Russia's War: Blood Upon the Snow

Episode 5: The Fight from Within

June 17, 1996 • 520 min

In the Nazi-captured regions of Russia, the life of villagers went from bad to worse. In this fifth episode of the series, first shown on PBS, the initial optimism of peasants quickly dissipated when Hitler's forces began to display their utter disdain of Soviet citizens. It reveals the role of the Partisan resistance movement, whose first efforts were not sanctioned by Stalin. As their numbers grew, Stalin gave them support, and increased their power, ordering them to kill anyone suspected of disloyalty.