Fortress dark and stern : the Soviet home front during World War II

"The book tells the story, largely unknown to Western readers, of the Soviet home front during World War II. After Hitler's invasion in 1941, German troops conquered the heartland of Soviet industry and agriculture and turned the occupied territories into mass killing fields. In one of the greatest wartime feats in history, Soviet workers rapidly evacuated factories, food, and people thousands of miles to the east and built a new industrial base beyond the reach of German bombers. As millions of refugees and evacuees streamed east, mass epidemics engulfed the country. Health officials battled to establish new public health regulations. The Soviet state reached the height of its power, imposing military discipline and mobilizing millions of people to work thousands of miles from home. The state assumed responsibility for feeding the nation through a strict ration system. Given terrible food shortages, many people, including workers, began to starve. This book examines the dark and painful war years from a new perspective, telling the stories of evacuees, refugees, teenaged and women workers, runaways from work, Gulag prisoners, and deportees. The narrative follows the Red Army as it retreated east and then battled back westward after Stalingrad, presenting "total war" behind the front lines in a chronicle of spirited defense efforts, draconian state directives, teeming black markets, and selfless heroism. Based on a vast trove of new archival materials, the book tells the story of suffering, sacrifice, and commitment that made the Allied victory possible"-- Includes bibliographical references (pages 457-473) and index. xx, 494 pages : illustrations, maps ; 25 cm