<P> During the invasion of the Soviet Union in the early months of the war, rapid German advances almost captured the cities of Moscow and Leningrad . The bulk of Soviet industry which could not be evacuated was either destroyed or lost due to German occupation . Agricultural production was interrupted, with grain crops left standing in the fields . This caused hunger reminiscent of the early 1930s . In one of the greatest feats of war logistics, factories were evacuated on an enormous scale, with 1,523 factories dismantled and shipped eastwards along four principal routes to the Caucasus, Central Asia, the Ural, and Siberia . In general, the tools, dies and production technology were moved, along with the blueprints and their management, engineering staffs and skilled labor . </P> <P> The whole of the Soviet Union become dedicated to the war effort . The people of the Soviet Union were probably better prepared than any other nation involved in World War II to endure the material hardships of the war--primarily because they were so used to shortages and economic crisis in the past, especially during wartime--World War I had brought similar restrictions on food . Conditions were nevertheless severe . World War II was especially devastating to citizens of the USSR because it was fought on Soviet territory and caused massive destruction . In Leningrad, under German siege, over a million people died of starvation and disease . Many factory workers were teenagers, women and old people . </P> <P> The government implemented rationing in 1941 and first applied it to bread, flour, cereal, pasta, butter, margarine, vegetable oil, meat, fish, sugar and confectionery all across the country . The rations remained largely stable in other places during the war . Off - ration food was often so expensive that it could not add substantially to a citizen's food supply unless they were especially well - paid . Peasants received no rations and had to make do with any local resources they farmed themselves . Most rural peasants struggled and lived in unbearable poverty, but others sold their surplus food at a high price; a few became rouble millionaires, until a currency reform two years after the end of the war wiped out their wealth . </P> <P> Despite harsh conditions, the war led to a spike in Soviet nationalism and unity . Soviet propaganda toned down extreme Communist rhetoric of the past as the people now rallied to protect their Motherland against the evils of the German invaders . Ethnic minorities thought to be collaborators were forced into exile . Religion, which was previously shunned, became a part of a Communist Party propaganda campaign to mobilize religious people . </P>

What impact did ww2 have on the homefront