Free Republic
Browse · Search
Smoky Backroom
Topics · Post Article

To: Modernman
An interesting point. However, Stlain's motivations in those two instances (Katyn Massacre & Warsaw Uprising) were purely political- they had nothing to do with winning the war.

Yes, but under the doctrine that the enemy-of-my-enemy is my friend: The fact that those Poles were willing to kill German's meant that they were useful allies. Killing Poles was therefore counter to the Soviet Union's immediate goal of defeating the Nazis.

After all, we managed to overlook the communist threat in an effort to defeat the Germans, even though there was ample evidence of German-Soviet cooperation prior to 1941.

221 posted on 07/19/2004 11:31:22 AM PDT by Tallguy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 217 | View Replies ]


To: Tallguy
Killing Poles was therefore counter to the Soviet Union's immediate goal of defeating the Nazis.

Certainly, but Stalin was looking to the long-term. He knew the war was in its final stage and that Soviet victory was inevitable by the time of the Warsaw uprising. Furthermore, he did not care about the fact that his decisions might lead to more Soviet casualties. He saw a potential threat to his post-war domination of Poland and decided to let the Germans eliminate the problem for him.

He saw the situation as part of a greater war- the war against class enemies of communism.

229 posted on 07/19/2004 11:43:54 AM PDT by Modernman ("I don't care to belong to a club that accepts people like me as members" -Groucho Marx)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 221 | View Replies ]

To: Tallguy

Roosevelt and Ilk were commie sympathsizers, no surprise here.


235 posted on 07/19/2004 11:51:22 AM PDT by fooman (Get real with Kim Jung Mentally Ill about proliferation)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 221 | View Replies ]

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Smoky Backroom
Topics · Post Article


FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson