Source B shows a photograph taken on the 24 February 1943, the same time that Germany surrendered Stalingrad. It shows the city in ruins and a Russian soldier standing on building holding the soviet flag.
This photograph would have stirred up tremendous pride in Russians who fought for several hard months at Stalingrad. It could have been taken purely as a natural photograph by a soldier, but the more probable explanation is that it was taken as a useful piece of propaganda.
Stalingrad was a very significant turning point for Russia and the Allies, before the victory the Germans had been almost totally unbeaten. Therefore the Russian leaders would have tried to boost morale by using Stalingrad as a display of Soviet power and a demonstration to all the allies that the Germans could be beaten.
A very similar photograph to Source B was taken in 1945 when the Russians conquered Berlin, it also showed a Russian soldier on top of the Reichstag holding the Russian flag. It was posed and actually taken a few days after the victory. This evidence perhaps challenges the authenticity of Source B and points towards the fact that the photograph may have been taken for propaganda purposes in order to boost morale.3. Source C is a letter. Source D is a cartoon.Which is more useful to a historian studying the German defeat at Stalingrad? Explain your answer using Sources C and D and your own knowledge.
Source C is a letter from an unknown soldier presumably from the battle of Stalingrad, it tells of his personal experience of the horrors of the battle,
'Much of what is going on here is too much to stomach'
Then he tells how he once had faith in the Nazis regime but now he has lost all faith,
'Once I was strong and believed; now I am small and unbelieving.'
He also talks about how Hitler promised to save them and if he fails to keep the promise then the war will be lost.
'If what we were promised is not true, then Germany will be lost.'
This source is very useful when a historian is looking for an emotional point of view as it very powerful and the soldier was an eye-witness of the events. However it could be classed as unreliable as it is possible that this 'unknown soldier' may of been twisted by his depression so that he exaggerated the facts and it only his personal opinion.
Source D is very different it is a cartoon drawn by a British artist, David Low for a British newspaper, the 'evening Standard'. It shows the two communist symbols a hammer and a sickle, they are hands coming out of the sky like God. The picture shows these destroying a long line of German troops. Although this source looks effective it does not appear particularly useful to a historian. Firstly it is British and therefore the image would be drawn for propaganda purposes and as a useful boost of morale. Also it does not tell of the huge losses the Russians suffered in the battle. Therefore Source D would not be very reliable to a historian studying the German defeat at Stalingrad.
Source C would have been quite useful to a historian because it is an eye-witness account and it has very useful opinions in it such as the loss in faith for the Nazis regime and the huge emotional impact of such a battle as Stalingrad.
4. Source E is from a German broadcast of 1943. Source F is from a Soviet school textbook.Why are these two interpretations about the end of the Battle of Stalingrad so different? Explain your answer using Source E and F and your own knowledge.
Source E and F have very different interpretations of Stalingrad. Source E is the German announcement of their defeat at Stalingrad, therefore it trys to make the defeat not sound so awful. Firstly it talks about Paulas and his 'great leadership' and then it explains defeat by saying it was due to 'unfavourable circumstances'. Then the source goes on to say that
'the sacrifice was not in vain' Finally it states that the soldiers fought to the very last bullet and it does not mention the surrender of 90000 German troops. Therefore it is obvious that this broadcast to the German people is trying to convince them that Stalingrad was not that terrible, however ultimately it is propaganda and is attempting to conceal the horror of the defeat to maintain morale.
Source F is a very different interpretation it is from an official History book for Soviet schools in the 1960's. Just from knowing its source we can expect the opinion to be very different to the Germans'. It talks of the battle as
'the mass expulsion of the German-Facist invaders'
Also its style stirs a patriotic feeling as if showing the image of the 'red army' destroying the enemy. The extract refers to the battle as;
'the greatest military and political event of the second World War.'
This statement sums up the entire source, it is portraying the battle as a wonderful Russian victory with many prisoners taken.
As it is possible to see there is a very large difference between these two sources, this is for several reasons. Firstly Source E is a public explanation of why thousands of German soldiers are dead or will not be coming home, therefore it must try and maintain morale and make it sound like they died for a good cause, 'not in vain' and the defeat was heroic not just surrender. Whilst Source F is telling the children in schools in Russia how great their country was and boost their national pride and patriotism. Therefore the two sources are very different interpretations of the same event.5. Sources F,G and H give differing views about the Battle of Stalingrad. Why do their interpretations differ? Explain your answer using Sources F,G and H and your own knowledge.
Sources F,G and H all have different views on the battle of Stalingrad. Firstly Source F interprets Stalingrad as a wonderful Russian victory; 'greatest military and political event of the second World War' Source F also gives a great feeling of national pride 'the Great Patriotic War'.
However Source G has a very different view, written by a British historian it says that Germany's efforts were 'not in vain' and it concentrates on Russia's faults, mainly the fact that only 6000 out of 90000 prisoners ever survived the war, this is illustrating the fact that the Russians carried out terrible atrocities. Source G says the opposite of Source F, 'Stalingrad was not the decisive battle of the Second World War'. The whole of Source G takes a very negative approach to Russia.
Finally Source H responds that Stalingrad was the 'first real crisis of the war' for the Germans. Hitler is also mentioned and the writer, another British historian states that the defeat at Stalingrad was Hitler's fault and that the German civilians were now doubting their leaders;
'not as a brilliant military strategist but as a mad corporal whose lucky gambles were no longer paying off.'
Therefore the three sources are different, there are many possible reasons for this. The dates that the sources were written could influence the interpretation, Sources F and G were both written during the cold war between Russia and the West. This explains why they both have conflicting interpretations of Stalingrad, Source F makes it out to be a great victory whilst Source G says it was not the decisive victory. The reason the British historian may have written this source this way is due to bad relations between the West and the Russians in the 'cold war' or it could be down to his own personal interpretation.
Source F was written to be taught in Russian schools therefore it acts as a form of propaganda, almost teaching the children that the soviet union was superior. Also Stalingrad has been interpreted like this because of a biased opinion from the writer who believes in the strong national pride of such a battle.
Finally Source H seems to be the most reliable as it is the most impartial of the three. Again the date that this source was written is different from the others and it is actually written closer to the war 1953. The other thing that could lead to a difference is the writers personal opinion.
Therefore I conclude that the Sources differ for political reasons like the 'cold war' and also personal opinion, dates can also effect the interpretation and finally propaganda reasons.
