Mamontov`s gallery presents a unique collection of satirical works made by outstanding Soviet graphics and artists of the 20th century – masters of political satire known under the pseudonym «Kukriniksy». These works were brought from Mamontov`s collection, which is one of the largest private collections of...

There was no transport in the city, so we put on everything we could and struggled out to Mayakovskaya Street where our “miracle” was waiting for us. A smiling woman of small stature, clean, in a white apron, opened the door. We couldn’t believe it was not a dream. In the centre of a big room there was a stove with something boiling in a pan. It was...

Studies continued in the faculty though they were taught not in the usual lecture-rooms but on the ground floor or in the cellar, in classrooms fitted out in a hurry. Outstanding Soviet historians lectured, administered exams and tests in a cold room at temperatures below zero. But the strength of both students and professors was dwindling with every passing day.

Lance Corporal Allan Robinson of 6th (NZ) Field Ambulance began his service in Greece in March 1941 before being evacuated to Crete in May. Here he describes a German attack on the 6th Field Ambulance Main Dressing Station and how patients and staff were taken prisoner and then were made to act as human shields between the Germans and the Allied troops,...

The cost of the Battle for Crete was high for both sides. Total casualties among Commonwealth forces were 15,743, of whom 1751 were killed or died of wounds. Of the 7700 New Zealanders involved in the battle, 671 were killed – a fatality rate of nearly 9% – while another 2180 were taken prisoner. In naval operations around Crete the Royal Navy lost...

As dawn broke the Germans discovered, to their delight, that the New Zealanders had withdrawn from the airfield and the vital heights of Point 107. They wasted no time in taking advantage of this. With the airfield still under artillery fire, the first transport planes began lumbering in that afternoon, carrying much needed reinforcements (a battalion...

The Battle for Crete was one of the most dramatic battles of the Second World War. Over 12 days in May 1941 a mixed force of New Zealanders, British, Australian and Greek troops desperately tried to fight off a huge German airborne assault. Despite suffering appalling casualties, the parachutists and glider-borne troops who led the invasion managed to...

The invasion began in Auckland on 12 June 1942 as five transport ships carrying ‘doughboys’ of the US Army sailed into the harbour. Two days later Marines landed in Wellington. They had arrived as a result of the outbreak of war in the Pacific six months before. From the New Zealand perspective the Americans strengthened New Zealand’s defences against...

I already wrote you that you should wait for me, but do not expect me soon. The end of the War is far off, and, of course, I will not return soon. I’ve got so used to the War that bombings, artillery fire, mortar and machine-gun fire have already ceased to astonish me.

Now I often hear here, in Totma, the saying: “The War will write off everything”. It is said by people of different professions, ages and with reference to all life situations. The War will write off treason, the War will write off the unfit work of a school, the War, in short, will write off everything. And this is so horrible—the War in particular...

Again and again I reread your letters. From some letters I can see that you behave like a brick, but on others traces of your tears can be seen. You shouldn’t grieve, my darling. Remember that millions of people are suffering now, and you and I are far from being the most unhappy.

So despite all the fear, together with these sad things that had happened. we saw yet another Christmas and were lucky to be safe and sound and altogether especially as my father managed to get home on leave from the Navy. Everyone’s hopes and dreams were relying on the New Year when we were desperately hoping that it would bring peace and freedom.

I often look toward you—to the West. You, Dad, Leningrad... The heart has so pined for everything and everybody. But you do not worry about me and do not be upset—to this depression could be added many other anguishes—I do understand this, and I will manage.

World War II was not only the greatest military conflict in history, it was also America's most important twentieth-century war. It brought profound and permanent social, governmental and cultural changes in the United States, and has had a great impact on how Americans regard themselves and their country's...