War, Politics and Memory: Russian Historians Reevaluate the Origins of World War II
The myth of the Great Patriotic War, including the role of the USSR in the origins of World War II, continues to be a key element in the national identity of the Russian people. Previously, Soviet authorities mandated a narrative depicting the Soviet Union sincerely and unambiguously working for peace and against Nazi expansionism in the prewar years. This interpretation criticized the Western Powers for their alleged complicity in Hitler's aggression. After the collapse of the USSR, several competing views have appeared. The Putin and Medvedev administrations, as well as the popular "national-patriotic" school, maintain much of the former Soviet interpretation. Other Russian historians, many of them politically liberal, indict Stalin for mishandling the prewar crisis or even for promoting the onset of war for imperialistic or revolutionary purposes.
The Living And The Dead: The Rise And Fall Of The Cult Of World War II In Russia
This eye-opening book shows how Communist state and party authorities stage-managed the Soviets memory of World War II, transforming a national trauma into a heroic exploit that glorified the party while systematically concealing the disastrous mistakes and criminal cruelties committed by the Stalinist tyranny..
The British Communist Party and the War, 1939-41: Old Slogans Revived
When the tired voice of Neville Chamberlain announced on the radio on 3 September 1939 that 'this country is at war with Germany', most of his listeners felt a mixture of fear and relief. The fear was due to the widespread belief, born mainly of extensive cinema newsreel coverage of the Spanish Civil War, that massive aerial bombardment was imminent. The relief was the result of the feeling that, at last, the uncertainty was over. The inevitable journey had begun, even if the final destination remained unknown. Most people agreed with the Prime Minister that the German moves in Poland constituted 'a wicked and unprovoked attack' and that they would be fighting 'evil things' 'brute force, bad faith, injustice, oppression and persecution.' What did the 18,000 or so members of the Communist Party think? Talks with individuals who were Party members at that time, and a look at the public statements of their leaders, indicate that, the HitlerStalin Pact notwithstanding, most of them felt the same fear and relief as their compatriots. They could claim that their Party had been fighting 'evil things' for at least three years, during the Spanish Civil War, and even before that. Now at last, virtually the whole nation, including its reluctant bourgeois leaders, would be united in fighting fascism.