Zinc boys

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Zinkjungen ( Russian Цинковые мальчики ) is a Russian documentary novel by the Belarusian author Swetlana Alexijewitsch , which was first published in Minsk in1989and was published in German in 1992. The book is about the Afghan war , the " Soviet Vietnam ". The author interviewed soldiers, nurses and mothers, among others. It provides harrowing insights into the realities of the war and sheds light on the history of the final years of Soviet power , which was finally undermined by this war. She describes the endless grief of the “zinc boys” mothers, their desire to learn the truth about how and what their sonsfought and diedfor in Afghanistan . While the Soviet Union was talking about a "peace mission", the dead were brought home in welded zinc coffins . From 1979 to 1989, Soviet troops waged a devastating war in Afghanistan that left thousands of victims on both sides. Svetlana Alexievich interweaves her stories and tries to reveal the truth of the Soviet-Afghan conflict. When Zinc Boys was first released in the USSR in1991, it sparked a great deal of controversy. The work has been translated into numerous languages.

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In addition to "usual" war-related topics - battle reports , fear of being deployed, longing for home, war trauma - zinc boys also deal with issues that are especially important for this war. These are:

Voluntary use

The issue of voluntariness appears in two forms. For one thing, young Russians actually volunteered to fight for their homeland and communism. On the other hand, however, it is reported that some of the voluntary activities only existed on paper. A lieutenant reported:

“Of all those who were summoned, one refused. He was fetched three times. 'Do you mind if we send you abroad?' ,Yes I have.' That was not to be envied. He was reprimanded immediately, his reputation as an officer has been cracked, and promotions are over once and for all. He had refused for health reasons, gastritis or stomach ulcer, or what I know, it doesn't matter, if you were asked you had to drive. The lists were already written. "

Corruption and smuggling

Corruption began in the Soviet Union. One mother reports that she could have ransomed her son for a thousand rubles, but did not do so because she knew that another mother's son would have had to go to war in his place.

In Afghanistan itself, the soldiers were poorly supplied. That is why everything from tin cans to clothing and medals to cartridges or whole weapons was exchanged for schnapps, food or music systems in small shops called dukans in Afghan traders.

The ubiquitous smuggling is also often mentioned. In addition to their wages, the soldiers stationed in Afghanistan received so-called “checks”, foreign currency with which they could buy things that were not available in the Soviet Union. In addition to this private smuggling, smuggling also took place on a larger scale. A lieutenant asks, “Who tells you that drugs were smuggled out in coffins? Or furs? Instead of corpses. "

Recognition of the veterans

An unnamed tank gunner reports on the situation and the recognition of the soldiers after the war: “Formally we are on an equal footing with the participants in the Great Patriotic War , but they defended the homeland, and we? We are something like the Germans, someone once said to me. "While the soldiers of the Second World War were seen as defenders of the fatherland, this was not the case for the participants in the Afghan war, which is also reflected in the names of the soldiers as" Afghans " , as something alien, is reflected.

Their struggle for communism, a formally undoubtedly noble goal in the Soviet Union, was not seen as equally valuable or useful in practice. The “Afghans” were also not given apartments promised before the war. Instead, it is reported in several places that when the soldiers asked, the responsible authorities said that they had made no promises or that the “Afghans” had voluntarily taken part in the war.

The tank gunner continues: “In ten years, when we are finally finished - from jaundice, malaria, war trauma - they will shake us off ... At work, at home. They will no longer put us in the praesidia. We will all be a burden ... "

In addition, the war in Afghanistan was still seen as a “political error” during the Soviet Union - among other things because it ended in defeat - which not only made it difficult to recognize the veterans, but also the entire war, with the loss of limbs and comrades when made seem pointless.

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References and footnotes

  1. ↑ Zinkowyje maltschiki , transcribed in English Tsinkovye malchiki; scientific transliteration Cinkovye mal'čiki ; engl. Boys in Zinc
  2. ^ Boys in Zinc, Series: Penguin Modern Classics
  3. ↑ spiegel.de 1992: excerpt