Works about the war. Works about the Great Patriotic War. Novels, short stories, essays

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Many decades distance us from the terrible events of 1941-45, but the topic of human suffering during the Great Patriotic War will never lose its relevance. This must always be remembered so that such a tragedy never happens again.

A special role in the preservation of historical memory belongs to the writers, who, together with the people, experienced the horror of wartime and managed to truly reflect it in their works. The masters of the word completely crossed out the well-known words: "When the guns speak, the muses are silent."

Works of literature about the war: main periods, genres, heroes

The terrible news of June 22, 1941, resounded with pain in the hearts of all Soviet people, and writers and poets were the first to respond to it. For more than two decades, the topic of war has become one of the main topics in Soviet literature.

The first works on the theme of the war were imbued with pain for the fate of the country and filled with determination to defend freedom. Many writers immediately went to the front as correspondents and chronicled from there.events, in hot pursuit created their works. At first, these were operational, short genres: poems, stories, journalistic essays and articles. They were eagerly awaited and re-read both in the rear and at the front.

Over time, works about the war became more voluminous, these were already stories, plays, novels, the heroes of which were strong-willed people: ordinary soldiers and officers, workers of fields and factories. After the Victory, a rethinking of the experience begins: the authors of chronicles tried to convey the scale of the historical tragedy.

In the late 50s - early 60s, works on the theme of war were written by "younger" front-line writers who had been on the front line and gone through all the hardships of a soldier's life. At this time, the so-called "lieutenant's prose" appeared about the fate of yesterday's boys, who suddenly found themselves in the face of death.

Get up, the country is huge…

Perhaps, in Russia you will not find a person who would not recognize the invocative words and melody of the "Holy War". This song was the first response to the terrible news and became the anthem of the warring people for all four years. Already on the third day of the war, the poems of V. Lebedev-Kumach were heard on the radio. And a week later they were already performed to the music of A. Alexandrov. To the sounds of this song, filled with extraordinary patriotism and as if torn from the soul of the Russian people, the first echelons went to the front. In one of them there was another famous poet - A. Surkov. It belongs to him no less famous "Song of the Bold" and "In the Dugout".

Gone the warpoets K. Simonov (“Do you remember, Alyosha, the roads of the Smolensk region …”, “Wait for me”), Y. Drunina (“Zinka”, “And where does the strength suddenly come from …”), A. Tvardovsky (“I was killed near Rzhev”) and many others. Their works about the war are imbued with the pain of the people, anxiety for the fate of the country and unshakable faith in victory. And also warm memories of the home and loved ones who remained there, faith in happiness and in the power of love that can create a miracle. The soldiers knew their poems by heart and recited (or sang) in the short minutes between battles. It gave hope and helped to survive in inhuman conditions.

Book of the Fighter

A special place among the works created during the war years is occupied by A. Tvardovsky's poem "Vasily Terkin".

She is a direct evidence of everything that a simple Russian soldier had to endure.

The main character is a collective image that embodies all the best qualities of a Soviet soldier: courage and courage, readiness to stand to the end, fearlessness, humanity and at the same time an extraordinary cheerfulness that persists even in the face of death. The author himself went through the entire war as a correspondent, so he knew well what people saw and felt in the war. The works of Tvardovsky determine the "measure of the personality", as the poet himself said, her spiritual world, which cannot be broken in the most difficult situations.

"It's us, Lord!" - confession of a former prisoner of war

The writer K. Vorobyov fought at the front and was taken prisoner. Experienced in the camps became the basis of the story, which began in 1943. The main character, Sergey Kostrov, tells about the real torments of hell, through which he and his comrades, who were captured by the Nazis, had to go through (it is no coincidence that one of the camps had the name "Valley of Death"). People who are exhausted physically and spiritually, but who have not lost their faith and humanity even in the most terrible moments of their lives, appear on the pages of the work.

A lot was written about the war, but few of the writers in the conditions of the totalitarian regime spoke specifically about the fate of prisoners of war. K. Vorobyov managed to get out of the trials prepared for him with a clear conscience, faith in justice and boundless love for the Motherland. The same qualities are endowed with his heroes. And although the story was not completed, V. Astafiev rightly noted that even in this form it should stand “on the same shelf with the classics.”

In war you really get to know people…

The story "In the trenches of Stalingrad" by front-line writer V. Nekrasov also became a real sensation. Published in 1946, it impressed many with its extraordinary realism in depicting the war. For former soldiers, this became a memory of the terrible, unveiled events that they had to endure. Those who had not been to the front re-read the story and were amazed at the frankness with which they told about the terrible battles for Stalingrad in 1942. The main thing that the author of the work about the war of 1941-1945 noted was that it exposed the true feelings of people and showed their real value.

The strength of the Russian character is a step towards victory

12 years after the great victoryM. Sholokhov's story was released. Its name - "The Fate of a Man" - is symbolic: before us is the life of an ordinary driver full of trials and inhuman suffering. From the very first days of the war, A. Sokolov finds himself at war. For 4 years he went through the torments of captivity, more than once went to the verge of death. All his actions are evidence of unshakable fortitude, love for the Motherland, and stamina. Returning home, he saw only the ashes - this is all that remains of his house and family. But here, too, the hero was able to resist the blow: little Vanyusha, whom he sheltered, breathed life into him and gave him hope. So caring for an orphan boy dulled the pain of his own grief.

The story "The Fate of a Man", like other works about the war, showed the true strength and beauty of the Russian people, the ability to resist any obstacles.

Is it easy to be human

B. Kondratiev is a front-line writer. His story "Sasha", published in 1979, is from the so-called lieutenant's prose. It shows without embellishment the life of a simple soldier who found himself in hot battles near Rzhev. Despite the fact that this is still quite a youth - only two months at the front, he was able to remain a man and not lose his dignity. Overcoming the fear of imminent death, dreaming of getting out of the hell in which he found himself, he does not think about himself for a minute when it comes to the lives of other people. His humanism is manifested even in relation to an unarmed captured German, whom his conscience does not allow him to shoot. Fiction about war"Sashka" tells about simple and brave guys who made a difficult moral choice in the trenches and in difficult relationships with others and thus decided the fate of their own and the whole people in this bloody war.

Remember to live…

Many poets and writers have not returned from the battlefields. Others went through the whole war side by side with the soldiers. They were witnesses of how people behave in a critical situation. Some resign themselves or use any means to survive. Others are ready to die, but not lose their self-respect.

The works about the war of 1941-1945 are a comprehension of everything seen, an attempt to show the courage and heroism of the people who stood up to defend their Fatherland, a reminder to all living people of the suffering and destruction that the struggle for power and world domination brings.