September 8 - Day of Remembrance of Victims of Siege of Leningrad

80 years ago, on September 8, 1941, the enemy captured the city of Shlisselburg, completely cutting off land communications with Leningrad. The blockade ring around the city closed. For almost 900 days, the Nazi International - and German, Finnish, Spanish troops, Italians, volunteers from the North took part in the siege of Leningrad - tried to destroy the city, its inhabitants and defenders.
According to their calculations, Leningrad was to be wiped off the face of the earth - from September 4, began shelling, from September 8 - massive air raids, and the population would die of hunger and cold. "It will be very difficult to feed the Great Russian Leningrad," said Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture Gerhard Bakke a month before the German attack on the Soviet Union on May 23, 1941. "Leningrad must die of starvation," - in September, at a meeting at Hitler's headquarters, Quartermaster General of the Wehrmacht Ground Forces Wagner completely dotted the "i" s.
The fact that the Nazis were not going to feed the population of the occupied cities is evidenced by the fate of the famous historical centers of the Leningrad region, Pushkin and Pavlovsk. In the city of Pushkin, half of the population - 18 thousand people - died during the two years of occupation. Of these, 9 thousand died of hunger, 7 thousand were shot and hanged, and only 285 died due to bombing and hostilities. Almost half of the population of Pavlovsk also starved to death.
But already the first months of the blockade showed that not only the inhabitants of the city, but the whole country will defend Leningrad at all costs. Leningraders built a total of 22,000 firing points, 2,300 command and observation posts, 15,000 bunkers and bunkers, 35 kilometers of barricades, and 626 kilometers of anti-tank ditches were dug. Almost 300 thousand Leningraders took part in the local air defense units. And 150 thousand shells, 107 thousand incendiary and high-explosive bombs dropped on the city during the blockade did not break the resistance of its defenders. All enemy attempts to force Leningrad to capitulate and
starve it to death failed. For the massive heroism and courage shown by the defenders of besieged Leningrad, the city was awarded the highest degree of distinction - the title of Hero City.