The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) - the war between the USSR, Germany and its allies in the framework of World War II on the territory of the USSR and Germany. Germany attacked the USSR on June 22, 1941, with the expectation of a short military campaign, but the war dragged on for several years and ended in the complete defeat of Germany.
Causes of the Great Patriotic War
After the defeat in the First World War, Germany remained in a difficult situation - the political situation was unstable, the economy was in a deep crisis. Around this time, Hitler came to power, who, thanks to his economic reforms, was able to quickly bring Germany out of the crisis and thereby gain the trust of the authorities and the people.
Standing at the head of the country, Hitler began to pursue his policy, which was based on the idea of the superiority of the Germans over other races and peoples. Hitler not only wanted to take revenge for losing the First World War, but also to subjugate the whole world to his will. The result of his claims was the German attack on the Czech Republic and Poland, and then (already within the framework of the outbreak of World War II) on other European countries.
Until 1941, there was a non-aggression pact between Germany and the USSR, but Hitler violated it by attacking the USSR. In order to conquer the Soviet Union, the German command developed a swift attack, which was supposed to bring victory within two months. Having seized the territories and wealth of the USSR, Hitler could have entered into an open confrontation with the United States for the right to world political domination.
The attack was swift, but did not bring the desired results - the Russian army put up stronger resistance than the Germans expected, and the war dragged on for many years.
The main periods of the Great Patriotic War
First period (June 22, 1941 – November 18, 1942). Within a year after the German attack on the USSR, the German army conquered significant territories, which included Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Moldova, Belarus and Ukraine. After that, the troops moved inland to capture Moscow and Leningrad, however, despite the failures of the Russian soldiers at the beginning of the war, the Germans failed to take the capital.
Leningrad was taken under blockade, but the Germans were not allowed into the city. The battles for Moscow, Leningrad and Novgorod continued until 1942.
The period of a radical change (1942-1943). Middle period The war got its name due to the fact that it was at this time that the Soviet troops were able to take the advantage in the war into their own hands and launch a counteroffensive. The German and Allied armies gradually began to retreat back to the western border, many foreign legions were broken and destroyed.
Due to the fact that the entire industry of the USSR at that time worked for military needs, the Soviet army managed to significantly increase its weapons and put up decent resistance. The army of the USSR from the defender turned into an attacker.
The final period of the war (1943-1945). During this period, the USSR began to recapture the lands occupied by the Germans and move towards Germany. Leningrad was liberated, Soviet troops entered Czechoslovakia, Poland, and then into Germany.
On May 8, Berlin was taken, and German troops announced their unconditional surrender. Hitler, having learned about the lost war, committed suicide. War is over.
The main battles of the Great Patriotic War
- Defense of the Arctic (June 29, 1941 - November 1, 1944).
- Siege of Leningrad (September 8, 1941 – January 27, 1944).
- Battle for Moscow (September 30, 1941 – April 20, 1942).
- Battle of Rzhev (January 8, 1942 - March 31, 1943).
- Battle of Kursk (July 5 - August 23, 1943).
- Battle of Stalingrad (July 17, 1942 – February 2, 1943).
- Battle for the Caucasus (July 25, 1942 – October 9, 1943).
- Belarusian operation (June 23 - August 29, 1944).
- Battle for Right-Bank Ukraine (December 24, 1943 – April 17, 1944).
- Budapest operation (October 29, 1944 - February 13, 1945).
- Baltic operation (September 14 - November 24, 1944).
- Vistula-Oder operation (January 12 - February 3, 1945).
- East Prussian operation (January 13 - April 25, 1945).
- Berlin operation (April 16 - May 8, 1945).
The results and significance of the Great Patriotic War
Although the main goal of the Great Patriotic War was defensive, as a result, the Soviet troops went on the offensive and not only liberated their territories, but also destroyed the German army, took Berlin and stopped Hitler's victorious march across Europe.
Unfortunately, despite the victory, this war turned out to be devastating for the USSR - the country's economy after the war was in a deep crisis, since the industry worked exclusively for the military industry, many people were killed, and the rest were starving.
Nevertheless, for the USSR, victory in this war meant that now the Union was becoming a world superpower, which had the right to dictate its terms in the political arena.
Chronicle of the Great Patriotic War
Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union without declaring war
Despite the heroism and self-sacrifice of soldiers and officers, it was not possible to repel the treacherous attack. In the first weeks of the war, the Soviet army and navy suffered catastrophic losses: from June 22 to July 9, 1941, more than 500,000 servicemen died.
Divisions 6th and 42nd rifle divisions, 17th border detachment and 132nd separate battalion troops of the NKVD, with a total number of 3,500 people, met the enemy among the first. Despite the enormous numerical superiority of the Germans, the defenders of the fortress resisted for a whole month.
The German Army Group "North" under the command of Field Marshal von Leeb captured the city of Shlisselburg (Petrokrepost), taking control of the source of the Neva and blockading Leningrad from land. Thus began the 900-day blockade of Leningrad, which claimed the lives of about a million people.
According to the plan of Operation Typhoon, approved by Hitler in September, Moscow was to be completely destroyed along with the entire population. But the plans of the Nazis were not destined to come true. The words of political instructor Vasily Klochkov flew around the whole country: “Russia is great, but there is nowhere to retreat: behind is Moscow!”
The troops of the 11th German Army, which broke through to the Crimea in October 1941, tried to capture the city on the move. Despite the enemy's twofold superiority in manpower and tenfold superiority in tanks and aircraft, the defense of Sevastopol lasted 250 days. This episode of the war went down in history as an example of mass heroism and self-sacrifice of the city's defenders.
This military parade was of particular importance - it was necessary to tell the world that Moscow stands and will stand firm. Straight from the parade main square countries, the soldiers of the Red Army went to the front, to which it was only a few kilometers from the center of Moscow.
Victory Soviet army in Battle of Stalingrad became turning point in the war. The USSR snatched the strategic initiative from the enemy and did not let it go again. In honor of the feat of the heroes of Stalingrad on Mamaev Kurgan in the 1960s, a memorial Complex"The motherland is calling!".
Battle of Kursk, which lasted 49 days, fixed a radical change in the course of the Great Patriotic War. Having won, the Red Army pushed the enemy back 140-150 kilometers to the west and liberated Orel, Belgorod and Kharkov.
July 12, 1943
Battle of Prokhorovka - the largest tank battle of World War II
In the battle, 1.5 thousand tanks and self-propelled guns met on both sides. The Nazis lost over 350 tanks and over 10,000 men. On the same day, our troops launched an offensive and in less than a week defeated the Oryol grouping of the enemy.
January 27, 1944
The final liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade
The strategic operation to lift the blockade, called the "January Thunder", involved three fronts: Leningrad, Volkhov and 2nd Baltic. Particularly successful were the actions of the Leningrad and Volkhov fronts, which pushed the enemy back 70-100 kilometers from the city.
April 9, 1945
Soviet troops occupied the fortress city of Koenigsberg (Kaliningrad)
The troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, after stubborn street fighting, completed the defeat of the Koenigsberg group of German troops and stormed the fortress and the main city East Prussia, Koenigsberg - a strategically important node-defense of the Germans on the Baltic Sea.
Berlin offensive 2nd Belarusian, 1st Belarusian and 1st Ukrainian fronts- one of the last strategic operations Soviet troops, during which the Red Army occupied the capital of Germany and victoriously ended the Great Patriotic War and the Second World War in Europe.
May 8, 1945
Signing of the Act of Unconditional Surrender of Nazi Germany
At 22:43 local time (May 9 at 0:43 Moscow time) in the building of the military engineering school in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst, the final act of the unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany and its armed forces was signed. The Great Patriotic War is over.
Celebrate the 70th anniversary of the Great Victory. Unfortunately, preparations for the celebrations dedicated to this anniversary are taking place in an environment where in some states they are trying to belittle the role Soviet people in the destruction of fascism. Therefore, today is the time to study those events in order to reasonably fight against attempts to rewrite history and even present our country as an aggressor who carried out an “invasion of Germany”. In particular, it is worth knowing why the beginning of the Second World War became a time of catastrophic losses for the USSR. And how our country nevertheless managed not only to expel the invaders from its territory, but also to end the war by hoisting the banner of Victory over the Reichstag.
Name
First of all, let's deal with what is meant by the Second World War. The fact is that such a name is present only in Soviet sources, and for the whole world the events that took place between the end of June 1941 and May 1945 are only part of the hostilities of the Second World War, localized in the Eastern European region of the planet. The term Great Patriotic War itself first appeared on the pages of the Pravda newspaper the day after the start of the invasion of the Third Reich troops into the territory of the USSR. As for German historiography, the expressions "Eastern campaign" and "Russian campaign" are used instead.
background
Adolf Hitler declared his desire to conquer Russia and "the outlying states that are subordinate to it" back in 1925. Eight years later, after becoming Reich Chancellor, he began to pursue a policy aimed at preparing for war with a view to expanding " living space for the German people". At the same time, the "Fuhrer of the German nation" constantly and very successfully played diplomatic multi-way combinations in order to lull the vigilance of the alleged opponents and further quarrel the USSR and the countries of the West.
Military operations in Europe preceding the Second World War
In 1936, Germany sent its troops into the Rhine zone, which was a kind of protective barrier for France, to which there was no serious reaction from the international community. A year and a half later, the German government, as a result of a plebiscite, annexed Austria to Germany, and then occupied the Sudetenland, inhabited by Germans, but belonging to Czechoslovakia. Feeling intoxicated by these almost bloodless victories, Hitler ordered the invasion of Poland, and then went through the "blitzkrieg" throughout Western Europe, almost never meeting serious resistance. The only country that continued to resist the troops of the Third Reich in the year the Second World War began was Great Britain. However, in this war, ground military units from none of the conflicting parties were involved, so the Wehrmacht was able to concentrate all its main forces near the borders with the USSR.
Accession to the USSR of Bessarabia, the Baltic countries and Northern Bukovina
Speaking briefly about the beginning of the Second World War, one cannot fail to mention the accession that preceded this event Baltic States in which in 1940, with the support of Moscow, government coups took place. In addition, the USSR demanded from Romania the return of Bessarabia and the transfer of Northern Bukovina to it, and as a result of the war with Finland, a part Karelian Isthmus controlled by the Soviet Union. Thus, the borders of the country were moved to the west, but it included territories, part of the population of which did not accept the loss of independence of their states and was hostile to the new authorities.
Despite the prevailing opinion that the Soviet Union was not preparing for war, preparations, and very serious ones, were nevertheless carried out. In particular, since the beginning of 1940, significant funds were directed to the development of the sector of the economy focused on production. military equipment and serving the needs of the Red Army. As a result, at the time of the German attack on the USSR, the Red Army was armed with more than 59, 7 thousand guns and mortars, 12,782 tanks and 10,743 aircraft.
At the same time, according to historians, the beginning of the Second World War could have been completely different if the repressions of the second half of the 30s had not deprived the country's Armed Forces of thousands of experienced military personnel, who simply had no one to replace. But be that as it may, back in 1939 it was decided to increase the terms of active service in the army and reduce the draft age, which made it possible to have more than 3.2 million soldiers and officers in the ranks of the Red Army at the start of the war.
WWII: reasons for the start
As already mentioned, among the priority tasks of the Nazis initially there was a desire to seize "lands in the East." Moreover, Hitler even explicitly pointed out that main mistake German foreign policy for the previous 6 centuries was to move south and west instead of east. In addition, in one of his speeches at a meeting with the high command of the Wehrmacht, Hitler stated that if Russia was defeated, then England would be forced to capitulate, and Germany would become "the ruler of Europe and the Balkans."
Second World War, and more specifically, the Second World War, also had an ideological background, since Hitler and his closest associates fanatically hated the communists and considered the representatives of the peoples inhabiting the USSR to be subhuman, who should become “fertilizer” in the field of prosperity of the German nation.
When did WWII start
Until now, historians have not subsided disputes related to why Germany chose June 22, 1941 to attack the Soviet Union.
Although there are many who are trying to find a mystical justification for this, most likely the German command proceeded from the fact that on the day of the summer solstice the most short night in a year. This meant that around 4 o'clock in the morning, when most of the inhabitants of the European part of the USSR would sleep, it would be twilight in the yard, and in an hour it would be completely light. In addition, this date fell on a Sunday, which means that many officers could be absent from the units, having gone to visit their relatives on Saturday morning. The Germans were also aware of the habit of the “Russians” to allow themselves a fair amount of strong alcohol on weekends.
As you can see, the start date of the Second World War was not chosen by chance, and the pedantic Germans provided for almost everything. Moreover, they managed to keep their intentions secret, and the Soviet command found out about their plans only a few hours before the attack on the USSR from a defector. The relevant directive was immediately sent to the troops, but it was already too late.
Directive number 1
Half an hour before the onset of June 22, an order was received in 5 border districts of the USSR to bring them to combat readiness. However, the same directive prescribed not to succumb to provocations and contained not entirely clear wording. The result was that the local command began to send requests to Moscow with a request to specify the order instead of taking decisive action. So precious minutes were lost, and the warning about the impending attack did not play any role.
Events of the first days of the war
At 0400 in Berlin, the German Foreign Minister presented the Soviet ambassador with a note by which the imperial government declared war on the USSR. At the same time, after aviation and artillery preparation, the troops of the Third Reich crossed the border Soviet Union. On the same day, at noon, Molotov spoke on the radio, and it was from him that many citizens of the USSR heard about the beginning of the war. WWII in the first day after the invasion of German troops was perceived Soviet people as an adventure on the part of the Germans, since they were confident in the defense capability of their country and believed in a quick victory over the enemy. However, the leadership of the USSR understood the seriousness of the situation and did not share the optimism of the people. In this regard, already on June 23, State Committee Defense and Stavka VGK.
Since Finnish airfields were actively used German Luftwaffe, On June 25, Soviet aircraft carried out an air raid aimed at destroying them. Helsinki and Turku were also bombed. As a result, the beginning of the Second World War was also marked by the unfreezing of the conflict with Finland, which also declared war on the USSR and in a few days regained all the territories lost during the Winter Campaign of 1939-1940.
The reaction of England and the USA
The beginning of the Second World War was perceived by government circles in the United States and England as a gift of providence. The fact is that they hoped to prepare for defense british isles until "Hitler will free his feet from the Russian swamp." However, already on June 24, President Roosevelt announced that his country would provide assistance to the USSR, since he believed that main threat for the world comes from the Nazis. Unfortunately, at that time these were just words that did not mean that the United States was ready to open a Second Front, since the start of the war (WWII) was beneficial for this country. As for Great Britain, on the eve of the invasion, Prime Minister Churchill announced that his goal was to destroy Hitler, and he was ready to help the USSR, because, “having finished with Russia,” the Germans would invade the British Isles.
Now you know what was the history of the beginning of the Second World War, which ended with the victory of the Soviet people.
In the post-war years, historians tried minute by minute to restore the chronology of the start of hostilities in the Great Patriotic War. It is generally accepted that the war began on June 22 at exactly 4 am. But in fact, Georgy Zhukov, who at that time was the chief of the General Staff, already at 03:06 received the first signal about military clashes with the Germans. And at 4:00 soviet ambassador Dekanozov V.G., who was in Berlin, received from Ribbentrop, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a package of official documents on the beginning of the war, which included a note and several appendices to it.
Start of hostilities
On June 22, in the early morning, having carefully prepared aviation and artillery forces, German troops crossed the borders of the Soviet Union. After 2 hours, V.M. Molotov had already hosted the German Ambassador W. Schulenberg. This visit took place at exactly 05:30, as evidenced by entries in the visitor's book. German Ambassador provided an official statement containing information about the sabotage actions of the USSR against Germany. The documents also spoke of the political manipulations of the Soviet Union directed against Germany. The essence of this statement was that Germany is taking military action to counter the threat and protect its territory.
Molotov officially declared the beginning of the war. And this fact raises many questions. First, the announcement was made much later. The speech on the radio was heard by the population of the country only at 12:15. More than 9 hours have passed since the start of hostilities, during which the Germans bombed our territory with might and main. From the German side, the appeal was recorded at 6:30 (Berlin time). It was also a mystery that Molotov, and not Stalin, reported the outbreak of hostilities. Modern historians put forward more than one version. Some argue that the head of the USSR was on vacation at that time. According to the version of foreign historians Brackman and Payne, during this period, Stalin was resting in Sochi. There is also an assumption that he was on the spot and simply refused, shifting all responsibility to Molotov. Such a statement is based on entries in the visitor's log - on this day, Stalin hosted a reception and even received the British ambassador.
There are also disagreements regarding the authorship of the text, which was compiled for an official speech. According to G. N. Peskova, who worked on restoring the chronology of events, the text of the message was handwritten by Molotov. But from the style of presentation and the corrections made later in this text, they came to the conclusion that the content of the text was edited by Stalin. Subsequently, Molotov spoke on the radio mentioning that he was acting on behalf of Joseph Vissarionovich. Later, when comparing the content of the written text and the spoken speech, historians found some differences, which mainly related to the extent of the territories that were attacked. There were other discrepancies, but they were not of great strategic importance. In any case, the fact that the war began earlier than the time indicated in official sources has been documented by researchers.
More and more time moves us away from the events of May 1945. But in the CIS countries, events dedicated to various historical dates of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945 are gaining more and more scope. For example, in Ukraine, almost a day later, the date of the release of the next locality, reconstruction of hostilities, etc. are being carried out. No regrets for all this. c I have neither the strength nor the means. Of course, the crown of these celebrations is Victory Day - May 9th. Moreover, at present, this holiday is actually the only common ideological symbol for the CIS countries. It is not surprising that with a rare full quorum of the presidents of 12 CIS countries at their Ashgabat Summit on December 5, 2012, the issue of organizing anniversary celebrations in 2015 in connection with the 70th anniversary of the end of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945 was considered. There is no doubt that the elaboration of the general concept of the summit was determined primarily by the Russian side, which had previously declared the corresponding point of view. In the author's Internet publication "Patriotic Wars of 1812 and 1941-1945. (website: http:/nedyuha. livejournal. com and in "Igor Nedyukha's blog"), a response was given to a well-known statement in 2011 by the then Prime Minister Russian Federation Vladimir Putin regarding the supposedly insignificant role of Ukraine in the Patriotic War of 1941-1945. against the backdrop of Putin's leitmotif "Russia-Victory". According to the author, such a position of the Russian leadership actually turns the peoples of the other CIS countries only into admirers of the "great destiny of the Russian people." In the absence of a proper reaction to this from the then leadership of Ukraine, the author proposed to the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to apologize for belittling the historical national dignity of the Ukrainian people. After all, the losses of "insignificant" Ukraine only in killed Ukrainian servicemen (3.5 million people) were more than three times higher than the "losses in the Second World War of such "essential" allies as the United States, England and France combined. Characteristically, former allies anti-Hitler coalition have now transformed Victory Day into the Day of Reconciliation and Remembrance of the Victims of the 2nd World War. Against the background of Ukrainian declarations about the desire to "associate with" Europe ", the above-mentioned excitement about the upcoming anniversary celebrations in connection with the 70th anniversary of Victory Day contrasts sharply.
Even Joseph Stalin did not consider it expedient to celebrate the end of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945 from such a perspective and with such "pomp", which brought innumerable victims and destruction for the Soviet people. For the first time Victory Day - May 9 as Public Holiday was introduced in 1965 by Leonid Brezhnev, who replaced Nikita Khrushchev in 1964 as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU. Apparently, Leonid Ilyich was eager to go down in history as a participant in the hostilities on Malaya Zemlya.
As for the above-mentioned "victorious" enthusiasm, it seems that it seems that many "enthusiasts" in the future are going to "outdo" the Northern Irish "Orangemen", celebrating once a year the victory in 1690 of the Protestant Stadtholder of Holland, William of Orange over Irish Catholics. In this regard, it should be recalled that the solemn marches of the "winners" created a hotbed of constant tension in Ulster and complicated relations with neighboring Ireland. At present, it is already virtually forgotten that May 9 is actually celebrated throughout the vast Eurasian space of the CIS countries.
Officially, Victory Day - May 9, traces its "pedigree" to the signing of the Berlin Act on the unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces. Unlike the CIS countries, the West celebrates Victory Day on May 8, associating it with the signing of the first "capitulation" Reims Act. On May 6, 1945, the Reich Chancellor of Germany, Grand Admiral Dennitz, sent his representative, Colonel General Jodl, to the Allied headquarters in Reims (France) to negotiate the surrender of Germany. The main task of Colonel-General Jodl was to obtain the consent of the commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Europe, General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower, so that the Act of Surrender of Germany proposed by the German side would come into force no earlier than May 10, 1945. But Army General Dwight Eisenhower refused to comply with this German condition and on May 6, 1945, informed Colonel General Jodl of his readiness to sign the Act of Germany's unconditional surrender. The Allies unraveled the plan of the Reich Chancellor of Germany, Dennitsa, to provide temporary conditions for the complete completion of the withdrawal of German troops from Czechoslovakia with their subsequent surrender to American, and not Soviet captivity. Colonel General Yodl had to obey the demand of the commander of the Allied forces, General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower. On the same day, May 6, 1945, Dwight Eisenhower summoned General Ivan Susloparov, Joseph Stalin's permanent representative to the Allies, to his headquarters in Reims. The latter was informed about the stay in Reims by Colonel-General Jodl of the Wehrmacht and offered to sign from the Soviet side the Act of unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces. Joseph Stalin undoubtedly figured out the alternative goal of Army General Dwight Eisenhower's proposal to his own plans. According to the official Soviet version, General Ivan Susloparov was then unable to contact Moscow and independently endorsed, together with the American General Walter Smith, the well-known Reims "surrender" Act, signed from the German side by Colonel General Jodl of the Wehrmacht on May 7, 1945 at 2:41 am upon its entry effective May 8, 1945 at 23:01 CET. But judging by the fact that General Ivan Susloparov was not punished for his more than bold independence, his actions were not impromptu. After all, it was precisely thanks to Ivan Susloparov’s “independence” that Joseph Stalin was able to declare that he did not authorize the signature of his permanent representative under the Reims Act, calling into question the de jure legitimacy of this act. For this reason, Joseph Stalin demanded that the allies repeat the procedure for signing the "surrender" act in the taken Soviet troops capital of Germany - Berlin. In order to somehow appease the “angry” Joseph Stalin and at the same time maintain the priority importance of the Reims Act, the allies in the anti-Hitler coalition sent their far from the first rank representatives to Berlin to participate in the signing of the second “surrender” Act.
May 8, 1945 at 22:43 CET (May 9, 1945 at 00:43 Moscow time) Field Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, as well as the representative of the Luftwaffe, Colonel General Stumpf and Admiral von Friedeburg, who had the appropriate authority from the Reich Chancellor Germany, Grand Admiral Dönnitz signed another act of unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces, which entered into force simultaneously with the Vreims act. Marshal Georgy Zhukov and representatives of the Allies put their signatures only as official witnesses to the very fact of the signing by the German side on May 8, 1945 in Berlin of the Act of surrender of Germany. The date on the Act itself is May 8, 1945, with a note in the text of the document of the Central European time of its entry into force - 23:01 on May 8, 1945. In an objective interpretation of the events of May 1945, one should take into account the undoubted fact that the Berlin Act as such was signed only by the German side with the fixation of precisely Berlin (Central European), and not Moscow time. If we proceed even from the fundamental principle of the unity of time and space alone (when fixing time at the place where the “capitulation” event took place in Berlin, and not in Moscow), the signing of the Berlin Act of Surrender can in no way be associated with Moscow time, but only with central -European. All the more so with its aforementioned simultaneous entry into force with the Reims Act, which is dated exactly according to Central European time.
In general, there is every objective reason to state that the entire two-stage procedure for accepting the surrender of Germany and its armed forces took place in unified system time coordinates starting on May 7, 1945 at 02:41 am Central European Time - the moment of signing the first Reims Act of surrender of Germany. Naturally, the latter has nothing to do with Moscow time. In turn, the subsequent signing of the Berlin Act (May 8, 1945 at 22:43) was already initially tied to Central European time, since it could take place only before the entry into force of the surrender
Reims Act - May 8, 1945 at 23:01 CET. After all, from this (Central European) moment, according to the Reims Act, the powers of the Reich Chancellor of Germany, Dönitz, ceased, and, accordingly, the powers of the representatives sent by him to sign the Berlin Act.
In this context, it is more than symbolic that, speaking on Moscow radio, already at the beginning of the third night of May 9, 1945, announcer Yuri Levitan broadcast an emergency (not yet corrected) official message: “On May 8, 1945, an act of unconditional surrender of Germany was signed in Berlin and its armed forces. Only later did an instruction “from above” come in to make a “domestic” amendment - changing the date of Victory Day from May 8 to May 9. All countries of the Western world celebrate Victory Day on May 8, associating it with the simultaneous entry into force on May 8, 1945 at 23:01 Central European time of both the Reims and Berlin Acts of the unconditional surrender of Germany and its armed forces. The purpose of the de jure formalized synchronization of the entry into force of the Reims and Berlin Acts was to create legal prerequisites for celebrating the Day of Victory over Nazi Germany common to the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition on May 8, 1945, Central European time, and not according to "separate" Moscow or alternative to it , for example, Washington time.
However, in order to satisfy the ambitions of Joseph Stalin through the efforts of the Soviet propaganda machine, the Berlin Act, the signing of which was actually artificially transformed from May 8 (Central European) to May 9 (Moscow time), became a Soviet "separate" symbol not only of the end of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945 years, but also in general the Second World War in Europe.
Only Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin could postpone Victory Day from May 8 to May 9, 1945, in fact disavowing the signature of the representative of the Soviet Union, Marshal Georgy Zhukov, when drawing up the Berlin Act on May 8, 1945 with its officially fixed reference to Central European time. Moreover, this position of Joseph Stalin is, in principle, tantamount to the denunciation by the Soviet Union of the Berlin Act itself.
Volitional transfer by Joseph Stalin of Victory Day over Nazi Germany from May 8 to May 9, 1945, is explained by his desire not to share the laurels of the winner with the allies. But this could be realized only if there was a Victory in the "personal" war, which in fact became the Patriotic War of 1941-1945. with the "personal" Victory Day on May 9, 1945. Joseph Stalin acted according to the principle: he who laughs last laughs victoriously. To date, the “strong-willed” version of I. Stalin has not lost its supporters in the CIS countries, that in May 1945 Germany capitulated twice: first in Reims to the Western allies, and then in Berlin, it was the “capitulation” turn of the Soviet Union. It was for this that the above-mentioned incident was provoked with the fact that I. Stalin deliberately discredited the eligibility of signing his permanent representative to the allies, General Ivan Suslov, under the Reims “surrender” Act.
The Allies must have figured out the true meaning of Stalin's maneuver. This conclusion follows logically even from the text of the Berlin "surrender" Act, which the Allies agreed to endorse. After all, the German side, which directly signed the Berlin Act, in accordance with its Clause 2 de jure, only confirmed its readiness, previously recorded in the Reims Act, to capitulate to the nearest minute exactly at “Reims” time - May 8, 1945 at 23:01 Central European time, which was endorsed by representatives of the anti-Hitler coalition, including Marshal Georgy Zhukov. That is why the "Stalinist" historiography had to single out the Patriotic War from the general framework of the Second World War on the territory of Europe. Until now, the official point of view has been preserved about a purely Russian (formerly Stalinist) Victory, of course, not in the Second World War (in the presence of "essential" allies), but in a "separate" Patriotic War. As if these two wars took place in isolation from each other and not against the same "monster" - Nazi Germany. But according to Western historiography, the events of the Patriotic War are interpreted as taking place on the Eastern Front of World War II in Europe. In general, Western historiography had all the objective grounds for an “insulting” (by Soviet standards) interpretation of the signing of the Berlin Act on May 8, 1945 only as a ratification of the original source - the Reims Act of May 7, 1945.
There are methodological features in the classification of Patriotic wars compared to conventional ones. According to academic explanatory dictionary"Patriotic war - a just war for the freedom and independence of the Fatherland against foreign invaders."
The classic standard of the Patriotic War as such is the Patriotic War of 1812. December 25, 1812 Russian emperor Alexander I issued a Manifesto on the end of the Patriotic War of 1812. In January 1813, the official Foreign Campaign of the Russian army began, which ended with the storming of Paris and the surrender of its garrison on March 31, 1814, followed by the abdication of French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte on April 6, 1814.
Classical historiography has always considered the above-mentioned events of 1813-1814. both de jure and de facto - taking place outside the "spatio-temporal" framework of the Patriotic War of 1812. Therefore, there is reason to consider the Stalinist interpretation of the assault on "foreign" Berlin and the no less "foreign" Berlin Act (as fundamental symbols of the end of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945) as a violation of the traditional principles of classification due to the ambitions of Joseph Stalin. patriotic war as such. In the above-mentioned Internet publication, in the development of the classical "domestic" principle, a transformed definition of the concept of Patriotic War is given: "Patriotic war begins and ends on the borders of the Fatherland."
In this regard, the fact that the Wehrmacht Army Group “Kurland” occupied and completely controlled the western part of Latvia in the region of the Kurland Peninsula, including the corresponding section of the sea border of the “socialist Fatherland” - the then Soviet Union, in early May 1945, in which also included Latvia as a union republic.
It is the de jure “domestic status” of the Courland Peninsula at the time of June 22, 1941 that allows, in the canons of classical historiography, to interpret the date of signing the surrender of the Wehrmacht Army Group “Courland” as the actual date of the end of the Patriotic War of 1941-1945, that is, when the entire territory of the Soviet Union. Within the framework of this interpretation, it is more than symbolic that the real finals of the Patriotic Wars of 1941-1945. and 1812 took place in the same Baltic region, when the last column of retreating French troops in December 1812 crossed the border river Neman near the city of Kovno (present-day Kaunas).
But unfortunately, even in Russian historiography there is no generally accepted point of view regarding the conditions and date of the surrender of the Wehrmacht Army Group "Kurland" in May 1945, not to mention the differences with Western authors. First of all, it should be noted that there is no serious information that interprets the surrender of the Kurlyan group of the Wehrmacht as an allegedly unregulated spontaneous process after the signing of the Berlin Act of surrender. For example, in the official Internet publication “The Courland Cauldron” it is recorded: “Having learned about the surrender, the majority German soldiers(135 thousand) surrendered, but numerous groups tried to escape. In the official Internet publication “Army Group Courland”, in fact, only the fact of its surrender is stated: “On January 25, 1945, Army Group North, which retreated to Courland, was renamed Army Group Courland, held the defense in the Courland pocket. She capitulated on May 9, 1945. More "organized" information is presented in the official Internet publication "Leningrad Front": "In connection with the unconditional surrender of Germany, the Leningrad Front accepted the surrender of this group." The above is consistent with the message of the then Sovinforburo that on May 9, 1945, the Courland Grouping of the Wehrmacht capitulated. Alternative information about the date of the surrender of the Courland grouping is presented in the official Internet publication dedicated to the personal commander of the Leningrad Front, “Govorov Leonid Aleksandrovich”: “On May 8, 1945, the command of the Army Group “Courlyadia” accepted the terms of the Soviet ultimatum and capitulated.”
The version about the surrender of the Army Group “Kurlyadiya on May 8, 1945 is presented in more detail in the Internet publication of Volkov V.Y. “The Liberation of the Baltic States”.
The main point of this information is the assertion that the Army Group "Kurlyadiya" capitulated at 14:00 on May 8, 1945 at the request (ultimatum) of the commander of the Leningrad Front, Marshal L.A. Govorov. The ultimatum was broadcast over the radio at 7 am on May 7, 1945. Both the ultimatum itself and further radio communications were carried out on the wave of the radio station of the 2nd Baltic Front. According to V.Y. Volkov, in connection with the Soviet ultimatum, the commander of the Kurlyadiya Army Group, General of the Infantry Gilpert, sent a special mission for negotiations, which transmitted his answer, addressed specifically to the commander of the 2nd Baltic Front.
The conditions for the surrender of the Courland Army Group were signed by the head of its rear, Major General Rauser, directly at the headquarters of the Leningrad Front, being previously sure that he was dealing with the 2nd Baltic Front. But without properly coordinating the impromptu appearance of the "Leningrad factor" with his command. The commander of the Courland Army Group, General of the Infantry Karl Gilpert, surrendered at 10:40 on May 9, 1945, directly in his personal dugout in Pelchi, where the headquarters of the German group was located. Among those who evaded voluntary captivity was Lieutenant General of the SS troops, commander of the 19th SS Infantry Division Gruppenführer Strekanbach.
But the information of Volkov V.Y. is in complete contradiction with the Internet publication "Lechaim!" and tank crew" ( http : www. lechaim. en/ ARHIV /157/mail. htm ) a direct participant in the Courland events of May 1945, tanker M. Kugelev: “On May 9, the Germans signed the Act of Surrender, and in the area of the front against the Courland grouping, the enemy met us with heavy fire. Only on May 11 in the morning the sound of a bugle was heard, a soldier with a white flag appeared. Behind him was a car. The German general was met by our lieutenant general. The car with the translator got stuck somewhere and I accidentally became a participant in peace negotiations.”
It is known from German sources that the commander of the Courland Army Group, Karl Gilpert, referred to by V.Y. Volkov as an infantry general, was promoted to Colonel General of the Wehrmacht by German Reich Chancellor Dennits on May 1, 1945. On May 9, 1945, his name was mentioned in a Wehrmacht report: “As a forward bastion, our armies in Courland under the experienced command of Colonel General helpert for months held back the superior forces of Soviet rifle and tank units, and acquired in six major battles immortal glory.
Even in Soviet captivity, he still tried to stand up for his soldiers, which led to his transfer to a Moscow prison in April 1946.
According to his comrades, he allegedly died there on Christmas Day 1948.
Referring to the events of Courland in May 1945, one of the most respected German historians, former Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht Kurt von Kippelskirch, in his classic book "History of the Second World War". The collapse states that the commander of the Courland Army Group, Colonel General Karl August Hilpert, surrendered the grouping entrusted to him on May 10, 1945 on the basis of the then general surrender of Germany.
Since 1995, when the 50th anniversary of Victory Day in the Patriotic War was celebrated, the author published a whole series of articles concerning the events of May 1945 in Courland. The fact is that it was my father, in May 1945, the commandant of the 2nd Baltic Front, Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Nedyukha, as an authorized representative of the 2nd Baltic Front, on May 5, 1945, on a U-2 biplane, was transferred across the front line and taken to the group headquarters armies "Courland" to negotiate the terms of its surrender to the troops of the 2nd Baltic Front. The generalized conclusions of the author, based on the combat memoirs of Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Nedyukha and other veterans of the 1st and 2nd Baltic Fronts, are presented in the Internet publication “The Truth about the 2nd Baltic Front. Baltic finale of the Patriotic war "(dated November 28, 2012) ( http :// blog . i . ua / user /5541869/ or Igor Nedyukha's blog).