Abstract

WEIGAND, Phil C.. Contextualizing Catherine Merridale's Study Entitled Ivan's War: Life and Death in the Red Army, 1939-1945. Relac. Estud. hist. soc. [online]. 2011, vol.32, n.126, pp.205-219. ISSN 2448-7554.

During World War II, the Slavic territories of Poland, Byelorussia, the Ukraine and Russia formed the most important European front, and were the site of the fiercest fighting. The atrocities committed by the Nazi army provoked an extreme patriotic reaction in the USSR and among Red Army soldiers. Based on interviews with veterans and their families, and analyses of unpublished documents, literature and movies, Merridale presents a distinct perspective on the nature of the war; one that focuses on the vision of the soldiers who participated in the conflict. Her study presents a view from below, a perspective almost forgotten amidst official propaganda. Merridale's study is really a historical ethnography. Combining her work with the few existing autobiographies of soldiers offers, for the first time, a realistic vision of the Red Army's combatants.

Keywords : World War II; Red Army; USSR/Russia; patriotism; nazis.