Sexual instinct, adultery and the German-Soviet War

Abstract

The purpose of the work, based on the memoirs of Red Army soldiers, is to reveal the influence of sexual instinct on the intimate behavior of soldiers during the war, to show how they solved this issue and sought to explain adultery for themselves. The author tries to look at this problem not from the perspective of moral, cultural, religious or social norms, but from the biological human need for intimate life, which is significantly complicated for men and women during the war, especially those who lived it regularly, primarily married people. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the still little-studied issue of the influence of the German-Soviet war on the sexual instinct of men and women at the front, its possible threat to married couples and the efforts of representatives of both sexes to satisfy the natural need for sex. To define the scientific goal, interdisciplinary and comprehensive scientific approaches were used, which made it possible to explain the relevant actions of people, analyze scientific sources, and make a certain contribution to the historical anthropology of military experience. A number of general scientific methods were also applied to historical analysis, comparison, synthesis, systematization, objectivity, everyday history and microhistory. From the analyzed material, it can be concluded that the German-Soviet war initially significantly influenced the sexual instinct, suppressing it in the military. But over time, when they adapted to the extremes of war, the biological need for intimate life in many made itself felt. Faced with this, some military personnel resorted to fleeting sexual contacts to satisfy it. The sexual instinct became one of the main reasons for marital infidelity in the rear and at the front and the breakup of families. However, the memoirs of front-line soldiers indicate that many men and women managed to control their own sexual desire, for some it was suppressed by the war with its constant stressful situations, some did not betray their family principles, and some continued to adhere to cultural and religious views on this issue.