Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Not Your Father's Poland

Poland remembers the opening innings of World War Two as few other nations can -- the mass murder of 20,000 officers at Katyn at the hand's of Stalin's soldiers, for instance.*

Russia's remembering things a little differently, as "good ol' Uncle Joe" gets a fresh coat of paint in time for the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War.

Thing is, the historical record and the physical evidence favors Poland. And they're not shy about reminding the Russians.

Good for 'em. And shame on the Russians, who, by ignoring their past, are setting themselves up to repeat it.
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* The Nazi government, having stumbled on the mass graves, proceeded to use it in war propaganda as evidence of what inhuman brutes the Communists were, while their own death camps were in full operation. Words fail me.
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5 comments:

  1. BobGSeptember 1, 2009 at 3:28 PM

    "The Nazi government, having stumbled on the mass graves, proceeded to use it in war propaganda as evidence of what inhuman brutes the Communists were, while their own death camps were in full operation."

    I imagine their excuse was that the concentration camps were only Jews, homosexuals, Gypsies, and communists, none of which the Nazis regarded as real human beings, but only as subhuman.
    Every time I see some neo-Nazi strutting around I get an urge to find a blunt instrument.

    ReplyDelete
  2. strangerSeptember 1, 2009 at 6:51 PM

    One of the girls I knew between VE day and the Korean Police Action spent most of WWII hiding in the woods, dodging German patrols. She was alright until the nightmares came.

    Every time I hear someone extol Hitler or the Nazi's I would like to give him five years of that treatment.

    Especially the ones who deny it.

    Stranger

    ReplyDelete
  3. perlhaqrSeptember 1, 2009 at 10:24 PM

    http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090831/od_nm/us_stalin

    I was fucking apopleptic.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousSeptember 2, 2009 at 4:19 PM

    I had "Katyn" in my Netflix instant queue yesterday and so i watched it when i saw this post. and people ask me why i carry a gun. how can anyone watch that or Shindlers List and not run straight out to the store to buy one?

    Sean

    ReplyDelete
  5. staghoundsSeptember 4, 2009 at 8:19 AM

    To be fair, the Russians saved, looked for, found- and RELEASED- the actual letter to Beria which suggests the slaughter.

    Terrifying to think about the sort of mind that can decide in favour of, and set in motion, the destruction of so many people, so many families, an entire culture JUST BECAUSE OF WHO THEY ARE.

    For the betterment of the world, naturally.

    ReplyDelete

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