Russia Vows to Denounce Attempts to Rewrite WWII History

FOR Russians, the young and the old, there is one most popular public holiday - the Victory Day in WW2, celebrated on May 9 to commemorate the surrender of Nazi Germany in 1945. “The holiday was first inaugurated in the Soviet Union, following the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender late in the evening on May 8, 1945, after midnight, thus on May 9 Moscow Time.”

For Russian people, though it is a sombre day as they remember those who lost their life fighting for their country, the Victory Day always recalls the bravery of the Red Army which fought hard and emerged triumphant over Nazi Germany during the World War II.

Russian President Vladimir Putin was recently quoted as saying that “not only did soldiers cast aggressors out from their homeland, they also fulfilled with honour the noble mission of liberation, helping other nations to get rid of invaders, of Nazis and their henchmen".

It is indeed for this reason that the Victory Day is probably the most celebrated day among Russians, who perceive it as the greatest event of the 20th century. While Russians acknowledge the historic fact, a certain part of the world, the West and its allies in particular, do not seem to accept and live with the reality.

As the end of WWII was marked by the beginning of the Cold War, mainly between the two major bloc- The Warsaw Treaty Organization and NATO, it is very clear that the rhetoric of the West and Allies about the Victory Day would not be in favour of Russians. It is a picture that the West and Allies have been straggling for a long time to paint, something that the Russian President recently vowed not to allow.

Putin said at the February 23 Gala event that his country will not allow the history of the WWII to be distorted. “Our duty is to remember forever the cost we paid for that Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union’s 1941-1945 war against Nazi Germany,” Russian news agency TASS quoted President.

In his 2014 article to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the D- Day Normandy Landings in 1944, Alan Woods, a writer and an author, wrote much about the WWII. Titled: “D-Day and the Truth about the Second World War”, he paints what is called the true story out of many myths that surround the Allied invasion of Europe, and the Second World War in general.

“The truth is that the war against Hitler in Europe was fought mainly by the USSR and the Red Army. For most of the war the British and Americans were mere spectators. Following the invasion of the Soviet Union in the Summer of 1941, Moscow repeatedly demanded the opening of a second front against Germany. But Churchill was in no hurry to oblige them. The reason for this was not so much military as political,” writes Woods in the article.

The Battle of Stalingrad was another vivid example of the USSR victory in the WWII in Europe. It was the largest confrontation of WWII. During the battle, which culminated into the total collapse of the Eastern Front; Germany and its allies were fighting for control of the Southern Russia’s city of Stalingrad.

Most historians acknowledged that this Battle, which began on 23 August 1942 and only ended on 2 February 1943 with the surrender of German troops, was a key turning point in the Second World War. In another article in February 2013 Alan Woods wrote that “After the Battle of Stalingrad, German forces never recovered their strength and fighting morale, while the triumphant Red Army began the greatest military advance in history.”

“This highlights an important fact that to this very day western historians are reluctant to admit: the Second World War in Europe was in reality a gigantic conflict between Hitler’s Germany, with all the resources of Europe behind it, and the Soviet Union,” says Woods in the article.

The 1943 Battle of Kursk also goes down in history as the biggest tank confrontation, which ended by the Red Army liberating Ukraine, pushing German forces back through Eastern Europe.

From the two historical facts, it is clear evidence that the Soviet victories in Stalingrad and Kursk were a decisive factor for the German defeat in the WWII. “The reason for this extraordinary victory can never be admitted by the defenders of capitalism, but it is a self-evident fact,” argues Woods.

Some historians would agree, that despite the courage fight put by the British and American troops, the Normandy landings cannot be compared with the battle on the Eastern Front where the Red Army fought and defeated Nazi Germany troops. It was the Soviet Union that suffered disproportionate number of causalities during the war compared with the Allied troops.

Documented stories of the WWII in Europe shows that the Soviet Union lost more than 27m people, with most of its young population had already been killed. Hitler’s Nazi troops destroyed many industries in territories they occupied within the USSR, severely damaging its production base. However, despite the devastation, the Russians fighting spirit was intact. The Soviet Union managed to mobilize both its population and troops and bravery fought back.

“The defenders of capitalism are not willing to acknowledge the achievements of the nationalized planned economy in the USSR. They cannot admit that the spectacular military victory over Hitler Germany was due precisely to this,” reads part of the article.

“The real reasons for the marvellous achievements of the Soviet Union in the Second World War was something the Western historians are never prepared to admit - firstly, the superiority of a nationalised economy and central planning, and secondly, the determination of the Soviet working class to defend what remained of the conquests of the October Revolution against fascism and imperialism.. .despite all, the Soviet workers, rallied to the defence of the USSR and fought like tigers. This was what ultimately guaranteed victory,” Alan Wood explains in the article.

“Western historians, motivated rather by political considerations than historical truth, have systematically minimised the role of the Soviet Union in the Second World War. This systematic campaign of distortion has increased a hundred-fold since the fall of the Berlin Wall,” the author argues.

For such obvious reasons, President Putin made it clear that Russia will not allow such dis-tortion of the facts. “Our duty is to remember forever the cost we paid for that Victory in the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union’s 1941-1945 war against Nazi Germany,” TASS quoted the Russian President.

“We will not allow this heroic page in history to be crossed out. We will be exposing any attempts to distort history and to let the spirit of alliance and of combat brotherhood be consigned to oblivion,” he pledged. “On this holy and sacred for our nation day, we will pay tribute to the fallen heroes and will honour our respected veterans who we rightfully call a generation of Victors,” President Putin was recently quoted as saying about the coming celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of Victory Day.

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Saturday, May 9, 2020