[quote=Retlaw;678619]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eric
But when you consider what Hitler had in mind for Moscow, had he captured it, Stalin's attitude isn't surprising. It is one of the troubling things about "history", that, in the West even today, historians and the general public (or at least those who think about things other than Oprah and Jerry Springer) still seem to ignore the sacrifices of the Russian people in The Great Patriotic War. I think it's time I tried to find out how Russian historians treat the contributions of the Western Allies in the defeat of Hitler.
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Especially if they mention the Britsh Sailors in the Arctic convoys, who lost their lives, and the R.A.F., escorts. The R.A.F., at times had to land on Russian soil to refuel for the return journey, I remember reading of the Russian distrust, even though they had risked their lives escorting the ships, they were under armed guards whilst in Russia. The Ruskies did give medals to British sailors, but are they mentioned in the official Russian histories.
Retlaw.
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Don't know if the Russian historians mention these not inconsiderable contributions, but Alexander Werth does so at length in "Russia at War: 1941-45." And those of us who take the trouble to interest ourselves in these events know the value of "official" histories. I, for one, wouldn't wipe my ass on any of them.
The question comes to mind: what is important? Is it what actually happens? Or how what happens is recorded and presented? In Canada we remember the capture of Vimy Ridge as a pivotal moment in our history, an action in which we showed the whole world that Canadians, fighting as an independent force from an independent nation, had taken control of their own destiny, and could no longer be viewed as an appendage of Great Britain. But for most of the rest of the interested world, Vimy Ridge is merely a part of the failed Battle of Arras, even though, in itself, it can be viewed as the first uncluttered victory after 32 frustrating months of war. In this sense, can history ever be taught without biases?