"To take someone who has died to the cemetery was an affair of so much labor that it exhausted the last strength in the survivors. The living, having fulfilled their duty to the dead, were themselves brought to the brink of death.” On September 8, 1941 the Siege of Leningrad begins. With operation Barbarossa in full effect, the German Army where intent on capturing the city, but stiff resistance had brought the assault to a halt. Under Hitler's orders, the city was encircled with the intention of 'starving the city to death'. With over 2 million civilians trapped, supplies began to dwindle immediately. German artillery and air bombardments came several times a day during the first months of the siege. The daily ration for civilians was reduced to 125 grams of bread, no more than a thick slice. Starvation set in by December, followed by the coldest winter in decades, with temperatures falling to -40 degrees F.
Residents burned books and furniture to stay warm and searched for food to supplement their scarce rations. Animals from the city zoo were consumed early in the siege, followed before long by household pets.
Wallpaper paste made from potatoes was scraped off the wall, and leather was boiled to produce an edible jelly. Grass and weeds were cooked, and scientists worked to extract vitamins from pine needles and tobacco dust.
Thousands, resorted to cannibalizing the dead, and in a few cases people were murdered for their flesh. The Leningrad police struggled to keep order and formed a special division to combat cannibalism.
In January 1944, the Russian Army was able to push the Germans out and reclaim the city.
The siege would last 872 days, becoming one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history, and possibly the costliest in casualties suffered with over 1 million killed. #reality #ww2 #stayzero #zerofoxtrot