Heroism

Home > History > Modern Europe > Wars and Battles

heroism, which is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘exalted courage, intrepidity, or boldness’, can be observed in the conduct of all the armies in the Second World War and numerous decorations were awarded by both sides for it. It was also evident in the conduct of civilians, especially in such dire events as the siege of Leningrad, the Warsaw risings, or the fire-bombings of Dresden or Tokyo. Some writers have contrasted the ‘quiet heroism’ of individuals like Janusz Korczak, who chose to accompany orphans to the death camp of Treblinka without protest, with the more conventional bravery of soldiers.

However, there is a marked tendency for heroism to be discussed in subjective, one-sided terms. Many commentators have reserved ‘heroism’ for the actions of their own side in the war, while conceding that the enemy side showed only ‘fanatical courage’ or ‘suicidal bravery’. In the USSR, where the Second World War remained the focus of official propaganda to the end, state censorship always insisted on confining heroism to the ranks of the Red Army, never letting it to be mentioned with reference to the Wehrmacht.

For Allied commentators, there is a problem in assessing the conduct of totalitarian armies, where brutality and genocide were often practised as a matter of policy, but where individual heroism could also be evidenced. Such are the moral overtones, it is sometimes hard to accept that members of the Nazi SS, for example, could be both heroic and genocidal. Whether Japanese kamikaze pilots are judged heroic or not often depends more on political loyalties than on the cool analysis of their motives. Historians have a special problem in explaining extravagantly heroic conduct among Soviet soldiers, many of whom went to their death with the shout Za Stalina! on their lips at a time when the Soviet dictator was destroying millions of his own people. How could such a hated regime exact such selfless service?

The conventional answer is sought in the realm of Soviet and particularly Russian patriotism, which the regime could effectively invoke once the USSR was invaded. But this is hardly sufficient given the Soviet Army's high numbers of deserters. An equally plausible explanation may lie in the unprecedented climate of fear which surrounded Soviet soldiers both in their homes before conscription and in their units. Young men who grew up in the 1930s amidst the mass killings, collectivization, and purges, knew that they would be sent into combat in waves of unprotected infantry, with the guns of the enemy ahead and the guns of the NKVD behind. For them, a last act of bravado or of sacrifice for their comrades, promised blessed relief.

Norman Davies

her·o·ism / ˈherōˌizəm/ • n. great bravery.