At the end of 2019, russia and Poland quarreled over the attribution of responsibility for anti-Semitism in World War II, and the ambassadors of the United States and Germany to Poland immediately joined the debate. The former's swearing-in identification of Hitler and Stalin for conspiring to start World War II caused an uproar in public opinion.
The U.S. ambassador to Poland, Mosbacher, declared that World War II was a joint effort between the Soviet Union and the Nazis
Historians have long had objective evaluations of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact and its Secret Supplementary Protocol. At the beginning of the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian government also released the archives and no longer kept the matter secret.
In fact, from Hitler's inauguration as Chancellor in January 1933 to Germany's invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, soviet Policy in Europe underwent a dramatic turning point. At first, Moscow advocated the establishment of an international anti-fascist front with soviet, British, and French as the core. Later, in view of the appeasement of Britain and France and hostility to the Soviet Union, the Soviet Union became increasingly suspicious of collective security, and turned to signing a contract with Germany to crush the Western evil plots, postpone the outbreak of the Soviet-German war, and break the German-Japanese fascist anti-Soviet joint front. The so-called theory of "Soviet-German conspiracy to start a war" is not only a typical partial generalization, but also deliberately covers up the serious evil consequences caused by Britain, France, and even the United States in appeasement of the Nazis in an attempt to bring disaster to the east.
After Hitler came to power, he handled relations with the European powers on one of the basic principles that prevented Britain, France, and the Soviet Union from forming an anti-fascist alliance and avoided germany from facing the dilemma of two-front war at the beginning of the expansion of force. At that time, Britain and France faced serious economic and military difficulties, which were relatively easy for Germany to deal with. The Soviet Union, on the other hand, was a behemoth that "could choke to death if eaten", and therefore did not become Hitler's primary target for expansion.
Guided by this strategic approach, Berlin was predominantly deceitful of Britain and France, trying to create the illusion that only the Communist International and the Soviet Union were Enemies of Germany, in order to prevent Western military cooperation with the Soviet Union. As for the Soviet Union, Hitler really wanted to conclude a non-aggression pact that would be effective for a short period of time, so that Germany could concentrate its forces on taking the lead in fighting the West.
Whether in terms of ideology, class attributes, or geopolitical interests, both British and French governments tried to direct the scourge of fascism to the East, using Hitler's Germany to eliminate the socialist Soviet Union. At the same time, the United States pursued so-called neutrality, on the one hand, it wanted to use the rise of Germany to balance the Soviet Union, and on the other hand, it tried to protect the commercial interests of American companies in Germany. This "neutrality" also objectively encouraged the aggressive expansion of the fascist state. Based on the instinctive hostility to the socialist Soviet Union and the inherent contempt for the weak and small countries, Britain and France did not hesitate to sacrifice the interests of the weak and small countries such as CzechOslova, Spain, Poland, and Abyssinia to satisfy the greed of the fascists in order to maintain their own security and thus provoke the German-Soviet conflict.
Today, when we criticize the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany for delineating their respective spheres of influence in the Baltic Sea and Eastern Europe on the eve of the outbreak of World War II, one historical fact that should not be overlooked is that at almost exactly the same time, the British governments of Chamberlain and the French Government of Dallard were engaged in similar secret negotiations with Germany, with the same aim of signing a non-aggression pact dividing the spheres of influence. It was just that Hitler looked down on Britain and France at that time, and did not want to consider the terms of interest exchange proposed by the latter, and then circled Germany's sphere of influence in a certain region.
In response to the historical background of the conclusion of the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact, Putin satirized in his recent speech that "other European countries think they are doing well", which is indeed a phrase.
The rhetoric of German-Soviet conspiracy to launch World War II may seem absurd, but it can arouse heated discussions in European political circles and civil society, reflecting the chaotic perception of the history of World War II. Putin shelled Europe for shifting the blame for World War II from Nazi Germany to the Communists, accusing European countries that were once in cahoots with Hitler for now trying to whitewash the chaos.
For Chinese, we often contrast the reflections of Germany and Japan on war crimes, and some people think that European countries have a relatively objective, unified, and even similar understanding of the outbreak, process and impact of World War II. But this is not the case.
In Germany, there was a consensus among the government, the public, and the academic community that Nazi Germany committed unforgivable war crimes, especially the persecution and massacre of Jews and minorities. But the controversy is relatively large about the causes of the outbreak of World War II, the role of the Soviet Union in it, and the extent to which the expansion of the Third Reich in certain areas was an act of aggression. The socialist Soviet Union in particular (and even Eastern and East Germany under people's democracy after World War II) was largely seen in Germany– especially by the official and elite classes – as an evil force on par with the fascist regime. For the Germans, the essential "evil" of the Soviet Union would never be written off for joining the anti-fascist league.
Remains of the headquarters of the "Gestapo" (State Secret Police) in Berlin, Germany, and the former site of the Nazi Aviation Ministry in the distance
An analogy with Germany is Italy. The economic crisis of 1921 destabilized Italian politics, and fascist leader Mussolini took the opportunity to launch a coup d'état in October 1922 and led his party into Rome, establishing the world's first fascist regime. In May 1939, Germany and Italy concluded an aggressive alliance treaty. When Mussolini came to power, he struggled to achieve Italian control of the Mediterranean. But unlike Nazi Germany, Italy was not charged with genocide. Having lost those horrific tragedies, post-war Italy's reflection on the rise of fascism and the history of World War II is nothing more than an understatement: Mussolini is just one of many dictators, what's the fuss?! In Rome, the commemorative signs erected by the fascist regime and the reliefs praising militarism are still preserved in front of government institutions and public places. Such a sight is almost unthinkable in Germany.
Mussolini Monument on the Italian Olympic Committee Square
A relief of fascist motifs in front of a Roman public institution
Equally unimpressed are Eastern European countries like Hungary, Bulgaria and Romania, which were once associated with fascism. In Hungary, for example, after World War I, the Austro-Hungarian Empire disintegrated and Hungarian territory was divided. The latter's revenge, whose main purpose is to recover lost territory, is extremely heavy, and the target of revenge is the countries around it. Thus, after the outbreak of World War II, Hungary stood firmly with the German-Italian fascists and participated in the partition and occupation of other Eastern European countries and the war against the Soviet Union. For hungarians, it is not so easy to say what good and evil in World War II refer to, I am afraid.
In addition, there are examples of those in Austria, which play the grief card to evade guilt. In February 1938, Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg visited Germany and agreed to strengthen military and economic ties between the two countries, reorganize the government, and appoint Nazis to important positions. In March, the Provisional Government, composed of Nazis and Interior Minister Seth-Inquart, immediately declared a german-Austrian merger. Austria thus became a german province, with Seth-Inquart as governor.
The Memorial to the Fallen Soldiers of the Soviet Army in Budapest
Nominally, Austria was the first country to suffer German aggression. But at the time, most austrians wholeheartedly supported Theo-Austrian union and supported Hitler. After annexation, Austria made up only 8 percent of the Population of the Third Reich, but it played an important role in the genocide against the Jews. According to statistics, Austrians account for 40% of the civil servants serving in many concentration camps.
But it was such a country that, toward the end of World War II, was transformed into the first victim of nazi iron and recognized by the Allies and the international community. The Germans joked: "When people think of Austria, they first think of Mozart and classical art; when they think of Germany, they think of Hitler and the genocide – but Hitler was originally Austrian!" They have committed no less crimes in the war than we have! ”
The Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna, where Hitler gave a speech to all Austrians in March 1938
Compared with Austria, it is Poland that has spared no effort in "worse than miserable". After the partition of Germany and the Soviet Union, Poland became the Sino-European battlefield in World War II, and the Poles who lost their country suffered unprecedented disasters. Poles rightfully believe that their experience in World War II was even more tragic than the genocide of the Jews – divided between two great powers, equally brutally genocide, and "colonized" in disguise by the Soviet Union after the war – while the world paid far less attention to them as victims. Foreign tourists travel to Poland, queue up to visit Auschwitz, but do not seriously go to see the Warsaw Uprising Memorial, the Poles are not happy.
Memorial to the Warsaw Uprising in Poland
At the same time, Warsaw systematically erased allegations that poles had persecuted Jews with the Nazis during World War II. Poland has now enacted legislation to punish those who publicly make such "false statements." In the Jewish ghetto of Krakow and Warsaw, the government has placed new signs telling how local Jews and Christians have lived in harmony since ancient times, as close as one family. Poland's reconstruction of world war II history over the years has not only aroused russian resentment, but also unhappy Jewish groups in Israel and the United States.
Renovated shops in Krakow's Jewish Quarter
The just-arrived year of 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the victory in World War II. Last year, Europe commemorated the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II, which led to a lot of debate about history and current politics. Judging from the quarrels between Russia, Poland, the United States, and Germany last month, it is expected that there will be no shortage of contradictions and incidents surrounding historical issues this year. Europe is not systematically rewriting the history of World War II, but for a long time, countries have not had a unified position and a stable interpretation paradigm. Everything is based on the actual interests of the country, with the mainstream ideology as the criterion: presumably this year we will see more examples of this logic.