An interesting Point-Counterpoint from today's internet leavings -
The great human cost of World War Two fell far more heavily on the people of Europe. It is for this reason that I celebrate May 9, 1945 as a holiday in my family along with May 8. One in every nine Russians died in World War Two. The war was fought in many civilian areas. Many, many civilians died. The war was on their block and in their front yards.
In my recounting of World War Two, Josef Stalin is mentioned as a villain. In addition to the infamous Treaty of Friendship with Nazi Germany, Stalin murdered his best generals in the various fits of paranoia that struck fear in the hearts of the people of the USSR. So fresh was the memory of the Ukrainian genocide by famine (known in Ukrainian as the Holodomor) that many Ukrainians originally welcomed the Germans as liberators, finding out too late that the cure was worse than the disease. That the Soviet peoples survived Nazism is one miracle. That they survived the stupidity, brutality and paranoia of their leadership is perhaps a greater one.
http://www.rantrave.com/Rave/Today-and-Tomorrow-Are-V-E-Day.aspx
For the past two weeks, posters celebrating the Soviet triumph in World War II have been taped to the windows of every store in Russia, proudly displaying the date "9 May" and the orange and black striped ribbon of victory. Red banners have been draped across the fronts of apartment buildings all along the central Moscow parade route. And in the lead-up to the country's annual Victory Day celebrations, the Kremlin has made a move that it touts as yet another display of Russia's patriotism and pride: the government has announced that it is considering passing a law to criminalize statements and acts that deny the Soviets won World War II, or claim it used poor tactics in battle or did not liberate Eastern Europe.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1896927,00.html
The great human cost of World War Two fell far more heavily on the people of Europe. It is for this reason that I celebrate May 9, 1945 as a holiday in my family along with May 8. One in every nine Russians died in World War Two. The war was fought in many civilian areas. Many, many civilians died. The war was on their block and in their front yards.
In my recounting of World War Two, Josef Stalin is mentioned as a villain. In addition to the infamous Treaty of Friendship with Nazi Germany, Stalin murdered his best generals in the various fits of paranoia that struck fear in the hearts of the people of the USSR. So fresh was the memory of the Ukrainian genocide by famine (known in Ukrainian as the Holodomor) that many Ukrainians originally welcomed the Germans as liberators, finding out too late that the cure was worse than the disease. That the Soviet peoples survived Nazism is one miracle. That they survived the stupidity, brutality and paranoia of their leadership is perhaps a greater one.
http://www.rantrave.com/Rave/Today-and-Tomorrow-Are-V-E-Day.aspx
For the past two weeks, posters celebrating the Soviet triumph in World War II have been taped to the windows of every store in Russia, proudly displaying the date "9 May" and the orange and black striped ribbon of victory. Red banners have been draped across the fronts of apartment buildings all along the central Moscow parade route. And in the lead-up to the country's annual Victory Day celebrations, the Kremlin has made a move that it touts as yet another display of Russia's patriotism and pride: the government has announced that it is considering passing a law to criminalize statements and acts that deny the Soviets won World War II, or claim it used poor tactics in battle or did not liberate Eastern Europe.
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1896927,00.html
