Stalin's Defectors - How Red Army Soldiers became Hitler's Collaborators, 1941-1945 (Paperback)

Stalin's Defectors is the first systematic study of the phenomenon of frontline surrender to the Germans in the Soviet Union's 'Great Patriotic War' against the Nazis in 1941-1945. No other Allied army in the Second World War had such a large share of defectors among its prisoners of war. Based on a broad range of sources, this volume investigates the extent, the context, the scenarios, the reasons, the aftermath, and the historiography of frontline defection. It shows that the most widespread sentiments animating attempts to cross the frontline was a wish to survive this war. Disgruntlement with Stalin's 'socialism' was also prevalent among those who chose to give up and hand themselves over to the enemy. While politics thus played a prominent role in pushing people to commit treason, few desired to fight on the side of the enemy. Hence, while the phenomenon of frontline defection tells us much about the lack of popularity of Stalin's regime, it does not prove that the majority of the population was ready for resistance, let alone collaboration. Both sides of a long-standing debate between those who equate all Soviet captives with defectors, and those who attempt to downplay the phenomenon, then, over-stress their argument. Instead, more recent research on the moods of both the occupied and the unoccupied Soviet population shows that the majority understood its own interest in opposition to both Hitler's and Stalin's regime. The findings of Mark Edele in this study support such an interpretation.

General

Imprint:	Oxford UniversityPress
Country of origin:	United Kingdom
Release date:	September 2019
Authors:	Mark Edele (Hansen Chair in History)
Dimensions:	213 x 140 x 12mm (L x W x T)
Format:	Paperback
Pages:	224
ISBN-13:	978-0-19-884943-8
Categories:	Books > Humanities > History > European history > General Books > Humanities > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > Social sciences > Politics & government > Political structure & processes > Totalitarianism & dictatorship Books > Social sciences > Warfare & defence > War & defence operations > Battles & campaigns Books > Humanities > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War Books > History > European history > General Books > History > History of specific subjects > Military history Books > History > World history > From 1900 > Second World War
LSN:	0-19-884943-5
Barcode:	9780198849438

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