Civilisation Ukrainian-Style: Vandalising the Memorials to the Soldiers of the Anti-Hitler Coalition

Reunion of SS and UPA Nazi collaborators and their supporters in 2006 in the Ukraine. This is evil.

The Ukrainian government, which is very particular about emphasising the status of the Ukraine as a civilised European nation, is attempting to revise the history of the Second World War. In Lvov oblast, in the city of Komarny, the local administration authorised the demolition of a memorial built to pay tribute to the Red Army soldiers who fell liberating the Ukraine from the Nazi aggressors. The permission for this vandalism, as representatives of veterans’ organisations called it, was issued by the commission for the victims of war and political repression and the national service for the protection of the national cultural heritage. No requests for permission to proceed were filed with the Russian Embassy in Kiev. Moreover, Russian diplomats learned of what happened from the press.

Today, what are left of the memorial and the soldiers’ graves are broken slabs and piles of earth. Teenagers are photographing the bones scattered all over the place on their mobile phones. This mockery of the soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition took place with the full connivance of the government. The municipal authorities assert that the decision to relocate the remains to the city cemetery was taken to guarantee them better maintenance and protection. City officials have no idea how many soldiers were buried in the city park, however, they know the exact number of the graves of the members of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army, which fought alongside the Nazis.

It is no accident that for official Kiev, the Nazi collaborators who served with Waffen-SS are national heroes. It claims that the destruction of the memorials to the victors in the war against Fascism is necessary because they are a symbol of the “Soviet-Bolshevik era”. The Ukrainian leadership is just following Estonia, where a Memorial to the Soldier-Liberator was demolished on the eve of Victory Day as a remnant of the Soviet past and the graves of Soviet soldiers and officers were profaned. An expert, Vladimir Zharikhin, said that all this suggests that the vandalising of the graves of the soldiers of the anti-Hitler coalition was an act of state vandalism. “At first glance, the events in Lvov and Estonia seem surprising; since both these countries argue they are a part of the European community and live by European principles, whereas, in reality, they are rogue states. I use the word ‘state’ advisedly, for it’s clear that decisions of this sort were passed down from the top”.

Meanwhile, work is underway in one of the district centres in Hungary to transfer the remains of Soviet soldiers to the city cemetery, where they are to be reburied with honours and a memorial will be built. The permission to do that was obtained from the Russian Embassy in Budapest. In contrast, the Ukraine and Estonia didn’t trouble themselves to negotiate the issue with Moscow before demonstratively destroying war memorials. A number of European news outlets described the demolition of the memorial in Lvov as “legitimised vandalism”.

28 November 2008

Aleksandr Vatutin

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=91092&cid=22&p=28.11.2008

Editor’s Note:

Memorial at Poklonnaya Gora near Moscow in honour of the allies of the Anti-Hitler Coalition. Honour their memories and respect the living veterans. They are heroes and worthy of glory.

Most Americans believe, in all innocence, that the Baltic states and the Ukraine are ancient structures only recently taken over by the Soviets in 1945. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Ukraine never had an existence as a state prior to 1991, and the Baltic states were independent only during the period of 1920-39. Thusly, these regions have little experience in ruling themselves and they lack a stable political culture. For instance, Latvia and Estonia use ruses to disenfranchise the Russian population, for if the Russian population were to vote, they would make common cause with good-sense Balts to throw the right-wing neo-Nazis out. No wonder the Bushies LOVE them! They are as much frauds as GWB was!

If Americans were to know how Nazi collaborators are honoured in these four countries, they would vomit in disgust. Their loud and active North American diasporas lead a vigorous campaign to silence all those who speak of the foul cooperation of the nationalists with the Nazis. The Holocaust would not have been possible without the active and willing participation of Galicians and Balts. When you support the Baltic states or the Ukraine, you support those who honour those who helped to murder millions of helpless and innocent Jews, Roma (Gypsies), Poles, Byelorussians, Russians, and (yes!) Ukrainians.

Detail of the Poklonnaya Gora memorial

Stand for the truth. Honour those who fell in the terrible battle to defeat the Nazis, whatever country they came from. It should be like the monument at the main Russian war memorial at Poklonnaya Gora near Moscow. It shows British, French, American, and Soviet soldiers standing together. Honour the remaining veterans and give them respect. Give no support to those who glorify the Nazis and their filthy cause. It is that simple.

BMD