The Russians (regardless of, whether they are nostalgic for Soviet times), put in the basis of the national idea pride of “victory over fascism”, and call the Second world war the “great Patriotic war”. Being aware of the criminal essence of communism, they are to avoid semantic dissonance, often stress that the Victor of the war with Hitler was not Stalin, but the Russian (Soviet) people. There is therefore nothing surprising in the fact that the Russian public, especially in recent years, it is difficult to reconcile with the historical truth.
“The Soviet Union contributed to the outbreak of world war II by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and attacked us from the East in September 1939” — these words of the Minister Waszczykowski (Witold Waszczykowski) in Russia caused a flurry of indignation. Two days ago an interview with the head of Polish diplomacy, commented to Russia Today TV channel, the Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on international Affairs Konstantin Kosachev. He noted that the statement of the Minister consistent with the policy of the new Polish government, which seeks to represent Poland hardly the only victim of the Second world war and to declare all other States “aggressors or bystanders”.
Polish historical policy actually trying to break not only dangerous from the point of view of the image of our country, but simply unfair and false trend of naming the poles “a nation of criminals.” Assessment of Russian policy can be called quite soft, however, it was not limited to journalistic comment, and went ahead and began to distort historical facts. “I remind you that Poland in the first half of the 1930-ies was represented by Hitler’s Germany in the League of Nations,” he said.
The situation was different. Berlin tried to prevent Warsaw to join the League. In the end managed to come to a compromise. In 1926 Germany became a permanent member, but Poland got “semi-permanent” membership for a three year term renewable. In 1933, the growing power of Nazi Germany, determined to get rid of international obligations, left the League. At the same time, there has been normalization of Polish-German relations. Hitler saw in Poland, the Bastion of communism, and Pilsudski wanted to avoid an open confrontation with Moscow and Berlin. He was of the opinion that poles can’t fight a war on two fronts, and believed that the Nazis are less anti-Polish positions, the Prussian revisionists. The output of Nazi Germany from the League of Nations gave rise to legitimate concerns that Berlin wants to destroy the international order.
In this regard, the Polish diplomacy went on a tactical rapprochement with the aggressive Western neighbour and demanded that Hitler promises that the withdrawal of his country from the structures of the League will not harm the Polish security. In the end there was a bilateral agreement on the nonuse of force. Of course, the agreement with Warsaw allowed Hitler to avoid complete isolation, which threatened a rupture with the international structures, but to say that Poland represented the interests of Germany in the League of Nations is not just an exaggeration, but really a lie.
Further Kosachev rightly criticizes Poland for cooperation with Germany in the division of Czechoslovakia, however, he makes this misstep Poland erroneous conclusion. He said that the state collaborated with the Third Reich, has no moral right to claim that the USSR contributed to the outbreak of war.
According to this logic, the division of Czechoslovakia was the first episode of world conflict. It is very convenient for Russian historical policy approach. But, first, the land of Czechoslovakia was occupied almost without firing a shot, with the consent of the leadership of this country (which also agreed to give up Poland, Zaolzie), and the beginning of large-scale conflict was only the Nazi-Soviet invasion of Poland: Warsaw, in contrast to Prague, categorically not agreed to the German occupation. Second, even if we start counting the events of the Second world war with gdańsk, and with “peaceful” annexations of Hitler, you have to note that his first victim was not divided by the poles, Czechoslovakia, and Austria. However, Poland did not participate in its Anschluss, so this event of the Russian picture of the history falls…
Insinuations on the subject of cooperation of Poland with Germany at the site of the League of Nations is not the only lie on the subject of Polish history, heard from the mouth of the Russian policy. Kosachev said that States who do not have their own achievements in the fight against Nazism, but only a shameful episodes of collaboration with Nazi Germany, involve multiple resources, trying to “invent more beautiful in relation to those countries and peoples the history of the Second world war.”
The Russians can not be limited to facts inconsistent statements, that the Soviet Union had nothing to do with the outbreak of war. In a fit of revenge they turn to lies, saying that the poles — the only people who fought with the Germans on all fronts, the only people who have not created the collaborationist government and had their own SS division — actually — or did not fight with Hitler, or worked with him.
