You Keep Making Mistakes Winston

On the eve of the 73rd anniversary of the end of the Second World War, historians around the world have noted an increasing number of distortions in the details of the war and a reassessment of its results. Unfortunately, the reevaluation of the results of the Second World War is the work of our European and American colleagues. And this is done in the general political outline of the information counteraction to Russian propaganda. However, the main drama and tragedy of the 20th century can not be an instrument of manipulation and justification of modern nationalism.

Historians easily cite examples of such falsifications. For example, allegedly Germany attacked the USSR as a preventive measure, since the Soviet Union could attack first. Independent experts note that it is evident from the disclosed German archives that the Barbarossa plan was developed without regard for such an option.

Another object for falsification is the role of Lend-Lease in the victory of the Red Army. Historians note two extremes in assessing this issue. During Soviet times, it was stressed that the weapons, fuel, products sent were just a few percent of Soviet equipment and resources. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, on the contrary, they began to say that without the help of the West, the war would not have been won.

There is also a reassessment of the actions of Soviet troops in Eastern Europe. Independent historians call one of the most effective information speculations on the theme of World War II – the myth of millions of rapes in Germany. Some historians admit that some cases of violence by the Red Army might have been, but not on such a scale as to be confused in Europe and the US. Most importantly, the cases of violence in the war were seen in the Red Army as a real crime and severely punished. What can we say about the cases of military violence among civilians during the Vietnam or Korean war?

Collaboration is one of the most painful issues. Historians note that there was even the concept of the 2nd Civil War in the framework of the participation of the USSR in the Second World War. And in the Baltic countries and in Ukraine, various collaborative formations are now considered a liberation movement.

The human rights defender and historian from Finland Johan Beckmann spoke about the situation in the Baltic countries. In his opinion, new assessments of the war in Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and now in Ukraine are aimed at increasing anti-Russian sentiment. “The problem exists primarily because other Western countries support the Baltic region and deny the existence of neo-fascism. Some members of the European Parliament do not know that the Russians do not have political rights there. If we say this to them, they answer that this is Kremlin propaganda, “said Johan Beckmann.

Beckman noted that the SS veterans in the three Baltic republics openly gather, receiving official support from the authorities. Organizers explain such actions by the fact that members of these formations fought for independence, and not for the interests of the Reich. Only partly this is true for the case with Latvia, since in isolated cases there were recorded skirmishes between German and Latvian parts.

Professor of the University of Minnesota in the US Todd Jeffrey Lefko believes that neo-fascism is growing because of instability and distrust of social and state institutions, as well as a double interpretation of the difficult legacy of World War II. At the same time, the American historian notes that there are always people who feel hatred for certain groups, but much depends on the state’s attitude to such manifestations. The dissemination of such ideas is also helped by modern means of communication. “The assessment of the role of the USSR in the Second World War has changed and is changing because of the political situation. During the war years we were allies, and in the United States we even wanted to make the film “Uncle Joe” (the so-called Stalin). But after the war, when there was a mutual nuclear threat, everything changed dramatically,” Todd Jeffrey Lefko said. According to historians, anti-Russian rhetoric is popular in the Western world today, therefore it is profitable to distort the results of the Second World War, weakening the contribution of the USSR and multiplying the influence of the coalition forces on the results of the war. However, independent historians perfectly understand that the US got involved in the war only at a time when the German army had already suffered serious damage from the Soviet army in the East of Europe and was essentially doomed. To enter the war when the enemy is doomed is a strategically correct move, but after 50 and 70 years of dealing with the distortion of facts – it is not too correct and beautiful to engage in such a powerful power as the US.

But let us return to the growth of nationalism and neo-fascism against the background of information hiding the true horror of fascism in the period before and during the Second World War. The sharp growth of neo-Nazism in Ukraine after the change of power in 2014 was spoken by Polish publicist Adam Smiech. “Ukrainian nationalism in this incarnation has returned from non-existence. And thanks to the efforts of the nationalists, a coup was carried out, “Adam Smiech said.

Adam Smiech was in Western Ukraine and the growth of nationalistic sentiment there, when in the region there appeared more and more monuments to the figures of nationalist organizations and military formations, calls banderization. The Polish publicist pointed to a conflict in the work of official Warsaw with the new Ukrainian authorities. Anti-Russian sentiments are supported, but the positive attitude of the new authorities towards Ukrainian nationalists is not welcomed, as thousands of Poles who lived on the territory of the four voivodships that are now part of Ukraine died during their war.

About what to do so that the history of war is not overturned, it is necessary to file history not for a tick and not for the sake of political conjuncture, but as a legacy of the departed generations to future generations. Otherwise, we all run the risk of becoming proverbial heroes: You keep making mistakes, Winston.

Ilmars Dubra