Much as American leftists spun on a dime from demanding America remain neutral in World War II when the Nazi-Soviet pact was active to demanding aid to Britain and the USSR once Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, Western progressives are switching their views on World War II because the Bad Orange Man gave an opinion on the war. It's complicated. And has lessons for the Winter War of 2022.
The Bad Orange Man said the USSR defeated Nazi Germany. Progressives went insane.
Look, I'm not siding with Trump on this. The community note on X pointed out that Russia did indeed endure the most casualties of the allies and inflicted the most casualties on the Germans.
Yet even aside from Russia's massive casualties in large part stemming from Stalin's complete disregard for the lives of his subjects he sent to fight, there is more to the issue.
Russia also had a major role in starting the war that Stalin hoped would destroy Germany and the West while he prepared to sweep up the broken survivors. See that Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact I mentioned that split Poland and eastern Europe between the two of them in 1939.
--The Soviet communists had no problem enabling the Nazis with the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact--even as Nazi Germany ramped up persecution of German Jews, telegraphing their hatred--that green-lighted Germany's invasion of Poland in exchange for Russia getting a free hand against Finland (which lost territory but defended their independence in a bloody war), Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, parts of Romania, and the eastern portion of Poland. ...
--The Soviets only fought the Nazis because the Nazis rapidly defeated France and inflicted a military defeat on Britain, knocking them back to their island nation, and then invaded the USSR. Had Hitler not attacked the expanded Soviet Union, Stalin would have been happy to watch the Western allies and Germany batter each other--all while Hitler slaughtered Jews--until the USSR was ready to break the pact and attack Germany. Clearly, the Soviet communists wanted to defeat Nazi Germany--not to stop the Holocaust.
I just popped into my timeline for the parts to address this point.
I also noted the Western role that the community note pointed out--you can't dismiss the West's vital role in enabling Russia to defeat Hitler on the Eastern Front:
[Without] American, British, and Commonwealth military offensives in the air and on the ground, plus massive military and civilian aid shipped to the USSR at high cost in the face of German interdiction, the Soviets would not have marched on Berlin. Even with Western armies, navies, air forces, and direct aid, the Soviets lost at least 25 million people to defeat the Nazis. How much more could they have (or would they have) endured without Western participation in the war? If the Russians managed to push the Germans back to Minsk and Kiev (and without Western help the Russians might have been pushed east and unable to drive west)--but at the loss of 25 million just to get there--do you really think Stalin would have said that to stop the Holocaust he'd lose 25 million more rather than make another pact with Hitler and end the war, leaving Hitler to kill as many non-Russians as Hitler wanted?
But in 2024 progressives deny the USSR had a major role in defeating Hitler because the Bad Orange Man said what they once insisted was true. I've got whiplash trying to watch them spin.
Hell, progressives went from saying ending the Holocaust was a good thing to cheering on a small-scale version by Hamas while simultaneously arguing the Israelis exaggerate the rapes and killing--and deserved it. Just ... wow. The ability to change views and have multiple contradictory arguments to support your political objective is astounding.
Not that I let conservative critics of helping Ukraine off the hook. Allow me to use this kerfuffle to note that in World War II, Western help was vital to help the USSR kill most of the German troops who died in World War II and so defeat the aggressive Hitler who plunged Europe into war.
I eagerly wait for isolationist conservatives to tell us that the Western Allies waged a "proxy war" on Nazi Germany by arming and sustaining the Soviet war effort. Which made it illegitimate. No? Anyone? Bueller?
Come on. Take the steps. Reducing our casualties ... by helping an ally who has a lot of incentive to fight our common enemy ... is the ... smart thing ... to do. Right?
My life would be a lot easier if I could switch my views to cater to the Lemming-like changes in consensus. But perhaps I share too much.
NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here.
