All around Azerbaijan celebrations were held on May 9 on the occasion of Victory Day which celebrates the capitulation of the German forces on May 8, 1945 during WWII. This year marks the 72nd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany.
Heroes of the War were remembered at the Memorial of Military Glory in Baku where the military orchestra performed a concert.
Azerbaijan participated in War War II as a member of the Soviet Union. During the war, the main contribution of Azerbaijan came in the form of oil and military personnel.
Back then, Azerbaijan was producing around
three-quarters
of the Soviet Union’s oil in addition to as much as 85-90 % of its gasoline.
After invading the Soviet Union, Hitler was determined to reach Baku and its oil resources. “Unless we get the Baky oil, the war is lost”, historical sources reported Hitler as saying.
The operational plan for the assault of the Caucasus was called “Edelweiss”. In order to reach his goal, Hitler diverted part of the German army away from the battle for Stalingrad and directed it to the South. Eventually, the Stalingrad defeat prevented Germany from invading the South Caucasus.
However, the Azerbaijani industry severely suffered from the war. In fact, in order to prevent it from falling into German hands, the oil industry was moved to oil wells located in the Urals and in the Volga region.
Around
700,000
soldiers were recruited into the Soviet Army from Azerbaijan, 10.000 of which were women. Of these, an estimated 400,000 perished. Although figures differs, it is estimated that in those years as a result of the war more than 500,000 Azerbaijanis died. The Azerbaijani population decreased from 3.27 million to 2.73
million
.
128 citizens of Azerbaijan received the title of Hero of the
Soviet Union
.
Victory Day was first established in 1945. After gaining independence, Azerbaijan, like many former Soviet states, continued the tradition.
