When the 900-day siege of Leningrad was finally lifted and the Germans retreated from the advancing Red Army, Leningrad was revered as a "heroic city" by the majority of Russians. A city that Hitler thought would fall like a leaf that resisted cold, deadly winters and limited supplies. But what many didn't know were the city's darkest secrets to survival, namely the illegal consumption of human flesh. Within the walls of Leningrad, moral and legal questions came to light daily regarding the cure for hunger provided by cannibalism, methods of dealing with murderous cannibals, and the legal prosecution of active cannibals while maintaining a certain level of secrecy so as not to taint the reputation of the city. In September 1941, under the orders of Adolf Hitler and Operation Barbarossa, the Germans completed the encirclement of Leningrad, or what is now known as St. Petersburg. The idea was to bring the city to its knees using as few resources as possible and continue Operation Barbarossa, or the invasion of Soviet Russia. The day Leningrad was surrounded by the Germans and their Finnish allies was the first day of this unsuccessful 900-day siege, a siege that would cause the greatest desperation of World War II and the corresponding deaths of between 400,000 and 800,000 people. The only route for evacuees or supplies was the frozen Lake Ladoga, which was constantly bombed by the Germans: 1 in 4 trucks crossing this frozen route fell through the ice and killed those on board. The city was supplied with about 1/3 of what it needed for coal, 1/12 of what it needed for sugar, and meat was a rarity. As the days passed and the siege dragged on, hunger drove out the remaining i...... middle of paper ......nt.Panfilenko. Report on cannibalism. February 21, 1942. Official report. Leningrad."The 900-day siege of Leningrad, Russia (the blockade of Leningrad)." Travel and event guide for St. Petersburg, Russia. 2001. Network. 02 November 2010. "The Siege of Leningrad, 1941-1944." Eyewitness to history: history through the eyes of those who lived it. 2006. Network. October 31, 2010. The Siege of Leningrad: The Deadliest Blockade of World War II. Voice of Russia. Network. October 31, 2010. Trueman, Chris. "The Siege of Leningrad." Site for learning history. 2008. Network. 02 November 2010..Syrek, Bret. Cooking with children. 1st ed. vol. 2. Leningrad: Syrek, 1000. Print. Ser. 16.