History 481
Problems in Russian History
Fall 2002: History of the Soviet Union



December 2, 2002
Discussion Questions for the Great Patriotic War

1. Many of the historians read this week discuss the myth of the Great Patriotic War. Some go so far as to suggest that the myth of this war has transcended the myth of 1917 as the most importance foundational and constitutive myth of the Soviet Union, both for the nation as a whole and even for (some of ) its constituent parts. Enumerate the manifestations and ramifications of the myth as covered in the various readings. In what ways did the myth of the war serve to overshadow the trauma of the events preceding the war (collectivization and purges)? What is the role of the cult of Stalin in this myth?

2. Some writers, including the editors of a volume in the recommended readings, emphasize the role of the Great Patriotic War as a "people’s war". What are the parameters of this approach? How do the sources and methods used by the historians privilege this approach over some others? When we speak of "people" do we mean the whole people? (as in "party of the whole people"?) What does the war do for the "Ukrainian people" and how?

3. The Great Patriotic War may not only be a pivotal moment for the Soviet polity’s conception of itself, but also for the historiography of the Soviet Union, an historical problem in which old and new historiographies meet or perhaps collide. This is what justifies its place in this semester’s syllabus. The Werth readings review some of the "classic" questions of the war: Soviet preparedness, the surprise of the invasion, the Politburo’s (and Stalin’s) response. Other traditional narrative elements include Soviet patriotism, wartime liberalization, and institutions. How do the readings address these "older" historiographical questions?

4. How do the readings invite new interpretations based on new paradigms and methods?

5. Consider the different constructions of gender roles and the problem of gender presented by the readings. Brooks in particular suggests a periodization of the war based on an analysis of the gender system. How does gender work as a tool of analysis in any of the other readings?

6. The Great Patriotic War may also be pivotal in the transformation of the Soviet "empire" with respect to the occupied lands of the west, in particular Germany. How does the Naimark reading address questions of old historiographies ("origins of the Cold War") with new sources, and does he introduce new questions as well?

7. With distance and historiographical fashion, the question of "accessing" and "processing" the war becomes increasingly important. Allowing for the fact that the footnotes were missing for many of the readings, discuss the various methodologies used by these historians for recovering, interpreting, and explaining the meaning of the war in Soviet historical understandings? In particular, what specifically does Merridale’s focus on "death and memory" provide, and how? Which of these historians addresses questions of silence?