Why is there a Monument to Nazis in the first place? That's the real hate crime.

quote:

Originally posted by markj:
Why is there a Monument to Nazis in the first place?

That's what I was wondering. The article doesn't explain (unless I missed in my skimming?)

Hard to imagine, but the Germans were preferred over the Soviets, even thought of as liberators by many of the citizens of countries like Ukraine, Lithuania, etc.

My mother carried a grudge against the Soviets for her entire life; several members of the family were deported to Siberia in June 1941, and my mom's immediate family was on the list of people scheduled to be deported a week later. The Germans invading Lithuania stopped that from happening. If you weren't Jewish (a big if, I know), the Germans were definitely the lesser of two evils. At least for a while.

The Germans tried to form an SS unit, but the Lithuanians resisted. Many other countries didn't. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...as_Plechavi%C4%8Dius

http://www.lituanus.org/1986/86_4_02.htm

Eventually when the Soviets were pushing back west, many Lithuanians fled to Germany where they felt safer.

A little background to put things in perspective:

Soviet Deportations: https://www.sciencespo.fr/mass...ions-chronology.html

The SS Division in question: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...the_SS_(1st_Galician)

History is rarely straightforward.

Yes, the Ukrainians at first welcomed the Nazis. The Soviet Union had starved several million Ukrainians to death in the 20s.

On the other hand, I can sympathize with Canadians who want to obliterate monuments to that grudge that celebrate fascism and racism in the name of "ancestors."

I have a long story to tell about a college friend whose father was in one of those SS units. When I retire, I think I'll write a novella about my experience with that family.