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The Female Soviet Fighter Ace Who Shattered Norms During WWII
A glimpse at the women who fought for the USSR
One of the reasons that communism had such a hard time spreading in the West is that it eschews traditional Western and Christian values. Such values are powerful tools used by state actors, religious organizations, and individuals alike, and thus they become ingrained in the fabric of societies. The Soviet Union had done away with many of these traditional values in pursuing something wholly new.
A prominent example of this fact was how the Soviet Union used women in combat far more than their Axis opponents. It is said that German soldiers were shocked to find women among the dead in a number of combat units during the war on the Eastern Front. Over 800,000 women served in the Soviet armed forces during the war, and some of these women became snipers, tankers, machine gunners, and fighter pilots. To the Germans who encountered these women in combat, it was confirmation that the Russians were backward barbarians who would send women to die in the place of men. For the women fighting for the Red Army, they believed they were upholding their mandate to Soviet society and doing their duty to the Motherland.
One of these women was young Lydia Litvyak. Litvyak had long been interested in aviation. She received her…
