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The Living and the Dead: The Rise and Fall of the Cult of World War II in Russia
Recounts how Stalin and his successors emphasized and de-emphasized World War II, and concealed contradictory facts about the war, to provide legitimacy to those in power
256 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
June 19, 2015
This book was somewhat disappointing – and because the publication date is 1994 it is does not reflect current developments.
It is composed of a series of essays which were unconnected to each other. There was an interesting one on groups who go to World War II battle sites to unearth the dead in order to give them a proper burial. There is also another unjarring essay on another type of people who go to massacre sites (most likely Jewish victims) and extract saleable remains like gold teeth. Some have been arrested.
There are discussions on the malleable history of the way the war has been propagated by the government. The author mentions that a feeling of freedom was experienced during the initial German attacks of 1941-42 because conditions were so chaotic that personal initiative was overlooked. I feel this is retrospective optimism. Most Soviet soldiers did not survive the onslaught of the first few years of war. The author points this out later when fresh recruits of 1943 and onwards had hardly anyone of experience to aid them.
After the war the “Great Victory of the Soviet People” became Stalin’s Victory (no one was permitted to compete with Stalin for adulation). With Khrushchev came a denunciation of Stalin – and some truths were revealed. But under Brezhnev the war became a victory of the Communist Party and it liberated all (i.e. Eastern Europe and the Baltic States should be forever thankful to the Soviet people).
At the dissolution of the Soviet Union the truth came out and it hurt tremendously. For instance why was the Soviet Union so unprepared for the Nazi attack (one reason being that Stalin in the late 1930’s had exterminated thousands of officers from the army). The author never discusses the fate of the millions of Red Army soldiers taken prisoner by the Nazis. Even before the war was over there were forced brutal migrations of Soviet ethnic citizens who were considered “collaborators”, “enemies of the people”. It was also a way for Stalin to be rid of the resistance groups that had grown during the Nazi occupation. Gorbachev finally did acknowledge the truth of the Katyn massacre of over twenty thousand Polish officers, which previously had been blamed on the Germans. The author points out that many of these facts were too overwhelming for the Russian people. It led to a xenophobic nationalism and return to religious roots.
There was a tendency of the author to interpose her own personal history. I also felt she had overly scathing views on the veterans’ reunions she attended. There were some interesting observations on art that has been made after 1945. Overall I felt the book uneven and lacking unity.
It is composed of a series of essays which were unconnected to each other. There was an interesting one on groups who go to World War II battle sites to unearth the dead in order to give them a proper burial. There is also another unjarring essay on another type of people who go to massacre sites (most likely Jewish victims) and extract saleable remains like gold teeth. Some have been arrested.
There are discussions on the malleable history of the way the war has been propagated by the government. The author mentions that a feeling of freedom was experienced during the initial German attacks of 1941-42 because conditions were so chaotic that personal initiative was overlooked. I feel this is retrospective optimism. Most Soviet soldiers did not survive the onslaught of the first few years of war. The author points this out later when fresh recruits of 1943 and onwards had hardly anyone of experience to aid them.
After the war the “Great Victory of the Soviet People” became Stalin’s Victory (no one was permitted to compete with Stalin for adulation). With Khrushchev came a denunciation of Stalin – and some truths were revealed. But under Brezhnev the war became a victory of the Communist Party and it liberated all (i.e. Eastern Europe and the Baltic States should be forever thankful to the Soviet people).
At the dissolution of the Soviet Union the truth came out and it hurt tremendously. For instance why was the Soviet Union so unprepared for the Nazi attack (one reason being that Stalin in the late 1930’s had exterminated thousands of officers from the army). The author never discusses the fate of the millions of Red Army soldiers taken prisoner by the Nazis. Even before the war was over there were forced brutal migrations of Soviet ethnic citizens who were considered “collaborators”, “enemies of the people”. It was also a way for Stalin to be rid of the resistance groups that had grown during the Nazi occupation. Gorbachev finally did acknowledge the truth of the Katyn massacre of over twenty thousand Polish officers, which previously had been blamed on the Germans. The author points out that many of these facts were too overwhelming for the Russian people. It led to a xenophobic nationalism and return to religious roots.
There was a tendency of the author to interpose her own personal history. I also felt she had overly scathing views on the veterans’ reunions she attended. There were some interesting observations on art that has been made after 1945. Overall I felt the book uneven and lacking unity.
May 16, 2018
For a work of scholarship, Dr. Tumarkin’s still remains a must read in Soviet memory of the Great Patriotic War. However, she transcends mere scholarly work with a touching mediation on her own experience of dealing with loved ones’ deaths intermixed with a society grappling with the horror of epidemic death.
A masterwork of historical writing and writing in general.
A masterwork of historical writing and writing in general.
December 31, 2010
A.MAZE.ING. If you want to understand Russia at any point post 1945, you need to understand their relationship to the Great Patriotic War (WWII). This book is a outdated, but still a must read for anyone interested in WWII history or Russia.
October 19, 2021
I really enjoyed this book. It intertwined personal narrative with a good overview of Soviet history. The poignant part of the book is the meditation on how we treat the dead. It reminded me a bit of StalingradStalingrad that I just read. Grossman has this little vignette toward the end where the Germans are neatly creating a cemetery row, by even perfect row. That is juxtaposed with the idea that the Soviet defenders are lying dead in their holes, collapsed buildings, and tunnels. Many of them are still lying in mass graves.
A really interesting book that ties in WWII with nostalgia for the Soviet past, and a reckoning with the present and future of Russia and the other post-Soviet states.
A really interesting book that ties in WWII with nostalgia for the Soviet past, and a reckoning with the present and future of Russia and the other post-Soviet states.
May 1, 2022
The transformation of World War II - called the Great Patriotic War by the Soviets - from a messy victory into a glorious triumph of Stalin and socialism is the focus of this book.
Many millions died - eventually the Soviets settled on 22 million, but historians don't agree - but it was merely survival. Stalin and the Soviet Machine slowly turned the story into a tale of a brave people beating back fascism and saving Europe from enslavement. Then, it became Stalin and socialism that were the heroes. And of course, none of this helped the oppressed peoples of Russia and the new Eastern European empire.
This starts out as a personal memoir from an American of Russian heritage and then goes into the history of the war and its cultural aftermath in the Soviet Union and the conquered countries.
Really good information and reflections here, but it takes awhile to get into it.
Many millions died - eventually the Soviets settled on 22 million, but historians don't agree - but it was merely survival. Stalin and the Soviet Machine slowly turned the story into a tale of a brave people beating back fascism and saving Europe from enslavement. Then, it became Stalin and socialism that were the heroes. And of course, none of this helped the oppressed peoples of Russia and the new Eastern European empire.
This starts out as a personal memoir from an American of Russian heritage and then goes into the history of the war and its cultural aftermath in the Soviet Union and the conquered countries.
Really good information and reflections here, but it takes awhile to get into it.
September 25, 2022
The title accurately states the subject of the book.
April 29, 2026
Fascinating study of Soviet war film. Changed how I think about Soviet culture.
November 17, 2007
Nina Tumarkin makes scholarship and insight about Russian culture into a brilliant metaphor: digging in "the Valley of Death" in the age of Perestroika with the Russian youth group Dozor ("Patrol," the members of which she calls "Antigone's children") to disinter, clean, catalogue and identify (if possible) the bones of the one million soldiers (Russian and German) who died there. The fighting around the ancient city of Rzhev, northwest of Moscow, had gone on almost unremittingly from 1941 to spring of 1943, "past the time of the Stalingrad battle, when Stalin launched offensives in the Rzhev region--among others--to divert German forces from more strategic places."
"'After they bring the bags of bones back to camp," Ada Lishin [told her], "the kids make a point of washing every one as a gesture of respect. Then they sort the bones and artifacts, immediately separating out anything that might explode. They examine everything carefully to see if they can identify the individual. Then, at the end of the expedition, if we can get coffins, we put the remains of nine people into each one and hold a burial service to which we invite local inhabitants. We read poems, sing songs, and in the past few years we have usually found a priest to participate in the service. If we have no coffins, we dig a big grave, strew pine branches on the bottom; then we place the bodies on branches, cover them up, and hold our service.' Accorlding to Russian custom, evergreen branches symbolize eternal life."
"'After they bring the bags of bones back to camp," Ada Lishin [told her], "the kids make a point of washing every one as a gesture of respect. Then they sort the bones and artifacts, immediately separating out anything that might explode. They examine everything carefully to see if they can identify the individual. Then, at the end of the expedition, if we can get coffins, we put the remains of nine people into each one and hold a burial service to which we invite local inhabitants. We read poems, sing songs, and in the past few years we have usually found a priest to participate in the service. If we have no coffins, we dig a big grave, strew pine branches on the bottom; then we place the bodies on branches, cover them up, and hold our service.' Accorlding to Russian custom, evergreen branches symbolize eternal life."
June 28, 2010
I read this for part of my Oral Narrative class. It's an interesting look at the relationship between propaganda and memory when viewed through the lens of personal loss, and a rather explicit picture of what happens when patriotism is so narrowly defined and instructed through governmental movements. Not a light and airy read, but by no means tedious. A little repetitive at times, but the blending of Russian history (and redefined history) and personal narrative gave seemingly unrelated history a deeply personal bent.
A very good read.
A very good read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews