中國大饑荒與列寧格勒圍城饑荒之比較

A Comparison of the Chinese Great Famine and the Leningrad Siege Famine

1957年11月，蘇聯領導人赫魯雪夫在莫斯科共產黨和工人黨代表會議上，提出蘇聯要在15年內超出美國，赫魯雪夫的發言激勵了中共領導人毛澤東，於是毛澤東提出15年後鋼產量蘇聯超過美國，中國超過英國，「超英趕美」成為大躍進的目標與口號。隨著大躍進的推進，全國性的大饑荒接踵而至。
將時間往回推，1941年9月8日到1944年1月2日在蘇聯的列寧格勒也發生一場饑荒，與中國的饑荒不同，列寧格勒的饑荒並非因人為的政策所導致，而是源自二戰中德國對蘇聯的戰役。1941年6月22日德軍攻破蘇聯西部軍事防線，並在9月8日對列寧格勒實施封鎖，將近900天的圍城，德軍的轟炸以及城內糧食的不足，造成嚴重的饑荒。
無論是中國的大躍進或是德國與蘇聯的列寧格勒圍城都造成了饑荒。饑荒時，人們攝取的食物不足以應付日常所需的能量，逐漸瘦弱並產生疾病，最終因長期的饑荒造成大量人口死亡。本文欲探討中國大饑荒與列寧格勒圍城的饑荒下，兩者因饑荒而產生的疾病與救治有何異同之處。前者是處於和平時期的饑荒，後者是戰爭時期下的饑荒，兩者立基的條件不同，所產生的疾病與救治，也會因所處的地理環境，政策導向以及人們的自救方式而有異同之處。

In November 1957, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev announced at a Communist and Workers' Party conference in Moscow that the Soviet Union would surpass the United States within 15 years. His speech greatly inspired Mao Zedong, who then proposed that within the same timeframe, China’s steel production should surpass the United Kingdom’s while the Soviet Union overtook the U.S. This idea turned into the slogan“Surpass Britain, Catch Up with America,”becoming the main goal of the Great Leap Forward. However, due to overly optimistic projections and unrealistic policies, the movement led to disastrous consequences—including a nationwide famine.
Looking further back, from September 8, 1941, to January 2, 1944, another devastating famine struck Leningrad in the Soviet Union. Unlike China’s famine, which was caused by flawed policies, the Leningrad famine was a result of war. On June 22, 1941, German forces broke through the Soviet Union’s western defenses, and by September 8, they had completely surrounded Leningrad. The city was trapped under siege for nearly 900 days, with relentless bombings and severe food shortages leading to mass starvation.
Both the Great Leap Forward famine in China and the Siege of Leningrad during World War II led to enormous suffering and loss of life. When famine strikes, people don’t get enough food to sustain their bodies, leading to malnutrition, disease, and eventually widespread death. This paper explores how the two famines shaped public health—what kinds of diseases emerged and how people tried to treat them. One happened in peacetime, the other in wartime, which meant the circumstances were very different. Geographic factors, government responses, and how people tried to survive all influenced the types of illnesses that appeared and how they were handled.