Our VICTORY! Nothing forgotten and we will remember everything!

By Sergey ABAKSHIN

A hero does everything that could be done. Others wouldn’t do it

Romen ROLAND

People of USSR (and post-Soviet space) not only paid the highest price for the victory in Great Patriotic War, but found out all the truth about 1939—1945 period from last hands. From the day of uncommitted surrender of Nazi Germany until 65th anniversary a lion’s share of real truth is known by now. This is relatively the same as with count of overall Soviet direct victims, which are for the last fifteen years moving from 26 million of dead to 27 million, but yet without surges as it was before. Dark alleys and spots of fatal years are alighted quite narrowly, and something huge and staggering can’t be hidden away. Given truth is witnessing: on 22 of June 1941 one couldn’t surrender at discretion of conqueror. Those who shot an enemy those days, punctured with bayonet, chopped with entrenching shovel (the Red Army was only one of its kind, where entrenching shovel was more of an arm blanche than a pioneer tool), gone into ram attack (during the first days of war 15 Luftwaffe planes were victims of Soviet ram attacks) – were right from beginning to end. With all bloodlust and inexcusable violence of Stalin regime there were no alternatives existed for people of one sixth part of ecumene at that historical moment.

When schoolboys of Kazakhstan are painting battles of Second World War, then for the majority of them “our” are those people who carrying red stars on their shoulders. Although particular social activists and publicists in recent times are allowing themselves passages that Stalin’s USSR and Hitler’s Germany is the same thing at bottom, but such point of view is not having massive backing. Nazi henchmen couldn’t manage an overturn in people minds, even in Yuschenko period in Ukraine, taking all his hard-headed glorification of Stepan Bendera and Galichina SS division. Despite all the efforts of ideologists and remarkable creativeness of myths brought by them and power of state’s propaganda apparatus. What to say about Kazakhstan, where only General Rodimtsev division, which reconquered almost lost city of Stalingrad in September 1942, can be matched by frequency of mentioning with General’s Panfilov Division formed in it.

Fiasco of Neo-Bandera would become more certain if to appeal to front-line soldiers who freed Poltava. It wasn’t Ukraine’s largest city even before the war (unlike Kiev, Kharkov and Odessa). During period of occupation Hitler soldiers killed 18.2 thousands of local civilians, including more than 5,000 of children; 20.8 thousand men were reived as compulsory labour in Germany. During Battle of Dnepr in August 1943, Soviet Army liberated Poltava on 23 of September. During retreat German Nazi troops were systematically burned down the city from 21 of September. There was no single building left in one piece in the center of Poltava.

After seeing barbarities with their own eyes, Soviet soldiers didn’t take prisoners for a few weeks on the part of theatre of war. Yet Germans were not surrendering themselves, recognizing that they have nothing to rely on. That’s why the monument dedicated to Swedish gentlemen of fortune for Poltava battle in 1709 is still staying, but Hitler’s sadists will not get any honorary monument and can’t be foreseen. Even with Hungarians, German allies at those times, there is no conciliation yet foreseen. Hungarian division, for instance, were camped around Bryansk forest and engaged in guerilla liquidation, robbing, raping and shooting civilians by the way.

It is Kazakhstani people and Kazakhs that know especially what the face of Soviet government was. Communists are not only factories, facilities, education and health safety systems. It also is hunger and death of dispossession, ALZHIR (Akmola Camp for Wives of Country’s Traitors), punishers of NKVD secret police, and repressions on the most educated and honorable among people. But at those times the borderline was between Buchenwald and Karlag. Even those who caught the trick understood that Karlag is winning by score. In Buchenwald, apropos, out of tenth thousands of children aged between 3 to 14 year old, who passed 19-th barrack, only 900 stayed alive to the moment of rebellion in the end of 1945. Kazakh hunters, who became in masses point men on 45 millimeter antitank guns (standard monikers of guns were “goodbye Rodina” and “death to the enemy – end of crew”), hardly knew anything about concentration camps, but been surrounded on Barvenkov heights, shot until the last shell. Thank to them amongst other things, as to Mogilev’s protectors, Hitler soldiers’ resources were finished in the end. For that reason all of those who stood on until the end and being captured didn’t deserted to the enemy, are surely have their own share in Our Own Victory.

A big was has a unique ability to show things in their real appearance. Everything here is perceived in true meaning: food, water, clothing, relatives, homeland, self-abnegation, friendship, fear, betrayal, honesty, infamy… Since everybody suddenly found themselves in common submarine (even assuming its size), they declined a heap of needless and useless very quickly. Even communists. rivaling with God with their ideas of Marxism-Leninism, opened churches and mosques for service. Market relations were actually permitted, peasants were given rights to sell their produce from private lands, and nobody pursued or punished them for that. They gave weapons to huge masses of yesterday’s prisoners. Yet many believed that after Heroic Act of people live would bу easier and justified. But veterans and workers of the home front are not to be blamed that the Victory was stolen from them.

If every Soviet soldier would kill one soldier from army of Germany and its allies, then there will be no men in enemy countries. Losses were clearly not in favour of USSR, especially in 1941—1942. But there’s no need to feel sorry. After repressions of 1937—1939, idiotic guidelines that one and a half soviet division will crash one enemy division only on that basis that they are consist of peasants and workers, and the enemy – from capitalists, it was hardly to expect different. Furthermore, there was Stalin’s paranoia that if he wouldn’t give casus belli, then Hitler wouldn’t attack… The order to keep motor operation time and fuel, whereas soldiers are not trained to do so. On 22 of June 1941 the Red Army had 1.5 thousand T-34 tanks and only 50 well-trained crews in the full meaning of word. There is widely known fact that if to upload multiple military data about USSR and Germany on 22nd of June in the eve of the war into computer, than it’s not giving the victory to Soviet Union. Because many parameters can’t be uploaded into machine, including bravery.

From 22 of June to 9 of July 1941, the Red Army lost 11 thousand tanks. On summer 1942 our army was actually defeated for the second time. And then nevertheless there was Stalingrad, after which Hitler’s military machine yet couldn’t restore itself. As a matter of fact, military industry of Germany compensated all losses to Wehrmacht until 1944, but people weren’t the same. On the background of soviet indicators of defense industry Germany also looking weak. The industry, salvaged to the east, gave 144.000 planes only through the years of war. The salvation itself knows no analogues in global history. Sometimes it took only three month from the moment of dismantlement on old place to production beginning on a new one. For 1940—1945 period armament industry of USSR produced 35467 T-34 tanks and 3534 KV-1 and KV-2 tanks, 6 million PPSH (Shpagin submachine gun), 1,5 million SVT (Tokarev self-reloading rifle). Legendary interceptor Il-2, known under “flying tank” moniker, in general became the most mass produced plane for the whole history of mankind. And also there was Grabin’s ZIS-3 canon of 76mm caliber – a masterpiece of bombardment artillery.

Particular regards to Richard Zorge. The great intelligence officer didn’t steal a single document for his extremely effective career. Being analyst, he received strategic information from reports in press, stock news, personal observations, talks in clubs. However, this was enough in the very climax of USSR war to move 20 well-trained and well-armed divisions from Far East.

With all respect to part of Allies in anti-Hitler coalition, more than 90% of Wehrmacht forces were eliminated on Eastern Front. At that, also Hungarians, Finns, Romans, Italians, Croats and SS vermin from all over Europe (SS were “ideological” forces, and for that reason it gave room even for formally “race defected”), “Blue Division” of Spanish (a friendly gesture to Hitler from Franco). Except for Slovaks were more imitated warfare and showed them at full pack whilst passed on Soviet side. During hardest years, 1941—1942, Yugoslavia was actually the second froте for USSR against Hitler. For example, in 1941 12 German divisions couldn’t make it to Moscow since they got stuck on Balkans.

Not in any case we want to underestimate US and UK contribution (including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Gurkha from Nepal and others). We remember Fighting France, Brazilian Corps, which fought on Italian theatre of war. Supplies of vehicles, planes, foodstuffs, fuel, sheet steel by land-lease. Bombing German cities was too important. For the reason to let know common Hans, holding defense in Kurland, that his Gretchen, who asked to find a good place and slaves for future manor is already in the other world and waiting for him impatiently. If Americans could create atomic bomb before 9th of May then it is quite certain that it would be used against Germany. Because this was a war on elimination by general global waterfront. Even such countries as Iran couldn’t be neutral. And there were also Japan and war on Pacific Ocean.

However, the thing about any war is not to be proud of friendly, the more so of winners, because any war has defeated side. At that, it is particularly hard to say that people on defeated side are… friendly. Today there is a lot written about both those who were fighting against will or by good will on the side of Wehrmacht. Those are not only many European nations, but also Kalmyks, part of Cossacks, Russians, Ukrainians, Lithuanians, Latvians, Estonians… There were also Kazakh and people of Central Asia. This is a painful topic, and with every new year we finding more documents and myths about General Vlasov, about founder of Turkestan legion Mustapha Shokay… There are streets in Almaty named after him. Was he a traitor of a true patriot of Kazakhstani land? Oк he and such activists with hard fate were simply victims of history and its last two World Wars. Or was he, controversially, a prophet of something divine and unclear in that times? There is a lot of work ahead to restore the whole historical picture of happened.

The question is not, that we allegedly are imprisoned by old stereotypes (although it is also), simply rendering homage to victors, we wouldn’t forget about those who were blamed in due time by the book “fall of Big Turkestan” of Serik Shakibayev. Blamed without right to be rehabilitated, not to mention simple human understanding and forgiveness. In this meaning educated Europe are much more humane and honest in such questions, if only a person is not involved in crimes against humanity and such things. For instance, veterans of “Blue division” are not ashamed in Spain, still receiving pensions on the same rights as victims of Holocaust from Germany state budget. That is besides support from the own country. And legionnaires? They are too veterans of Second World War! Let from the side of defeated. We will repeat once again – we speaking obviously about soldiers and not about punishers and sadists. Why things here are not as it is in Spain, to my mind, is not worth a curse. But since we are on the way to Europe, it is worth to think about it…

In any case, there is a powerful systematization of everything. Including history. Thus, everything must be sorted out intently. Possibly, it is now the time to be engaged in such questions narrowly, obviously without curtains and exaltation, considering literally every circumstance of those times. All that is needed by our descendants, future generations, to put everything on its place to 70th anniversary of our victory in this manner. Compliments to all of you! Glory to heroes! Honour to veterans. Death to foes and their allies!