Few will leave anyone indifferent. Indeed, many pages of the Great Patriotic War are remembered only in anniversary years, in connection with recognized heroes... The victory was achieved not only by the heroic deeds of individual people, the entire Soviet people were involved in it...
We talk a lot now about how hard it is for everyone, low wages, high housing and communal services tariffs, and much more. Our heroic people passed all the tests of a terrible war, which was not called the Great Patriotic War for nothing. This is usually remembered only before Victory Day. Recently I came across memories of the winter of 1941 by the girl Vilena Zamyshlyaeva, who was evacuated from besieged Leningrad. How it was 75 years old back. How the residents of our region and the evacuated people endured all the hardships and hardships, who in one hour lost everything: loved ones, homes, things, clothes, even the most necessary things.
On June 29, 1941, the Kurgan City Executive Committee adopted the Resolution “On the provision of apartments and provision of food to citizens of the Soviet Union arriving from areas of military operations.”
One of the most important problems in the first months of the war was the problem of accommodating the evacuated population arriving in our region from Moscow, Leningrad, Kharkov, Kremenchug, Gomel and other cities. In total, about 150 thousand people arrived in the Trans-Urals during the war years. It was evacuated from Leningrad to the Kurgan region 12000 children from 16 Leningrad boarding schools.
Most of them were taken over by Kurgan - 20 thousand people(it must be said that the population of Kurgan itself before the war was about 40 thousand people) and Shadrinsk, the rest were placed in the areas: Zverinogolovsky, Belozersky, Kurtamyshsky, Kargapolsky and others. But the situation turned out to be much more complicated than expected. Evacuation centers could not cope with the huge number of arriving people; there were not enough clothes, towels, mattresses, and washstands. The evacuees remaining in the city were resettled in the order of compaction into apartments of city residents. The housing problem was very acute even in pre-war times. Moreover, in the spring of 1941, one of the most severe floods in history occurred. The entire eastern part of the city, the Zatobolny village, and the oil depot were flooded. 1,080 homes and most businesses were flooded.
People had just begun to put their houses in order when the war began, and two months later evacuees began to arrive. During the war, per one resident of Kurgan there were about 2 sq. meters living space. Sometimes all this led to conflict situations, but for the most part, the Kurgan residents tried to help the visitors in any way they could. Here are lines from the memoirs of Vilena Zamyshlyaeva, evacuated from Leningrad: “The Kurgan was also crowded with evacuees, there were no apartments, we were sheltered by one family, although they themselves had ten children. They themselves huddled in the kitchen, and the room was occupied by an evacuated Jewish family; our place was at the threshold of the kitchen. It was very cold in winter. We all slept on the floor with the owners together, with our feet towards the threshold, which we covered with rags so that there would be less wind, but the threshold still froze, becoming covered with snow and freezing our feet tightly.” The issue of consumer services for the population was very acute in wartime conditions. Most of the evacuees who arrived in Kurgan in the summer and autumn of 1941 did not have warm clothes, shoes, or bed linen with them, not to mention blankets and pillows. To provide people with the most necessary things, the city opened buying stalls where you could buy used items. The situation with the repair of clothes and shoes was extremely bad. And there were “people” who did not take on cheap orders and repairs, demanding good payment.
“The first war winter was very cold, the frosts were severe, there was almost no warm clothing, we evacuated hastily and did not think about leaving anywhere, there was no time to take anything, and everything we had was burned during the bombing. The frost is 40 degrees, it’s a long walk to work across the whole city. The day before, at a flea market, my mother bought felt boots, or rather the tops of felt boots, the soles were all full of holes, they wrapped something around her feet and stuck her feet into the holey felt boots. My feet were so cold that when I ran into the workshop I screamed in pain for a long time. Master Mamaev took my holey felt boots and took them to the workshop. And they gave me a high box on which I sat and fulfilled my quota.” (From the memoirs of V. Zamyshlyaeva). On the eve of winter, the issue of providing city residents with fuel became acute. Since there were practically no cars, cows and bulls available on farms were used to transport firewood. Transportation was difficult, because during the war years all the roads and bridges fell into complete disrepair. Residents' apartments were practically not illuminated with electricity, since the power plant built in 1914 was low-power and unable to provide electricity to either factories or residents' apartments.
But, despite all the difficulties, the patriotism of the city residents was very high: people worked seven days a week for 12-14 hours at the machine, and they worked at the machine as soldiers fought at the front. Not only adults, but also teenagers aged 12 - 14, who are now considered still small. Youth front-line brigades and brigades of multi-machine operators were created.
The city's workers contributed to the country's defense fund 5,5 million rubles. In 1941-42, a lot of work was done to find employment for the evacuated population. So from 14407 new arrivals were employed 7704 person. Among the arrivals were many women with small children who, due to the lack of nurseries, could not go to work. In November 1942, the City Council re-registered the non-working population aged: men - from 16 to 55 years, women - from 16 to 50 years. All previously issued certificates of release from work were considered invalid.
But wartime conditions were harsh - being 5-10 minutes late for work could cost a person several years in prison, and leaving the workplace without a good reason could also cost a person. Worker of the Uralselmash plant I.G. Gavrilov was sentenced to six months in prison for systematic failure to attend general military training classes. “My younger brother Volodya, he was 14 years old, also worked at the plant in the first mechanical shop. One day he almost overslept for work, or rather there were minutes left before the buzzer, he was so scared, because back then it was very strict, they were judged for being late for 5 minutes - 5 years in prison. Regardless of age. “They asked for porridge” from his boots. The sole of the right shoe completely fell off, he tied it with wire and walked around. He rushed so hard that people shied away from him as if he were crazy, his black overcoat fluttering above his head. The wire on the boot could not withstand such speed and fell off. A bare leg stuck out across the shoe. When he flew into the workshop, a beep sounded, he grabbed his tag and collapsed on the floor.” (From the memoirs of V. Zamyshlyaeva).
At plant No. 709, director Kochubievsky issued an order according to which all workers were warned that: “According to the decision of the State Defense Committee of the USSR, failure to fulfill production tasks was considered a state crime and the perpetrators were subject to criminal liability under wartime laws.” In 1942, the Krasny Kurgan newspaper published a Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR "About war tax", to which all citizens over 18 years of age were involved.
And yet, everyone lived the life and feelings of the front. On the streets of the city, large groups of people gathered at the loudspeakers when the latest news was announced. In every family, someone fought at the front. From the very first days of the war, the regional newspaper “Krasny Kurgan” published Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, reports of the High Command of the Red Army.
Despite the mass enthusiasm and patriotism, there were people who, even in such difficult times, managed to profit from someone else’s misfortune. In September 1942, an employee of the city NKVD Gorbachev uncovered a group of seasoned swindlers in the office "Procurement of raw materials". Taking advantage of the lack of proper accounting, the swindlers wrote out fictitious receipts for raw materials allegedly accepted from the deliverers, received money and manufactured goods from the office for settlements for the deliverers, and divided it all among themselves.
It is also interesting that the Kurgan City Executive Committee received hundreds of applications from families of evacuated citizens demanding that they be given wages for their fathers and husbands who remained behind enemy lines, or provide them with systematic financial assistance and other benefits. Among such “petitioners,” as a rule, were the families of secretaries of city committees, district committees, chairmen of city executive committees, district executive committees, and heads of the NKVD.
But, despite all the difficulties, the Kurgan City Executive Committee carried out a tremendous job: all evacuees were provided with minimal assistance with money, warm clothes, basic necessities, fuel, and food. The issue of housing and employment has been resolved. City residents sometimes shared their last piece of bread with the evacuees. Everyone was waiting for the end of the war.
The most difficult war in history that has happened in this world is the Great Patriotic War. She tested the strength and will of our people for more than a single year, but our ancestors passed this test with honor. Many writers described in their works the love for the Motherland of the Soviet people and hatred of the enemy; they showed that nothing could be higher than the interests of humanity. But no one can describe what people experienced during the war itself in the center of events, like the soldiers themselves. Unfortunately, many of them are no longer alive. We can only imagine and guess.
The war lasted four years, filled with pain, horror, suffering and torment. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, died in that battle, leaving millions of children orphans and wives widows. But, at the cost of our lives, we still received the Great Victory, faith in a bright future, happy days and the opportunity to enjoy the bright sun on our Motherland.
The war crippled the lives and psyches of many people, tormented the souls, forcing not only men, but also women and children to fight. Their exact number is impossible to count, because archaeologists still find the remains of the bodies of those who died then and return them to relatives for the long-awaited burial.
For all of us, war is not an empty word, but an association with bombing, machine gun fire, exploding grenades, heaps of corpses and a river of blood. These merciless lessons have left their mark on the lives of all humanity, young and old. Old people teach young people, calling for peace, with their terrifying stories and stories.
Humanity did not know what happiness, justice, freedom were for four years until it achieved victory. These actions turned the world upside down, destroying hundreds of cities, villages, towns...
After that war, every person changed.
It is impossible to imagine how courageous, courageous and fearless the people who took the warpath were. With their breasts they blocked the path of the enemy and, thanks to their love for the Motherland, won freedom, peace and love.
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During war, a person's entire worldview changes. In moments of danger, he begins to behave and feel completely differently than in everyday situations, his character qualities are revealed from a new side. In battles, both a feeling of combat excitement, joy from an attack, and feelings of doom and panic can simultaneously manifest themselves.
Fear is a natural form of emotional reaction to danger. For a person in a non-standard environment, it is natural to feel a sense of danger; in addition, very often what seemed dangerous an hour ago changes with the assessment of another danger, and as a result, another fear. For example, fear for your family is replaced by fear for yourself, fear of making yourself look like a coward is replaced by fear of being killed, etc. Human behavior during combat depends on which type of fear is greatest.
Sometimes, out of fear, a person mobilizes the will to fight, sometimes, on the contrary, he loses self-control.
In war there are many ways to alleviate fear. These are conversations with priests and commanders, calls and inspiring slogans during attacks, chemical stimulants (drugs or alcohol).
Many people develop such qualities as fatalism and superstition during battles. They are a kind of protection against stress, relieve the psyche and dull fear. A person may have an unfounded belief that no matter what happens, he will still remain alive, or, on the contrary, that no matter how he hides. a bullet, mine or shell will find him.
During military operations, when a person is on the verge of death, he shows his true essence. All life priorities come down to one thing: the fight for your life - everything else becomes insignificant. But it is important to note that in this case, someone else’s life ceases to seem valuable.
Life at the front also has a strong impact on the psyche: malnutrition and lack of sleep, heat or cold, overwork and lack of normal comfortable housing. Such inconveniences are very big irritants that change a person’s psychology with enormous force.
When a person is at war, his psyche begins to adapt to its needs. Therefore, when he again finds himself in a peaceful environment, his consciousness turns out to be unadapted to it. First of all, the soldier’s psyche after the war does not want to perceive calm, the standard values of society become meaningless. After combat, many people still have a desire to solve their problems with weapons, since the psyche cannot be rebuilt in a short time. Associated with this is a greater amount of criminal activity (cruel torture of prisoners, sexual violence, looting and robbery, false denunciations) in the war and post-war period than in peacetime. This happened in European countries, in the USA, and in the USSR.
Also, people who went through war more often have nightmares in their dreams and are haunted by terrible memories. It is important to remember that military rehabilitation depends on the following basic factors:
- Returning home and meeting loved ones;
- Increased status in society, benefits;
- Active social activities;
- Communication with a military psychologist.
Thus, each person takes his place in society and must remember that he cannot lose it because he went through a war.
War always has negative consequences in the human psyche, but it is important to overcome the pain and anger that remains after it. After combat operations, the perception of the world changes regardless of a person’s will. But as history shows, despite the horrors experienced during the war, most people were able to preserve spiritual values and pass them on to future generations.
The school curriculum includes works of military prose. Students discuss and analyze books by Soviet writers. And then they write an essay on the topic “Man at War.” What sources can you use to complete this creative activity?
"Killed near Moscow"
One of the works on the basis of which teachers recommend writing an essay on the topic “Man at War” is the story by Konstantin Vorobyov. “Killed near Moscow” is one of the famous books telling about the defense of the Soviet capital in 1941.
The main character of the story is Alexey Yastrebov. The lieutenant bravely and selflessly fights against the German invaders. The author realistically and accurately described the situation at the front in the first period of the war. The appearance of the soldiers and their life are reliably conveyed. It is not easy to fight for the Motherland when there are not enough machine guns, and there are only grenades, bottles of gasoline and self-loading rifles. The hero of Vorobyov's story experiences disgust and fear as he approaches the German. After all, he is the same person...
Vorobyov’s book shows not only the feat, but also simple human emotions: fear, cowardice. Yastrebov meets both heroes and deserters. An essay on the topic “Human Behavior in War” requires preparation, that is, reading various works of Russian literature.
Of course, eyewitnesses and participants of the Second World War can say the best about the events of 1941-1945. Konstantin Vorobyov went through the war. He was shell-shocked and escaped from captivity twice. Soviet critics called the book “Killed near Moscow” slanderous. There was too much truth and not enough pathos in it. An essay on the topic “Man at War” should be written precisely under the impression of such honest, reliable works.
"Sashka"
Kondratiev's story shows the war through the eyes of a young man from a simple Moscow family. The culminating event in the book is the moment when the hero is faced with a choice: follow the order of the commander or remain human, but go to court.
Kondratiev depicted in some detail the details of military life. A pack of concentrate, soggy potatoes, stale flat cakes - all these are components of front-line life. But as already mentioned, it is the climax of the story that will help in completing such a creative task as an essay on the topic “Man at War.”
At the front, time passed catastrophically quickly. Military events carried a person along with them, sometimes leaving him no choice. By order of the battalion commander, Sashka must shoot a prisoner - a young soldier just like him.
An essay-reasoning on the topic “Man at War” is written based on various works of military prose. However, Kondratiev’s story shows the doubts of a Soviet soldier like nowhere else. If Sashka shoots a German, he will change his moral convictions. If he refuses, he will become a traitor in the eyes of his fellow soldiers.
"Sotnikov"
The theme of war occupies a central place in the works. The writer touched upon such problems as conscience and loyalty to one’s duty. However, above all he was interested in the theme of heroism. And not its external manifestation, but the way the soldier comes to it. An essay on the topic “The Feat of Man in War” should be written after reading the story “Sotnikov.”
A long life in a peaceful, calm time sometimes does not give a person the opportunity to find out who he is - a hero or a coward. War puts everything in its place. She leaves no room for doubt. The disclosure of this complex philosophical topic is a characteristic feature of Bykov’s work. That is why an essay on the topic “War in Human Life” should be written based on one of the works of the Soviet classic.
“And the dawns here are quiet”
This story is somewhat unique. War is an anti-human phenomenon. But its deadly essence is perceived as especially terrible in contrast with women’s fate. It is perhaps impossible to write an essay on the topic “War in the fate of man” without mentioning Vasiliev’s story. In the book “And the Dawns Here Are Quiet,” the author conveyed the absurdity of such a phenomenon as a woman at war.
The heroines of the story are just beginning to live. Only one of them managed to experience motherhood - their main purpose in life. The young anti-aircraft gunners from Vasiliev’s story die defending their Motherland. They accomplish a feat. But each of them had their own hopes and dreams.
The key point in the book is the description of the last minutes of Zhenya Kamelkova’s life. The girl leads the Germans with her, realizes that death is already near, and suddenly realizes how stupid and absurd it is to die at eighteen.
The story of the death of anti-aircraft gunners in the Karelian forests helps children and teenagers born more than half a century after the Great Victory to understand the horror of war. Therefore, you should read Vasiliev’s book not only before writing an essay on a given topic.
“Not on the lists”
Millions of stories about military feats are told by eyewitnesses. The same number are consigned to oblivion. About twenty-five million Soviet people died during the war. And the worst thing is that not everyone’s fate is known. In the story “Not on the Lists,” the author talked about a man whose name is unknown. He fought in the early days of the war. Spent almost a year in the Brest Fortress. He received no letters from home, and his name is not engraved on one of the mass graves of which there are monstrously many in our country. But he was.
"The Living and the Dead"
Simonov's trilogy is another item on the list of required literature about the war. This writer is the founder of the panoramic novel about the Second World War. “The Living and the Dead” is a book that is distinguished by its breadth of coverage and depiction of various destinies. Man at war is the central theme of Simonov's novel. But the merit of this writer was not only the depiction of people during the tragic period of Russian history. The author of “The Living and the Dead” tried to answer the following questions: what was the reason for the failure of the Soviet army in the first years of the war, how did the cult of Stalin affect human destinies?
"Cursed and Killed"
Astafiev spoke about the military events years later. The book “Cursed and Killed” was created in the early nineties. This work is a kind of look into the past. However, the brightness and authenticity of the wartime picture, despite the age, is present in the book. The author immerses the reader in an atmosphere of cold, hunger, fear and disease. Modern schoolchildren should have a correct understanding of war. After all, its components are not only feat and courage. Astafiev’s book is not easy to read, but necessary.
"The Fate of Man"
Modern critics question the authenticity of Sholokhov's story. As is known, the Soviet soldier, after being in captivity, had no opportunity to hope for leniency. According to many historical data, the hero of the story “The Fate of Man” could have been shot in the very first days of returning to his own people. But Sokolov survived the escape.
Despite the obvious unreliability and, as the writer and former dissident A. Solzhenitsyn put it, “falsehood,” Sholokhov’s book has high literary value. You should definitely read it before writing your written work.
The theme of war in “The Fate of Man” by Sholokhov is revealed with extraordinary tragedy. An essay can be written based on the second part of the work. It shows the consequences of war. After all, it does not end after victory is declared. Its consequences are felt by both combatants and even their children.
To prepare for writing an essay, it is also recommended to familiarize yourself with the works of Bondarev, Grossman, and Adamovich.
Soldiers who went through the war saw things that are inaccessible to ordinary people. And that is why they need the help of a psychologist in order to return to normal life.
The psyche of people who are at war is rebuilt to suit its needs. And after a person finds himself in a peaceful environment, he becomes unadapted to it. His opinion differs from the opinions of others. A the psyche of a soldier after military operations does not want to perceive calm.
First of all, this maladjustment affects the standard values of society. Everything becomes meaningless for a person. In war, the important thing is that the enemy is the enemy. And when a soldier encounters him, he needs to take quick decisive action. There is only one rule:
"if you don't kill your opponent, then he will kill you"
In a peaceful society, such methods of fighting the enemy are not recognized by law. And this becomes a serious problem for those people who are accustomed to quickly reacting to any danger. This habit is very difficult to get rid of, so often soldiers after the war require mental restoration, which will be performed by a professional doctor.
The work is extremely difficult. Soldiers, as a rule, have problems that are difficult to find in ordinary people. Military life requires strict obedience, thus suppressing the free will of a person. Pictures of military operations find their place in a man’s memory, and they are very difficult to forget. War forever leaves its mark on the psyche, consciousness and behavior of a soldier. And a society that treats them with caution only makes the situation worse.
In addition, those people who went through the war often have nightmares, they are haunted by terrible memories and the faces of their fallen comrades. Psyche and war are two incompatible things. A person will never remain normal after seeing so much pain and suffering. Especially if you were injured during combat. Unfortunately, it will never be possible to recover completely. But taking steps towards recovery is quite possible!
The impact of war on the psyche is obvious, but it is worth remembering that it depends on many important factors, for example:
- Meeting with family and friends after returning home;
- Public gratitude for fulfilling one's duty to the Motherland;
- Availability of benefits and increased social status;
- New interesting work;
- Conducting a social life;
- Communication.