Thesis Chapters by Anya Free
This dissertation examines the history of the exhibition “Heroic Defense of Leningrad” (1943-45) ... more This dissertation examines the history of the exhibition “Heroic Defense of Leningrad” (1943-45) and its successor Museum of the Defense of Leningrad (1946-1953) in the context of the development of the war museum culture in the Soviet Union during the Second World War and the politics of war commemoration after its end. The museums constituted an important part of the war propaganda machine and were employed by the Soviet state to mobilize its population and to create an historical narrative of the war. In addition to the role of the central ideology, regional factors were as important in the creation of the war-themed displays, which I demonstrate by examining the war-themed exhibitions and museums in Kyiv, Minsk, and Moscow.
The Museum of the Defense of Leningrad represented distinctly local narratives of the siege, including starvation in the besieged city. The attack and closure of the museum represented yet another step in the unification of the central narratives of the war during Late Stalinism. The ideological tendency of late Stalinism was to downplay the official commemorations of the war, which resulted in the closure of the vast majority of war exhibitions and museums. Yet, the fate of each individual institution also depended on the local factors, including the client-patron relationships between Stalin and the regional leaders, and between the regional leaders and the museums. The Museum in Leningrad was purged along with its former patrons during the course of the Leningrad Affair. The closure of the museum and other attacks on the memory and commemoration of the siege traumatized its survivors, hindered historical scholarship, and contributed to the discourse of the city’s victimhood. In addition to the history of the institutions, this dissertation examines the biographical case studies of the museum’s organizers, who survived the siege, worked to commemorate it, and then faced the political terror of late Stalinism.
This dissertation examines the history of the exhibition "Heroic Defense of Leningrad" (1943-45) ... more This dissertation examines the history of the exhibition "Heroic Defense of Leningrad" (1943-45) and its successor Museum of the Defense of Leningrad (1946-1953) in the context of the development of the war museum culture in the Soviet Union during the Second World War and the politics of war commemoration after its end. The museums constituted an important part of the war propaganda machine and were employed by the Soviet state to mobilize its population and to create an historical narrative of the war. In addition to the role of the central ideology, regional factors were as important in the creation of the war-themed displays, which I demonstrate by examining the war-themed exhibitions and museums in Kyiv, Minsk, and Moscow. The Museum of the Defense of Leningrad represented distinctly local narratives of the siege, including starvation in the besieged city. The attack and closure of the museum represented yet another step in the unification of the central narratives of the war during Late Stalinism. The I would first like to thank my amazing committee, who were there for me throughout this whole process. My advisor David Biale was my first encounter at UC Davis and was always a part of my development as a scholar; during his incredibly insightful seminars as well as in editing my written work. My advisor Ian Campbell guided me through the program and this dissertation in all possible ways, facilitating my growth; always ready to answer both complex and mundane questions, helping whenever I was lost. Jenny Kaminer is an incredible inspiration to me; her insights into literary analysis and thorough edits of my drafts have been enormously useful. Charles Walker, my comprehensive exam committee member, has been influential in teaching me about memory studies and human rights. My dearest teacher Viktor Kelner ז׳׳ל not only taught me how to be a historian and always encouraged all of my academic endeavors, but was instrumental in getting this dissertation off the ground. I am indebted to the scholars who provided insightful feedback about my dissertation prospectus, first chapter's draft, and the overall goals of the project, assisting me in shaping its directions during its early stages:
Papers by Anya Free
The Eastern Front War, Myth, and Memory, 2025
The Second World War in Eastern Europe is far from a neglected topic, especially since social, cu... more The Second World War in Eastern Europe is far from a neglected topic, especially since social, cultural, and diplomatic historians have entered a field previously dominated by operational histories, and produced a cornucopia of new scholarship offering a more nuanced picture from both sides of the front. However, until now, the story has still been disjointed and specialized, whereby military, social, economic, and diplomatic histories continue to give their own separate accounts. This collection of essays attempts to bring these themes into a more cohesive whole that tells a complex, multifaceted story of war on the Eastern Front as it truly was. This is one of the few critical examinations that includes both perspectives and looks at the war as a multi-front effort. It also reveals how myths are created around military conflicts and have direct relevance to current developments in Europe, linking them to a broader discussion of the Second World War, its impact and utility today. It gives a historical dimension to pressing issues and will be of interest and relevance to history students, policymakers, political scientists, diplomats, and foreign policy experts. The Eastern Front will be a useful reference source, since some chapters rely on extensive new archival research and materials, ego sources, as well as extensive findings of non-Western scholars, thereby bringing their work to the attention of a broader audience.
Studia Rossica Posnaniensia, 2024
During World War II, Soviet museums constituted an important part of the war propaganda machine a... more During World War II, Soviet museums constituted an important part of the war propaganda machine and were used by the Soviet state to mobilize its population and to create a public historical narrative about the war. Staff at Soviet museums began organizing war-related patriotic exhibitions from the very first days of the German invasion in June 1941. This article focuses on two types of war-themed exhibitions and museums that were prominent in the Soviet urban spaces during the war and immediately after: trophy exhibitions and exhibitions and museums that focused on constructing historical narratives about the war. Among the main topics of the latter exhibitions were partisan resistance, German atrocities, and the central role of the Communist Party and Stalin personally. While the creators of these war museums adhered to the ideological frameworks and museum content plans developed by Moscow's professional ideologists, I demonstrate that local museum workers were able, to some extent, to deviate from centrally prescribed narratives and to engage their own agency and creativity, and that the extent of this deviation was largely defined by regional specifics and by individual efforts and local circumstances. The impact of regional differences in the narration of the war is especially evident in the comparison of the representation of the Holocaust in museums in Kyiv and Minsk. Finally, I demonstrate that local circumstances were a major factor in the fate of each museum after the end of the war.
Book Reviews by Anya Free
Reviewed by Anya Free (University of California, Davis) Published on H-Russia (January, 2023) Com... more Reviewed by Anya Free (University of California, Davis) Published on H-Russia (January, 2023) Commissioned by Oleksa Drachewych (Western University) Albert Kaganovitch's Exodus and Its Aftermath is a welcome contribution to the relatively limited field of wartime displacement in the USSR. Additionally, the book provides a fresh look at the history of Jewish people in the Soviet Union during World War II by examining the war's impact on Jewish refugees from the USSR's western regions to its east. Kaganovitch argues against "the myth about the unity of the population and the authorities during the war, which was built in the USSR for many decades," and demonstrates that "the majority of the locals of those eastern provinces responded negatively to the refugees" (pp. 10, 8). The hostility, argues Kaganovitch, was especially aggravated for the Jewish refugees due to widespread antisemitism. The book contains eight chapters. In the first chapter, the author gives a wide overview of wartime evacuation and deportation policies and statistics. Kaganovitch paints a broad picture of the mass movement of people, often disorganized and riddled by conflicting directions of various authorities. He demonstrates that the authorities, reluctant to organize an evacuation at the beginning of the war, were more inclined to assist the movement of refugees as the war protracted. While providing a comparative framework for the Jewish refugees, the main focus of Kaganovitch's book, the author's overview of various groups, including deported Kalmyks and Germans, organized evacuees from Moscow and Leningrad, and Jewish refugees from the annexed Polish territories, makes a confusing read.
Uploads
Thesis Chapters by Anya Free
The Museum of the Defense of Leningrad represented distinctly local narratives of the siege, including starvation in the besieged city. The attack and closure of the museum represented yet another step in the unification of the central narratives of the war during Late Stalinism. The ideological tendency of late Stalinism was to downplay the official commemorations of the war, which resulted in the closure of the vast majority of war exhibitions and museums. Yet, the fate of each individual institution also depended on the local factors, including the client-patron relationships between Stalin and the regional leaders, and between the regional leaders and the museums. The Museum in Leningrad was purged along with its former patrons during the course of the Leningrad Affair. The closure of the museum and other attacks on the memory and commemoration of the siege traumatized its survivors, hindered historical scholarship, and contributed to the discourse of the city’s victimhood. In addition to the history of the institutions, this dissertation examines the biographical case studies of the museum’s organizers, who survived the siege, worked to commemorate it, and then faced the political terror of late Stalinism.
Papers by Anya Free
Book Reviews by Anya Free
The Museum of the Defense of Leningrad represented distinctly local narratives of the siege, including starvation in the besieged city. The attack and closure of the museum represented yet another step in the unification of the central narratives of the war during Late Stalinism. The ideological tendency of late Stalinism was to downplay the official commemorations of the war, which resulted in the closure of the vast majority of war exhibitions and museums. Yet, the fate of each individual institution also depended on the local factors, including the client-patron relationships between Stalin and the regional leaders, and between the regional leaders and the museums. The Museum in Leningrad was purged along with its former patrons during the course of the Leningrad Affair. The closure of the museum and other attacks on the memory and commemoration of the siege traumatized its survivors, hindered historical scholarship, and contributed to the discourse of the city’s victimhood. In addition to the history of the institutions, this dissertation examines the biographical case studies of the museum’s organizers, who survived the siege, worked to commemorate it, and then faced the political terror of late Stalinism.