Stalingrad and the Death of the West

by Martin Kerr

SOMETIMES A MOMENTOUS event occurs whose significance is not recognized at the time but only becomes apparent later. So it was with the surrender of the last German defenders of the Stalingrad pocket on Feb. 2, 1943. At the time, every observer understood that it was a fatal turning point in the Second World War — after Stalingrad, a German victory by the force of arms was impossible. All the Soviets and the Allies had to do was to ignore their casualties and grind through to the finish.