The Great Patriotic War began on June 22, 1941 when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union breaking the 1939 Treaty of Non-Aggression.
The Great Patriotic War began on June 22, 1941 when Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union breaking the 1939 Treaty of Non-Aggression.
The entire nation listened to Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov’s radio broadcast at 12 p.m. on June 22, 1941. He informed the Soviet people about Nazi Germany’s attack on the country and the start of the Great Patriotic War. He said: “Our cause is just. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours.”
Yuri Levitan made all the radio announcements during the war. His unique voice announced battlefield victories, air raid warnings and Josef Stalin's orders.
People began enlisting for the front on June 23 in 14 military districts.
On the first day of the war the Soviet Union lost 1,200 aircraft, 300 destroyed in aerial battles and 900 caught on the ground.
German bombs rained down on Soviet cities near the border during the first minutes of the war.
People enlisting for the front.
Muscovites looking at downed Luftwaffe aircraft.
Civilians building barricades in the streets of Odessa, Ukraine.
Soviet soldiers firing at the enemy.
The outskirts of Minsk. Children during a Nazi air strike. June 24, 1941
The first days of the Great Patriotic War.
Collective farmers building defenses in the front area.
Pilots before a combat flight.
Guarding the Moscow skies, August 1941.
