November: A time for remembrance - w(ar)t

This artwork can be found at the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Moscow, Russia.   It depicts scenes from the Battle of Stalingrad (August 23, 1942, to February 2, 1943), which is regarded as one of the bloodiest battles of WWII.   It basically involved the Soviets on defence, and the Germans and Italians on offence.   A staggering number of people - civilians and military alike - were killed during this time.   Aerial bombardments, artillery bombardments, tank to tank warfare, guerilla warfare, propaganda warfare, house-to-house fighting, snipers, and when the ammo ran low on both sides, hand-to-hand fighting.  The city was decimated by war, starvation and disease.   

These displays of art were incredibly massive, intricate and immersive by mixing military hardware with artistic paintings.   The cover photo shows German troops marching into Stalingrad (now called Volgograd) during the winter.  On the periphery you can see men frozen in the snow where they fell, or perhaps fell where they froze.   The next series of photos shows the Soviets battling back with everything they had - "not a step back" was their motto.   A march, and stance, that would ultimately prove perilous for everyone involved.  As history would come to record, this battle marked the beginning of the end for the Nazi march on the eastern front.   Yet, when we consider the number of Soviets killed to hold the line, and then push back, it would be a stretch in propaganda and patriotism to claim it was a great victory.  On both sides, it was do or die in more ways than one.  +