'Human excrement was piled up waist-high': Full horror of Stalingrad revealed for first time as interviews with Russian soldiers finally see the light of day

• Stalingrad Protocols gathers interviews with hundreds of troops that Russia had suppressed after the Second World War as only heroism was lauded

By Allan Hall

PUBLISHED: 16:48 EST, 5 November 2012 | UPDATED: 10:37 EST, 6 November 2012

A new book has finally laid bare the full horrors of the Battle Of Stalingrad in the words of ordinary Russian soldiers, whose memories were suppressed by the Soviet authorities for 70 years.

The Stalingrad Protocols gathers interviews with hundreds of veterans that Russia had deemed too graphic to publish after the Second World War because only heroism was lauded.

Historians believe the book, compiled by the German historian Jochen Hellbeck, will change the way the world views the six-month 1942-43 battle that cost over a million men their lives and forever destroyed Hitler's ambitions to colonise the Soviet Union.

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Truth be told: A new book has finally laid bare the full horrors of the Battle Of Stalingrad in the words of ordinary Russian soldiers, whose memories were suppressed by the Soviet authorities for 70 years

Appalling casualties: German prisoners of war captured by the Russians march in a long line winding over a hill toward a prison camp near Stalingrad

Professor Hellbeck gained access to nearly 10,000 pages of documents in the history department archives at the Soviet Academy of Sciences.

He claims the interviews demolish the myth that the Red Army only fought out of fear and that over 13,000 soldiers were executed for cowardice - in fact, the real number was lower than 300.

And the book has graphic and illuminating details about the disintegration of the German 6th Army - the conquerors of Poland and France - at Stalingrad, some of whom were reduced to cannibalism in order to stay alive in the ruins of the city as the mercury plunged to -40c below.

The bloodiest battle in Second World War came to an end on January 31, 1943 when Field Marshall Friedrich Paulus surrendered, disobeying the orders of his Fuhrer to kill himself.

Lieutenant Colonel Leonid Vinokur was the first to catch sight of Paulus and his recollection is published for the first time in the book.

He said: 'Paulus lay on the bed when I entered. He lay there in his coat, with his cap on. He had two-week-old beard stubble and seemed to have lost all courage.'

His aide, Major Anatloy Zoldatov, recalled: 'The filth and human excrement and who knows what else was piled up waist-high. It stank beyond belief. There were two toilets and signs above them both that read: "No Russians allowed".'

'They could have easily shot themselves,' said Major General Ivan Burmakov. 'But Paulus and his staff chose not to do that. They had no intention of dying - they were such cowards. They didn't have the courage to die.'

Turning point: The six-month 1942-43 battle cost over a million men their lives and forever destroyed Hitler's ambitions to colonise the Soviet Union

Intense fighting: The bloodiest battle in Second World War came to an end on January 31, 1943 when Field Marshall Friedrich Paulus surrendered, disobeying the orders of his Fuhrer to kill himself

Hitler was obsessed with the city that bore the name of his Communist nemesis and wanted it taken at all costs. Equally, the Russians decided to hold it at all costs, and did so.

The battle for Stalingrad became a primitive slugging match in ruined houses, cellars and bunkers.

Between half and a million Russian men lost their lives, and 150,000 Germans. Of the 110,000 Germans who surrendered, only 5,000 would survive Stalin's gulags to return to a defeated Germany.

The battle cost the German army a quarter of everything it possessed by way of material - guns, tanks and munitions. It was a defeat from which it never recovered and for days afterwards in Berlin all shops and restaurants were closed as a mark of respect.

The Stalingrad Protocols adds a human dimension to 'Private Ivan', who has for decades been portrayed in the West as a man who fought with a Communist gun at his back. While there were executions, they were far below Western estimates.

The papers show that many Russians fought with a fanatical fervour because of the Nazi atrocities they had seen on the road to Stalingrad.

'One sees the young girls, the children, who hang from the trees in the park,' said sniper Vasily Zaytsev, adding that 'this has a tremendous impact'.

Major Pyotr Zayonchovsky told of a position that the Germans had abandoned.

When he arrived there, he discovered the body of a dead comrade 'whose skin and fingernails on his right hand had been completely torn off. The eyes had been burnt out and he had a wound on his left temple made by a red-hot piece of iron. The right half of his face had been covered with a flammable liquid and ignited.'

Cost of Stalingrad: Between half and a million Russian men lost their lives, and 150,000 Germans also perished

Russian defence: Communist Party card-carrying soldiers were usually the first into battle to encourage the others

Major Zayonchovsky described the nature of 'the Germans' as follows: 'The robber mentality has become such second nature to them that they have to steal - whether they can use it or not.'

Political officers assigned to the Red Army boosted fighting morale by convincing the ordinary soldier that their's was a struggle for the civilians behind the lines who the Nazis wanted to enslave.

Communist Party card-carrying soldiers were usually the first into battle to encourage the others.

Brigade Commissar Vasilyev said: 'It was viewed as a disgrace if a Communist was not the first to lead the solders into battle.'

At the front in Stalingrad, the number of card-carrying party members rose between August and October 1942 from 28,500 to 53,500. Political officers distributed fliers in the battle zone portraying the 'hero of the day', including large photos of the honored soldiers.

'At night,' said Lieutenant Colonel Yakov Dubrovsky, 'the fighters are more inclined to speak openly, and one can crawl inside their souls.'

The Stalingrad Protocols

Battalion Commissar Pyotr Molchanov said: 'A soldier is stuck in the trenches for an entire month. He doesn't see anyone aside from his neighbour, and suddenly the commissar approaches him, tells him something, says a friendly word to him, greets him. This is of enormous importance.'

But soldiers need material comforts too and the paperwork shows how the hard pressed infantrymen received chocolate and mandarins and games to play, such as draughts and dominoes.

'The aim was for the soldiers to no longer be driven by fear, but instead to use their political awareness to overcome their distress,' said the Professor Hellbeck.

'Consequently, the Communists saw it as a sign of weakness when captured German soldiers described themselves as apolitical. In their opinion, the true will to win could only be developed by those who believed they served a higher purpose.

'The Communists saw the Red Army as more politically and morally steadfast than the Wehrmacht.'

According to Captain Nikolay Aksyonov, one could feel 'how every soldier and every commander was itching to kill as many Germans as possible'.

The sniper Anatoly Chechov told of his despair when he shot his first German.

He said: 'I felt terrible. I had killed a human being. But then I thought of our people - and I started to mercilessly fire on them. I've become a barbaric person, I kill them. I hate them.'

When he was interviewed, he had already killed 40 Germans - most of them with a shot to the head.

Vasily Zaytsev, the Red Army's best sniper at Stalingrad, who was played in the Hollywood movie Enemy At The Gates by Jude Law, shot 242 Germans, but said after the battle was over: 'You often have to remember, and the memory has a powerful impact. Now, I have unsteady nerves and I'm constantly shaking.'

This did not fit in with Communist ideals of glory and so his comments were suppressed in the archives until accessed by Professor Hellbeck.

VIDEO: Excerpt from World At War episode on Stalingrad

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