On the third of July 1941, roughly two weeks after German troops first set foot on Russian territory,

the head of the Army General Staff of the Wehrmacht, General Franz Halder, recorded in his diary: It is hardly too much to say that the campaign against Russia has been won in fourteen days.1 At this time German confidence seemed legitimate: within six days Army Group North had impressively captured important targets in the Baltic. Unerringly the invaders were approaching the main target of Operation Barbarossa: Leningrad, which Hitler perceived as the breeding centre of Bolshevism.2 Finally, on the ninth of September, axis powers completed the encirclement of the city.

What followed would go down in history as the longest siege in modern history3. However, despite all German efforts, during those 900 days not one German soldier crossed the boundaries of the city.4 Not deterred by danger, pain or even death the Leningraders defended their city, determined not to abandon their city. In her poetry Olga Berggolts emphasizes the bravery of those Leningraders who tried to continue their lives as normal as possible under these inhumane conditions, even though the population of Leningrad was courageous in many ways.

Bravely, many Leningraders wished to actively fight the German troops in order to protect their city. Despite the non-existence of military training and the lack of uniforms, arms and equipment, more civilians volunteered for Opolcheniye, the Peoples Army, than anywhere else in Russia.5 Compared to the capital Moscow the Peoples Divisions in Leningrad were twice as numerous.6 Unfortunately, the military value of these troops was minor when facing Operation Barbarossa, Ronald Seth, p.109 Dear Allies, Margaret Henderson, p. 9 3 Dear Allies, p.5 4 Dear Allies, p.11 5 Dear Allies, p.11 6 Operation Barbarossa, p.116
1 2

Army Group North, which was fierce and equipped with a reputation of invincibility on the battlefield. Very descriptive of this situation was when the 2nd Peoples Division opposed German troops at Poreche on the 15th of July; the Russians fell back in confusion after they suffered the first blow7. The members of the Opolcheniye were very brave to face the Wehrmacht, however, they never stood a chance. The volunteers were brave in the straightforward sense of the definition; they possessed a quality of spirit that enabled them to face danger or pain, and most of all, death. A view on heroism different to Berggolts could be that the higher the chance of mortality, the more heroic is the action. In this sense, the volunteers fighting the German aggressors without much of a chance to succeed were especially brave.

As Army Group North came closer, Leningraders feared for their lovely city as much as they feared for themselves and their children,8 therefore in order to protect their city, Leningraders went through extreme efforts. In the month when the Germans were fighting their way op north, the population of Leningrad knew that they were the main target of this campaign, so up to one million9 of them arrived to assist the improvement of the defence lines outside the old capital. Night and day the population worked on the triple defence line around the city, up to 20 million man-days10 were spent on the fortification. In the end the defence was made up from 15, 000 miles of trenches, 340 miles of anti-tank ditches, 400 miles of barbed-wire defences and 5000 firing points.11 This huge accomplishment would prove to be the foundation of the successful defence of the city. However, preparations also included the protection of priceless monuments in the city with sand bags, as well as, people preparing Operation Barbarossa, p.117 Dear Allies, p.11 9 Dear Allies, p.11 10 Operation Barbarossa, p.115 11 Dear Allies, p.11
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their own homes for the siege, on top of all this labour. A view on bravery different to the one mentioned is that the Leningraders did not simply rely on their military forces and did not eschew physical labour to protect their city. The citys population was not benumbed by the terror of the advancing axis forces - regardless of pain or weariness they did not become despondent, instead they did everything in their power to prepare themselves for the invasion.

The view that Olga Berggolts has on bravery in relation to the Leningrad population is the ordinary persons ability to bear suffering and above all make an attempt to continue their lives as normal as possible in those inhumane conditions. As the German forces were not able to invade Leningrad, in retaliation they struck the city with all their anger: alongside heavy artillery shelling, air attacks with incendiary and demolition bombs were used to destroy the city. Amongst the first targets of the German artillery bombardment were the citys waterworks and the largest food stores, the Badajevski General Store.12 These early losses contributed severely to the shortage of food, which developed speedily in the city. The bread ration card was to become the most important possession of all Leningraders. As food rations decreased from 1941 on, for a child to receive 300 grams daily was a lot. Furthermore, the constant shelling and bombardments destroyed the water pipelines and made water even less accessible. The Russian frost, however, had the greatest effect on the mortality rate as Leningrad experienced three successive freezing winters with temperature dropping to minus 35 degrees Celsius. Additionally to these physically hard circumstances Leningrad was afflicted by purges and throughout the blockade the police controlled the population heavy-handed. To live through any of these conditions on its own would already be an achievement, however, to live through the sum of them is unimaginable.
12

Fast Drei Jahre, Vera Inber, p.6

Olga Berggolts admired how her fellow Leningraders endured the blockade and still tried to continue her lives as normal as possible. In her poem Conversation with a Neighbour she uses the image of an ordinary woman returning from shopping whilst the street is bombarded. I interpret this image as symbolic for all the Leningraders that decide not to give in to the German terror but decide to help their city through these strains by maintaining their strengths. The adult population consisted of women to a great percentage, as men were called to the front a great deal, therefore most of the daily tasks were done by women. As long as the factories of the city could be supplied with electricity, everything was attempted to keep them roughly as productive as they had been before the blockade. In order to keep production up, factories adapted to the shortage of resources, for example the citys bread factories used flour made up from inferior rye flour, linseed cakes, cellulose, salt and bran.13 Furthermore it was essential to keep as many hospitals open as possible, however, as the majority of trained nurses were ordered to assist the military, many young untrained women were to help out as nurses. In her diary Vera Inber reports that the hospital supervised by her husband was not shut down a single day during the siege.

The labourers were not an exception from the rest of the Leningrad population, throughout all social classes people were working hard to contribute to the improvement of the situation and support the battle against the invaders. Academics and scientists did the best they could in their fields to improve the condition: Not only were the general hospitals kept open during the siege, Professor Julia Mendeleeva, director of a Leningrad pediatric clinic, and her staff continued treating children suffering from tuberculosis during the blockade. Although the means of the institute were reduced to an absolute minimum, 200 grams of single cream daily
13

Fast Drei Jahre, p.88

for a whole section, the lives of many children were saved14. In the same institute, chemists managed to extract linseed oil from oil-based paint, in this way 180 kilograms of linseed oil could be distributed among the employees to support their livings15. Moreover, a group of scientists managed to recover machinery from the frontlines and thus were able to construct a laboratory for the production of artificial proteins.16 This laboratory was able to support the population with additional nutrition made from scrap wood. Applying their expertise, the academics and scientists managed to help their fellow Leningraders to bear the blockade.

However, not only the fully trained academics continued their work, also the students and trainees continued their education throughout the siege. The students of medical sciences were valuable as replacement for the nurses and generally a very great help in the hospitals. However, whilst working in hospitals, the students studies were not interrupted; lectures and lessons continued. Inber describes how the head physician of a hospital defended his dissertation in the darkness of the air raid shelter whilst being under attack.17 Similarly, when a group of female students was excavating trenches and dugouts on the outskirts, their breaks were used for tem to be assessed on their university work. 18 The connection of education and dealing with the blockade concurs with Berggolts view on bravery as the students reserved themselves to their education as well as helping out in their subject of learning.

However, different parts of the intelligentsia were brave enough to carry on their profession, for instance the writers and poets. The likes of Anna Akhmatova, Vera Inber and Olga Berggolts used the siege as an incentive to write for the people of Leningrad. In these times Fast Drei Jahre, p.41 Fast Drei Jahre, p.41 16 Fast Drei Jahre, p.60 17 Fast Drei Jahre, p.10 18 Fast Drei Jahre, p.46
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Inber finished two chapters of the works she started before the war and to some extent used the writing as a therapy to forget about the pain and hunger. More importantly, the poets took the risk to travel to the frontlines and recite their poetry, or even just to show their presence, to increase the morale of the troops and distract them from the routine of the war for a few instances. Additionally, in her diary Vera Inber describes such visits to civil destinations, such as the Kirov plant, where employees or residents were reward by being able to her or Olga Berggolts poetry. Moreover music played an important part in the heartening of the population. For the Leningraders it was very encouraging that their great composer Shostakovich finished his 7th Symphony in these for an artist undeserving circumstances. Needless to say, the Philharmonic Hall was crowded when Shostakovichs Leningrad Symphony was performed for the first time in the city in August 1942. A special effort was made that concerts were still accessible for the public, either in concert halls or over radio transmission. The artistrys role in motivating and reminding the Leningraders of the beautiful things in life was essential to give people something to fight for. By being a role model the people in the public focus went hand in hand with the rest of Leningraders, being strong together and bravely bearing the strains together.

Before the aggression against the Soviet Union, Hitler said, When Operation Barbarossa is launched the world will hold its breath.19 And he was right, however, in relation to the Siege of Leningrad the world held its breath because of its brave population. There are many views on bravery and the people of Leningrad behaved bravely in many ways. The volunteers fighting at the frontlines facing the enemy an eye for an eye were very courageous, but against the well trained Wehrmacht and SS, they did not stand a chance. However, as Vera Inber said, war at the front is similar to disease in hospital where everything is attuned to being ill.
19

Dear Allies, p.14

There in the city, in the streets, the war is horrid.20 The people in the city were not prepared in any way to the destruction, cold and hunger the siege would bring. They had worked hard to prepare their citys defences without dread of the pain and exhaustion, but once the circle around the city was closed, as much as the Germans could not set foot into the city, the Leningraders where trapped in their own city. And as the Germans turned this city into a nightmare the ordinary Leningrader whether he was an employee, a mother, a scientist or an artist attempted to maintain their regular lives. Unified by the suffering, they behaved bravely just like Berggolts character Dariya in the poem Conversation with a Neighbour under shell fire / you did your duties undismayed.21

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Fast Drei Jahre, p.29 Handout from lecture Notes, J. Von Geldern and R. Stites