IN its edition of the 10th May the Irish Times published a letter highly critical of its May 8th editorial on the VE Day commemorations.
The author of the letter found it “beyond comprehension” how the editorial writer could refer to the death and destruction without noting how much of it was borne by the Soviet Union.
He then pointed out that 27 million citizens of that country died as a result of the war. Over 900,000 inhabitants of Leningrad alone died-mostly from starvation and disease-a consequence of the besieging of the city by the German army. We may also make the point that the Finnish army was also involved in the destruction of Leningrad, a fact that would escape many people’s notice.
It is also a fact that the Eastern front was decisive in determining the outcome in the European theatre of operations, eventually serving as the main reason for the defeat of Nazi Germany and the axis nations. Even Winston Churchill admitted that it was the Red Army that “tore the guts out of the Wehrmacht”. As we have pointed out previously the invasion of the Soviet Union involved elements from just about every other European county.
The author of the letter quoted eminent historian Prof Geoffrey Roberts who noted that “more than 80 per cent of all combat during the second World War took place on the Eastern Front”. In total the Soviet Union lost 25 per cent of its national wealth and 14 percent of its population and as was pointed out it is not a narrative offered by the Hollywood movie industry today or by the western media.
The letter concludes with the pertinent observation that nearly every family today in Russia was affected by the horror of the Second World War and that this has hugely affected Russian opinion on NATO to this day. The editorial also makes reference to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine which is “currently being prosecuted by a Russian dictator against democratic Ukraine.”
If Ukraine is a democracy, then there is no future for that political concept.
There are those who are re-writing the history of the second World War, putting forward their own reactionary political views, especially in regard to the role of the Soviet Union. There are those who simply choose to ignore that role.
They stand to be judged by historical fact.