For many veterans of World War II the trials and tribulations did not simply end with the conclusion of the war. The process of returning to a “life of normalcy” was a long and arduous road for a lot of servicemen and women. It seems as though the problems veterans faced after the war have not been thoroughly invested until very recently, which is disheartening. Just the scope and size of the war would lend itself to the complications facing veterans in the years after 1945. Veterans of both the Red Army and Western forces faced hardships in dealing with demobilization, returning to a life of normalcy, and coping with newly added mental stresses from the long years of fighting.
Stalingrad Destroyed, 1943The sheer number of servicemen and women who participated, as seen in this table, in the war lends itself to one of the first problems veterans experienced, demobilization. The act of transferring millions of people from active duty to civilian life would take years to accomplish. Other obvious problems were how to reintegrate veterans back into proper civilian roles of the workplace and family. The US did not have the housing issues of Europe simply because no fighting took place on mainland America. Dozens of towns in Europe and the USSR were reduced to rubble and were uninhabitable without massive rebuilding programs. In the USSR the towns of Mga, Kolpino, and Tosno, outside the demolished city of Leningrad, lost “97.5, 85, and 70 percent of their housing” respectively.[1] The attached picture shows the ruins of Stalingrad after the siege by German forces took place there from 1942-1943. Within the city of Leningrad, anywhere between 500,000 and 1 million people were homeless. Due to a corrupt postwar bureaucracy many veterans, especially the physically disabled, could not find work. Unless the veteran had political connections or could bribe officials, then finding housing and work immediately after discharge was a daunting task. The demobilized forces of the USSR became disgruntled and angry at the immense struggle of returning to a semi-normal life.
For a multitude of soldiers who fought on the front lines of World War II, most experienced some form of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). President Roosevelt is quoted stating he was “deeply concerned over the physical and emotional condition of disabled men returning from the war”.[2] During World War I, men suffered from “shell shock” due to the continuous bombardment of artillery while been entrenched with no where to go. Many soldiers of WWI were simple told to deal with it and get back in rank, believing a lack of courage was what led to the mental anguish of the men. During the selection of soldiers for World War II, there was a screening process put in place to hopefully catch anyone of a weak mind and constitution before sending him to the front lines. Nearing the end of the war, soldiers with clear mental strains were given some advice on what to do when they returned home. American troops, who were told to hold it in during WWI, were now told to go to a psychiatrist and let out all emotion in hopes of clearing their mind and ease their return to society. Some soldiers were told to get a white-collar office job and return as the breadwinner of their house, while others were told to participate in sports and blue-collar job depending on their specific condition. Personally, I do not know enough about PTSD and related mental strains to voice my opinion on what soldiers should or should not have done in the postwar period. I would say that the WWI method of holding it all in is the wrong method, with the WWII system of therapy and psychiatry being a step in the right direction. It was probably impossible for the soldiers to be free of their demons 100 percent. Even in modern times, psychiatric help for veterans is not enough to free every soldier from their mental anguish. The metal band Silent Planet has released a song this year, entitled Panic Room, to bring awareness to PTSD in veterans. While the music style may not fit everyone, I think the words, found in the description, and message are powerful.
The hope of a swift and easy transfer from the war front to the home front, was not something most soldiers of World War II got to experience. European and Soviet soldiers had to undergo years of reconstruction to once again see a semblance a civilization. Soviet soldiers having to endure a lackluster homecoming, miles of bureaucratic red tape, and destroyed cities led to many becoming very disgruntles and angry, speaking out against the corrupt nature of the demobilization process. Hundreds of thousands of returning soldiers needed intensive psychiatric care in order to overcome the horrors of what they experienced on the battlefield. The gunfire may have ended in 1945 but a new war on the home front awaited many soldiers in their return home.
[1] R Dale, “Rats and Resentment”, Journal of Contemporary History 45 (2010).
[2] C Jarvis, “If He Comes Home Nervous”, Journal of Men’s Studies 17 (2009).
Photo Link: http://www.nww2m.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/43-stalingrad_after_ww2.jpg
