Figure 1.-- This Soviet boy soldier appeared in an article by Barbara Wace about child soldiers. The Caption read, "Not playing at war ... He's in it!: When his parents were killed by the Germans, 12 year old Vitya, left his home and joined the Russian fighting force as a volunteer scout. Vengeance is his for he's already accounted for five of the enemy. Russian lads are playing a heroic war in this total war. Youth organizations in Russian villages help the guerillas. They keep them informed of the whereabouts of the Germans. They carry arms and munitions. Many are trained in schools of sniping, dynamiting and reconnaissance." The photo was released January 20, 1944. We do not known when or where it was taken, but some time in 1943 in the Ukraine is likely. The sword is presumably war booty from a German officer.

The Soviet effort against the NAZIs was a huge national undertaking. The entire populatin of the country was involved. In a very real sence it was a war of survival, not only for the Soviet state, but for the Soviet people themselves. Hitler and the SS were intent on a genocide of the Slavic people on unimaginable proportions, although this was not understood by the public when the NAZIS struck. It is not even well understood today. The murder of the Jews was just the first step. The NAZIs from the moment they entered the Soviet Union made their intentions clear. While the greastest barbarities were directed at the Jews, actins against the Slavic populations were brutal. Even in the Ukraine where considerable anti-Soviet sentiment existed, the NAZIs made little effort to even appear to win over the local population. Itis unclear why the NAZIs were not more restrained. A variety of explanations exist. Racial hatred appears to have overcome calculation. Perhaps their eagerness to exloit the resources and wide spread conviction that the war was won were undoubtably factors. What ever the reason, the NAZIs conducted Barbarossa with a barbarity unknown in warfare since the middle ages. As a result, not only the adult male Soviet population was mobilized, but women and children were involved in the struggle to a much larger extent than in the West. What options did children have against an enemy that was intent on murdering both he and his family?

Soviet Invasions as a NAZI Ally (1939-41)

The Soviet Union after signing the NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939), theSovietshlped launch World War II by invading Poland (September 1939). The Soviets then invaded countries in Eastern urope as the NZZIs invaded countries in Western Europe. Children were adversely affected by the NKVD executions and deportatins that followed. As these areas were annexed to the Soviet Union, the people involved were Sovietcitizes, although considred suspect by Stalin.

NAZI Occupied Areas (1941-44)

Victims: Displaced children

The chaos created by the NAZI invasion separated many families. Large numbers of people fled east. Skilled workers were evacuated east along with factories. Conditions were dreadful in the areas occupied by the NAZIs. The result of the war damage, attrocities, and deportations were a huge number of orphaned or displaced children. This problem was especially severe in the occupied areas. The NAZIs ignored the problem because their goal was to reduce the population of Slavs and the children in particular were of no economic value. Hitler and the SS were intent on a genocide of the Slavic people on unimaginable proportions, although this was not understood by the public when the NAZIS struck. It is not even well understood today. The murder of the Jews was just the first step. The NAZIs from the moment they entered the Soviet Union made their intentions clear. While the greastest barbarities were directed at the Jews, actins against the Slavic populations were brutal. Even in the Ukraine where considerable anti-Soviet sentiment existed, the NAZIs made little effort to even appear to win over the local population. Itis unclear why the NAZIs were not more restrained. A variety of explanations exist. Racial hatred appears to have overcome calculation. Perhaps their eagerness to exloit the resources and wide spread conviction that the war was won were undoubtably factors.

Resistance Fighters

Many children worked with the partisans in the occupied areas. We suspect that many of the boys that joined with the parisans were children who had become separated from their parents or whose parents had been killed. In some cases they may have witnessed the brutalities. These were primarily youths who joined the partisans, but there were children as well, mostly boys. As the Red Army drove west, most patisans would have become part of the regular Red Army. Presumably the youth and children who had joined the partisans were accepted into the Red Army. We have noted references to some of these boys, but we do not yet have their complete stories. Hopefully there are records somewhere with their detailed accounts. One such boy is Vasya Borovik One of the most famous boy partisans was Vasya Korobkois Another boy partisanwas Vanya Shkeley.

Collaboration

Children like adults also aided the Germans. This varied regionally. It was probably most extensive in the Baltics, but also occuured in the Western Ukraine, especially early in the War when some of the Sviet population sw the Germans as libderators. This was the case in the Ukraine before the Ukranians undersood what the Germans were planning. Of course any one associated with the NAZIs is today looked down upon. Given what the Soviets did in the Baltics and Ukraine, however, it is understandable that many might have seen the Germans as liberators. Older Balts and Ukranians remember the more civilized German Army of the World War I era.

Unoccupied/Liberated Areas (1941-45)

War work

The other major group which filled in the places of workers who had volunteered or were drafted for military service were youth, mostly but not enirely teenagers. The role of women in the Soviet war economy is very well documented. The role of youth is less well documented. Like women, many children volunteered for war service, both military service and labor service. They were more or less 'adopted' by combat units. Here patriotism was a factor, but not the only factor. We think many children who joined the military, especialkly the younger children did so in the field. Often they had lost their parents becuse of German military operations. Labor service was more organized and in rear areas. A major problem for the Soviets was food supplies. The Germans during the first month of Barbarossa occupied much of the country's best agicultural land. Not only were Soviet citizens starved in German occupied areas, but some 1-2 million Soviets in the unoccupied areas died as a result of starvation and related illiness, and this does not include surrounded Lenningrad. [Collingham, p. 317.] Soviet children during the War received special rations when available, including milk. This changed when the child turnbed 12 years of age. Despite the caloric needs of teenagers, they received the lowest rations of any population group as they were reclassified as 'dependents'. The ration was so low that they faced starvation. The only way to survive was to become a soldier or a worker. Soldiers and Workers received higher rations, epecially those involved in heavy industry. [Collingham, p. 329.] As a result, boys below military age did their best to become industrial workers, especially jobs in heavy industry. This seems to have been done informally at the factiry level. In which case the biys could stay hme. In other cases they eem to have been recruited en masse and disoarched to factories in the East, including the new factiries opened with the machinry evacuared from areas in the path of advance of German military operations. Of course children could not relpace men in all joibs. Sometimes minimal changes sufficed, such as boxes the youth could stabd on to reach contrls and levers. In other cases the changes were more difficult.

Military Servce

We note many images of Soviet boys and engaged in the struggle against the NAZI invaders. Some are clearly in the Red Army. Others are with the Partisans. Ohers may have been Sons of the Regiment. In some cases it is difficult to determine. There have in recent years been considerable press treatment of child soldiers. Many horrific accounts describe the damage done to society and the children themselves. we note images of boys in the Red Army. Clearly young people below the age of conscription joined the Red Army. Given the fact that the NAZIs committed wide spread attrocities against civilians, including women and children, the idea of keeping children out of the War becomes a rather unrealistic concept. Although unknown to the Russians at te time, the German Generalplan Ost was genocidal. It is of course absurd to use the modern concerns over child soldiers given the Germnan war aims and brutal conduct of the Wehrmacht.

Orphanages

Soviet authorities were thus left with a massive problem when they began liberating areas occupied by the NAZIs. Some children wondered the desolated cities or countryside. The situation was handeled better than after World War I/Civil war when gangs of children banded together and roamed the countryside. Many orphanages were established to care for the children. In some cases their parents were dead. In other cases their parents or a parent survived the War but had difficulty finding what happened to their children. The problem was most severe with the younger children. They could not identify themselves and often basic records as to even the village they came from were lost in the chaotic situation. Some children were adopted or evacuated to distant locations. Fathers returning to destroyed villages had no way of knowing if their children had survived. They had to go from orphanage to orphanage. Special radio programs attempted to reunite families. Large numbers of children were never identified.

Schools

NKVD actions

Post-War NKVD Actions (1945-46)

Created: 6:14 AM 1/18/2009
Last updated: 9:05 PM 4/22/2015