The Second World War, Part 4

Question 1: Discuss the Road of Life in depth.

Answer 1: The Road of Life was the Soviet route into Leningrad during the 872-day Siege of Leningrad from 1941 to 1944 as part of World War II. As the city was completely encircled for the duration of the siege, the Road of Life did not traverse land, but sea. The path led directly over nearby Lake Lagoda when it was frozen during the winter months. A military flotilla was used during the warmer months. The Road of Life was used to evacuate the city of citizens and wounded soldiers during the siege as well as a vital supply pipeline into the city for soldiers stationed there. It is estimated that roughly 360,000 tons of supplies were brought to Leningrad via the pipeline. The route was not unknown to the Germans, and traversing the lake was very dangerous, leading to its callous nickname, “Road of Death.”The Road of Life ended when a land-based supply route into Leningrad was finally established in January 1943.

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Question 2: Describe the casualties of the Siege of Leningrad.

Answer 2: Consistent with Soviet records of the time, an exact count of the number of lives taken during the Siege of Leningrad does not exist. Prior to the siege, the city had an estimated population of about 3.5 million, roughly 1.4 million were safely transported out of the city prior to and during the siege, and approximately 700,000 were still alive in the city when the siege ended, suggesting a death toll of around 1.4 million with a very large variance in both directions. Even the city’s pre-war population number is difficult to calculate with certainty because Leningrad was home to hundreds of thousands of unregistered people and refugees who fled to the city from the impending Nazi invasion. As no record of them exists, they could not be counted among the city’s dead. Causes of death included those killed by the siege and also the food shortage that occurred as a result. Also, for propaganda purposes, the Soviet government lied to the people about the true number of deaths, reporting roughly 670,000 killed throughout the siege.

Question 3: Briefly describe the damage the Siege of Leningrad caused to the city.

Answer 3: The constant bombardment of air raids and artillery bombings for two and a half years left much of Leningrad in ruins. To this end, Hitler ordered the city “erased from the earth,” exhibiting no concern for the lives within it. The bombings and the resulting fires destroyed thousands of buildings, schools, hospitals, museums, factories, homes, roads, and power plants. The city’s destruction was so widespread and complete that it surpasses the combined destruction caused by the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Evidence of the destruction still remains on certain buildings in the city (now called St. Petersburg) to this day. The city’s infrastructure and public utilities were also destroyed in the siege. Markets and schools closed, and public transportation became unavailable. Power was rationed, and many people went without it for much of the siege. Coal and oil ran out, forcing people to cut down trees for heat. Water lines were repeatedly destroyed, forcing people to scrounge even for water.

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