The siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) lasted from 8 September 1941 to January 27 1944, totaling 872 days. In the June of 1941 the Soviet Union was invaded by Germany, and in September the Germans were approaching Leningrad, attacking from the west and south. The people of Leningrad worked to build anti-tank fortifications to help the 200 000 Red Army soldiers defending the city. Hitler ordered the troops to stop the attack to prevent casualties, and instead blockade the city. September 8 Leningrad was encircled by the Germans, who cut off supply lines and railways. Germany blockaded Leningrad and shelled it from a distance. Hitlers goal was to completely wipe Leningrad off the map, his goals clearly shown in a directive sent to the German army Generals that said ‘After the defeat of Soviet Russia there can be no interest in the continued existence of this large urban center&Following the city’s encirclement, requests for surrender negotiations shall be denied& we can have no interest in maintaining even a part of this very large urban population. In 1942 650 thousand died in Leningrad due to starvation and from the German shelling. Small amounts of fuel and food got into Leningrad by boat across nearby Lake Ladoga, and on ice sleds in the winter. Lake Ladoga was the only way in or out of the city, and was under constant fire from the Germans. The 2.5 million citizens of Leningrad survived on extreme food rationing, while some of the children and the sick/elderly tri
ed to evacuate across the Road of Life. The Road of life was an ice bridge across Lake Ladoga that was chosen by military commanders after careful consideration as best way to cross the massive lake that had fluctuating weather conditions. The first trucks of flour made the perilous trip on 22 November 1941. Bread was mixed with cellulose and bran to stretch supplies, and the daily ration was 125 grams of bread per person. People were forced to eat wall paper, soup made from boiled leather, and window putty to stay alive. To stay warm they burned first furniture, then eventually books. Despite the conditions, the people of Leningrad endured, and never surrendered. By 1943, almost all open ground in the city had been converted into functional gardens to ease the rationing. Soviet counter attacks in 1943 broke through part of the German blockade, letting in far more supplies. The Red Army pushed the Germans West in the January of 1944, ending the siege after 1.1 million people had died due to starvation and hypothermia. During the siege the Road of Life had allowed 1.3 million military personnel ad civilians to evacuate, as well as some of the most valuable art and artifacts of their heritage. Leningrad was given the Order of Lenin in 1945 and was the first city ever to receive the title of Hero City of the Soviet Union in 1965. A monument was unveiled in 1975, in remembrance the heroism and sacrifice of the people of Leningrad enduring one of the most brutal sieges in history.