WORKS OF S. I.-Ya. BOROVOGY ON THE HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Abstract

The published and unpublished scientific and journalistic works on the history of the World War II by the Odessa historian S. I.-Ya. Borovoy are considered in the article. An attempt was made to objectively analyze the data of scientific works, their significance for studying the history of the World War II, to identify positive and negative sides in them in the context of the development of Soviet historical science, to understand their historiographic and methodological value, influence on modern historical science and the current perception of the events of the World War II. The result of the active participation of S. I.-Ya. Borovoy in the scientific and organizational work on the study of the history of the World War II was the publication of his works, which were defined as a task of national importance, as evidenced by the fact that the work of the scientist was carried out on the basis of a special government decision to create Commissions on the history of the Great Patriotic War at the union, republican, regional and district levels with the support of the relevant levels of the Communist Party, which determined their activities political and ideological orientation. His first articles were written on the basis of collected materials, documents, testimonies of eyewitnesses and participants in the events. The content of these articles was aimed at raising the mass consciousness of society, which contributed to the manifestation of the patriotic spirit in the course of a fierce confrontation, the willingness to endure everyday hardships in order to protect the country, to sacrifice personal interests in the name of preserving and strengthening statehood. Particular attention was paid to the heroic struggle of the Soviet people at the front, in the ranks of the partisan movement, and selfless labor in the rear. The decisive importance of the activities of the Communist Party as a leading, inspiring force was constantly emphasized, which led to the formation of the fundamental ideological orientation of the Soviet era. The vices of ideological content in the works of S. I.-Ya. Borovoy were caused by the political situation that took place in the life of Soviet society, in particular in the studies of historians.