Weekend Plus
The photos of wartime
By Takir Hossain
Thu, 28 Jun 2007, 13:15:00

Recently, Embassy of the Russian Federation in Bangladesh and Russian Centre of Science and Culture, Dhaka organised a photo and wartime poster exhibition, which was dedicated to 60th anniversary of victory over fascism at the National Museum. For a long time Dhaka's art lovers did not have a chance to enjoy a rare photography exhibition. The aesthetic feast that awaits them at the Russian Cultural Centre marks the 65th year of World War II. All posters are related to World War II and in black and white. These are photos taken during the war. Besides their obvious historical value, they depict a time in Russian history when events shook not only Russia but also the whole world with great portent for the future. The Iron Curtain that had been imposed saw the Berlin War as the part of Germany invaded by the USSR became East Germany and a communist state, the Cold War followed lasting until the advent of Gorbachev led to the Russia of today.

At that time it was the mighty USSR, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. And Adolf Hitler made the same mistake as Emperor Napolean of France - he attacked the Soviet Union. He set out for Moscow.

A war began marked by events strange and paradoxical on the one hand and yet quite predictable on the other hand, given human nature. For instance, when the Germans attacked, they were in some cases greeted as liberators, freeing the populace from communist oppression. But the Germans lacked acumen as they had shown in the colonisation of Africa. They turned the people of the USSR against them with their arrogance and brutality. Alas, the Germans did not remember their history, they forget the fate of Napoleon and his Great Army.

The horrors unleashed by the Germans caused a patriotic fervour to be roused that eventually overwhelmed the Germans until, as a triumphant photo in the exhibition depicts, a Soviet soldier is writing his autograph on the Reichstag's wall, symbolising the ultimate triumph of the Russians over insurmountable odds. The German onslaught took time to slow down and then halt. Once this was done, the march to Berlin began. True, the Allies poured in supplies, there was the famous Murmansk run where the Germans did their best to cut the artery, but the actual war was fought by the Russians. And as we have seen in South Vietnam, just arms and training is not enough. The cause has to be just, morale has to be high. This outstanding photo, where the soldier is lost in a reverie, captures how the unthinkable became a reality.

Germany had poured in armies. Their numbers were greater than in other countries, the bravest of the brave fought here. To have been at the Russian Front was itself a matter of prestige and honour for a German soldier, and to have won medals was an astounding feat. The Russians fought as if life did not count. The casualities they took were staggering for victory counted, not lives. Only old men, women and children were left to man the country. They ran the factories, drove the trucks and the trains. The women of the Soviet Union made an unforgettable and massive contribution to this war, which came to be known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. Women kept busy themselves at arms factories and other elsewhere, while all able men from teenagers close to eighteen to old men strong enough to bear arms were at the Front. The loss of men led to the natural pampering of men in the post war period and women took more part in professional life. That is why most medical practitioners during the Cold War were found to be women.

Then the great day came when the Red Army were welcomed in the countries from which they drove away the Germans. The people of Belgrade in Yugoslavia welcoming the Red Army is one such historical photograph. Another event was the surrender on 31st January of 1943 of Field Marshal Von Paulus and his staff, including 16 other Generals, to the Read Army in Stalingard, following the momentous Battle of Stalingrad, a red letter day in European history, and a major turning point in the war. Another rare photograph in this exhibition shows the 330,000 strong Germany army encircled at Staingrad ceasing resistance. Yet another photo shows the people of Vienna cheering the Soviet soldiers.

The Second World War caused an upheaval. The limit of the Germans was Moscow, where they held down at the cost of even more staggering casualties. It is to be recalled that Emperor Napoleon entered Moscow which had been evacuated and was set on fire to deny the French army winter quarters against the terrible Russian cold. The Germans faced the same horror of the Russian winter. Moscow, Stalingrad and Leningrad were sheer apocalypse to the Germans. Some historians calculate that it was the Russian campaign that led to the end of Germany and not the D-Day invasion at Normandy, German planes were not in the air, its major fighting units were decimated and the remainders demoralised.

The photos of Leningrad at the exhibition show the endurance of its inhabitants. They resisted even when food was low. The Soviet Army managed to keep the supply lines to the city intact. So total starvation was not faced, though hardship was agonising.

Another eye-catching photograph is that of the Battle of Moscow. In the month of November 1941 USSR's General Panfilov is seen issuing orders for the all out assault. The end of the war is signified by the picture of the Berlin Conference at Potsdam.

After Russia's victory, a large parade can be seen on the move in the Red Square Moscow, The dateline is 24th June 1945.

Black and white photos catch the mood of the war. Here determination counted. The strength of the foe was unimaginable. The Allies only knew they had to win. It was this driving force that made the Red Army move as if invincible. There was naught the enemy could do to stop them. It is to be understood that this is the reason Schlinder's List was made in black and white. That is also why the USSR's great war movie Ballad for a Soldier, though black and white, captures the essence of this exhibition. There is the similar depiction of the women being in the forefront of the war effort at home, driving trucks, running the farms, working at the factories - going through the agony of losing their men: sons, husbands, cousins, uncles... and neighbours. While at the Front, the soldiers are only concerned with stopping the enemy. Of course, we run across the shirkers both at war and at home. But the real patriots are out their manning the guns no matter how weary they are physically, and of war itself.

Ballad for a Soldier or Ballad of a Soldier also shows that human beings do not lose their humanity war or no war. Perhaps this is the only aspect missing in this exhibition. Wars are terrible, yes, but life goes on. And the Russian war effort is a monumental achievement. How long would the war have run if it were not for the heroic Russian soldiers? Would the USA have been forced to use the Atomic bomb? Certainly, the Soviet Union deserves our gratitude for their valorous deed.


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