Post World War II, veterans came home to a bleak reality. The economy was in ruins which meant there was no work available. Veterans numbered almost 11 million by the end of the war, with the Army discharging 8.5 million veterans, many regions of the Soviet Union saw unemployment rise to almost 50%.
The Story of a Real Man by Boris Polevoi is a story about a russian pilot in World War II that gets shot down and injured and has to limp back to base. It uses imagery to show the reality of veterans after World War II. In it the pilot finds himself walking through the aftermath of a battle in the Black Forest. I find this a metaphor showing veterans’ reality in the Soviet Union after the war, they are unemployed, some injured with no help from the government. According to 17 Moments “the Soviet Army demobilized 8.5 million veterans over the next three years, starting with the oldest, … An economy in ruins had little work for them, and in many regions unemployment reached fifty percent, … veterans had nowhere to live, and moved into zemlianki, huts dug into the earth, which they might have remembered from the front” (Von Geldern). This story resonated with me because it, combined with the piece from 17 moments, shows strong imagery of veterans’ reality post war.
Von Geldern, J. (2015, October 07). Veteran’s Return. Retrieved November 4, 2018, from http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1947-2/veterans-return/