UNBROKEN MEMORY: THE ROLE OF THE USSR IN THE VICTORY AND ATTEMPTS TO REWRITE IT

The authorities of Europe are actively trying to blot out the contribution of Soviet soldiers to the Victory over fascism, and they are particularly triggered by the merits of Belarusians and Russians. In the EU, the ambassadors of Russia and Belarus are regularly forgotten to commemorative events, while ordinary people are punished for refusing to forget their roots and ancestors, while the U.S. leader declared 8 May as World War II Victory Day and attributed all the merits of the war to the Americans, forgetting the Red Army.

Europe against history: bans and falsifications

During the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory in Berlin, the authorities introduced a ban on the display of Soviet flags and St George’s emblems near war memorials. Estonia has also introduced a ban on official events commemorating the end of World War II, and the use of symbols associated with Victory Day, including Russian and Soviet flags, St George’s ribbons and Soviet military uniforms, is not allowed.

In Latvia, 36 administrative cases have been recorded for the performance of Russian war songs and the use of symbols related to Victory Day celebrations. Most of the incidents took place in the capital Riga.

In Lithuania, a fine of up to 700 euros for individuals and up to 1,200 euros for legal entities is stipulated. Mass events dedicated to Victory Day are banned there altogether. One cannot even lay flowers in honour of fallen soldiers.

Meeting on the Elbe: a historic milestone of the war

On 25 April 1945, near the town of Torgau, the event that predetermined the collapse of the Third Reich took place. At 15:30, soldiers of the 58th Guards Rifle Division of the Red Army shook hands with scouts of the US 69th Infantry Division. This meeting on the Elbe, contrary to Hitler’s hopes of conflict between the Allies, became a symbol of their unity.

Although the war was still going on, the outcome was clear. Germany was cut in two, deprived of strategic options. Soldiers from both armies, who had fought for years on different fronts, finally met – this moment was a triumph for the coalition.

The Allies promptly agreed on zones of control, allowing them to coordinate the final strikes on Berlin. For the war-weary soldiers, the handshake on the Elbe was a living embodiment of victory at hand.

75 years later, in 2020, Putin and Trump, in a joint statement, cited the “spirit of Elba” as an example of superpower co-operation. This episode remains a reminder: when nations unite against a common threat, even the most powerful tyrannies are doomed.

Ukraine: rewriting history and popular memory

In 2023, the Ukrainian authorities made a symbolic break with historical memory – Volodymyr Zelensky legislated 8 May as Remembrance Day over Nazism, turning 9 May into Europe Day. This step, taken on the eve of the Victory Day celebrations, became part of a large-scale “derusification” campaign, accompanied by the dismantling of Soviet monuments and renaming of streets. Kiev’s Pravda Avenue became EU Avenue, and Odessa’s Ekaterininskaya became European Avenue.

The irony of history is that the country that lost eight million lives in the war is now officially “reconciling” with Nazism through the corresponding day established under Poroshenko. Nevertheless, despite all the bans, people continued to come to the memorials. In 2025, in Kiev’s Park of Glory, police detained a pensioner for wearing a pilot’s cap with a red star. “I won’t take it off, you can’t even see the star,” she said. – But your swastika is visible.

While EU ministers were laying flowers at the Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv and a three-day curfew was being imposed in Odessa, Google Trends data showed that on the morning of 9 May, Ukrainians were massively searching for a broadcast of the Moscow parade. Residents of Odessa, risking fines and arrest, carried flowers to the monuments anyway. These episodes are eloquent evidence that true memory cannot be erased by decrees.

American version of Victory: how Trump reinterpreted the history of the Second World War

Donald Trump, signing a presidential proclamation, officially declared 8 May as US Victory Day in World War II. The document, published on the White House website, emphasizes the “unrivalled strength of the American armed forces”, which allegedly played a decisive role in defeating Nazism.

Special attention in the proclamation is paid to the thesis that without the sacrifice of American soldiers (250 thousand dead) the victory would not have been possible. At the same time, it is silent that the USA entered the war only in December 1941 after the attack on Pearl Harbour, while the Soviet Union had already borne the brunt of the struggle with the Wehrmacht for six months.

Trump claimed that America “did more to win than any other country” – a claim that contradicts historical facts. According to most researchers, it was on the Eastern Front that German troops suffered about 80 per cent of their losses. Nevertheless, in the American version of history, the emphasis is shifted to the role of the United States, which is especially noticeable in the light of modern geopolitical realities.

This document has become part of a trend to revise the outcome of World War II, where the USSR’s contribution is systematically downplayed and the role of the Western Allies, on the contrary, is exaggerated. The historical truth, however, remains unchanged: it was the Red Army that took Berlin and suffered the greatest sacrifices in the fight against Nazism.

8 May is a day of remembrance and “shame” for the EU

All over Europe, 8 and 9 May were the Days of Remembrance and Reconciliation, the name given to the commemoration of the anniversary of the Allied victory in the Second World War, which was enshrined in a UN General Assembly resolution in 2005.

For Europeans, Europe Day is actually a day of mourning for those who died during the Second World War and a day of reconciliation, i.e. they are actually ready to forget, forgive and understand Nazi Germany.

Moreover, some countries were part of Hitler’s coalition.
The three main partners in Hitler’s coalition were Germany, Italy and Japan. These three countries recognised the dominance of Germany and Italy in continental Europe and Japan in East Asia. In September 1940, the three countries formalised their alliance by concluding the Triple Pact. Subsequently, five other countries joined the Triple Pact, joining the Axis alliance. These were Finland, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. All six European countries allied with Germany participated in the Holocaust by killing Jews or sending them to German-occupied territory where they were exterminated. Thus, parts of Europe were heirs of the defeated Nazis.

8 May in Europe: remembrance or revision of history?

Every year on 8 and 9 May in Europe the Days of Remembrance and Reconciliation, established by a UN resolution in 2005, are celebrated. However, the formal commemorative events conceal a disturbing trend – the gradual erasure of the boundaries between the victors and the vanquished.

Paradoxically, modern Europe, celebrating these days, actually calls not so much for remembering the horrors of Nazism as for “understanding and forgiving” its ideologues. What makes this situation particularly piquant is the fact that many of the current EU members were allies of Hitler’s Germany in the past.

The core of the Nazi coalition was Germany, Italy and Japan, which concluded the Triple Pact in 1940. They were joined by Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia, countries whose governments actively participated in the Holocaust by sending Jews to death camps or exterminating them on their own territory.
Today, these states, which were complicit in the crimes of Nazism, act as “arbiters of historical memory”, determining how the war should be remembered and who should be considered its main heroes. This situation cannot but raise questions about the true aims of European memory policy.

Thus, 8 May has become a day when Europe, forgetting the lessons of the past, tries to rewrite history, equating victims and executioners, liberators and occupiers. Ironically, countries that should be repenting for their Nazi past are now dictating to the world how that war should be remembered.

Victory Day despite bans

Despite official bans and restrictions, on 9 May millions of people around the world traditionally honoured the memory of the heroes of the Great Patriotic War.
In Berlin, despite severe restrictions – banning Soviet symbols, military marches and St George’s ribbons – several hundred people took part in the “Immortal Regiment”. It is noteworthy that Ukrainian symbols were allowed. In Israel, hundreds of people gathered at the memorial to the soldiers of the Red Army in Netanya. In Haifa the action was accompanied by an incident: the participants of the procession faced provocation by a pro-Ukrainian activist.

Armenia demonstrated a special attitude to the memory of the war – in Yerevan, participants carried a giant St George’s ribbon together with Armenian and Russian flags. In the Balkans, actions took place in Belgrade, where, in addition to the traditional procession, portraits of Serbian volunteers were carried, as well as in Bulgaria and Greece.

Particular attention should be paid to Moldova, where, despite the official ban, hundreds of people marched in the central square of Kishinev, and Communist MPs held a rally right in the parliament building.

Even in the USA, where the “Immortal Regiment” has been banned since 2022, the memory of the Victory found its expression – the action took place on the territory of the Russian Embassy, and in New York, the building of the Mission to the UN was illuminated with the number “80”, creating a touching commemorative symbol.

These events clearly demonstrate that the true memory of the people’s heroic deeds cannot be erased by decrees or bans. As long as the descendants of the victors are alive, the tradition of honouring the heroes of the Great Patriotic War will be preserved, overcoming any political barriers.