Posted on 02/20/2018 1:41:31 PM PST by GoldenState_Rose
Teaching history has never been easy in Russia, where archives are closed and transparent discussions about the country’s Soviet past are met with hostility. Even then, teaching World War II is more difficult: with every year that Putin is in power, Russia fails to confront its role in the war head on.
In September 2016, three history textbooks were sanctioned by the Ministry of Education, all of which gloss over Stalin’s crimes and his initial alliance with Nazi Germany. “My main issue with the textbooks is that they do not reveal the whole truth,” says historian and teacher Leonid Katsva.
What is still unclear is who decides which book should be used in the classroom. “Is it the teacher, the school director or the city? I asked this question to the Moscow city government many times and received no answer,” says Abalov.
Most schools across the country have sided with one of them, published by Prosveshenie, whose retelling of the war focuses almost exclusively on the heroic aspects of the Soviet war effort.
For Russians, World War II began—not in 1939 as it did for the rest of the world—but in 1941. What happened before, and the Soviet Union’s role in it, has stirred emotions and denial in Russia. The most controversial moment, which the Kremlin traditionally does not emphasize, is the Molotov–Ribbentrop “non-aggression” pact between the USSR and Nazi Germany.
This year, a man in Perm, a city in the Urals, was fined 200 thousand rubles ($3,500) for reposting an article which correctly stated that the Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939 in collaboration with the Nazis.
(Excerpt) Read more at themoscowtimes.com ...
Well part of the problem is our history textbooks are looking more and more like Putin’s Russian ones: very anti-American. Communist-friendly.
And when kids in this country: the actual bearers of freedom and fruit bearers of 20th Century victories don’t know what has already been fought for, and what they are living for and should continue to treasure and defend...it causes problems.
“Russia fought a hell of a fight, I’ll always give them credit for that.”
That’s a fact.
I’ve been a student of history my entire life (well, ever since I was about 7, anyway). I loved the subject and still do. My college degree is in history. I still read voraciously, especially histories. WWII is a particular interest of mine (among others).
The German war against the Soviet Union from June, 1941 to May, 1945 was a whole other world; it was carnage and savagery on a scale never seen before. The conditions and the brutality were appalling. Millions died in that theater of WWII. The hatred between the two nations was one of the most visceral in human history, and it showed.
It is unfortunate that so many in the West know next to nothing about that war, which the Russians called “The Great Patriotic War.” For more years than I can remember I have said to myself “You’ve got to be kidding,” when reading about that aspect of WWII; but, alas, it was all too true.
An interesting characteristic of the Russian people is their capacity to endure appalling suffering, and to sacrifice their own, often on useless endeavors. They are true fatalists.
Agree, IMO the kids are bathed in daily propaganda, not only in school but on various social media platforms. I recall as a kid being startled by stories about Red China. I was bothered most at the thought that Chinese children were eagerly reporting their parents to government authorities for various ‘crimes’ real or imagined. We’re headed in that direction.
That name kind of rings a bell. Wasn’t he a Frenchman, and a traitor?
He was a Nazi from Belgium who was also a devout Catholic as were all the other members of the brigade he was part of. Despite being on the wrong side of history, they correctly despised Communism and his 1st hand account of the Western front is riveting.
Leningrad created a museum after the war but Stalin shut it down and took everything. He had the popular Leningrad leader Kirov, killed in 1934, starting the political purges before the 1937 military urges. Preparing a class on The Russian Civil War which explains everything from pre 1917 to today.
Brilliant! That’s a keeper!
Especially Howard Zinn's "A People's History of the United States", that book has caused more damage to this country than any other.
My favorite quote came from Berdnt von Kleist, at the beginning of Barbarossa, when it looked like the Nazis would win in a rout:
“The German Army in fighting Russia will be like an elephant attacking an army of ants. The elephant will kill thousands, even millions of ants, but he will in the end be overcome by their numbers and be eaten to the bone.”
Decidedly apropos.
Another German general upon seeing a T-34 for the first time said, “If the Russians figure out how to mass produce it, we are going to lose the war.”
Wow! Their squares are humongous!
They are doing it in a strange way. Up until the 1990 they were denying the existence of the secret protocols and calling it a western lie. Their version of history relied on claiming these never existed. There is a documentary about when it was revealed. Filmmakers go to their Supreme Soviet to see the reaction of these commie deputies and these people are absolutely shocked and devastated when finding out the truth about it. Then couple of decades later Russians have gone back to the Soviet version of history, but now it doesn’t make logical sense any more as they can’t undeny the secret protocols. They’re teaching it anyway and nobody cares about the logic.
Talking about denying or ignoring one’s history. Read a Japanese text book history of their involvement in WWII.
“He was a Nazi from Belgium....”
A traitor. I got his nationality wrong (I said Frenchman).
I think I did read that book, but about 30 years ago or so. The hatred of communism (which I share) does ring a bell. Still, I’ll see if my local library has it; even if I have read it, I can read it again.
The primary difference between Nazism (fascism) and communism as political movements is that the former is NATIONAL socialism, and the latter is INTERNATIONAL socialism; both, however, fully subscribe to a large and powerful government that completely subjugates its people. As an economic theory, fascism allows for the existence of some “private” businesses but they can only produce or provide what the government tells them to, and what it can charge for the products or services; communism, on the other hand, outlaws ALL private ownership of ANYTHING (all belongs to the collective).
Nazism and communism were mortal enemies primarily because they both vied for the same thing (complete and total control over the people), but both knew that only one of them could ascend to hold power, and neither was willing to let the other gain that ascension. Kind of like two sisters fighting over the same man; such fights can get very ugly, with no holds barred.
Yes! The T-34 was a game-changer. The German Mark IV was not nearly as good. The T-34 was very effective in the German retreat from Moscow in late 1941 and early 1942, (until General Model rode to the rescue), as well as the mother-of-all-tank battles at Kursk in the summer of 1943.
I read a book about Unit 731 years ago. That's when I learned the meaning of the word vivisection.
“” “” “The German Army in fighting Russia will be like an elephant attacking an army of ants. The elephant will kill thousands, even millions of ants, but he will in the end be overcome by their numbers and be eaten to the bone.””” “”
Nazi supremacism talking. The Germans did better in terms of loss ratio mostly due to Stalin’s incompetence and micromanagement and a Germans brutality to POWs early at war. Since about 1943 it was Russians who were the elephant and the Germans were ants. And the elephant crushed ants really well.
“” “” socialism; both, however, fully subscribe to a large and powerful government that completely subjugates its people. As an economic theory, fascism allows for the existence of some “private” businesses but they can only produce or provide what the government tells them to, and what it can charge for the products or services; communism, on the other hand, outlaws ALL private ownership of ANYTHING (all belongs to the collective).”” “”
The first sounds like democrats on a good day. And they are increasingly leaning to the latter.
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