Podcast Summary: "Acontece que no es poco | Comienza el fin del cerco de Leningrado. Horror y canibalismo"

Podcast: Todo Concostrina
Host: Nieves Concostrina, SER Podcast
Date: January 18, 2024

Main Theme

The episode dives into the horrors of the Siege of Leningrado during World War II, exploring its historical brutality, the suffering endured by the city's inhabitants, the context of Nazi and Soviet leadership, the cultural resonance of Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony, and haunting testimonies of human endurance in the face of starvation, mass death, and even cannibalism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Introduction: Setting the Historical Scene [00:30–01:44]

• The hosts establish the gravity of discussing a "superlative example" of the disasters caused by war, preluding the historical recount with music connected to the episode's theme.
• Nieves Concostrina notes:

  “Esto suena guerra, esto suena a muerte, esto suena a destrucción, a horror. Y todo eso fue el sitio de Leningrado. El cerco más largo que sufrió una ciudad en la Segunda Guerra Mundial.” [01:31]

2. The Siege: Timeline, Resistance, and Suffering [01:45–05:12]

• The siege began to lift on January 18, 1943, with full liberation in January 1944, after nearly 900 days—one of the longest sieges in modern history.
• The Nazi objective was not just conquest but annihilation:

  “Es imposible transmitir los horrores que provocaron los nazis en la ciudad de Leningrado y el precio que pagaron los soviéticos por resistir un bloqueo, se dice pronto, durante 800 y pico días, casi 900, es mucho más horroroso de lo que nadie pueda imaginar.” [01:49]

• Stalin is described as “el genocida en casa,” paralleling Hitler’s cruelty.

Memorable Quote

• Nieves:

  “Los soviéticos sufrieron lo más grande en aquella guerra. Por un lado Hitler, que era un genocida invasor, y por otro lado Stalin, que era el genocida en casa.” [03:49]

3. Human Cost: Famine, Death & Harsh Realities [04:14–06:33]

• It’s highlighted that most deaths were due to starvation and cold, not bombs:

  “En los meses más crudos se calcula que moría un promedio de 10.000 personas al día en los momentos más crudos del invierno.” [04:20]

• Population figures: Out of nearly 3 million trapped (including civilians and soldiers), around 2.5 million perished.
• Concostrina laments the lack of historical learning and advocates for a new approach:

  “Como no aprendemos nada de la historia, yo hasta quitaría la asignatura. Yo pondría en su lugar otra que se llame simplemente ‘guerras’... Habría que conocer con toda su crudeza lo que suponen las guerras.” [05:15]

4. Motives of Hitler and Stalin, and the Strategic Context [06:33–09:45]

• Hitler’s vision: destroy Leningrado, cradle of Bolshevism, with genocide as the method ("aniquilar a sus habitantes").
• Discussion on why the siege lasted so long:
  • Nazi overconfidence in a swift victory (Operation Barbarossa).
  • Soviet resilience, even amid dire shortages, without proper leadership due to Stalin’s purges.
• A historical critique of military hubris:

  "Fíjate qué bonito es jugar a la guerra en los despachos. Haciendo cálculos, en cuatro meses hemos tomado... Habremos matado cinco millones..." [07:23]

5. Soviet Strategy: Human Waves and Callous Calculations [09:45–10:23]

• The hosts comment on the Soviet military tradition of overwhelming force, where "los muertos para ellos son números, nada más."
• Modern-day echoes connect Leningrado with the current conflict in Ukraine and the ethos of Russian warfare.

6. The Winter of Horror: Starvation, Cannibalism, and Survival [10:52–13:27]

• Details of the first winter: 30–40°C below zero, no food, no fuel—cannibalism became a grim reality, with documented cases and executions.
• Quoting a British journalist, Brian Moynahan, and his book "Leningrado: Asedio y Sinfonía," the episode recounts:

  “Cuando llegó la primavera del 42 y comenzó el deshielo en la ciudad, empezaron a aparecer piernas amputadas a las que habían cortado carne, cuerpos de mujeres sin los pechos. Los ciudadanos estaban comiendo entre ellos.” [11:13]

• Harrowing anecdote:

  “Una de las músicas... cuenta en el libro que un día llegó a su casa una vecina corriendo espantada. La estaba persiguiendo su marido para matarla y comérsela.” [13:20]

7. Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony: Art in the Midst of War [01:49, 13:34]

• The symphony was both a tool for political survival (Shostakovich and Stalin) and an emblem of resistance, composed and premiered amid the siege.
• Details of the premiere:
  • Famished musicians, some dying during rehearsals.
  • The performance took place with the few musicians left in Leningrad.

8. End of the Siege and the Human Story of Tania Savyscheva [13:34–15:39]

• The liberation came after a final offensive, but relief had begun a year prior via a dangerous supply route across a frozen lake, with high casualties among truck drivers and evacuees.
• Recognition of heartbreaking experiences:
  • The story of Tania Savyscheva, an 11-year-old who recorded the death of each family member by hunger in a diary, used as key evidence in the Nuremberg Trials.

  “La única muerte que no pudo registrar Tania fue la suya.” [14:56]

Notable Quotes & Moments

• “Es inabarcable. Yo no sé si... Como no aprendemos nada de la historia, yo hasta quitaría la asignatura.” (Nieves, 05:12)
• “No quedó una rata en la ciudad, ni perros, ni gatos, nada, nada, nada, nada.” (Nieves, 11:49)
• “Les encantaba porque Hitler quería aniquilar a sus habitantes y luego ya quedarse con el territorio, que es el mismo plan de Israel hoy…” [05:48]
• “Solo pudieron ensayar una vez porque no tenían fuerzas. ¿Algún músico murió durante aquel ensayo?” [12:15]
• “La estaba persiguiendo su marido para matarla y comérsela.” [13:24]

Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:30–01:44 – Intro, music, context for the Siege
• 01:45–05:12 – duration, scale of horror, Nazi and Soviet cruelty, opening of siege
• 05:13–06:33 – Why Hitler targeted Leningrad, city’s importance
• 06:33–09:45 – Nazi plans, Soviet unpreparedness, mass conscription, leadership purges
• 09:46–10:52 – Soviet tactics, modern parallels
• 10:52–13:27 – Starvation, cannibalism, first winter horrors, Moynahan’s testimony
• 13:34–14:06 – Shostakovich’s symphony and its context
• 14:07–15:39 – Liberation, supply route, story of Tania Savyscheva’s diary

Tone & Style

• Direct, vivid, unfiltered—Nieves Concostrina uses sharp critique, irony, and occasional dark humor while always respecting the gravity of the subject.
• The episode’s language is blunt (“genocida invasor”, “no quedó una rata en la ciudad”), bringing the listener unflinchingly close to the daily horror behind historical statistics.

Conclusion

This episode of "Todo Concostrina" is a gripping, unsparing retelling of one of the 20th century’s greatest tragedies, connecting history with art, personal survival stories, and ongoing lessons about war and human indifference. It ends on a powerful note, with a call to remember the cost of war through stories like those from Leningrado, lest society repeat its mistakes.