Russia is still celebrating their victory over Nazi Germany. 8 May is the day the Germans surrendered to the allies with the Russians at the table. Why do you suppose that this is still a hallowed event in Russia while the vast majority of Americans ignore the end of Nazi Germany as something worth commemorating?
The answer lies in history. If you ask an educated American who has some grasp of history about the bloodiest battles U.S. troops have fought, the top three are the Battle of Gettysburg (i.e., the American Civil War), the Battle of the Bulge and Iwo Jima. But I believe that 99% of that lot do not know how many actually died in battle. I think you will be surprised by the number of fatalities:
- Battle of Gettysburg–3,155 Union and 3,903 Confederates killed in action.
- Battle of the Bulge–19,276 killed.
- Battle of Iwo Jima–6,821 killed.
The bloodiest campaign in any war for the United States was Normandy, which started on 6 June 1944 and terminated on 25 August 1944 with a total of 29,204 killed in action.
Raise your hand if you are surprised by the relative paucity of fatalities. Count me as one of the dumbfounded. I am not suggesting that these are meaningless numbers. If one of those who died in these battles was a member of your family the cost cannot be measured. But the reality is that the number of United States military personnel killed in action in the Civil War, World War I, World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined pales in comparison with the losses the Soviet Union (i.e., Russia) suffered in World War II.
I have written previously about the horror of Stalingrad–an estimated 478,741 Soviet personnel were killed or missing. In that one battle, the Soviet people (primarily Russian) endured more killed in action than the United States suffered in the all theaters from all services in World War II.
Americans have no point of reference to understand or appreciate the staggering losses that the Soviet Union incurred in beating back the Nazis. In the battle of Moscow, where German forces arrived on the outskirts of Moscow in December 1941, several hundred thousand Russian soldiers perished. When the Soviets turned the table on the Germans and launched a counteroffensive in December 1941 that ended on 7 January 1942, an additional 139,586 were killed or missing in action.
We Americans like to indulge the fantasy that we endured great sacrifice in World War II. But the truth is otherwise. While the war was a transforming event in terms of creating an industrial behemoth in the United States, our losses were minimal. Most families were not touched by grief after losing a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine. The exact opposite is true in Russia.
We are approaching the 80 day mark in the Ukraine/Russia war. There are no reliable figures on the number of killed in action or either side. However, it does appear that four times the number of Ukrainian soldiers and foreign mercenaries are dead compared to Russian losses.
The United States and NATO are making a grave error if they dismiss Russian fears about an invasion from the west as a mere pre-text for conquering territory. Russia has one advantage the west does not–its cultural heritage has not been diluted by a flood of foreign immigrants. If you consider the population shift in America and Europe over the last 60 years, the percentage of the population with a relative that fought in World War II has shrunk. I am not suggesting legal immigrants are bad or evil. But immigrants come to America or Europe with a different history. Their ancestors were not buying U.S. war bonds to back the attack. The losses experienced in a conflict like World War II stays with those who knew the pain firsthand.
I believe that is the key variable that explains why most Americans did not take time to remember the victory over Nazi Germany. And that also explains why the Russian people still remember.
It also explains why they are taking the threat of Nazis on their border with nukes and DNA targeted bioweapons so seriously.
Your points are all well taken. I have talked to many young Americans who cannot even say what countries fought WW2. I seriously doubt you will find such ignorance in Russia.
I registered just to agree with your comment 🙂
Absolutely ‼️
I have always had an interest in World War II. My dad and uncle both flew with the Eighth Air Force in 1944 and I had other relatives who fought in Normandy. However, it wasn’t until I started doing some writing – specifically, when I was asked to contribute to an encyclopedia of World War II – that I realized the terrible death toll among Soviet forces. US deaths were less than 300,000 with the British enduring a similar number (and that includes the Pacific War.) As Larry said, Soviet losses from individual battles exceeded those numbers. The only combat loss from my community in West Tennessee was a single man, a C-47 pilot who was shot down over Holland in MARKET. Several men were in combat but he was the only one who died. In short, Americans have no comprehension whatsoever of what Soviets – Russians and Ukrainian Cossacks in particular – endured in that war.
As for immigrants, a large percentage of the population is made up of descendants of people who came here since the turn of the Twentieth Century and who, in many cases, have no loyalty to this nation.
Those immigrants are largely responsible for our policy of intervention. They have this mentality that we should do something about crises that occur in their homelands.
You usually don’t see that intervention mentality from people whose ancestors go back to the revolutionary war or the early 1800’s
davidgmillsatty,
I think there is some truth to what you say, but there is one ethnic group disproportionately interested in directing US foreign policy.
I am 1/2 Armenian (paternal side) and 1/2 the descendent of the founders of this country (maternal side, DAR, etc). I even have family ties to George Washington (mother’s maiden name was “Ball”, as in George Washington’s mother, Mary Ball). I’m always happy when the US does something positive for Armenia, but I don’t demand it. If it came down to a choice that would either help the US or help Armenia, I’m going with help the US. I’m American. My father, who didn’t speak English until he was in grade school, was the same way.
You are also an immigrant according to native Americans. At least they don’t go round shouting “go back to Europe” to every white person.
Also Biden and Bush have ancestors from the 1800 and look at the mess they may. Trump doesn’t. His mother is an immigrant. He did better. This is just flat out bias hit your mama with a spoon.
Let’s look at it realistically. There are 1bn white people on Earth. If they all went back to Europe there would be no room to move
Europeans are majorities in 4 of the inhabitable continents – North America, South America, Australia and Europe. Not to mention Australia.
Can you imagine if Africa, China or Asia could just chuck their persecuted, poor, disenfranchised and criminals onto other countries?
The huge huge huge migrations out if Europe had two effects:
1. Allowed Europe to develop faster with a better quality of life, less crowded, crimini, poor, religious minorities etc
2. Gave the disenfranchised Europeans free land which they promptly grabbed after genociding the locals. These people could then have a standard of living they would never have had at home.
So let’s not forget. The world’s biggest and most destructive migrants are Europeans.
No other continent has put more than twice it’s population outside its borders.
As for doing something about crisis is homelands. German American and British descended both agitated for involvement and got involved in WW1 and WW2.
Jewish Americans have a firm hold too.
No one else gets much of a look in.
Ash,
I have observed that you’re a giant wokester. Maybe you’re cheering for Russia for no other reason than you hate the US and Europe.
If Native Americans, Africans, etc. had been able to develop themselves out of the stone age, they would have colonized distant lands too. As it is, they had to resort to terrorizing each other locally. The NAs didn’t have the wheel. Mere jealousy and sour grapes on their (your?) part. The entire world has the opportunity for something more than a short, brutish, stagnant life because of Europeans/white people.
It’s so easy to abuse and label isn’t it. Easier than arguing facts. But we are not 3 years old and as rational adults we realize the world is more complex than childish labels.
Actually I believe I have an excellent understanding of history.
Genetically all human beings are African. You agree? There is no such thing as a human being that is not African in the same was a giraffe in a French zoo does not become French even if it eats baguettes.
2 migrations out of Africa 150,000 odd years ago. Unknown event around 50,000 years ago reducing global human population to under 100k, less than a football stadium. 7000 left in Europe. 50,000 in Africa. Similar elsewhere. Humans were on the verge of extinction.
Then around 20k years human population recovered and began to grow.
The genes for white skin exist in 87% of modern Africans and 96% of modern Asians. The reason they are not white us because they have other genes that add more melanin.
Europeans have been white for a relatively short period of time, resulting from a reduced gene pool following the bottleneck close to extinction event. Which also concentrated the gene pool elsewhere.
So hating white people is really hating 3 genes present in most humans. It actually logically makes no sense. Nor does it make sense for white people to hate non white people for having 2 additional genes for color. Colour is such a minor insignificant genetic variation that it’s a nothing burger generically. But of course, humans are Africans and Africa is tribal.
As for what native Americans did or did not have you are clearly not an expert in. But the tobacco your smoke, tomatoes you eat, the corn, the potatoes…guess who cultivated those and therefore did more to counter famine than any other nation on earth. Go on guess.
As for native Americans terrorizing each other. Europeans have killed 100mn Europeans in wars. Lots of wars in Africa and Asia too. How are they any different?
Ps wheat is from Middle East, rice and tea from Asia, Coffee from Africa. List goes on.
What about education, did you know the numbers we use as Arabic and Indian? Without that we would still be doing math with a Greek numbers. Do you know how those numbers advanced almost everything?
And no, no, no – “. The entire world has the opportunity for something more than a short, brutish, stagnant life because of Europeans/white people”
Not true. You just have limited education on the wider world. Very sad.
But if you read what I wrote with an open mind you will see how absolutely amazing we both are. We come from a species who survived almost extinction and went on to survive in the desert and the Arctic’s. That’s pretty cool. I think.
In that context the war with Russia is just another cycle repeating itself. Another missed opportunity for humans to rise up against their ugly instincts and find a better way. After all. Look how far we have come.
So much bigotry and ignorance! Lets face it, unpleasant as the facts maybe to you, it was the Europeans capacity for violence that enabled them to conquer the world. Before the 16th century wealth, art,science etc was centered in the east. Thats why the Euros wanted to get to India, China and Africa. Thats where the goodies were. They forced opium on the Chinese because they had nothing else they could offer them for trade.
what they had though was a real bloodlust and a never before seen cruelty and capacity for violence. It goes on to this day.
My mother is Scottish and lived in England during the blitzkrieg. Uncle Frank survived the Bataan Death March, a Japanese soldier slammed him in the face with a rifle butt for showing his Union Jack tattoo. He wore the two missing teeth with pride.. My grandfather on my father’s side fought in the Danish resistance. His stories kept us all up at night.
My wife is from the Philippines, hee mother lost her entire family to the Japanese. Sadly today few remember.
I visited the shrine at the Cabanatuan prison camp, close to my wife’s families home. The caretaker told me that we were the first to visit in several years.
Our culture is shallow that way. I have great respect for the Russians for vowing to never forget. It is one reason why they will not lose this fight.
Russia’s losses – at least 27,000,000 – that’s the current population of Australia, New Zealand, and all the Pacific Islands. Is it any wonder the Russians and Belorussians (remember Belorussia was occupied by the German Nazis for three years) will never forget. Sadly the Ukraine has.
the german lost their teeth in eastern front
it is like a bunch of nations indirectly plan to unleash german warmachine to eradicate the soviets and took their massive land back then
it seem their plan backfire a bit as france was taken apart and the british defanged
even after the VoE day 1945 churcill dripping with russophobia wanted to continue the war to eradicate the soviets but the americans balked
maybe im too imaginative and conspiratonally minded but watching the whole western world today standing behind their puppet nazi regime in ukraine giving me bad vibes that this is not the first time the western leaders want to destroy russia and take its riches..
Мой дедушка вернулся, чтобы найти свою семью в маленьком селе под Минском. Это было в 1971 году. Из его семьи никого не осталось. Он приехал сюда за лучшей жизнью в 1909 году. Скорее всего, лучшая жизнь для внуков его внуков найдется в России и Белоруссии. Hope that translated well.
oh grandfather came back to find his family in a small village near Minsk. This was in 1971. None of his family is left. He came here for a better life in 1909. Most likely, the best life for the grandchildren of his grandchildren will be found in Russia and Belarus.
Very useful context. None of which is shown in legacy media which seem to want to portray the commemoration as a Nazi style event. A grotesque comparison.
In my own country the UK our only remotely comparable reference point is WW1 where we lost circa 900k men, and the Battle of the Somme in particular with 125k British deaths. It was such a shock that WW2 was deliberately fought in a much more capital intensive way with a smaller army mobilized and far more caution on the part of the generals.
In both wars our losses were significantly less than other prime participants and we did not endure foreign armies marching over the country, as all Continental belligerents did. The English speaking nations have a geography that has enabled them to make war too easily. I think it explains much of the belligerence of both Biden and Johnson. Russians have no such illusions.
Your comments on Russian fears of western invasion being more than pretext feel spot on too. By my reckoning they have had such invasions over the past few centuries countless times: The Great Northern War, The Napoleonic War, The Crimean War, WW1 and WW2.
Our politicians are propelling us towards war but you are right: beyond passive acceptance or non questioning of propaganda no one here really wants to fight one or to suffer on account of it. There is a total disjoin between rhetoric and reality.
I am from the Caribbean and my father was in the British West India Regiment that fought in WWII. It is alarming to see so many embracing or at least excusing Nazis in the collective West today.
Amerikas banker supported the Nazi as did a lot of British.
Not just the bankers. Allen Dulles had back channel contact with Nazis and tried to influence policy to favor the Nazis against the Russians. Hitler had many fans including Henry Ford and many in the board rooms of IBM and ITT.
Also the Bush Family was on the inside supporting Hitler through the Union Bank.
Its ugly history.
Visualization of the deaths by country in WW2.
https://youtu.be/7cgRwDkP6vk
You make a great point, Larry. Unfortunately, Americans are not permitted to be exposed to that history and to understand its ramifications. In fact, the Russian point of view isn’t allowed at all. To consider that there is anything more to the Russians’ motivations than unbridled, evil, megalomania is akin to being a Putin stooge – or worse.
As the General Smedley Butler said, “War is a Racket!”
“Why, of course, the people don’t want war,” Goering shrugged. “Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship.”
— Herman Goering at the Nuremberg Soviet Show Trial
The truth about WW2 is not know to most. For example, here is a short book written right after WW2 before history could be massaged.
https://archive.org/details/grharfk
Most people think we treated Germany nicely after the war with the Marshall Plan, when instead it was the vindictive Morgenthau Plan that was instituted. Millions of Germans died after hostilities were supposed to cease. It wasn’t until Molotov tried to woo Germany into joining with the USSR that the idiots in the West changed course. If only they listened to Patton to begin with instead of assassinating him.
https://www.amazon.com/Target-Patton-Assassinate-General-Collection/dp/1621572919/ref=asc_df_1621572919/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312090128763&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10145506289158183972&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9028023&hvtargid=pla-568981865009&psc=1
gman,
“the vindictive Morgenthau Plan that was instituted”
TRUE! That’s why German industry never recovered, all the productive capabilities were disassembled and shipped over to Detroit. Then everyone left in Germany turned into farmers and beer brewers!
I’m still young enough to remember when there were two Germanys, but perhaps that doesn’t get tought in high school history any more. Which Germany was Molotov trying to “woo”?
Hello, dear community. Happy Holiday! Happy Victory Day! I write with the help of an online translator, so I apologize for his mistakes:)
Dear Larry, my name is Elena, I am from Russia, I am from Moscow. I am grateful to you for your human coverage of my country and events in my country. I want to give some explanations on the topic. If someone has questions, I will gladly answer, even not very pleasant ones. I will write a lot, because in a nutshell it is not put.
World War II – September 01, 1939 – 2 Senyabry1945. War for citizens of the USSR – June 22, 1941 – May 9, 1945 plus the Japanese War until September 2, 1945. And for the most part, the war took place on the territory of the USSR. For us, for the people of the former USSR, this is the Great Patriotic War. There are still eyewitnesses of this war. And in my childhood, I am 50 years old, war veterans came to our schools. It was my friends’ grandparents. My generation knows the history of the war from the original source. They went to the front not only on conscription, there were a lot of volunteers. They took to the front from the age of 18. My grandmother’s brother added a year to himself and went to the front at the age of 17. Those who did not fight at the front worked in the rear at the factory, at the factory, in the field. Children from six to seven years old, who lived in places of bombing, extinguished incendiary bombs, helped to care for the wounded. Teenagers in the rear worked in factories with adults. People collected food, clothes for the front. Children in the occupied territories helped partisans, transmitted messages, arranged sabotage. Artists went to the front with concerts. Museum workers hid art objects. Agronomist scientists starved to death but retained valuable seed collections. Everyone knew that there would be victory, that people would go to see paintings again in a peaceful life, again it would be necessary to sow and harvest. After the Great Victory, our people rebuilt cities, industry and agriculture. How much strength was needed by wounded, exhausted, half-starved people to do all this. But they did. They were able to. Why do we remember this war? Why are we crying and proud, celebrating and parading every year? Because without our heroes, there would be no us. You understand? Read Hitler’s fantasies about the citizens of the USSR. We mourn the millions of adults and children burned, shot, brutally tortured, buried alive. We remember about young men and women who died for their homeland without experiencing the first love and happiness of parenthood. We remember fathers and mothers who did not return to their children. We remember children who are not adults. Every year on May 9, we carry flowers to the monuments. There are such monuments in every settlement. We’re crying. We sing war songs and watch for the hundredth time films about the war. According to Russian tradition, we put a glass of vodka for the deceased and cover it with a piece of bread. We hug the remaining veterans and give them flowers. We are proud to be descendants of these strong men. We watch our parade, it’s not a military challenge or a boast to the world. It’s a tradition. And every year a sea of people carries portraits of their native heroes on this day. No one calls us, only they name the time and place of collection. We go by the orders of our hearts. This is our duty to memory. This is our endless gratitude for our lives. And we don’t want war at all. Nobody. We carry the pain of war. We have an aversion to war in the blood. My grandmother always said, “Woe is not woe if there is no war.” And I am very glad that despite the fact that the USSR has not been around for more than 30 years, most of the former members of the USSR remember and honor May 9 and common heroes.
We have a lot of songs, prose, poetry, books and films about war and memory. Not because it was in demand. Because the soul asked to tell.
One of the great poets of the USSR in 1962.
Remember!
from the poem ‘Requem’
by Robert Rozhdestvensky
Remember!
Through the ages, through years, –
do remember!
About those,
who won’t come ever, –
remember!
Don’t burst into tears!
In your throat
keep up your groans,
bitter hard groans.
Be worthy
of memory
of the fallen soldiers!
Forever
be worthy!
With bread and with songs,
with dreams and with poems,
with life, vast and broad,
with every
second,
with every
breath,
be worthy!
People!
While your hearts
remember!
What was the price
for happiness, –
please,
do remember!
When you send
your song
to fly in sky, –
remember!
About those,
who won’t sing either, –
remember!
Tell your children
about them-
that to be learned!
Tell the children of children
about them,
for they would
also learn!
And in all the times
of the eternal Earth
remember!
Launching to the stars
the spaceships your’s, –
remember!
Meet the quiverig spring,
all people of Earth.
Kill the War,
Damn it,
curse,
people of Earth!
Carry your dream through the years
and feel it with life! ..
But remember
about those,
who never will come, –
I spell you, –
remember!
And yet, on June 22, the Great Patriotic War began, and on June 26, the “Holy War” was already sounded, the song to which the soldiers went to the front. Listen. And you will understand everything to the end. https://youtu.be/3NHRxMiYqOU
Thank you this gives insight too.
Regarding Col Lang’s posting today, I’ve seen 20 year old YouTubers doing better analysis, oh well.
The old Col. has lost it. He should retire from blogging before he totally disgraces himself. TTG, on the other, is pure evil; completely aware of what he is doing.
Yep, I suspect it was TTG that banned me. I had the feeling that he thought I was a huge Trump supporter, I did support Trump with my vote and think he accomplished some very good things but I also find him less than what I had hoped for during his administration. Now under Biden we have:
more than doubled gas prices
my reckoning of 30-50% increases in food/rent/house prices
Senior citizens who worked hard all their lives becoming homeless
immigration, we went out to eat last friday night and we left to only find a young family of 5 begging outside. I talked with them, they are from Romania, via Mexico,now in Florida!
A war that could turn global and nuclear
A stock market that is tanking badly
Young people who in spite of getting much higher wages can’t afford rent
No baby food at the supermarkets, baby food is just mashed up normal food. I heard a rumor that big retailers are phasing out baby items as there aren’t going to be many babies born due to the “vaccines”.
Instead of basically quoting Yahoo news – well known for both low quality information and outright propaganda (e.g. the Steele dossier), – the old man could have done a quick Google search to gain better open source info on the topic from people who might know what they’re talking about, like this railroad industry geek site. https://www.trains.com/trn/news-reviews/news-wire/russia-steps-up-attacks-on-ukraines-rail-network-disrupting-food-exports/
Again, he’s a lost soul and not even aware or caring that he is publicly displaying it. Sad to see.
Larry this is a top post and deserves a wide reading.
Not re British deaths. 2 million people from the Commonwealth fought for Britain in these wars. Sikh and Gurkha regiments as well as those from Africa and the Caribbean took huge losses saving lots of Brits in the process.
70,000 Sikhs died liberating France on one beach alone.
African regiments halted Italy’s southern attacks.
Commonwealth losses far exceeded American and most European losses.
This was truly a world war.
I remember watching this series as a teenager back in the 1970’s on PBS. It is a foundational element of my “world view” and an important part of hanging onto “reality” especially since the laws against the U.S. gov’t propagandizing American citizens were eroded (eliminated?) in Defence Authorization Acts signed by Bush II and Obama.
It is stunning to think that this series was on broadcast television in the middle of the Cold War but would be considered Russian propaganda now.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Unknown_War_(TV_series)
I also jumped at the chance to visit the Soviet Union in early 1986 which was shortly after the 50th anniversary of victory in “The Great Patriotic War.” I came away wondering why anyone would consider the Soviet Union especially attractive or threatening. I was not particularly impressed with the place or the system in any way. However, the imprint of that war on the country and the people was obvious.
Sorry, that was the 40th anniversary. Makes me wonder what the 50th was like given the shape Russia was in ’95.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Moscow_Victory_Day_Parades this is a brief information about the 1995 Victory Parade.
The first time aviation was involved. It so happened that the planes flew over my house. Incredible power, deafening sound. Before that, I had not seen or heard military aircraft.
The historical part of the parade is more valuable to me. I remember these veterans. It was amazing. You were next to living history. There were a lot of doctors and ambulances. Elderly people did not allow themselves to measure pressure, and they were allowed into service only after being examined by a doctor, demanded that they be allowed in and assured of their excellent health. There were enough of them. They were strong and happy. Those who could not go into service were transported in military-style vehicles. We were one people again. And once again, everything said that for veterans to walk in a parade along Red Square their sacred duty and high honor. They were not at all worried about the first persons of different states. The video shows part of the parade. https://youtu.be/uZqx9VXsMQU I met one of the veterans in this video in 2007. I was so glad he was still alive. By tradition, he was in the park near the Bolshoi Theater. After the war, many soldiers agreed to meet there every year on May 9.
And also reporting on that day https://www.c-span.org/video/?65027-1/russian-national-newscast
Thank so very much Elena. I loved your story. Hope to hear more from you!
What are the Russian fears about an invasion from the west? Russia has an army 3x the size of Ukraine’s. Was Ukraine really going to launch an invasion of Russia using its worn out, obsolete T-72 tanks and small, outdated Airforce? What about NATO? Prior to the invasion the U.S. only had 80k soldiers in Europe. Were 80K U.S. soldiers enough to seize Moscow in a blitzkrieg? Maybe the massive Italian Army, the French Grande Armee and the Elite German Bundeswehr were going to invade Russia! LOL!!! Some people say NATO is a “paper tiger”. So what did Russia have to fear from a “paper tiger”? Was Sleepy Joe really going to put nukes in Ukraine and launch a 1st strike on Russia? Seriously??? There is NO evidence the US was going to put nukes in Ukraine and there is no way any first strike could take out Russia’s nuclear arsenal. So what was the imminent, existential threat to Russia that justified their invasion?
You have my full sympathy. I do not know if retardation runs in your family, but you clearly have limited faculties. You apparently cannot read, otherwise you would have noted the massive NATO effort to pump weapons into Ukraine and the public statements of NATO leaders, such as Lloyd Austin, wanting to “weaken” Russia. Then there is the sizeable NATO and EUCOM military exercise currently underway. I do not know if you are capable of reading and comprehending what you read. Maybe your Mom or Dad could help out.
Everything you just stated has happened after the invasion. What was the imminent, existential threat to Russia that justified their invasion in the first place? They have a huge, high tech army, with cutting edge weapons, well trained soldiers, led by brilliant generals and backed by 6,000 nukes; so what was the threat that justified their invasion? Were they afraid of a blitzkrieg by Ukraine, or by the weak NATO alliance? What was the threat to Russia?
You have to realize that for Russia, Ukraine is Cuba’s equivalent to the USA. For them, it is unacceptable that the missiles with nuclear weapons are only 10 minutes from Moscow. And the topic of Ukraine’s accession to NATO has been rolled out for several years, or at least in Poland you can hear about it. Best regards and sorry for the quality written by the translator.
Thanks of Skorpion9mm and to others for the shown interest. I will add the text (again much, again the online translator). Of course my comments will belong only to the stated question of memory of “Russians” of the Great Patriotic War and parades for May 9.
Concerning “Russians”. For the whole world we are “Russians”. No, at us there are a lot of nationalities, the big and small people, Caucasians and Asians. The nationality is not the place of your residence in the USSR. It is your blood. Your culture and history. In the USSR in each federal republic there were national museums, national schools with teaching in language of the title nation, at all schools there were world, Russian and Soviet (on stages of development of society) history and literature and in addition history and literature of the title nation. An example – in Kazakhstan – the Kazakh history, the Kazakh literature. I explained it for understanding of the name of fronts. Belarusian, Ukrainian, Caucasian which standards carry by on a parade is a place of formation or the place of the solution of objectives. It is not nationality of the military attributed to this formation.
The first Victory Day parade was held in Moscow on June 24, 1945. All parades are held only within the first parade with adjustments for modern reality. All parade is filled with the symbols well clear only to us. It is our deeply personal and internal holiday and a parade in which each person of the former USSR is involved. As the second birthday of the person who nearly died. Don’t you forget the birthday, either the mother, or the child over time? The presented all types of troops, arms, is not demonstration of the threatening force to the whole world, I am amused always by these comments in the foreign press, it is even not demonstration of arms to the people, is a tradition and a tribute to the memory of all those who battled under these banners and by means of similar weapon. The same missile launchers are descendants of a legendary missile launcher “Katyusha”. Participation in a parade great honor. The commentator tells about going in a system, tells about feats of their ancestors. Everyone in a system in the soul bears a name of the hero who couldn’t pass in the first Victory Day parade. For everyone to pass on Red Square for the hero, it how to put the end to personal history of the Great Patriotic War. As well as in 1945, invite heads and representatives of the countries allies. Not for demonstration of the military power and to share happiness of peaceful life of everyone in the country and by the rules to tell once again thanks to allies for the help in this terrible war. At the stands surely there are veterans. They are sincerely glad and grateful for the memory of the people of their feat. You would see their tears. Already so it is necessary to them a little, just that remembered them. The speech of the commander-in-chief the main idea, as well as on the first parade, the gratitude, pride and a promise to remember eternally and not to allow revival of fascism and occupation of our Homeland in any sense because our borders are outlined by bones of our family, our earth is covered with blood of our family will be complemented in connection with the current situation, but. The only thing that we broadcast to the whole world – don’t rewrite history. The people of the USSR (not only ethnic Russians, namely all multinational people) destroyed fascism in 1945. There are documentary evidences. It is not a primitive century, any fact can be checked. We paid dearly very much for the right to live, keep independence, the country, language and culture. We don’t reduce participation of the countries allies. We don’t demand “to kiss our boots”. We expect due respect for our country and a feat of our people.
Also never was and will never be on a parade or in other cases of charges towards Germany as the countries. Only charges of fascism and inadmissibility of fascism. The fascism has no homeland and nationality.
After the parade the flower-laying to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is obligatory. On a monument an epitaph “Your name is unknown, your feat is immortal”. Over it lit the Eternal flame. By the way the Eternal flame burned in each city of the USSR. Many people are reported missing. “The last died soldier won’t be interred yet — war isn’t ended!” Our war isn’t ended. It is the reason too that we think of the Victory Holiday so much. Still search groups work, find remains of soldiers of both armies. Still at construction find unexploded shells. Still people wait for return of the heroes at least in a coffin. Our country buries with respect for each soldier, even the former fascist.
And, of course, in the evening a salute through the whole country in honor of Naroda-Pobeditelya. Because war didn’t avoid any corner of our country. “There is no family in Russia such where the hero wouldn’t be memorable”. On video the first parade on June 24, 1945. https://youtu.be/6sqiS4nPfIo?list=RDCMUCiVZttFkdEwMi3QXpRqFTzQ
The Battle of the Bulge should have made us appreciate what the Red Army did in the eastern front. If the Germans had access to what they used against Russia at Kursk, we would have suffered a great loss. Kursk had at least twice the German force that they used at the Bulge but more importantly, high quality troops, a good stockpile of fuel, and very good logistic support to repair tanks in the field. At the Bulge, they had to abandon perfectly good tanks because of lack of fuel.
Also, the Luftwaffe was present, at force at Kursk while being a non-factor at the Bulge.
“While the war was a transforming event in terms of creating an industrial behemoth in the United States, our losses were minimal. Most families were not touched by grief after losing a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine.” — Larry Johnson
I enjoyed the history in your article. I especially liked the above quote — the transformation of the US was industrial and structural rather than by personal sacrifice which gave the 1950s and 1960s a good push start.