Re-adjusting to life after war: the demobilization of Red Army veterans in Leningrad and the Leningrad region 1944-1950 Dale, Robert The copyright of this thesis rests with the author and no quotation from it or information derived from it may be published without the prior written consent of the author For additional information about this publication click this link. https://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/handle/123456789/703 Information about this research object was correct at the time of download; we occasionally make corrections to records, please therefore check the published record when citing. For more information contact [email protected] 1 Re-Adjusting to Life After War: The Demobilization of Red Army Veterans in Leningrad and The Leningrad Region 1944-1950 Robert Dale Thesis presented for Ph.D examination at Queen Mary, University of London September 2010 2 Declaration of authorship I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own and all references are cited accordingly. ............................................................................................................................................. (Robert Dale) 3 Abstract This dissertation explores the demobilization of veterans of the Great Patriotic War in Leningrad and the surrounding countryside between 1944 and 1950. This was a period of immense social and economic change, as late Stalinist society struggled with the aftermath of total war. Demobilization is examined here as the processes by which veterans returned home and readapted to peace. Throughout the twentieth century European and North American societies have faced difficulties reabsorbing veterans. In contrast Soviet propaganda heralded demobilisation as a success. Veterans were presented as exemplary citizens and beneficiaries of state support and upwards social mobility. Based on archival research, published sources and oral history interviews, this thesis peels back the multiple layers of propaganda woven around demobilization to reveal a compelling tale of war‟s aftermath. It examines how veterans readjusted to a civilian life after exposure to mass death and extreme violence, and the challenges faced in returning to a society devastated and traumatized by war. Veterans expected certain privileges in exchange for wartime service. Entitlement, however, rarely manifested itself in practical advantage. Veterans were not protected from the post-war scramble for jobs and housing. The failure to meet post-war expectations generated enormous resentment. State assistance could never adequately reward veterans. The physical costs and psychological trauma created by industrialized warfare were routinely ignored. Disabled veterans were particularly angered by inadequate state support. Many were marginalized by a society unable to provide adequate support. Not all veterans made the transition to mainstream civilian life; a minority became involved in crime. Violent criminality was not the result of brutalization, but rather the product of trauma and poverty. Although the state was unconcerned by ex-servicemen‟s criminality, it feared that veterans were a source of anti-Soviet opposition. War transformed veterans‟ mentalities, yet the majority of veterans were not interested in formal politics. 4 Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................. 3 Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. 4 List of Tables..................................................................................................................... 7 List of Illustrations ............................................................................................................ 7 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................. 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 10 Prologue: The Troops Come Home ............................................................................. 35 Demobilization Legislation ......................................................................................... 38 The Soldiers‟ Return ................................................................................................... 44 Disabled Veterans ....................................................................................................... 49 Women Veterans and Technical Specialists ............................................................... 49 POWs .......................................................................................................................... 51 Demobilization Statistics ............................................................................................ 54 Chapter 1: “Homes for Heroes”: Veterans and the Post-war Housing Crisis ........ 57 Destruction, Damage and Housing Conditions ........................................................... 58 The Official Response – Law and Entitlement ........................................................... 64 Official Planning ..................................................................................................... 68 Housing Waiting Lists ............................................................................................ 70 Reclaiming Housing ................................................................................................ 73 Temporary Hostels .................................................................................................. 79 State Assistance versus Personal Initiative ............................................................. 83 Reconstruction and Repair .......................................................................................... 84 Disappointment and Resentment................................................................................. 91 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 97 Chapter 2: “As in battle– as in labour”. The Re-mobilization of Demobilized Veterans ......................................................................................................................... 99 Propaganda and the Duty to Work ............................................................................ 104 The Return to the Post-war Workplace ..................................................................... 111 The Mechanisms of Re-mobilisation ........................................................................ 115 One Myth – Many Realities. Veterans‟ Varied Experiences of Re-employment ..... 127 5 Younger Veterans and Students ............................................................................ 131 Female Veterans .................................................................................................... 134 Officers .................................................................................................................. 137 Rural Veterans ....................................................................................................... 140 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 142 Chapter 3: Health, Disability and Trauma ............................................................... 144 The Numbers of Disabled Veterans in Leningrad and the Leningrad Oblast ........... 152 Disability Classification and Medical Labour Expert Commissions ........................ 155 Pensions .................................................................................................................... 158 Work .......................................................................................................................... 162 Medical Assistance.................................................................................................... 171 Psychological Trauma ............................................................................................... 179 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 191 Chapter 4: Demobilization, Crime and Violence ..................................................... 193 The Brutalization Thesis ........................................................................................... 193 Leningrad‟s Post-war Crime Wave ........................................................................... 197 Explanations for the post-war crime wave ................................................................ 207 Criminality amongst Veterans................................................................................... 215 The Lack of Fears About Brutalization ..................................................................... 228 Conclusion ................................................................................................................ 234 Chapter 5: Leningrad’s Veterans - Politics and Memory ....................................... 235 Leningrad: Site of Political Opposition and Stalinist Repression ............................. 235 The Spectrum of Veterans‟ Political Views .............................................................. 243 Leningrad‟s Veterans and Party Membership ........................................................... 250 Veterans and