Heroes at Any Price
Leningrad War Stories
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
Stylisation to hero status was an instrument of propaganda within the Stalinist mobilisation dictatorship. Even the suffering and death of the people during Leningrad Blockade was glorified as a heroic deed. This had little to do with reality, for only very few people had stayed in the city voluntarily. The narrative of heroism differed for women and men: women remained anonymous and acted collectively; men received names and acted individually. The late-Stalinist definition of hero and the role model from those years remain in effect to this day.
(Osteuropa 8-9/2011, pp. 135–154)