The
defeat of the Nazi legions at Stalingrad in February 1943 marked the beginning
of the Soviet offensive that ended with Hitler dead in his bunker and the Red
Flag flying over Berlin in 1945. The turning point in the Second World War was
an immense boost to morale to the anti-fascist resistance throughout occupied
Europe and to the people on the British “home front” who had suffered the wrath
of the Luftwaffe and faced continuing U-boat blockade. Now almost past living
memory, the memory of those distant days has been recalled this week in a St
Albans’ exhibition that looks at the Soviet victory and its impact on the
cathedral city and the nearby Hertfordshire villages.
Timed to commemorate the 75th Anniversary
of the end of the Second World War the events, which include an exhibition,
lecture, a radio bridge and cinema screening are being supported by the
charitable Foundation “Stalingrad Battle”, based in Volgograd (the former
Stalingrad) and London branch of Rossotrudnichestvo, the Russian culture
centre.
The epic Russian feature film Stalingrad (2013) was shown at the
Odyssey cinema while Radio Verulam, the local radio station, set up a radio
bridge with Volgograd FM throughout the week.
But the highlight of the week’s events was
the “Stalingrad in British History, 1941-1945” exhibition at the New St Albans
Museum in the Town Hall.
Graham Kentsley, a businessman who grew up in
St Albans, helped launch the exhibition. The founder of the RedSquare
International group that trades mainly in Russia and the former Soviet Union
told the media: “The Battle of Stalingrad was the largest confrontation of
World War II in which Germany and its Axis allies fought the Soviet Union for
control of Southern Russia. The scale of the Battle of Stalingrad is staggering
with a cost of over a million Red Army and civilian casualties. It’s fair to
say that the hard-fought Russian victory was also a turning point of the war”.
“What’s never been commemorated is the
role the ordinary people of Great Britain played by contributing essential
supplies to the people of Stalingrad during their long and desperate siege. In
particular, residents of the towns and villages surrounding St Albans were known
to have given generously. It’s been a long held ambition of mine to tell that
story,” Kentsley said.
Dr Dmitry Belov, President of the Battle
of Stalingrad Foundation, who gave a talk at the Assembly Rooms about the
battle said: “It
is important to remember that Russia and Great Britain were vital allies in World
War II and this story of the Battle of Stalingrad highlights a special bond
between the ordinary people of our two countries”.
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