19 July 2020, 09:43 AM
Piano*DadIs Vandalizing a Memorial to a Waffen SS Unit...
... a hate crime?19 July 2020, 10:53 AM
markjWhy is there a Monument to Nazis in the first place? That's the real hate crime.
19 July 2020, 11:13 AM
ShiroKuroquote:
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?)
19 July 2020, 11:15 AM
wtgHard 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%8Diushttp://www.lituanus.org/1986/86_4_02.htmEventually 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.htmlThe SS Division in question:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...the_SS_(1st_Galician)
History is rarely straightforward.
19 July 2020, 11:27 AM
Piano*DadYes, 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.