O siege of Leningrad was one of the episodes that occurred with the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, during the Second World War. Leningrad was one of the largest and most important Soviet cities and was completely surrounded by German troops for almost 900 days, a fact that caused thousands of inhabitants to starve to death. The siege ended in January 1944.
German-Soviet Pact and Operation Barbarossa
During the 1920s and 1930s, Hitler expressed his hatred of Bolshevik communism in the Soviet Union. Furthermore, this Nazi leader advocated the territorial expansion of Germany to the east to form the well-known “living space” (lebensraum), in which the Aryans would found the new German empire.
As tensions in Europe mounted towards the end of the 1930s, expectations for armed combat between Germany and the Soviet Union grew. However, to the world's surprise, just days before the start of the war, Germany and the Soviet Union signed the German-Soviet Pact, in which both nations pledged to keep the peace if war broke out in Europe.
The agreement, however, was seen by both parties as a temporary strategy, and this was evidenced on June 22, 1941, when the Germans started the Operation Barbarossa. This operation mobilized around 3.6 million soldiers with the aim of conquering the Soviet Union.
Siege of Leningrad
The first moment of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union was a reflection of what happened until then in World War II: overwhelming victories of the German armies. One of the reasons is mainly due to the use of the tactic blitzkrieg, which consisted of coordinated attacks between infantry, armor and aviation with the objective of breaking the opposing lines. Furthermore, the unpreparedness of Soviet troops in the initial phase of the conflict must be taken into account.
The German advance into the Soviet Union had three focuses:
the Soviet capital, Moscow;
Stalingrad and the control of natural reserves in the Caucasus;
Control of industries of Leningrad.
The siege of Leningrad was part of a Nazi project implemented during part of the war and sought extermination by the hunger of dominated populations, as recorded by Max Hastings in his book “The World at War 1939-1945”:
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Professor Ernst Ziegelmeyer of the Munich Institute of Nutrition – one of the many scientists who gave diabolical advice to the Nazis – he was consulted on the practical aspects [of imposing hunger on Leningrad]. He agreed that there was no need for a battle; it would be impossible for the Russians to provide their beleaguered citizens with more than 250 grams of bread a day, insufficient ration to sustain human life for a long time.|1|.
It is clear from this account that, from the beginning, the siege of Leningrad had the objective of killing the local population by starvation. The city was completely surrounded by the Nazis on September 8, 1941 and, in the very first bombings, the Germans destroyed the food stores. The following reports portray the population's desperation to obtain food to survive:
For an incalculable number of citizens, death from starvation seemed inescapable: wallpaper was boiled to extract its glue and to cook and chew the leather. As scurvy became endemic, a pine extract was produced from pine needles to obtain vitamin C […]. Pigeons disappeared from the squares, hunted for food, as did crows and seagulls; later rats and pets|2|.
The Soviet Union's typical cold was another element that made the Leningrad experience one of the most shocking of the war. Despite the harshness of the imposed siege, the city did not fall. Over the course of 900 days, German attempts to enter this territory were repulsed and, in January 1944, Soviet troops managed to open the encirclement. The balance of the German action, however, was one of destruction and death. It is estimated that about 1.5 million of people died during the siege of Leningrad between civilians and military.
|1| HASTINGS, Max. The world at war 1939-1945. Rio de Janeiro: Intrinsic, 2012, p. 183-184.
|2| Idem, p.185.
By Daniel Neves
Graduated in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
SILVA, Daniel Neves. "Siege of Leningrad: Death by Starvation"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/cerco-leningrado-morte-pela-fome.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
