Editing Boris Pasternak (section)

=== World War II ===
When the [[Luftwaffe]] began bombing Moscow, Pasternak immediately began to serve as a fire warden on the roof of the writer's building on Lavrushinski Street. According to Ivinskaya, he repeatedly helped to dispose of German bombs which fell on it.<ref name="Ivin72">[[#Ivinskaya|Ivinskaya]], pp. 72–73.</ref>

In 1943, Pasternak was finally granted permission to visit the soldiers at the front. He bore it well, considering the hardships of the journey (he had a weak leg from an old injury), and he wanted to go to the most dangerous places. He read his poetry and talked extensively with the active and injured troops.<ref name="Ivin72"/>

Pasternak later said, {{qi|If, in a bad dream, we had seen all the horrors in store for us after the war, we should not have been sorry to see Stalin fall, together with [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]. Then, an end to the war in favour of our [[Allies of World War II|allies]], civilized countries with democratic traditions, would have meant a hundred times less suffering for our people than that which Stalin again inflicted on it after his victory.}}<ref>[[#Ivinskaya|Ivinskaya]], p. 80.</ref>