Leningrad. Tragedy of a city under seige, 1941-44

[gdt]

Anna Reid, 2011.

We are living in a revival of the telling of military history: Max Hastings, Antony Beevor, John Keegan and Australia's own Paul Ham. But all of them avoid telling one story: the seige of Leningrad. There are no military lessons, and few morals can be found in the desperation of years of starvation.

Anna Reid tells the story. Starting with the obvious question: why were their any civilians in the city at all? If you suspect Stalin and a bureaucracy too afraid to mention that anything other than victory may be happening, then you can see how an evacuation might not be ordered. It's interesting to reflect on these passages, looking for their fainter shadows in our own times.

The photographs are heartbreaking. Most are sourced from surviving friends of the photographers, so the fate of all people photographed are known. In several no one lived through another year.

Excellent writing. If you have a vivid imagination do not read before bedtime.