Summary: Yesterday Russians celebrated their history, the 70th anniversary of VE Day. On the day marking this great shared accomplishment, America displayed our ignorance with a pointless gesture of the kind that damages the amity among nations and prevents diplomacy. {1st of 2 posts today.}
Lest We Forget: a note about our past and present
By Simon Hunt, Simon Hunt Strategic Services. Posted with his generous permission.
On Saturday 9th May Russia held the Victory Parade in Moscow to mark the anniversary of The Great Patriotic War — as Russia’s defeat of Germany is called. Victory came at a terrible cost. Combat deaths totaled some 10 million Soviets plus another 17 odd-million civilians and prisoners of war of which about 70% were ethnic Russians. About 15% of the Soviet Union’s population was wiped out by the war. Only 3% of Soviet kids who graduated in 1941 survived the war. In contrast, Germany lost 3.5 million people, America 400,000 and the UK 280,000. Still huge numbers but nothing like those that the Soviet Union lost. Stalin’s achievement in defeating Germany, in the process tying down some 228 German divisions, probably turned the tide of war. In June 1944 the allies faced around 11 German divisions. Had Stalin not been able to hold so many divisions when the allied landing took place the result could have been quite different. In all previous anniversary parades heads of the Allies attended the Victory Parade. Other than Merkel, who laid a wreath on Sunday, there were no leaders from America or its allies. This seems a rather churlish reaction from what is supposed to be the Advanced World.
————————————————-
About the author
Hunt began his career in Central Africa as PA to the chairman of Rhodesian Selection Trust, one of the two large copper companies in what was then called Northern Rhodesia. He then joined Anglo American Corporation of South Africa following which he helped start up CIDEC, a new copper producer organisation where he conducted end-use studies for Europe. In 1975 Hunt founded Brook Hunt, one of the world’s leading analysis and consultants about mining and metals markets (now part of Wood Mackenzie). In 1996 he left Brook Hunt to form Simon Hunt Strategic Services. Simon has spent 2-3 months a year for the past 20 years visiting factories across China and has an office in Beijing.
For More Information
If you liked this post, like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Also see these posts: Losing touch with our past weakens us — and The teaching of ignorance: what nation most contributed to the defeat of Germany in 1945?