Battle of Stalingrad the battle a watershed moment. At the time, the global significance of the battle was not in doubt. Writing in his diary on 1 January 1943, British General Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff, reflected on the change in the position from a year before: At this point, the British had won the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942. However, there were only about 50,000 German soldiers at El Alamein in Egypt, while at Stalingrad 200,000 Germans had been lost. Regardless of the strategic implications, there is little doubt about Stalingrad's symbolism. Germany's defeat shattered its reputation
Stalingrad Madonna infant Jesus close to her cheek. On the right border are the words "Licht, Leben, Liebe" ("Light, Life, Love"), from the Gospel of John. On the left, Reuber wrote "Weihnachten im Kessel 1942" ("Christmas at the Siege 1942") and at the bottom "Festung Stalingrad" ("Fortress Stalingrad"). "Kessel" ("Cauldron"), is the German term for an encircled military area, and Fortress Stalingrad was the label for the encircled army promoted in the Nazi press. The picture was drawn by Lieutenant Kurt Reuber, a German staff physician and Protestant pastor, in December 1942 during the Battle of Stalingrad. Reuber wrote: I wondered for