The history of the Great Patriotic War, which lasted a little over four years, is an integral part of the history and culture of modern Russia and other CIS countries. Of course, you can relate to it in different ways, but you need to know your history. And in this we are helped by the best books about the war.
The Great Patriotic War created a huge layer in the culture of Russia, and today the number of books and historical works is in the hundreds, and maybe even thousands. It is almost impossible to single out the most interesting or truthful ones, because how many people - so many opinions, besides, each author has his own unique point of view on historical events.
Fiction
Historical novels, novellas and short stories quickly occupied their niche in the cultural field of the Soviet Union, and by the end of the twentieth century they became almost the most popular reading matter. In the 2000s, a lot of films and television series were shot based on many works.
Boris Vasiliev was one of the most popular authors in the USSR. His fictional sketches and novels have become the mainstay of numerous theatrical productions, and the most famous novel, The Dawns Here Are Quiet, has been filmed twice. Despite the fact that Vasiliev was a direct participant in the war from the very beginning until he was wounded in 1943, his works cannot be classified as historically accurate. Most of his works are only based on some real events or even stories and legends that existed at that time.
“The Dawns Here Are Quiet” refers precisely to the genre of artistic interpretation of historical events. This story about five girls and their commander, who, without any orders, decided to stop a group of German saboteurs by all means, is only vaguely similar to the real events that became the basis of the plot.
“Not on the lists” is another work dealing with the theme of the war. The events of the novel unfold during the beginning of the war around the Brest Fortress. This is a kind of love story of the main character, Soviet officer Nikolai Pluzhnikov and an ordinary girl Mirra. This work did not receive the same recognition as "Dawns", nevertheless in 1995 a feature film "I am a soldier" was shot based on its motives.
Another popular author was Mikhail Alexandrovich Sholokhov. His books were read by almost all the inhabitants of the USSR, some works were even added to literature textbooks. His works differed from many similar books about the war in greater truthfulness, cruelty and realism of details. Despite the strong political censorship, Sholokhov did not hesitate to show both the "bad" aspects of the soldier's life, and the disgusting details of military operations.
"They Fought for the Motherland" is a novel that Sholokhov began writing during the war in 1942. For two years, in between battles and on vacation, he made important notes and sketches, so that later he could start writing a full-fledged novel. However, no one saw the final version of the work. Separate chapters were periodically printed as they were created, and in 1975 the famous Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk even filmed "They Fought for the Motherland."
The story "The Fate of a Man", written in 1956, is based on the story of a real chauffeur, which Sholokhov heard at the end of the war. After taking a few notes, he was determined to write a book about it, but the work was constantly delayed. And only ten years later, the tragic story of Andrei Sokolov, based on real events, was released. In 1959, "The Fate of a Man" was filmed by Sergei Bondarchuk.
Another writer who deserves attention is Valentin Savvich Pikul. Having survived the blockade of Leningrad as a child and later entered a military school, he knew more than anyone else about the horrors of war. Since the mid-fifties of the last century, he began to write and publish his own historical novels. Pikul did not specialize only in the history of the Second World War and the Second World War, but some of his works are devoted to these events.
The novel Requiem for the PQ-17 Caravan, which was released in 1970, has become one of the most striking works about the war. The story of one food caravan, which was sent from the USA to the USSR as part of the Lend-Lease, tells not so much about the events themselves, but about simple human relationships during one of the most terrible wars in history. The book tells about the death of the PQ-17 caravan, about the courage of Soviet, American and British soldiers. Much attention is paid to the inhuman atrocities of Hitler's fascist regime.
Also worth mentioning is Konstantin Simonov's trilogy "The Living and the Dead". According to most literary critics, this epic is the best among fiction books about the Great Patriotic War. Each of the books ("The Living and the Dead", "Soldiers are Not Born" and "The Last Summer") tells about the fate of specific people during the war. Nevertheless, the characters are fictional, the plot is based on the stories of the participants of the Second World War, and the novels themselves are not a historical chronicle.
Historical literature
Despite the invaluable information and amazing plots, fiction novels, stories and stories contain a huge share of fiction. They give an idea about the relationship of people, about the prevailing situation, but they have a very large number of inaccuracies. This is not to say that this is bad. On the contrary, good historical novels are interesting and exciting, give a more "human" idea of the horrors that war brings to people's lives, but much remains unaddressed. In addition, given the active work of propaganda in the post-war world, many writers worked under dire conditions of supervision and were forced to write as they were told, omitting "inconvenient" details and focusing on certain topics.
To find out more about real events, specific cases of heroism and the fate of people, it does not hurt to read several history books describing real events and the people who participated in them.
Anatoly Kuznetsov is one of the most prominent representatives of the community of historical chronicle writers. Most of his works are based directly on his own experience and what he saw during the Great Patriotic War.
The documentary novel Babi Yar, based on Kuznetsov's memoirs, was written and first published in 1966. The book touches on several events at once, which led to dire consequences. The retreat of Soviet troops from Kiev, occupation by the Nazis and further repressions against the civilian population and Soviet prisoners of war. Particular attention in the novel is paid to the genocide of Ukrainian Jews and the mass executions for which Babyn Yar became infamous.
Sergei Petrovich Alekseev is a direct participant in the war and a certified historian. His works very accurately reflect the events that took place during the hostilities. Based on the testimonies of participants and eyewitnesses, as well as on official documents, his books tell about the Great Patriotic War as accurately as possible.
The collection "One Hundred Stories about the War", published by Sergei Alekseev, differs from many works related to the war. It was written for children. Short prose stories in the most simple and easy form reflected in themselves all the horrors that happened during the war, the heroism of ordinary people and soldiers.
Diaries and memoirs
Speaking about the events of the Great Patriotic War and historical accuracy, one cannot ignore the works of authorship of the direct participants in the war. Thanks to the records of soldiers, officers, prisoners of war and residents of the occupied territories, anyone can find out the truth about past events.
Summing up
To date, thousands of different works have been written about the heroic deed of the Soviet people during the war. It is impossible to single out three, ten or even a hundred of the best and most accurate ones. Every story, every story or novel is good in its own way. But it is important to understand that most of them are filled with fiction, and the stories, characters and events described in them are refracted through the author's imagination and do not always correspond to historical facts.
To fully understand what the Great Patriotic War is, it is not enough to read Pikul or Sholokhov, and even more so it is not enough to watch modern films and TV series. To objectively assess any large-scale event that turned the world upside down, one cannot rely solely on works of art, which can only provide a one-sided understanding of moods and the most general information.
