Central Asia in World War Two - by Vicky Davis (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Central Asia has long been situated at the geographical crossroads of East and West, once strategically located on the ancient Silk Road. The envy of the expanding Russian empire, it was colonized in the 19th century by Cossacks and traders from the north. This book examines how Central Asia, by then part of the Soviet Union, experienced population displacements on an even greater scale during the Second World War. Vicky Davis analyses how troops were sent westwards into action, only for waves of civilians to travel eastwards into the region: evacuees, refugees and even internal deportees sent into exile from their homelands in other parts of the vast Soviet Union. Central Asia in World War Two is the first book to tackle the subject of minorities fighting for the Soviet Union under Stalin in the Second World War. Based on meticulous archival research, it considers the interactions of the individual citizen and the Soviet state, weaving together the experiences of over three hundred ordinary men and women in Central Asia as they coped with their new roles on the front line or in the rear. Suffering incredible economic and physical hardship, racism and religious oppression, these mainly Muslim citizens were subjected to a forced process of Sovietization under the influence of Stalin's ubiquitous propaganda machine. Davis reveals how, while conscripts were all too often slaughtered or scapegoated in their regiments, the women and children left at home slaved in factories and communal farms to fuel the machinery of a war taking place thousands of kilometres away. She convincingly argues that the impact of forced assimilation, cultural indoctrination, anti-Semitism and re-education on the region were as great as the daily fight for survival in wartime. The legacy of the period is almost as complex, with struggles over the ownership and revision of history continuing even today."--

Book Synopsis

Central Asia has long been situated at the geographical crossroads of East and West, once strategically located on the ancient Silk Road. The envy of the expanding Russian empire, it was colonized in the 19th century by Cossacks and traders from the north. This book examines how Central Asia, by then part of the Soviet Union, experienced population displacements on an even greater scale during the Second World War. Vicky Davis analyses how troops were sent westwards into action, only for waves of civilians to travel eastwards into the region: evacuees, refugees and even internal deportees sent into exile from their homelands in other parts of the vast Soviet Union.

Central Asia in World War Two is the first book to tackle the subject of minorities fighting for the Soviet Union under Stalin in the Second World War. Based on meticulous archival research, it considers the interactions of the individual citizen and the Soviet state, weaving together the experiences of over three hundred ordinary men and women in Central Asia as they coped with their new roles on the front line or in the rear. Suffering incredible economic and physical hardship, racism and religious oppression, these mainly Muslim citizens were subjected to a forced process of Sovietization under the influence of Stalin's ubiquitous propaganda machine.

Davis reveals how, while conscripts were all too often slaughtered or scapegoated in their regiments, the women and children left at home slaved in factories and communal farms to fuel the machinery of a war taking place thousands of kilometres away. She convincingly argues that the impact of forced assimilation, cultural indoctrination, anti-Semitism and re-education on the region were as great as the daily fight for survival in wartime. The legacy of the period is almost as complex, with struggles over the ownership and revision of history continuing even today.

Review Quotes

"A brilliant account of the war's impact on the inhabitants of a region seemingly separated by thousands of miles from the frontlines of the Russian-German conflict." --Hiperboreea

"A unique book that offers new data on a lesser-studied Central Asian republic. . . written in engaging prose, connects pre- and postwar themes, and is, hence, a valuable resource for non-history majors to learn about Soviet history "from below" through the experiences of (often marginalized) individuals." --The Russian Review

"Central Asia in World War Two makes a persuasive case for viewing the region as central to our understanding of the war. Using impressive archival research, Vicky Davis allows the voices of dozens of Central Asians to tell their own stories. An impressive achievement." --Stephen Norris, Professor of History, Miami University, USA

About the Author

Vicky Davis is an independent scholar, writer and linguist with a professional background in international education. She holds a doctorate in Russian social history from University College London and has travelled widely in the republics of the former Soviet Union. Her research interests focus largely on wartime propaganda, remembrance of the Second World War and the politicization of memorial practices. Her previous book is Myth Making in the Soviet Union and Modern Russia: Remembering World War II in Brezhnev's Hero City (2017).