Soviet War Crimes?

[a_unique_person]

Are you saying that it didn't happen?

In the book called "Enemy at the Gates: The Battle of Stalingrad", the execution of the boy happened.

Maybe the book's wrong. It happens quite often in historical works. When I read an historical work and I don't find a flaw, it's probably because I'm not familar with the subject.

AFAIK, the book is really a work of fiction.

 

[JAR]

AFAIK, the book is really a work of fiction.

Well, if the book is wrong, I'm going to have to apologize to my father.

When he saw the part in the movie where the boy is executed, he said that it couldn't have happened. A while later, I read the book which said that the boy was executed and my father had to eat his words. Looks like I might have to eat my words.

 

[NoZed Avenger]

Yes, another great post from hs4. I already nominated it for the language prize. I wish he would contribute more to the PC&E. Of course, you have to be careful, NoZed, or else HS4 will put that comment of yours in his sig...and then next thing you know you will be knitting him blankets, too.

Renata, I would feel guilty taking a blanket while you sit there, naked.


Not guilty enough to avoid taking it away from you and leaving you naked. But guilty, nonetheless.

NA

PS: Besides, I have sigs I haven't even touched, yet.

"A lesson learned from that- never argue against NoZed."
Renata, 10/7

 

[LW]

When he saw the part in the movie where the boy is executed, he said that it couldn't have happened. A while later, I read the book which said that the boy was executed and my father had to eat his words. Looks like I might have to eat my words.

There is no doubt that also children were executed by Germans. In some cases whole villages were destroyed and all inhabitants killed as a reprisal after a partisan raid.

What I ranted against was the seemingly necessary innocent Russian boy that gets killed in almost every war movie that is placed on the East Front.

In Cross of Iron he is shot by Russians when returning from Germans.

In Stalingrad the main characters of the movie are forced to execute him by an eevil nazi major.

And now in Enemy at Gates an eevil german major hangs him to find the sniper.

As I mentioned before, the way the duel is presented in the movie is not even close to the account given by Chuikov in his book "Stalingrad" (that is the earliest one that I've managed to find, probably there are previous Russian sources).

There the story goes like this: Russian snipers have got notable successes and to combat them Germans send in the commander of sniper school. I don't think the commander is named in Stalingrad, but other sources identify him as "Major König". Then, several Russian snipers got killed by a German sniper on a specific sector of the front. Zaitsev then guessed that the expert sniper is active there, and started to hunt him. After several days they find out that he was hidden under a destroyed tractor (or tank, or something like that). The hiding spot was identified when a Russian comissar saw him, but the German shot the comissar before he had time to reveal the place to the others. However, the Russian snipers got the general direction and then few hours later saw sunlight reflecting quickly from the scope of the German. The next day they constructed an ambush where one sniper very carefully raised his helmet on a plank, and shouted "in agony" when the sniper shot at it. Then. the German raised his head for an instant, and Zaitsev killed him.

Nothing about hanging children, there.

 

[JAR]

There is no doubt that also children were executed by Germans. In some cases whole villages were destroyed and all inhabitants killed as a reprisal after a partisan raid.

What I ranted against was the seemingly necessary innocent Russian boy that gets killed in almost every war movie that is placed on the East Front.

In Cross of Iron he is shot by Russians when returning from Germans.

In Stalingrad the main characters of the movie are forced to execute him by an eevil nazi major.

And now in Enemy at Gates an eevil german major hangs him to find the sniper.

As I mentioned before, the way the duel is presented in the movie is not even close to the account given by Chuikov in his book "Stalingrad" (that is the earliest one that I've managed to find, probably there are previous Russian sources).

There the story goes like this: Russian snipers have got notable successes and to combat them Germans send in the commander of sniper school. I don't think the commander is named in Stalingrad, but other sources identify him as "Major König". Then, several Russian snipers got killed by a German sniper on a specific sector of the front. Zaitsev then guessed that the expert sniper is active there, and started to hunt him. After several days they find out that he was hidden under a destroyed tractor (or tank, or something like that). The hiding spot was identified when a Russian comissar saw him, but the German shot the comissar before he had time to reveal the place to the others. However, the Russian snipers got the general direction and then few hours later saw sunlight reflecting quickly from the scope of the German. The next day they constructed an ambush where one sniper very carefully raised his helmet on a plank, and shouted "in agony" when the sniper shot at it. Then. the German raised his head for an instant, and Zaitsev killed him.

Nothing about hanging children, there.

That's pretty much the way I remember the duel happening in the book. It wasn't as elaborate as it was in the movie.

[Edited to add: I just looked in the book and it says that the boy was executed by the Germans for espionage activities.]

 

[JAR]

Oh yeah, LW. The book doesn't mention any machine gunning of fleeing Russian troops by Russian troops. It doesn't say it didn't happen, it just doesn't go into what the Russians did in their attacks from the ferry landing. So as far as I know, you're right about it not having happened.