Vasily Zaytsev and The Use of Propaganda
A significant factor of the Battle of Stalingrad was the use of propaganda, with so many people dying, morale was always in need of a boost. Both sides encouraged their men while trying anything possible to discourage the enemy side. Due to the constant change of morale on both sides, snipers played a key role, not only in eliminating important enemies such as officers, but the amount of kills they racked up in the destroyed city was enough to raise one side’s hope. Vasily Zaytsev was a famous Soviet sniper that earned 467 confirmed kills, this young man was only trying to help the Soviets, but he was publicly displayed to raise morale to civilians and soldiers alike. Newspapers and a kill count were based around the man who quickly turned from enlisted soldier, to a hero. The Germans were not happy with the Soviet’s sense of hope and sent over Erwin König, one of their top snipers to eliminate the threat. Vasily killed General König and was given the rank of Hero of the Soviet Union before suffering the loss of sight in his eye from a mortar. He then returned to the front and finished the war in Seelow Heights in Germany with the military rank of Captain. The story of Vasily Zaytsev shows how important morale and propaganda was during the battle in the city reduced to rubble.
Summary
Propaganda and the use of snipers were both very significant during the Battle of Stalingrad. It is safe to say that snipers like Vasily Zaystev had a major impact during this battle.