Operation Barbarossa

[OwlsFan]

Today is the 70th anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The campaign which decided World War 2 and resulted in more than 30 million dead. It was also the campaign which decided the fate of much of eastern Europe until the 1990s.

Have you seen or heard a mention of it on the news? I haven't. There was a whole fuss about the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, even though the Germans didn't really intend invading. Not a mention though of this seismic event.

[peadar1987]

Today is the 70th anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. The campaign which decided World War 2 and resulted in more than 30 million dead. It was also the campaign which decided the fate of much of eastern Europe until the 1990s.

Have you seen or heard a mention of it on the news? I haven't. There was a whole fuss about the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain, even though the Germans didn't really intend invading. Not a mention though of this seismic event.

Unfortunately, the news media are competing for ratings. Something actually significant like Operation Barbarossa will get binned in favour of a piece on Katie Price's latest genital wart.

[Lionel Ritchie]

Almost funny now when you read Herr Hitlers speech announcing the invasion. At times it could almost seduce belief that he really felt they (USSR) were the bad guys and the aggressor -a pre-nom he uses near every time he referred to Winston Churchill actually. He bangs on about the Soviets refusing to guarentee the integrity of Bulgarias borders (I just can't picture kind ol' uncle Adolf losing a wink of sleep at night over the integrity of a Bulgarian border in case it was bad news for him personnally in a very straightforward way). At least he's a little more upfront when he complains they carved a bit more off Polands carcass than he'd intended sharing with them.

[Mr A]

The thing about the Battle Of Britain was that it could be held up as a victory for a democratic nation against a massively evil power. There's a good guys V bad guys story to be told there and it came in a relatively bite size chunk in terms of time and participants. So there's something tangible there to celebrate I guess, plus you can't blame the British media for focussing on such a central event in their history.

Barbarossa on the other hand marks the start of a horrible ongoing bloodbath between two rather horrible regimes that wasn't to end until (more or less) the battle of Berlin 5 years later. Certainly it's hugely significant, but the story is essentially a very depressing one.

[OwlsFan]

The thing about the Battle Of Britain was that it could be held up as a victory for a democratic nation against a massively evil power. There's a good guys V bad guys story t.

Democratic as far as Europe was concerned but the UK still had its Empire in Africa and the Far East at the time and was refusing by force to grant independence to the likes of India and other colonies. It was democracy for all, unless you weren't white, so there was a fair bit of hypocrisy in many of Churchill's statements. That said, he stood up to Hitler for which we all should be grateful.

The whole of Europe (Iron Curtain) suffered long lasting affects as a result of that invasion and arguably the Israel/Palestinian conflict is also a consequence for the Final Solution followed on the coat tails of the attack and perhaps there still wouldn't be a State of Israel if the European Jews had been left in peace. It resonates even today but I haven't seen a word about it or indeed about Katie Price's latest genital wart in the papers.

[bennocelt]

Just curious how you know that this isnt a big story in the Russian/eastern European media?

[DannyInvincible]

a piece on Katie Price's latest genital wart.

Wow. Link?

[dahamsta]

http://foot.ie/threads/153074-Operation-Barbarossa?p=1500782&viewfull=1#post1500782



(Sorry, that was incredibly childish. Did I mention it's been a long day?)

[culloty82]

The whole of Europe (Iron Curtain) suffered long lasting affects as a result of that invasion and arguably the Israel/Palestinian conflict is also a consequence for the Final Solution followed on the coat tails of the attack and perhaps there still wouldn't be a State of Israel if the European Jews had been left in peace.

Actually, it was WW1 that started the Israel-Palestine conflict: Britain took the Middle East off the Turks, and the Balfour Declaration promised an eventual Jewish state in Palestine. Unfortunately, in '48 the UK bungled the transfer of powers to the Palestinian Arab and Jewish states that the UN had agreed, the Israelis jumped the gun with no consideration for the Arabs and the next 60 years is history.

[peadar1987]

Wow. Link?

I can't find the latest one, but this is a previous one:

http://turbo.inquisitr.com/wp-content/2010/01/peter-andre.jpg

[Spudulika]

Not a major story here, or in the Russian language media. Got mentions, but the place is all partied out over the Victory Day celebrations there on May 9th, it doesn't do to have more than one such holiday in the space of a few months. Quite an interesting documentary on NTV about it, but it was rather sanitised and claimed that there was a breakdown in communications between the Kremlin and the front which led to the initial indecision. The accepted story is that Stalin was in shock and took to the bed, the truth is probably a bit more complicated than that. Having started the war with Hitler, it probably was a bit of a shock that his ally turned on him, though the armed forces in the USSR were in complete disarray due to purges, plus there was massive fear amongst the rank and file of reporting bad news with Beria and his buddies knocking around with pistols at the ready.

So, the point, it wasn't a headline story here except on the Zvezda channel (armed forces channel).

[Lionel Ritchie]

I think I've mentioned it before on some thread here but one of my favourite stats about Barbarossa is that, for all the stylization of the Blitzkrieg-type attack being a motorised irresistable force, the germans used over 400,000 horses to support the advance into the Soviet Union. Ended up eating quite of few of them as well.

[OwlsFan]

Just curious how you know that this isnt a big story in the Russian/eastern European media?

I don't read Russian so I couldn't know. I was talking about the reaction here and in the British media.


Not a major story here, or in the Russian language media. Got mentions, but the place is all partied out over the Victory Day celebrations there on May 9th, it doesn't do to have more than one such holiday in the space of a few months. Quite an interesting documentary on NTV about it, but it was rather sanitised and claimed that there was a breakdown in communications between the Kremlin and the front which led to the initial indecision. The accepted story is that Stalin was in shock and took to the bed, the truth is probably a bit more complicated than that. Having started the war with Hitler, it probably was a bit of a shock that his ally turned on him, though the armed forces in the USSR were in complete disarray due to purges, plus there was massive fear amongst the rank and file of reporting bad news with Beria and his buddies knocking around with pistols at the ready.

So, the point, it wasn't a headline story here except on the Zvezda channel (armed forces channel).

Surprising but then the first few months of the campaign were an embarrassment to the Soviets so perhaps they would prefer to forget about that.

[bennocelt]

I don't read Russian so I couldn't know. I was talking about the reaction here and in the British media.
.

Exactly. So if it aint in the Sun then it aint news I suppose:rolleyes:

[juan]

Don't mention the war!

[Spudulika]

I don't read Russian so I couldn't know. I was talking about the reaction here and in the British media.



Surprising but then the first few months of the campaign were an embarrassment to the Soviets so perhaps they would prefer to forget about that.

You can try the Moscow Times, it's a pretty straight newspaper, anti-Kremlin, but quite good. Moscow News is a Kremlin rag, but starting to get a bit lippy, especially against the man who won't be King (according to himself).

You know, you're probably right, it was a bit shameful for them, but remember, there were broken divisions etc fighting. There appeared to be some sort of co-ordination going on, but when you wipe out your officer class and stick in apparatchiks to do the planning, you're in trouble. Also the locals are more excercised about the elections coming up. Plus the summer is dead here.

[Red Star]

This story was on Russia today news channel all weekend. You guys not watch RT?

[OwlsFan]

This story was on Russia today news channel all weekend. You guys not watch RT?

Would like to have seen that. I am sure the anniversary of an event which cost the lives of 30 million of your citizens is worth mentioning. I bet the few Panzer Grenadiers still alive who are compos mentis will not have forgotton that date which cost most of their comrades their lives and resulted in their country losing Prussia.