The unwomanly face of war

It was a sombre start to 2018 with Nobel prize winning author, Svetlana Alexievich's first book The unwomanly face of war. It's a grim story - war on the Eastern Front during the Second World War through the memories of the Soviet women who fought and lived through it.

It is an amazing story of heroism. And a largely unknown one, for the story of these fighting women was largely suppressed under Soviet rule, their story was changed to a male perspective and their lives airbrushed out. There were female sappers who fought and died with their male comrades at Stalingrad, women fighter pilots, women who served in the navy, not just in the traditional roles that you might expect such as nurses or doctors, though many did serve in this capacity, but also in front line fighting roles. And this was usually suppressed in post-war society. Veterans were seen as male, and civilian reactions to ex-female military were often negative.

They fought bravely, and often in terrible conditions, some of which were due to the lack of recognition of their physical diffences. There are some shocking accounts, for example, of the lack of basic hygiene in relation to the menstrual cycle.

There is much in Alexievich's interviews that is truly horrifying including the sheer brutality of the war in Eastern Europe. A salutary lesson in the horror that can result when people see other people as less than human.

It is also desperately sad that these women, most of whom are now dead, received relatively little recognition at the time, although some, such as legendary sniper, Roza Shanina, photographed above, were honoured. Many though were at best forgotten post-war, while some were treated shamefully. Partners captured earlier in the war by the Germans were sometimes condemned to the Gulag upon liberation leaving their families in limbo. Other women, whose health had been ruined by their wartime sufferings received little help or sympathy.

Alexievich, as ever, does what she does best. She listens, and then build an incredible collage of interviews, interweaving memories, and presenting different points of view seamlessly against each other.

This isn't an easy book to read. In some ways it reminded me of the recently reviewed The things they carried, brutally honest, beautifully written, and completely unforgettable. There is much of horror in this book, but there is also incredible heroism, friendship and loyalty. It is both an examination of the darkest side of the human soul, and what can be the very best of being human.