Lend Lease- or what did Stalin need to crush the evil nazis

[Timppa]

I stumbled into this:
[Complete List of Lend Lease to Russia including atomic materials

Some highlights:

Item- quantity-cost in dollars

Safety razors 237 doz. 2,383.
Safety razor blades 857 c. 1,290.
Cutlery, butchers kitchens 34 doz. 500.
Cutlery, knives, shears 3,648 39,343.
Cutlery parts, n.e.s. --- 68,295
Paper, toilet 92 lbs. 1l.
Lavatory sinks, fixtures, n.e.s. 6,352.
Lipsticks 400.
Penholders, n.e.s. --- 242.
Bathtubs, iron, steel enameled 1O 580.
Artwork, antique, etc. --- l00.
Stereopticons, magic lanterns, etc, --- l61,046.
Jewelry, men's except metal 26
Jewelry findings, parts, material 311,695
Household personal effects 86,646
Pianos, new 2 530.
Alchohols, n.e.s. 701,408,317 lbs. 94,941,346

 

[vikingBerserker]

Pianos??????

 

[Airframes]

Look at the booze bill !!

 

[davebender]

After 1941 practically the entire Red Army boot supply was made in USA. Without them Soviets would have been done for as soon as cold weather arrived.

 

[vikingBerserker]

It's the small things nobody thinks about that could ground an army to halt.

 

[GrauGeist]

It's the small things nobody thinks about that could ground an army to halt.

Yeah...without those lipsticks, Hitler would have rolled through the Red Army like a hot knife through butter!

 

[parsifal]

Everything, even the lipstick, makes sense to me. none of it was directly critical to the Soviet, yet together all of it was. Even the boots, mentioned above, could have been made domestically, (and actually they were, and the fur lined Valenki were not made in the US), but for every man or square foot of factory space diverted to making lipstick, thre was one less PPSH machine gun and some fewer soldiers put into the field.

The Soviets achieved the highest percentage of men drafted of any nation. They achieved that by a number of means. These included the most extensive use of wome in industry of any natiuon, the ruthless direction of the entire economy for just one purpose, and the massive foreign aid that enabled huge numbers of workers and work space to be released for other things.


Wars are not just won by guns or tanks alone. you need people to use them, and for your people to work optimally, you need to a degree to provide for their human needs. There is is only so much grass you can use to wipe your bum before you start to get a painful rash, you need something softer and better to reduce your sick rates,and keep people somewhat happier. Thats what the toilet paper, the pianos, the lipstick and all those other things did for the Russians. It helped to maintain their humanity. Without it they might not have been able to ask of their people all that they did.