Stalinism and Nazism: A Perfect Equation?

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) recent resolution marking August 23rd as a day of remembrance for Nazism and Stalinism has sparked quite an uproar over the past couple weeks. Russia’s Federal Assembly (the 176 member Federation Council and 450 member State Duma, respectively) issued a statement that the decision to equate Nazism with Stalinism is a “direct insult to the memory of millions” of Soviet soldiers who “gave their lives for the freedom of Europe from the fascist yoke.” The resolution, passed by a majority of the 56-nation OSCE parliamentary assembly, marks August 23rd as a day of remembrance for the victims of Nazism and Stalinism. August 23rd is the date of the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact,  an agreement signed by German Foreign Minister Joachim von Ribbentrop and Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov stating that the Soviet Union and Germany would not attack one another and would resolve any conflicts peacefully and amicably. This meant that, should Germany choose to invade Poland, the Soviet Union would abstain from coming to Poland’s aid or entering any subsequent war on the side of Britain and France. The two parties also signed a secret additional protocol dividing Poland between the two countries and permitting the Soviet Union to appropriate the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, buffer zones desperately needed to protect the Soviet Union from invasion by the West (and still needed-note Russia’s ongoing assertion of its sphere of influence). This pact between Ribbentrop and Molotov paved the way for the Nazi invasion of Poland a week later marking the start of World War II.

The OSCE resolution is meant to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Iron Curtain as well as remember those who perished in World War II. It calls for all OSCE members to take a  “united stand against all totalitarian rule from whatever ideological background” and condemns the  “glorification of totalitarian regimes, including the holding of public demonstrations glorifying the Nazi or Stalinist past.” This is a clear chastisement of Russia, which in recent years has encouraged the heroification of Stalin for his role in defeating Nazi Germany several years later in World War II, even passing laws to maintain its historical narrative. This past May, President Medvedev established a truth commission to “counteract against attempts to falsify history that undermine the interests of Russia.” The Duma even introduced a law giving the Ministry of Education the right to decide which textbooks to publish and distribute in schools in order so as to ensure the ‘correct’ dissemination of history. The 2007 cyberattacks on Estonia began amid Estonia’s fracas with Russia over the decision to relocate the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn, a Soviet WWII memorial.

Russia’s Victory Day (Den Pobedi), celebrated on May 9th, is the country’s most important non-religious holiday. It can be compared to July 4th celebrations in the United States-the difference being, of course, that no living American was around at the time of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The Second World War, on the other hand, is still very much a part of the Russian national consciousness. In a country full of citizens accustomed to instability (to put it lightly) World War II remains the one longstanding source of national pride. Putin and Medvedev have both made it clear that a key pillar of their respective administrations rests on inspiring Russians to feel proud of their history. For Russians, there can be no doubt that Stalin and the Red Army succeeded in defeating the Nazis and liberating the Baltic countries from Third Reich domination.

Russia is not alone in the world in its desire to maintain a certain narrative about World War II. Every country has its own historical narratives, but when such narratives stand in the way of understanding the actual history, problems inevitably result.  There is some truth in Russia’s vision of itself as victor of World War II and liberator of Poland and the Baltic states but it is not, however, the whole truth. The Baltic states have fiercely disagreed with Russia’s historical interpretation. A visit to the Museum of the Occupation of Latvia (or its website), for example, exhibits a portrayal of the Soviet Union as occupiers and certainly no better than the Germans it defeated.

There is no doubt that the Soviet Union under Stalin committed mass atrocities and the issue should not be about whether people suffered more or less as a result of Nazism versus Stalinism. Nor should the issue be whether the suffering under fascism and communism is comparable – one can make comparisons of the numbers of people killed, the level of violence, etc. What is problematic about comparing Nazism to Stalinism does not have to do with any of this-it has to do with genocide and the documented intention of the Holocaust. The Holocaust is the clearest example the world has of genocide because of the documented intention to kill every last Jewish man, woman, and child.  Stalin’s aims were different and as such there was no such documented intention of Stalin to kill every last Ukrainian man, woman, and child, nor was there a documented intention to deport every last Lithuanian man, woman, and child, etc. There is also a difference between Jews (along with some other groups such as Roma and Sinti) in that, during WWII, they did not have a country or an army. Baltic leaders have referred to communist crimes as “genocidal”, an alarmingly inaccurate use of terminology. It is understandable that people want legitimate recognition for suffering at the hands of communism-but this needn’t undermine the status of the Holocaust.

Caught in the midst of all this, European Jewry is faced with an historically unusual situation. As a result of its desire to deal with its “near abroad”, the Russian government has now become somewhat philo-Semitic.  Note, for example, the preparations for the new Russian Museum of Jewish Tolerance, set to open in 2011 in what is currently Daria Zhukova’s Garage Center for Contemporary Culture, for which Putin even donated a month’s salary in 2007 towards the construction (reportedly 70,000 rubles or $2700 at the time). At the same time, Anti-Semitism has been growing across Russia and all of Europe.

It is important for countries like Latvia and Estonia to be able to openly recognize those who perished at the hands of both the Nazis and the Communists. Russians, though deserving in part of the right to maintain dignity and pride over their role in WWII, need to let go of their defenses and deal once and for all with the past.  That is not a reason why, however, after so much struggling on behalf of European (and worldwide) Jewry for Holocaust education and remembrance, in the process the concept of genocide in World War II should be diluted.