The Beginning of World War II The Beginning of German Invasion to Russia
Germans having broken through to the Gulf of Finland only a few miles South- West of the city and attacked heavily in the Kolpino and Pulkovo areas about
fifteen miles south of Leningrad p. 287. On August 20, there was a meeting of the Leningrad Party. Voroshilov and
Zhdanov admitted that the situation in Leningrad was very serious. Zhdanov said that the whole population, the young, must be given a shooting training and also
grenade-throwing and street-fighting. On the next day, August 21, the famous Appeal to the Leningrad people,
signed by Voroshilov, Zhdanov and Popkov, the chairman of the Leningrad Soviet was published:
Let us, like no one man [it concluded], rise to the defense of our city, of our homes and families, our freedom and honor. Let us do our sacred duty
as Soviet patriots in our relentless struggle against a hated and ruthless enemy, let us be vigilant and merciless in dealing with cowards, panic-
mongers and deserters, let us establish the strictest revolutionary discipline in our city. Armed with such iron discipline and Bolshevik organization,
let us meet the enemy and throw him back p. 288. On October 7, 1941, there was an order from the Fuhrer’s headquarters. It
was signed by Jodl.He delivered the Fuhrer’s order not to accept capitulation ‘at either Leningrad or, later Moscow’. This order also mentioned that Leningrad
should be razed to the ground by air bombing and artillery fire. In the middle of September, the danger of the German occupation in
Leningrad had been averted. It was also too clear that the cut off from the rest of the country, except for the Lake Ladoga route.Lake Ladoga was the only real hope
of keeping the city supplied with food, raw materials and fuel, and also the armaments and ammunition that could not be made on the spot p. 291.
As the result, in the beginning of September, Leningrad was completely isolated by land from the rest of Russia. They were about three million people had
been trapped there. In 1941, Russia was short by planes, so the Germans controlled the air in the Leningrad area. Any Russian plane was in big danger of
being shot down, even at night. Lake Ladoga was the only route for Leningrad to communicate with the rest of Russia,however, even Lake Ladoga did not have any
proper harbors p. 292. Salisbury 2003 also states thatLeningrad people also did a preparation
for the Germans attack, the city of Leningrad tightened the controls on movement of population. It was stricter,a curfew was applied in Leningrad.Since August 24
they forbid all activities in the city between 10 P.M. and 5 A.M. p. 330.
2 Winter in Leningrad
Harisson E. Salisbury 2003 states that the weather of Russia’s winter at that time was extremely cold, with rain and snow. It made the troops always wet
all day and night long. When the Red Army discussed about strengthening their army that already in Neva River, the front’s armored commander, General N.A.
Bolotnikov said about the army needing heavy tanks as there were ice over almost the entire Neva p. 396.
“If you want to help the Fifth-fourth Army, then you need heavy tanks. Without them the infantry can do nothing. You can ask Bychevsky about
trying to put KV tanks across. He hasn’t any pontoons, and there is ice over almost the entire Neva.” p. 402
On November 17, the sky was gray and dark, the people felt the bitter cold.
The sun rose until well after 9 A.M. p. 410. A poet, Dmitri Grigorovich described about how bitter was the winter at that time “... the winter twilight of
Petersburg sinking into the black of night... and he alone ... far, far from all, in the deep shadows, the snowy empyiness and swirling wind.” p. 423
For another example, a middle-aged man namedNikolai Tikhonovone of Russia’s best-known writers, walked in Tverskaya Ulitsa in a November night. It
described that he walked through the world of shadow, of cold, of snow and of wind p. 424.
An Academian Orbeli went to a meeting in the State Council room of the former Czar, he welcomed guests to the Navoi festival. They described that at that
time it was very cold, one of the poets; Rozhdestvensky got a difficulty in recognizing people because their faces was affected by cold and became thin p.
431-32. Orbeli worked at his office, and because of the December, it meant he only worked for a few hours. He described that it was deathly cold that his
rheumatism grew worse p. 433. When described about the coldest winter, Salisbury 2003 also writes the
temperature that he got in his research. It was the coldest winter of modern times. The average temperature of Leningrad in December was 9 above zero Fahrenheit
13 degrees below normal and 4 degrees below zero in January 20 degrees below normal.The temperature froze the ground p. 437. A poet; Vera Inber had
a celebration at the Writers’ House. She walked from Aptekarsky Island to the Writers’ House on Ulitsa Voinova. It was described that the temperature was well
below zero. The streets were empty and ice-covered p. 441. There was one January evening when the temperature at 20 below zero p. 449. Krutikov, a
factory’s owner which was no longer operating had to walk from his factory to the