Ivan's War by Catherine Merridale

[T-34]

Originally Posted by Owen D

The book states any soldier without a known grave was considered a deserter...the families had to live with the stigma that their relative was a deserter...

the ''book'' states b*ll*cks!
my granduncle disappeared during the early days of ww2 in 1941, but no ''stigma'' was ever put upon his/my family.

at that time, to prove the person a deserter - it took a special investigation involving an eyewitness.

so, spare your money, guys - the book in question is a pile of anti-russian cr*p.

-

[Owen]

Cheers T-34,thanks for pointing that out.
How has that book been viewed in Russia as a whole?
Has anyone said it was a good book?



Please tell us more of your great-uncle.

[T-34]

Originally Posted by Owen D

... How has that book been viewed in Russia as a whole? Has anyone said it was a good book?

it wasn't published in russia, and i hope it never will be.

Originally Posted by Owen D

... tell us more of your great-uncle.

well,
he was 19 and worked as a teacher in a small village school in desolate region of siberia when the war began.
he got conscripted into landing forces.
my grandmother (his sister) remembers that their mother somehow omitted make the sign of the cross over him at his departure for front line, and for the rest of her life she felt regrets concerning that omission.
in 5 months, the letters from him stopped coming home.

[Owen]

Reading a thread on this book here
Book: Ivan's War - Armchair General Forums

I've found out that Russians HATE being called IVAN.
They really do take it as an insult.
Definately a culture clash here.

[Owen]

GH , look forward to your review of this book.

I posted it to GH on 8/5/07.
It arrived today, 25/5/07.
Swindon to Dublin in 17 days.
Not good.

[spidge]

Originally Posted by Owen D

GH , look forward to your review of this book.

I posted it to GH on 8/5/07.
It arrived today, 25/5/07.
Swindon to Dublin in 17 days.
Not good.

My God.

I send my postal orders from Melbourne by 1800 hrs and they are delivered Perth metro next day. Melbourne to Perth 3500kms.

The advantage of being the only continent with one government I suppose.

[Gotthard Heinrici]

Beware the perils of the Irish Postal Service. Have started reading it already!

[Capt.Sensible]

Originally Posted by Owen D

Utterly depressing book.
Story follows the Veterans post-war with Stalin's usual attitude to human life.
Tales full of wrecked marriages, alcholism, offical denial of battle-field stress, an endless list of let downs.
Then there is the offical Soviet line on the War, denial of rapes, murders, etc etc.
A depressing but fascinating read.

Quite so. Depressing but illuminating, particularly on the post-war attitude of the State to veterans and how the veterans reacted to it. Merridale had a difficult time getting many people to open up fully about thier experiances. So many veterans and thier families still believed that anything other than the conventional wisdom was somehow unpatriotic. I think this book represents something of a milestone: the documentary evidence from the Sovet state is still rather patchy and dominated/corrupted by current and past political priorities, whilst the veterans themselves are now fading away and most will be lost. Merridale ought to be applauded for this but I think it will be a long time before I sit down and read it again from cover to cover.

H

[marcus69x]

Sounds like the Soviets had one of the worst armies to serve in.

[Gotthard Heinrici]

I would agree with Capt Sensible's review. The book is one of the most difficult to get through but it is worthwhile. More depressing than a Neil Young Record, Merridale doesnt gloss over anything nor seek to spin a particular attitude. THe more you read it the more you come to realise how great were the achievements of the Soviet soldier and at what cost. It also personalises the Soviet Soldier and debunks the theories that certain German Generals would have written about in their memoirs. A worthy read but not a pleasant or entertaining one.