aerial attacks against Leningrad and did not advance further south from the River Svir in the occupied East Karelia which they reached at September 7, 160 kilometers north-east of Leningrad. In the south, Germans captured Tikhvin on November 8, but failed to advance further north and connect with Finns at the River Svir. A Soviet counterattack forced Germans to retreat from Tikhvin, on December 9, all the way to the River Volkhov.

On September 4 Jodl came to persuade Mannerheim to continue the Finnish offensive and it is said that Mannerheim refused. After the war, the former Finnish president Ryti said: "On August 24 1941 I visited the headquarters of Marshal Mannerheim. The Germans aimed us at crossing the old border and at continuation of the offensive to Leningrad. I said that the capture of Leningrad wasn't our goal and that we shouldn't take part in it. Mannerheim and the military minister Walden agreed with me and refused the offers of the Germans. The result was a paradoxical situation: the Germans were not able to approach Leningrad from the north…" Later it was asserted that there was no systematic shelling or bombing out of the Finnish territory.

The Soviets didn't know what Ryti and Mannerheim had told Hitler. In any case, the mere threat of a Finnish attack complicated the Soviet defence of Leningrad. At one point the Front Commander Popov could not transfer certain reserves against the Germans because they were needed to bolster the 23rd Army's defence on the Karelian Isthmus.^[43] Mannerheim gave order at August 31 to stop the attack when the straightened line leaning to the 1939 border at the shores of Gulf of Finland and Lake Ladoga was reached.^[44] When the Finns started to reach that line during the first days of September, Popov noticed Finnish lessening pressure quickly and already at September 5 two divisions were transferred to German front.^[45]Later, in the summer of 1942, a special Naval Detachment K was formed under the Finnish operative command. Its purpose was to patrol the waters of Lake Ladoga, although it was involved in clashes against Leningrad supply route on southern Ladoga with the assistance of German and Italian naval forces.^{[46][47] [48]}

Finland signed the revived Anti-Comintern Pact of 1941. Unlike other Axis powers, Finland maintained command of its armed forces and pursued its war objectives independently of Germany. Finland refused German requests to participate in direct attacks on Leningrad, stating that capturing Leningrad was not among its goals.

Finland and Nazi Germany signed the Ryti-Ribbentrop Agreement, which was presented as a German condition for help with munitions and air support, as the Soviet offensive coordinated with D-Day threatened Finland with complete occupation. The agreement bound Finland not to seek a separate peace. It was signed by President Risto Ryti, but was not ratified by the Finnish Parliament.

Ryti's successor, President Mannerheim, ignored the agreement and opened secret negotiations with the Soviets. On September 19, 1944, Mannerheim signed an armistice with the Soviet Union and Great Britain. Under the terms of the armistice, Finland was obligated to expel German troops from Finnish territory. Finns refer to the skirmishes that followed as the Lapland War

[edit] Destruction and starvation

[edit] Ruined homes

Severe destruction of homes was caused by the Nazi air-bombings, as well as by daily artillery bombardments of Leningrad. Major destruction was done during August and September of 1941, when artillery bombardments were massive for several weeks in a row. Then regular air-bombings continued through 1941, 1942, and 1943. Most heavy artillery bombardments resumed in 1943, and increased 6 times in comparison with the beginning of the war. Hitler and the Nazi leadership were angered by their failure to take Leningrad by force. Hitler's directive No. 1601 ordered that "St. Petersburg must be erased from the face of the Earth" and "we have no interest in saving lives of civilian population."^[49]

Destruction of Leningrad during the siege in 1941 - 1944 was evaluated as a bigger event than the nuclear bombings of Hirosima and Nagasaki combined. Thousands of homes, industries, roads and transportation structures, schools, hospitals, power plants and other infrastructure of the large city were completely destroyed , or severely damaged during 29 months of constant bombings and fires.

[edit] Food shortages

On September 2 rations were reduced: manual workers had 600 grams of bread daily; state employees, 400 grams; and children and dependants (other civilians), 300 grams per day.

After the massive German bombings during August, September, and October of 1941 all main food warehouses were destroyed and burned in massive fires. Huge amounts of stored food reserves, such as grains, flour and sugar, as well as other stored food, were completely wiped out because of bombings and fires. The fires continued all over the city, because the Germans were bombing Leningrad non-stop for many months using various kinds of fire-bombs and heavy air-bombs during 1941, 1942, and 1943.

In the first days after the siege began, people finished all leftovers in "commercial" restaurants, which used up to 12% of all fats and up to 10% of all meat the city consumed. Soon all restaurants closed, food rationing became the only way to save lives, and money became obsolete.

On September 12, 1941, it was calculated that the provisions both for army and civilians would last as follows:

grain and flour	35 days
groats and macaroni	31 days
meat (also livestock)	33 days
fats	45 days
sugar and confectionery	60 days

On the same day, another food reduction took place: the workers received 500 grams of bread; employees and children, 300 grams; and dependants, 250 grams. Rations of meat and groats were also reduced, but the issue of sugar, confectionery and fats was increased instead. The army and the Baltic Fleet had some emergency rations, but these were not sufficient, and were used up in weeks. The flotilla of Lake Ladoga was not well equipped for war, and was almost destroyed in bombings by German aviation. Several barges with grain were sunk in Lake Ladoga in September 1941 alone. A significant part of that grain, however, was later lifted out of the waters by divers. This dampened grain was delivered to Leningrad at night, and was used in bread baking. When the city ran out of reserves of malt flour, other substitutes, such as finished cellulose and cotton-cake, were used. Oats meant for horses were also used, while the horses were fed wood leaves.

When 2,000 tons of mutton guts had been found in the seaport, a food grade galantine was made of them. Later, when the meat became unavailable, it was replaced by that galantine and by stinking calf skins, which many survivors remembered till the end of their lives.

During the first year of the siege, the city survived five food reductions: two reductions in September of 1941, one in October 1941, and two reductions in November 1941. The latter reduced the daily food consumption to 250 grams daily for manual workers and 125 grams for other civilians. Reports of cannibalism began to appear in the winter of 1941–1942, after all birds, rats and pets were eaten by survivors. Starvation-level food rationing was eased by new vegetable gardens that covered most open ground in the city by 1943.

[edit] Evacuation of civilian population under enemy fire

Almost all public transportation in Leningrad was destroyed and stopped as a result of massive air-bombings and artillery bombardments in August - September of 1941. Millions of civilians were stuck in the city. They had to be evacuated mainly by foot, and the time was short before the siege circle was locked by the Axis Powers from North, South, West, and East of Leningrad.

Evacuation of children became essential part of joint military operation at the Leningrad Front, aimed at saving the population from Hitler's extermination plan.

Evacuation was organized under personal supervision of Kliment Voroshilov and Georgi Zhukov and was managed by engineers and workers of 86 major industries, which were also evacuated from Leningrad, by using their own companies cars, trains, trucks, and other transportation.

• First wave of evacuation from June - August, 1941: 336,000 civilians, mostly children managed to escape because they were taken in and evacuated with 86 industries that were dismantled and moved to Northern Russia and Siberia.

• Second wave of evacuation, from September 1941 - April 1941: 659 thousand civilians were evacuated mainly through the water and ice of lake Ladoga east of Leningrad.

• Third wave of evacuation, from May 1942 - October 1942: 403 thousand civilians were evacuated mainly through the waterways of lake Ladoga east of Leningrad.

Total number of civilians rescued from Leningrad by evacuation was about 1,4 million, mainly children, women, workers, engineers, scientists and other intellectuals.^[50]

Hundreds of thousands of civilians were not counted at all as they had died under numerous air-bombing attacks, and also from starvation and cold while trying to escape from besieged Leningrad. Their bodies were not buried or counted under the severe circumstances of constant air-bombings and other attacks by the Nazi forces.

The military cover operation to protect the 1,4 millions civilian evacuees was part of the battle of the siege, and was carried under the united command of Andrei Zhdanov, Klim Voroshilov, and Aleksei Kuznetsov. Additional military cover operation was carried in coordination with the Baltic Fleet Navy forces under the general command of Admiral Vladimir Tribuz. Major military involvement in cover operations helping evacuation of civilians was carried by the Ladoga Flotilla under the command of V. Baranovsky, S.V. Zemlyanichenko, P.A. Traynin, and B.V. Khoroshikhin.

[edit] Water and power collapse

The Nazis had a special intelligence unit that operated in secrecy under cover, it was focused on causing more death and destruction in Leningrad to destroy the morale and spirit of citizens. Some of the Nazi secret agents were arsonists who were arrested while setting fires at storage facilities in besieged Leningrad. Water and food supplies were often found poisoned and infected by the Nazi spies infiltrating the city. Special militia brigades of volunteer citizens were involved in assisting civilians, mainly women and children at the time when they were struggling to survive.

During all three winters of the siege of Leningrad, 1941-1942, 1942-1943, and 1943-1944, water pipelines were constantly destroyed by the air-bombings and artillery bombardments. Women were searching for water under the icy ground at the time when they were struggling to survive in besieged Leningrad. Ice and snow were deadly sources of water because of cold winters and lack of heat. During the siege, three cold winters were the time of the highest mortality rates among the civilian population. Tens of thousands of civilians froze to death in Leningrad.

Due to a lack of power supplies, many factories were closed down and, in November, all public transportation services became unavailable. The construction of pre-war designed metro system was stopped, and some unfinished tunnels were used as public shelters during air-bombings and artillery bombardments. In the spring of 1942, some tramway lines were reactivated, but trolleybuses and buses were inoperable until the end of the war). Use of power was forbidden everywhere, except at the General Staff headquarters, Smolny, district committees, air defense bases, and in some other institutions. By the end of September, oil and coal supplies had come to an end. The only energy option left was to fell trees. On October 8 the executive committee of Leningrad (Ленгорисполком) and regional executive committee (облисполком) decided to start cutting timber in the Pargolovo district and also the Vsevolzhskiy district in the north of the city. By October 24 only 1% of the timber cutting plan had been executed.

[edit] Moral strength and civilian support of military operations

Surviving civilian population of Leningrad provided crucial support in numerous military operations during the battle of Leningrad under the siege. Total number of civilian volunteers helping the military is estimated equal to the number of civilians left in the city by the end of the siege: about 500 thousand people, all of them were taking turns during the routine duties at "day watch" and "night watch" to prevent fires and destruction from air-bombings and artillery bombardments.

While the population of Leningrad was depressed by the long and exhausting siege, people still tried to lift their spirits in the time when they were struggling to survive.

Popular film star Boris Babochkin made many visits to besieged Leningrad, while risking his life. Babochkin gave numerous stage performances in Leningrad, he also delivered several copies of the classic film Chapayev, which was a highly popular movie.

Symphony performances for survivors of the siege were rare, but attendance was rather high, regardless of the risks and exhaustion of everybody. Music performances were broadcast over the Leningrad radio 24/7. Performers and radio personnel worked without compensation, they received 250 - 500 grams of food per day, mainly low grade bread.

Olga Berggolz and Anna Akhmatova were contributing their talents to support the morale of civilians and military fighting in the besieged Leningrad.

Many heroic women and children were risking their lives helping military operations at the front-lines.

15 thousand children were decorated for their courage in military operations during the siege of Leningrad.

[edit] Losses

About 1.4 million people were rescued by military evacuation from the besieged city of Leningrad in two years between September 1941 and November 1943. Another 1.2 million civilians perished in the city. There were only 700,000 people left out of 3 million pre-war population. Among those left in the siege were soldiers, workers, surviving children and women. Of those 700,000 surviving people about 300,000 were soldiers who came from other parts of the country to help the besieged city of Leningrad.

86 major strategic industries were evacuated from the city. Most industrial capacities, engines, power equipment, instruments and tools, were moved by the workers. Some defence industries, such as the LMZ, the Admiralty Shipyard, and the Kirov Plant, among some other industries were left in the city, and were still producing armory and amunition for defenders.

The Nazis cut almost all supplies to Leningrad, so almost all food and catering disappeared, garment industries and retail closed, most schools as well as most public services became obsolete, causing massive exodus of women and children.

Hundreds of buildings, public schools, hospitals and industries were destroyed by the Nazi bombings and air-raids.

Museums and palaces in the suburbs were destroyed, vandalized and looted by the Nazis, while the personnel of museums was trying to save some art. Only parts of art collections from the famous suburban palaces of the Tsars were evacuated in time, while some of the saved art was stored in the basements of the Hermitage until the end of war.

[edit] The Road of Life

Main article: Road of Life

By September 8 the Germans had largely surrounded the city, blocking off all supply routes to Leningrad and its suburbs except for a single corridor across Lake Ladoga. Unable or unwilling to press home their advantage, and facing a hasty defense of the city organized by Marshal Zhukov, the German armies laid siege to the city for 872 days. In the chaos of the first winter of the war, no evacuation plan was available or executed and the city and its suburbs quite literally starved in complete isolation until November 20, 1941 when an ice road over Lake Ladoga was established. The carnage in the city from shelling and starvation (especially in the first winter) was appalling. One of Nikolai I. Vavilov's assistants starved to death surrounded by edible seeds so that the seed bank (with more than 200,000 items) would be available to future generations. This ice road, named the Road of Life (Russian: Дорога жизни), could only be used during the winter, and during the rest of the year ships were used. The road of life was dangerous, often carriages and transports would get stuck in the snow or sink if the ice broke. Also the road of life became a frequent target for German shelling. Because of the high death toll in the winter, the pathway was also known as the "road of death". However, the lifeline did bring food in, and civilians out, and allowed the city to continue to resist.

[edit] Soviet counter-offensive

The siege continued until January 27, 1944. The encirclement was broken as a result of Operation Spark — a full-scale offensive of troops of the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts. This offensive started in the morning of January 12 1943. After fierce battles, the Red Army units overcame the powerful German fortifications to the south of Lake Ladoga, and on January 18 1943 the Leningrad and Volkhov Fronts met, opening a land corridor to the still-besieged city. In January 1944, a Soviet offensive drove off the besieging Germans from the southern outskirts of the city, ending the siege. Later, in the summer of 1944, the Finns were pushed back to the other side of the Bay of Vyborg and the Vuoksi River.

[edit] Aftermath

[edit] Timeline

[edit] 1945

• May. Search for the looted treasures from museums and palaces of St. Petersburg and suburbs was continued in the Nazi Germany.
• September. Leningrad Philharmonic returned to the city from evacuation in Siberia and gave concert performances.
• For the heroic resistance of the city and tenacity of the survivors of the Nazi Siege, Leningrad was the first city in the former USSR awarded the title Hero City in 1945.

[edit] 1945 - 1970s

Re-building and restoration of thousands of buildings, industries, schools, transport, energy supplies and infrastructure. Restoration of the destroyed museums, palaces, and other historic and cultural landmarks and treasures.

[edit] 1946

• January - December. Some schools, universities, and colleges returned to studies.
• January - December. Some theatres and movies were opened for public.

[edit] 1947

• May. Fountains of Peterhof park were opened for public again. But the palaces were in ruins for the next several decades.

[edit] 1949

Stalin set up a plot to have the leaders of the city government arrested and killed. Aleksei Kuznetsov, Nikolai Voznesensky, P. Popkov, Ya. Kapustin, P. Lazutin, and several more, who were heroic and efficient in defending Leningrad, and became very popular figures. They were arrested on false accusations. Stalin's plot to kill the leaders of Leningrad was kept top-secret in the former Soviet Union. It is now known as the Leningrad Affair.

[edit] 1955

• Leningrad Metro, which was designed before the war in the 1930s to serve as underground shelter, was completed after the war and opened in 1955 with its first seven stations decorated with marble and bronze. It became the second underground rapid transit system in the country.
• Population of Leningrad with suburbs had increased in the 10 post-war years from under 0,8 million to about 4 million.

[edit] 2003

• May. The Amber Room was re-created with sponsorship of Germany. It is open for public in the completely restored Catherine Palace.

[edit] 2004

• January. 60th Anniversary of Raising of the Siege of Leningrad in 1944 was officially celebrated in St. Petersburg on January 27, 2004. About twelve thousand survivors of the siege who were children at the time of WWII, are now living on state pension in St. Petersburg and suburbs. Tens of thousands of other survivors, who were evacuated from besieged Leningrad as children, are still living in Russia and other countries across the world.

[edit] 2007

As of 2007 there are still tens of sites remaining in St. Petersburg and suburbs where homes were destroyed in military operations during the siege.

[edit] Leningrad

Total number of human losses during the 29 months of the siege of Leningrad is estimated as 1.5 million, including both civilians and military. The Soviet records during the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin were incomplete, so the ultimate number of casualties during the siege is disputed, because hundreds of thousands of unregistered people, who lived in the city before the war, had perished in the Nazi siege without any record at all. About 1.3 million civilians escaped by evacuation, mainly by foot. By the end of the siege in WWII, Leningrad became an empty "ghost-city" with thousands of ruined and abandoned homes, and its civilian population was reduced from 3 million to less than 700,000. After the war, The Soviet government reported about 670,000 registered deaths from 1941 to January 1944, mostly from starvation, stress and exposure. Some independent estimates give a much higher death toll of anywhere from 700,000 to 1.5 million, with most estimates put civilian losses around 1.1 million. Many of these victims were buried in the Piskarevskoye Cemetery.

Economic and human losses caused incalculable damage to the city's historic sites and cultural landmarks, much of the damage is still visible today, and some are preserved to commemorate those who gave their lives to save the city of St. Petersburg.

As of 2000, there were still empty lots in St. Petersburg suburbs where buildings stood before the siege.

Leningrad was awarded the title of Hero City in 1945.

[edit] Cultural influence

The siege impressed itself on the psyche of Leningrad's inhabitants for several generations after the war. Leningrad had always prided itself on being a cultural city, and the choice of whether to burn a library (or 200-year old furniture) or freeze to death was a stark one. The conditions in the city were appalling and starvation was constantly with the besieged. On the other hand, the city did resist for nearly 3 years, and the pride of the city is unmistakable: "Troy fell, Rome fell, Leningrad did not fall."

The Siege of Leningrad was commemorated in late 1950s by the Green Belt of Glory, a circle of trees and memorials along the historic front line. Warnings to citizens of the city as to which side of the road to walk on to avoid the German shelling can still be seen (they were restored after the war). Russian tour guides at Peterhof, the palaces near St. Petersburg, report that it is still dangerous to go for a stroll in the gardens during a thunderstorm, as German artillery shrapnel embedded in the trees attracts lightning.

[edit] The Siege in music

• Dmitri Shostakovich wrote the Seventh Symphony, some of which was written under siege conditions, for the Leningrad Symphony. According to Solomon Volkov, whose testimony is disputed, Shostakovich said "it's not about Leningrad under siege, it's about the Leningrad that Stalin destroyed and that Hitler nearly finished off".
• American singer Billy Joel wrote a song called "Leningrad" that referenced the famous siege. The song is partially about a young Russian boy, Viktor, who lost his father in the siege.
• The Decemberists wrote a song called "When the War Came" about the heroism of civilian scientists during warfare . The lyrics state: "We made our oath to Vavilov/We'd not betray the solanum/The acres of asteraceae/To our own pangs of starvation". Nikolai Ivanovich Vavilov was a Russian botanist whose laboratory, a seedbank containing 200 000 types of plant seeds, many of them edible, was preserved throughout the siege.
• Italian melodic death metal band Dark Lunacy's 2006 album 'The Diarist' is about the siege.
• A line in the song 'Scared', by the Canadian band 'The Tragically Hip', references Russian efforts to save paintings during the Siege of Leningrad. "You're in Russia...and more than a million works of art...are whisked out to the woods...When the Nazis find the whole place dark...they'd think God's left the museum for good."

[edit] The Siege in literature

• American author Debra Dean The Madonnas of Leningrad tells the story of staff of the Hermitage Museum who saved the art collection during the Siege of Leningrad.
• American author Elise Blackwell published "Hunger" (2003), an acclaimed historical dramatization of events surrounding the siege.
• British author Helen Dunmore wrote an award-winning novel, The Siege (2001). Although fictitious, it traces key events in this siege, and shows how it affected those who weren't directly involved in the resistance.
• In 1981 Daniil Granin and Ales Adamovich published The Blockade Book which was based on hundreds of interviews and diaries of people who were trapped in the besieged city. The book was heavily censored by Soviet authorities due to its portrayal of human suffering contrasting with the "official" image of heroism.
• The Arab-Israeli author Emil Habibi also mentioned the siege in his short story "The Love in my Heart" (الحب في قلبي), part of his collection Sextet of the Six Days (سداسية الايام الستة). Habiby's character visits a graveyard containing the siege's victims and is struck by the power of a display he sees commemorating the children who died, and it inspires him to write some letters in the voice of a Palestinian girl detained in an Israeli prison.

[edit] The Siege in other art forms

• Auteur film director Andrey Tarkovsky included multiple scenes and references to the siege in his semi-autobiographical film The Mirror.
• At the time of his death in 1989, Sergio Leone was working on a film about the siege. It drew heavily on Harrison Salisbury's "The 900 Days", and was a week away from going into production when Leone died of heart failure.
• Playwright, Ivan Fuller, has written a play about a theatre company struggling to survive the siege. "Eating Into the Fabric" is currently being workshopped by Augustana College, Sioux Falls, SD. It will receive its premiere production in March 2009.

[edit] Survivors and witnesses of the siege of Leningrad

• Anna Akhmatova - poet, writer
• Boris Babochkin - film star
• Nikolai Baryshnikov - historian, decorated for his courage in battles of the Siege of Leningrad.
• Olga Berggoltz - poet, writer, decorated for her courage in the Siege of Leningrad
• Joseph Brodsky - poet, Nobel Prize laureate
• Karl Eliasberg - symphony director
• Bruno Freindlich - actor
• Alisa Freindlich - actress, film star
• Viktor Korchnoi - chess grandmaster
• Grigori Kozintsev - film director, decorated for his courage in the Siege of Leningrad
• Georgi Lang - Chief Doctor of the Leningrad Front. Decorated for his courage in the Siege of Leningrad
• Evgeny Mravinsky - symphony director
• Nikolai Cherkasov - film star
• Mikhail Petrov-Maslakov - Surgeon General, Leningrad City Hospital. Decorated for his courage in the Siege of Leningrad
• Vsevolod Petrov-Maslakov - artist, decorated for his courage in the Siege of Leningrad
• Dmitry Shostakovich - composer, decorated for his courage in the Siege of Leningrad
• Mark Taimanov - chess grandmaster

[edit] See also

• Tanya Savicheva
• World War II casualties
• Regia Marina - Lake Ladoga
• List of famines

[edit] References

[edit] Bibliography

• Балтийский Флот. Гречанюк Н. М., Дмитриев В. И., Корниенко А. И. и др., М., Воениздат. 1990.
• Der Zweite Weltkrieg. Raymond Cartier. 1977, R. Piper & CO. Verlag, Munchen / Zurich; 1141 pages.
• Константин Симонов, Записи бесед с Г. К. Жуковым 1965 - 1966.[13]
• Siege of Leningrad and Finland 1941 - 1944. By Dr. Nikolai Baryshnikov. Russian: "Блокада Ленинграда и Финляндия 1941-44" Институт Йохана Бекмана. 2003.
• Goure, Leon. "The Siege of Leningrad". Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press, 1981 (hardcover, ISBN 0-8047-0115-6).
• Glantz, David. The Siege of Leningrad 1941–44: 900 Days of Terror. Osceola, WI: Zenith Press, 2001 (hardcover, ISBN 0-7603-0941-8); Eastbourne, East Sussex, UK: Gardners Books, 2001 (hardcover, ISBN 1-86227-124-0); London: Cassell, 2004 (paperback, ISBN 0-304-36672-2).
• Kirschenbaum, Lisa. The Legacy of the Siege of Leningrad, 1941–1995: Myth, Memories, and Monuments. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006 (hardback, ISBN 0-521-86326-0).
• Life and Death in Besieged Leningrad, 1941–44 (Studies in Russian and Eastern European History), edited by John Barber and Andrei Dzeniskevich. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005 (hardcover, ISBN 1-4039-0142-2).
• Lubbeck, William; Hurt, David B. At Leningrad's Gates: The Story of a Soldier with Army Group North. Philadelphia, PA: Casemate, 2006 (hardcover, ISBN 1-932033-55-6).
• Salisbury, Harrison Evans. The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad, 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2003 (paperback, ISBN 0-306-81298-3).

[edit] External links

Image:Nuvola apps kview.png External images
	the Siege of Leningrad
Image:Nuvola apps xmag.png	Russian map of the operations around Leningrad in 1943 Blue are the German and allied Finnish troops. The Soviets are red.[51]
Image:Nuvola apps xmag.png	map of the advance on Leningrad and relief Blue are the German and allied Finnish troops. The Soviets are red.[52]

• Archival footage of Leningrad blockade in black and white

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br:Seziz Leningrad

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