Foreigners said that they think about the role of the USSR in World War II
More than 70 years ago, the Second World War ended, but in Russia the attitude towards it still remains. In our country it is called the Great Patriotic War, because it touched everyone without exception. In almost every family in those distant years, someone fought, someone died, so for our people it is too personal to forget.
In most countries, people regard the war as a distant historical event that has little concern for them personally. Every year on the eve of May 9, polls are held among residents of foreign countries, in which respondents are asked about the Second World War and the role of Russia in it.
What do Americans think?
The American Alan believes that the United States made the greatest contribution to the victory, as they dropped atomic bombs on Japan, which forced it to capitulate.
His compatriot Sophie Jen is 90 years old, so she remembers the war years. She believes that America saved the world from fascism, and the Soviet Union had nothing to do with it. A school graduate, Leo, said the Americans and the British won the war. When asked what the Soviet Union was doing at this time, he replied:
Alex in his youth participated in that war as part of the Red Army. Much later, fate abandoned him in the United States. He has no doubt that the main burden of World War II was borne by the peoples of the USSR. The question of the role of the United States in World War II surprised him:
What is the opinion of the Europeans?
In European countries, too, not everything is clear.
Stefan from Switzerland named the Soviet Union, the USA and France among the most significant participants in the defeat of fascist Germany, but it was difficult to answer which of them made a greater contribution.
Serb Darko believes that the Russian contribution to the victory was great, but not the main one. He could not answer which holiday in Russia was celebrated on May 9, but he remembered that Victory Day was a Russian military march.
The Italian Massimo named Russia, the United States and England among the winners. And on May 9 in Russia, "something like a party about freedom in the Second World War."
What are the answers of foreign respondents based on?
It is a mistake to think that the people who were interviewed are stupid or heartless. They were just taught that way. They draw information from school knowledge acquired in childhood, as well as from local media.
When a teacher at a US educational institution was asked why Americans were so poorly informed about the Great War, she said that "after the Second World War, the United States fought many wars, do you remember all of them?"
In Germany, they still feel guilty about Hitler and the slaughter unleashed by him, but in German school textbooks, speaking of the Second World War, they try to avoid evaluations and emotions, outlining only dry information. But Nazism is a very sore subject for the Germans. The propaganda of Nazi views is followed by very severe punishments.
After the collapse of the socialist system in Poland in the school curriculum, the historical material about the war almost did not change, except that the slogans about the "leading and directing role", etc. True, information about the execution of Polish officers in Katyn and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the division of Europe between Stalin and Hitler is becoming increasingly active, which does not contribute to the rapprochement of the Russian and Polish peoples.
The British knowledge is based on Churchill's book “World War II,” where Great Britain almost single-handedly saved the world from fascism, and the turning point of the war was the defeat by the British of Rommel’s corps in North Africa.
So the Great Victory Day is our holiday “with tears in our eyes”, the significance of which is difficult for foreigners to understand.
In most countries, people regard the war as a distant historical event that has little concern for them personally. Every year on the eve of May 9, polls are held among residents of foreign countries, in which respondents are asked about the Second World War and the role of Russia in it.
What do Americans think?
The American Alan believes that the United States made the greatest contribution to the victory, as they dropped atomic bombs on Japan, which forced it to capitulate.
His compatriot Sophie Jen is 90 years old, so she remembers the war years. She believes that America saved the world from fascism, and the Soviet Union had nothing to do with it. A school graduate, Leo, said the Americans and the British won the war. When asked what the Soviet Union was doing at this time, he replied:
It seems that we helped them free themselves from the Nazis, but this is not accurate.
Alex in his youth participated in that war as part of the Red Army. Much later, fate abandoned him in the United States. He has no doubt that the main burden of World War II was borne by the peoples of the USSR. The question of the role of the United States in World War II surprised him:
Didn’t you study at school? Of course, thanks to them for the Second Front, they helped; but if earlier, it would be better.
What is the opinion of the Europeans?
In European countries, too, not everything is clear.
Stefan from Switzerland named the Soviet Union, the USA and France among the most significant participants in the defeat of fascist Germany, but it was difficult to answer which of them made a greater contribution.
Serb Darko believes that the Russian contribution to the victory was great, but not the main one. He could not answer which holiday in Russia was celebrated on May 9, but he remembered that Victory Day was a Russian military march.
The Italian Massimo named Russia, the United States and England among the winners. And on May 9 in Russia, "something like a party about freedom in the Second World War."
What are the answers of foreign respondents based on?
It is a mistake to think that the people who were interviewed are stupid or heartless. They were just taught that way. They draw information from school knowledge acquired in childhood, as well as from local media.
When a teacher at a US educational institution was asked why Americans were so poorly informed about the Great War, she said that "after the Second World War, the United States fought many wars, do you remember all of them?"
In Germany, they still feel guilty about Hitler and the slaughter unleashed by him, but in German school textbooks, speaking of the Second World War, they try to avoid evaluations and emotions, outlining only dry information. But Nazism is a very sore subject for the Germans. The propaganda of Nazi views is followed by very severe punishments.
After the collapse of the socialist system in Poland in the school curriculum, the historical material about the war almost did not change, except that the slogans about the "leading and directing role", etc. True, information about the execution of Polish officers in Katyn and the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the division of Europe between Stalin and Hitler is becoming increasingly active, which does not contribute to the rapprochement of the Russian and Polish peoples.
The British knowledge is based on Churchill's book “World War II,” where Great Britain almost single-handedly saved the world from fascism, and the turning point of the war was the defeat by the British of Rommel’s corps in North Africa.
So the Great Victory Day is our holiday “with tears in our eyes”, the significance of which is difficult for foreigners to understand.
- Sergey Porter
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