Who were the people in charge making the significant decisions?
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin was the leader of Russia. He was born December 18th, 1878 and died March 5th, 1953. He was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from April 3rd, 1922 to October 16th, 1952, Chairman of the Council of Ministers from May 6th, 1941 to March 5th, 1953 and in the People’s Commissar for Defense of the Soviet Union from July 19th, 1941 to February 25th, 1946. He served in the Military for 10 years, 3 years as the Marshal of the Soviet Union and 7 years as the Generalissimos of the Soviet Union. He held onto his post of General Secretary from 1922, until serving as the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1942 until 1952. When Russia was under his rule, Stalin replaced the New Economic Policy (which allowed farmers to sell the food they grew, and hire people to work for them) with the Command Policy (where the government controls all the main aspects of the economy), driving the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) from its agrarian roots into an industrial power. These economic changes contributed to the famine that occurred from 1932 to 1933. Some people believe that Stalin engineered, or at least exacerbated, the famines that occurred by holding back the grain reserves that he controlled. It is estimated that five to ten million lives were lost due to famine in the Soviet Union. Stalin reacted strongly to those who opposed him by having them executed, deported or imprisoned in Soviet correctional labor camps, called gulags.
In 1939, Stalin signed a Non-Aggression pact with Hitler and his Nazi army, which gave Hitler the chance to invade Poland and distracted him from Russia. This gave Stalin a chance to build up his Soviet army. Hitler took the Soviet army by surprise when he attacked Stalingrad because even though there were many warnings that Hitler was planning an attack, Stalin dismissed them because he thought that the Allies were trying to trick him into fighting the Nazis. During the Battle of Stalingrad, he killed over 1300 of his own soldiers for disciplinary matters and refused to let his people leave the city when it was under attack (however many people did manage to escape), hoping it would motivate his army to fight better knowing that their families were still stuck inside the city.
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Aleksandr Vasilevsky
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Aleksandr Vasilevsky were Russian generals who were charged with defending Stalingrad and developing and launching Operation Uranus, an offensive counterattack on the Germans. By attacking more weakly defended Romanian and Hungarian troops, who were assigned to defend the German 6th Army's flank, they were able to encircle and trap the German 6th Army.
Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov and Aleksandr Vasilevsky were Russian generals who were charged with defending Stalingrad and developing and launching Operation Uranus, an offensive counterattack on the Germans. By attacking more weakly defended Romanian and Hungarian troops, who were assigned to defend the German 6th Army's flank, they were able to encircle and trap the German 6th Army.
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany. He was born April 20th, 1889 and lived until April 30th, 1945. He was born in an Austrian town (Braunau) near the German border, but became a citizen of Germany later on in his life. During his years in high school, he didn’t do very well academically. Instead of trying harder to succeed in school, he gave up and dropped out when he was fifteen. He celebrated this by getting drunk, then vowed to never do it again. By the time he was 30, he had completely given up alcohol. As a child, his favourite kinds of games to play were reenactments of the Boer Wars. He enjoyed playing the captain and bossing other kids around.
In World War I, he was became a decorated veteran. In Munich, he attempted a coup d’état. This failed and led to his capture. While he was imprisoned, he wrote his memoir “Mein Kampf” which translates to “My Struggle”. He wanted to establish a new order in Europe, so he invaded Poland to gain more land for the German citizens. This was the start of the Second World War. Hitler indirectly killed over 11 million people and approximately 6 million of those people were Jewish.
Friedrich von Paulus
Friedrich von Paulus was born September 23rd, 1890 and lived until February 1st, 1957. He served as an officer in the German Military for 35 years and gained the rank of General Field Marshall during the Second World War. He is best known for commanding the Sixth Army during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. This operation was known as Operation Blue. This Battle ended in a huge disaster for the German Nazi Army and resulted in the death of approximately 270,000 soldiers from the Axis. The German Army was defeated during a counterattack called Operation Uranus, in November by the Soviet Army. Paulus had requested to break out of the circle of attacks and was granted permission as long as he held onto Stalingrad. This was an impossible task. January 8th, 1943, the commander of the Red Army gave Paulus a chance to surrender under very generous terms. They were offered medical treatment, permission to retain their badges, decorations, uniforms and personal affects, and repatriation to any country they wanted after the war. When Paulus requested permission from Hitler to surrender, he was denied and told to hold onto Stalingrad until the very last man. He was promoted to General Field Marshal by Hitler on January 31st, 1943, and Paulus surrendered to the Soviet army on February 2nd. Hitler had expected Paulus to commit suicide or fight to the death, because no German field marshal had ever been captured alive. Hitler was furious when he heard that Paulus had surrendered. He called for a ceremony called "Peacetime", where they talked about the shame that Paulus had brought to the Germans.
Friedrich von Paulus was born September 23rd, 1890 and lived until February 1st, 1957. He served as an officer in the German Military for 35 years and gained the rank of General Field Marshall during the Second World War. He is best known for commanding the Sixth Army during the Battle of Stalingrad in 1942. This operation was known as Operation Blue. This Battle ended in a huge disaster for the German Nazi Army and resulted in the death of approximately 270,000 soldiers from the Axis. The German Army was defeated during a counterattack called Operation Uranus, in November by the Soviet Army. Paulus had requested to break out of the circle of attacks and was granted permission as long as he held onto Stalingrad. This was an impossible task. January 8th, 1943, the commander of the Red Army gave Paulus a chance to surrender under very generous terms. They were offered medical treatment, permission to retain their badges, decorations, uniforms and personal affects, and repatriation to any country they wanted after the war. When Paulus requested permission from Hitler to surrender, he was denied and told to hold onto Stalingrad until the very last man. He was promoted to General Field Marshal by Hitler on January 31st, 1943, and Paulus surrendered to the Soviet army on February 2nd. Hitler had expected Paulus to commit suicide or fight to the death, because no German field marshal had ever been captured alive. Hitler was furious when he heard that Paulus had surrendered. He called for a ceremony called "Peacetime", where they talked about the shame that Paulus had brought to the Germans.
The Red Army
The Red Army was the Russian Army. It started out as communist revolutionaries during the Russian civil war. They were a group of peasants and workers. The Red Army grew and increased its ranks, and by 1930 it was one of the largest armies in history. The "Red Army" refers to the colour traditionally worn by communist revolutionaries. The Red Army is widely considered to be the decisive land and air force to have defeated Germany in WWII, with its most influencial win being that of the Battle of Stalingrad. The Red Army was part of the Allied forces.
The Red Army was the Russian Army. It started out as communist revolutionaries during the Russian civil war. They were a group of peasants and workers. The Red Army grew and increased its ranks, and by 1930 it was one of the largest armies in history. The "Red Army" refers to the colour traditionally worn by communist revolutionaries. The Red Army is widely considered to be the decisive land and air force to have defeated Germany in WWII, with its most influencial win being that of the Battle of Stalingrad. The Red Army was part of the Allied forces.
The Axis Powers
The Axis powers consisted of Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and Romania. They opposed the Allies.
The Axis powers consisted of Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, and Romania. They opposed the Allies.
The Allied Forces
The Allied Forces were the countries that opposed the Nazi regime. They included the U.S., Britain, France, the USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, and Yugoslavia.
