Join the Kennan Institute for a panel discussion on Wendy Z. Goldman and Donald Filtzer's new book, "Fortress Dark and Stern: The Soviet Home Front during World War II."

After Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, German troops seized the heartland of Soviet industry and agriculture and turned the occupied territories into mass killing fields. The Red Army, overpowered by the blitzkrieg, suffered successive defeats. Yet in contrast to the state’s initial military failures, its policies on the home front were far more effective. "Fortress Dark and Stern" chronicles the impact of total war on ordinary people who withstood starvation and horrific conditions to provision the front and make the Allied victory possible.

Speakers

Donald Filtzer, Professor Emeritus of Russian History, University of East London

Wendy Z. Goldman, Paul Mellon Distinguished Professor of History, Carnegie Mellon University

Christian F. Ostermann, Director, History and Public Policy Program; Cold War International History Project; North Korea Documentation Project; Nuclear Proliferation International History Project at the Wilson Center

Eric Arnesen, Professor of History, The George Washington University; Director, National History Center of the American Historical Association.