Memorial Day Reflections and Ukraine Memorial Day is an appropriate day to think about loved ones, who lost their lives serving our country in wars affecting the evolution of the western democracies. The war that is most striking to me, because of its ramifications for just about all present day nations and societies, is World War 2. It is estimated that approximately 70 million people lost their lives in World War 2. This staggering number will underscore the legacy of many factions affected by the killing for decades, if not for centuries. Today, most of us in the USA are probably not thinking about World War 2. The youngest generations would possibly regard World War 2 as ancient history. Besides that it’s not a subject which spurs text messaging. But how does one envision today’s issue revolving around Russia and Ukraine? About 10 million Ukrainians lost their lives in World War 2. The crisis in Ukraine today is closely tied to these losses. An estimate of Soviet Union lives lost during World War 2 is 20 to 27 million killed. Ukraine was regarded as belonging to the Soviet Union under Stalin. It follows that Ukraine accounted for 37% to 50% of all Soviet Union losses (on Nazi Germany’s Eastern front). U.S. military losses were about 300 thousand killed and another 100 thousand missing (on Nazi Germany’s Western front). Ukraine was the breadbasket of the Soviet Union, supplying a huge portion of its food, industrial and military equipment needs. Hitler wanted control over the wealth and resources of Ukraine in order to ensure long term support for his war machine. Yet, Hitler regarded Ukrainians as sub-humans and wanted to displace 40 million Ukrainians with German settlements that would occupy Ukraine as new living space. When Hitler’s Nazi Germany attacked the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, he started a war of annihilation against Ukrainians. Over 2 million Nazi German soldiers lost their lives fighting the Soviet Union on the Eastern front. The Eastern front provides a less told story of action, which decimated Hitler’s armies, setting the Nazis up for defeat. A complete story of action would reveal unimaginable terror and suffering. Just look at the 10 to 1 ratio of Soviet Union losses to the number of Nazi soldiers killed and speculate on mechanisms for killing 10 or 20 million people in a relatively short time. You will get the picture! The USA materially supported and became allies with the Soviet Union and Great Britain, but did not deploy armies to the Eastern front. Flashback to 1933, Ukraine suffered a man-made famine under Stalin’s Soviet regime. The famine is said to have killed over 7 million Ukrainians by starvation. Ukrainians steadily clamored for independence. Widespread repression of the Ukrainians by Stalin’s Soviet Russia followed. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), headed by Stephan Bandera, supported the idea of an independent Ukraine. This organization struggled against Nazi Germany on the one hand and Soviet Russia on the other. On June 30, 1941, following the Nazi invasion of the country, OUN proclaimed an independent government for Ukraine. The Nazis disbanded this government, and imprisoned Bandera in Germany for the rest of the war. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was founded in 1942. The army, numbering about 200,000, fought guerilla campaigns beyond 1945 hoping to win independence. Hitler’s attack across the borders of Ukraine was a thrust to wipe out and enslave Ukrainians. The Nazis closed down all colleges and universities, limited all education to the 4th grade, and stole Ukrainian arts and treasures. Ukrainians were systematically slaughtered. The Soviet retreat from Hitler’s attacking armies amounted to a scorched earth policy to move everything of value in Ukraine to Russia and destroy everything that couldn’t be moved. Since Soviet officials were evacuated or fled, Ukraine was left with no official government throughout World War 2. Ukrainians were transported to Nazi Germany for enslavement, to Russia’s Siberia for evacuation, and killed in Ukraine. The Nazis armies were on the retreat after the Battle of Kursk, following the Battle of Stalingrad. During their retreat through Ukraine, the Nazis destroyed everything they possibly could, leaving nothing that could be used by Ukrainians or attacking Soviet Russian armies. Shaky relationships between Soviet Russia and Ukraine would characterize the rebuilding of Ukraine with Soviet help, when the smoke began to clear after the end of World War 2. Ukrainian independence remained an issue. This kind of history deserves some attention, investigation or analysis when evaluating decisions regarding Ukraine. Amazingly, Ukraine has bounced back into a strong position as a breadbasket and major industrial and military equipment manufacturer, but with an observable independence. The problems spurring the crisis in Ukraine are not made by President Obama. Putin just lit a match to a historically volatile situation in Ukraine. Apparently this leader thinks muscle will prevail regardless of history. Julius (JD)
Posted on: Mon, 26 May 2014 01:27:24 +0000
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