Kerry: Can you recommend a book about the siege of Leningrad?
Sheila: Shut up!! Last week I Googled “good books about Leningrad.” I am not kidding.
Kerry: OMG
Sheila: It’s a gap in my Warmonger Knowledge. I’m pretty sure there’s a gigantic book just called “Leningrad” but I’ll see what I can come up with.
Kerry: There is a great exhibit at the Museum of Man here about Cannibalism. There was a whole section on the siege of Leningrad and how many people were starving and eating people. I turned to Karl and said, “I did not know that.” Big gap in my Warmonger Knowledge.
Sheila: Oh man it was like Dante’s Inferno I do know that. 100% destruction and the siege lasted how long? Over a year?
Kerry: 872 days according to Wikipedia
Sheila: Unbelievable. Okay we need to find THE book to read.
Kerry: The Leningrad book club.
Sheila: Literally laughing out loud
Kerry: hahahahaha
Sheila: Are you in costume backstage as you type this? Just trying to picture it
Kerry: hahahahaha, no, just warming up. From Wikipedia: NKVD files report the first use of human meat as food on 13 December 1941.[67] The report outlines thirteen cases which range from a mother smothering her eighteen-month-old to feed her three older children to a plumber killing his wife to feed his sons and nieces.[67] By December 1942, the NKVD arrested 2,105 cannibals dividing them into two legal categories: corpse-eating (trupoyedstvo) and person-eating (lyudoyedstvo). The latter were usually shot while the former were sent to prison. The Soviet Criminal Code had no provision for cannibalism so all convictions were carried out under Code Article 59–3, “special category banditry”.[68] Instances of person-eating were significantly lower than that of corpse-eating; of the 300 people arrested in April 1942 for cannibalism, only 44 were murderers.[69] 64% of cannibals were female, 44% were unemployed, 90% were illiterate, 15% were rooted inhabitants, and only 2% had any criminal records. More cases occurred in the outlying districts than the city itself. Cannibals were often unsupported women with dependent children and no previous convictions, which allowed for a certain level of clemency in legal proceedings.[70]
Sheila: Absolute horror show
Kerry: “corpse-eating” or “person-eating” Dear God
Sheila: On that cheery note I have to go to bed
Kerry: Hahahahahahahaha
Sheila: Again I am literally laughing out loud! Hope is scared!
Kerry: So am I
Kerry: dying laughing
Sheila: Cannot stop
Sheila: Person-eating. Sweet dreams!!
Naturally – if anyone can recommend a book – preferably THE book – a definitive book – on the siege of Leningrad (John V., perhaps??) – it would be much appreciated by these two crazy redheaded O’Malley cousins.
Anthony Beevor?
Sorry, Antony Beevor:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/900-Days-Siege-Leningrad/dp/0306812983
That sounds excellent. I have passed it on to Kerry. We are starting our Leningrad Book Club.
Thank you Helena!!
I remember a fantastic documentary that I watched in the 80’s with my dad on the sSege of Leningrad. It was on PBS. I bet it is findable.
Oooh. I checked on Youtube and it looks like there are some clips up there from the doc you mention.
I miss you, friend!! xoxo
An older book (1970s) i remember from college days: Harrison Salisbury, The 900 Days. Written before the Wall came down, wonder if anything has been discovered in the Russian (non-Soviet) archives since that would enhance or supersede this book.
https://www.amazon.com/900-Days-Siege-Leningrad/dp/0306812983/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475246574&sr=1-1&keywords=the+900+days
Okay – so this is two recs for this book – which says to me that This may be a good place to start. This is what we were looking for!
Thank you Gina!!
and yes: would be interesting to see what else may have come out on the Soviet side/ and there are so many damn WWII books, it’s hard to wade through.
I had to go back and find this, it was linked on another blog earlier this year, but it just stunned me and its St. Petersburg/Leningrad related:
http://www.atlasobscura.com/places/vavilov-research-institute-of-plant-industry
You are the best- Kerry and I will begin devouring all of this as soon as possible.
although “devour” is clearly an inappropriate word in this case!
And here’s a newer one that ight have some more recent stuff: https://www.amazon.com/Leningrad-Epic-Siege-World-1941-1944/dp/080277881X/ref=pd_sim_14_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EBB8GED0QENP7S9JKHZT
Also the Antony Beevor mentioned above:
https://www.amazon.com/Stalingrad-Fateful-1942-1943-Antony-Beevor/dp/0140284583/ref=pd_bxgy_14_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=702SPDNGZBS4YXHR634C
https://www.amazon.com/Leningrad-Symphony-Terrorized-Immortalized-Shostakovich/dp/0802123163/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475249516&sr=1-2-fkmr1&keywords=beevor+leningrad
Let me swap this one in instead of the Beevor listed above, I realized that I had mixed up my ‘grads again!
“mixed up my ‘grads'” – hah yes, that is definitely a concern!
Oh my. I was just going to say that I never read Beevor’s book on Leningrad…but if it was anything like his book on Stalingrad it would definitely be definitive!
Psst….MT Anderson (best known for writing the Octavian Nothing books) recently wrote a biography of Dmitri Shostakovich that focuses on his Leningrad Symphony, written during and about the siege. It’s called Symphony for the City of the Dead and it has a whole chapter on corpse-eating, which sets it apart from most YA history. So if you’re looking for something lighter/more recent than 900 Days…pass it on!
Reba – so interesting, someone just brought up this symphony on Facebook!! I will definitely listen to it – thank you!
And I will also pass on the YA history book.
Many thanks!
This thread has been so great!
When I was a kid my dad, my little brother and I watched a series narrated by Laurence Olivier – The World at War – I’m almost positive that there was an episode covering the siege of Leningrad – I found the whole series on YouTube recently. I wanted to look at Hitler’s rise to power in Germany and the paralells to rise of right wing populism in the US and Europe.
Olivier narrating? I have to find this! Thanks for the tip!!
There are a lot of parallels, sadly. I was just talking with someone about this the other day. Democracy – with its beautiful freedom of press, freedom of assembly, etc. – is unequipped to deal with the rise of tyranny. The Founders built in all the checks and balances – and those work when everyone plays nice, with peaceful transfers of power – which started with Washington, astonishing the world! But the scariness of someone like Hitler is that he was elected through a democratic process. Freedom is fragile! Sometimes it’s hard to see that in the middle of something – like those who hung out in Germany too long, hoping the situation would right itself, like it normally had before.
Stalin was a different story. His was a flat-out power grab!!
anyway – fascinating and disturbing topic!
That whole series “The World at War” left quite an impression on young me, in large part due to Olivier’s quiet narration. (The burning images and the theme song in the title sequence also had something to do with that as well) If you have the time in your very busy watch schedule it is worth the time. There were interviews with survivors (this is the early seventies – oh the mustaches and hair!) And yes freedom is very fragile and people seem to want to give it away for a thin promise of security.