70th Anniversary of Germany's surrender in WWII.

[retromike22]

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-32626551

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

My sig is relevant

[Oswald Acted Alone, You Kook]

So yeah. It's been 70 years. How much longer do you think we'll have a WWII veteran around?

[retromike22]

http://blogs.rollcall.com/capitol-lens/capitol-lens-v-e-day/?dcz=

[Famous Mortimer]

I, for one, am glad the Allies won World War II.

[GMantis]

In honor of the main contributors to this Victory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LaQsHUNlQ

[Cory]

I, for one, am glad the Allies won World War II.

[MATTROSE94]

So yeah. It's been 70 years. How much longer do you think we'll have a WWII veteran around?

We will probably have at least a few World War 2 veterans around until the 2030s or early 2040s.

[Ban my account ffs!]

In honor of the main contributors to this Victory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LaQsHUNlQ

Nobody cares about your soviet nationalism.

[GMantis]

In honor of the main contributors to this Victory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LaQsHUNlQ

Nobody cares about your soviet nationalism.

Claiming that the Soviets were the main contributors to the defeat of Germany is not Soviet nationalism, it is the simple historical truth. Neither is honoring the country that suffered 27 million casualties nationalism.
And you obviously do care, since you took the effort to reply to my post. And with a rather ridiculous personal attack at that. Is the idea of giving some credit to the USSR or Russia so repugnant to you?

[ag]

In honor of the main contributors to this Victory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LaQsHUNlQ

Nobody cares about your soviet nationalism.

Claiming that the Soviets were the main contributors to the defeat of Germany is not Soviet nationalism, it is the simple historical truth. Neither is honoring the country that suffered 27 million casualties nationalism.

Nor should we forget the 45 years of Soviet occupation of much of Europe that followed. The true liberation came only in 1990-91.

And, before you start, I still have WWII veterans who were in the Soviet Army that I can visit and talk to (my grandfather is gone, but some of his cousins and friends are still alive - though, obviously, not many). I recently took my daughter with me on a visit to one of them - a dear old family friend, who was a sniper in the war. But what she wanted to talk about where  the years of humiliation with which the Soviets repaid her generation. It was a good history lesson, trust me.

Let us not start the победобесие here. The victory was stolen from those who sacrificed for it back in 1945 - and it is being stolen by the new marauders today. And THAT is something we should never forget.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

победобесие ? Google does not translate.

[ag]

победобесие ? Google does not translate.

that is a recent neologism Used to describe what the Russian government has done to the victory celebration. Victordevilry could be a rough (though very imperfect) translation. A southern Slav should get it from general linguistic considerations.

[Hnv1]

My grandfather's recollection of the day: they were during the death march somewhere around the austrian-greman border when they were assembled in  a small town square and the SS leader announced from the balcony of the town hall that Germany had surrendered. people began weeping and praying and fell of dying of exhaustion. my grandfather and other young men started heading west to find the Americans, on the way they saw more dead liberated men that ate too much on swollen bellies and died.
they kept going until they came across an american mechanized infantry company with lots of Jewish soldiers, they gave the milk and something similar to rice and told them to only eat that and that they should keep heading west because the allies already have a field hospital ready for them.

I find this day on the personal and and universal level to be touching.

[Ban my account ffs!]

Last thursday was also the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bomb explosion (coined the Trinity explosion) at Alamogordo air base, New Mexico.

[ingemann]

In honor of the main contributors to this Victory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LaQsHUNlQ

Nobody cares about your soviet nationalism.

Claiming that the Soviets were the main contributors to the defeat of Germany is not Soviet nationalism, it is the simple historical truth. Neither is honoring the country that suffered 27 million casualties nationalism.
And you obviously do care, since you took the effort to reply to my post. And with a rather ridiculous personal attack at that. Is the idea of giving some credit to the USSR or Russia so repugnant to you?

Well as somebody born a few hundred kilometers west of the countries USSR liberated, I'm forever grateful that it wasn't "the Main Contributors to the Victory" who liberated us.

[patrick1]

My grandfather's recollection of the day: they were during the death march somewhere around the austrian-greman border when they were assembled in  a small town square and the SS leader announced from the balcony of the town hall that Germany had surrendered. people began weeping and praying and fell of dying of exhaustion. my grandfather and other young men started heading west to find the Americans, on the way they saw more dead liberated men that ate too much on swollen bellies and died.
they kept going until they came across an american mechanized infantry company with lots of Jewish soldiers, they gave the milk and something similar to rice and told them to only eat that and that they should keep heading west because the allies already have a field hospital ready for them.

I find this day on the personal and and universal level to be touching.

Thanks for sharing HNV, very touching story.

[Simfan34]

In honor of the main contributors to this Victory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LaQsHUNlQ

Nobody cares about your soviet nationalism.

Claiming that the Soviets were the main contributors to the defeat of Germany is not Soviet nationalism, it is the simple historical truth. Neither is honoring the country that suffered 27 million casualties nationalism.
And you obviously do care, since you took the effort to reply to my post. And with a rather ridiculous personal attack at that. Is the idea of giving some credit to the USSR or Russia so repugnant to you?

What is a Soviet singer doing in such bourgeois attire?

[ag]

BTW, the modern Ukrainian version of this song. Performed at the front. By and for the grandchildren of those who fought 70 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0084EqyLFo

Disclaimer: there is a lot in this version I do not at all like. But, as they say in Russian, you cannot drop a word from a song.

[ag]

By the way, as we are remembering history, let us remember that there were two periods of WWII when the Soviet Union and Bulgaria were on the same side. One was, of course, starting September 1944 (though, that hardly can be called voluntary). The other period was between March and June 1941, when both were on the opposite side of the conflict.

Anyway, if we remember glorious pages, we should never forget the shameful ones as well. So, on request from our numerous viewers and listeners, Matti Jurva shall sing his famous ballade Nyet Molotoff! Let us welcome our Finnish guest with prolonged applause!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO2o-rwbaMk

With English translation, for those who want to understand

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pWcVxl9v6Y

And now, let us all sing along as Comrade Jurva delights everyone with his performance of his other delightful song Uraliin. Just to remind us all that when Finland stood up to the Soviets not one country did anything but express support

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKKu1UaoTro

[Simfan34]

BTW, the modern Ukrainian version of this song. Performed at the front. By and for the grandchildren of those who fought 70 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0084EqyLFo

Disclaimer: there is a lot in this version I do not at all like. But, as they say in Russian, you cannot drop a word from a song.

What exactly is objectionable?

[ag]

BTW, the modern Ukrainian version of this song. Performed at the front. By and for the grandchildren of those who fought 70 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0084EqyLFo

Disclaimer: there is a lot in this version I do not at all like. But, as they say in Russian, you cannot drop a word from a song.

What exactly is objectionable?

I am Jewish. My grandfather was born and spent the civil war in Uman. I cannot quite sing along about "Petlura´s regiments".  National myths are made from far worse stuff than salami.

[ag]

But, then

https://twitter.com/tweetsnv/status/596246063931105281

The grandson of the Red Army vet has been killed by the Russians in this war.

[GMantis]

In honor of the main contributors to this Victory:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_LaQsHUNlQ

Nobody cares about your soviet nationalism.

Claiming that the Soviets were the main contributors to the defeat of Germany is not Soviet nationalism, it is the simple historical truth. Neither is honoring the country that suffered 27 million casualties nationalism.

Nor should we forget the 45 years of Soviet occupation of much of Europe that followed. The true liberation came only in 1990-91.

And, before you start, I still have WWII veterans who were in the Soviet Army that I can visit and talk to (my grandfather is gone, but some of his cousins and friends are still alive - though, obviously, not many). I recently took my daughter with me on a visit to one of them - a dear old family friend, who was a sniper in the war. But what she wanted to talk about where  the years of humiliation with which the Soviets repaid her generation. It was a good history lesson, trust me.

Let us not start the победобесие here. The victory was stolen from those who sacrificed for it back in 1945 - and it is being stolen by the new marauders today. And THAT is something we should never forget.

No one is forgetting the 45 years of Soviet domination, but in the Western countries they have certainly forgotten the Soviet contribution in WWII. And I understand your sentiment, but a more realistic reading of the history of the war doesn't need to include the demonization of one side up to making an equivalence between them and their enemies. Which frankly is is more of a problem outside Russia (and would be likely so inside Russia as well, if your preferred politicians were to rule the country.

победобесие ? Google does not translate.

that is a recent neologism Used to describe what the Russian government has done to the victory celebration. Victordevilry could be a rough (though very imperfect) translation. A southern Slav should get it from general linguistic considerations.

My first idea was actually victory madness. But the meaning is pretty similar and it has just as little relevance to the real world as Victordevilrty has.

By the way, as we are remembering history, let us remember that there were two periods of WWII when the Soviet Union and Bulgaria were on the same side. One was, of course, starting September 1944 (though, that hardly can be called voluntary). The other period was between March and June 1941, when both were on the opposite side of the conflict.

It would take some very severe distortions of the word "sides" to claim that Bulgaria and the USSR were on the same side between March and June 1941. Bulgaria at this point was a satellite to Germany (clearly against Soviet wishes), which was already deep in preparation for the attack of what had been at best a co-belligerent two years earlier. You could at best speak about cold peace. As for the second period, it certainly wasn't voluntary, but then it's questionable how voluntary the alliance with Germany was, considering that it was signed more or less under the pressure of a threatened invasion.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

If you had limited yourself to this, I would completely agree with you. But you completely undid you own point by including the next song...

And now, let us all sing along as Comrade Jurva delights everyone with his performance of his other delightful song Uraliin. Just to remind us all that when Finland stood up to the Soviets not one country did anything but express support

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKKu1UaoTro

Yes, we certainly need to be reminded of the Greater Finnish nationalism that led to the Finnish troops go beyond recovering the territories lost in the Winter War and into occupying territories that had never belonged to Finland, committing significant war crimes against their inhabitants and helping the Germans (if half-heartedly) in the destruction of Leningrad. The video which presents the same slogan as the one utilized by the Nazis (Chase the Russians beyound the Urals!) was certainly helpful, so thanks for submitting it!

[GMantis]

BTW, the modern Ukrainian version of this song. Performed at the front. By and for the grandchildren of those who fought 70 years ago.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0084EqyLFo

Disclaimer: there is a lot in this version I do not at all like. But, as they say in Russian, you cannot drop a word from a song.

I find it somewhat hilarious (though certainly not surprising) that Ukrainian nationalists would resort to stealing the melody of one of the most famous Soviet songs to make a war song on their own . And if we're going to call this a version of the Soviet song, let's not forget that the original doesn't praise the NKVD (for a sufficiently close analogue).

But, then

https://twitter.com/tweetsnv/status/596246063931105281

The grandson of the Red Army vet has been killed by the Russians in this war.

I suppose that this was metaphorical, because it's not supported by your article? Doesn't fit well in any case, since you could just as easily sat that the grandson of the Red Army vet has been killed by the Ukrainians in this war - and probably with the same or even greater justification.
Regarding the reconciliation between the Red Army and UPA, nothing is really surprising about Ukraine these days, so perhaps we shoud try guessing with whom they'll be reconciling next? Perhaps with the Armija Krajowa, at the former Polish villages whose inhabitants the UPA massacred and expelled? And in the same spirit I would suggest a reconciliation between the veterans of the Free French forces and those of the collaborators. I'm sure this idea would be really popular, as would be other such "reconciliations" - for example the SS doesn't get nearly enough recognition...