World War II was undoubtedly a war of harvesting lives, involving 2 billion people around the world, with more than 90 million casualties. Among them, the country with the largest number of casualties is undoubtedly the Soviet Union, up to more than 26 million, 8 million more than the 18 million people in our country. The number of such casualties has far exceeded that of any country in the world.
Why were the Soviet Union so numerous casualties? This has a lot to do with an order issued by the Soviet Union during World War II, which is what we are going to talk about today as Decree No. 270.
What is Order 270?
In June 1941, Germany attempted to quickly occupy the Soviet Union by blitzkrieg, and in the early war, Germany gained a huge advantage, pushing the front forward by more than 300 kilometers from all directions in just two months, occupying Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus and other places, and the Soviet army was gradually defeated in front of the German army. By August, the Southwestern Front, the soviet army's strongest army, was no longer able to stop the German attack.
In order to prevent the complete collapse of the Soviet Union, the Soviet side issued Decree No. 270, signed by Stalin himself: "On the Question of Greed for Life and Fear of Death and Treason and Surrender and the Measures Taken to Prohibit Such Acts".
There are many contents of this ban, the main content of which is not to flee and surrender. Once he escapes, he is considered a deserter, not only punished, but even his family and relatives are arrested. Now that we are caught in the enemy's encirclement, we must also fight to the end. Once surrendered, family members will also be deprived of all rights and assistance. Simply put, deserters and capitulators are not only punished themselves, but also their relatives.
As soon as this ban was issued, the combat effectiveness of all Soviet troops increased greatly. The situation soon stabilized after the soldiers fought without fear of death, and then began a counterattack, which finally won the war. However, this also greatly increased soviet casualties, and eventually there was a staggering figure of 26 million people.
The fate of Stalin's son
Although most of the soldiers chose to fight to the death under this order, they could not stop a small number of people from being captured, including Stalin's son. You know, this order was issued by Stalin himself, and in the face of his son's life, what choice did Stalin finally make?
After the outbreak of World War II, Stalin's eldest son Yakov actively participated in the war against the aggressors and fought heroically. However, in a battle in July 1941, Yakov was captured by Soviet troops. After taking him captive, the Germans hoped to use him to break the will of the Soviets, but no matter how much the Germans persuaded him, he did not betray his country. Since then, he has been held in prison.
Until 1942, during the Battle of Stalingrad, the German marshal Lubbaus was captured, and the German army wanted to exchange Stalin's son for him, but Stalin directly refused, saying that he would not exchange the marshal for an ordinary soldier. The Germans realized that Yakov was useless, and eventually he died in a German prison.
According to the 270 ban, the families of the captives were punished, and Yakov was not spared, and his uncle and aunt and his wife were punished.
Stalin was undoubtedly a successful politician and a national leader, and in the face of the interests of the country, he did not hesitate to destroy his relatives in a righteous manner.