By Hedelberto López Blanch *
May 6, 2025
from Havana
In commemoration of the Nazi surrender ending the second world war on May 8, 1945
President Donald Trump’s historical and cultural ignorance is so vast that he is unaware of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s views on the heroism of the army and people of the former Soviet Union in defeating the forces of Nazism during World War II (WWII).
With his usual grandiloquence, Trump wrote on his Truth Social account, “Many of our allies and friends celebrate May 8 as Victory Day, but we did more than any other country, by far, to produce a victorious outcome in World War II. Therefore, I am renaming May 8 as World War II Victory Day and November 11 as World War I Victory Day.”
He added, “We won both wars; no one came close to us in strength, courage, or military brilliance, but we never celebrated anything. That’s because we no longer have leaders who know how to do it!”
Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, quoted none other than the 32nd president of the United States (from 1933 to 1945), Franklin Roosevelt, to refute this. The first was a statement on April 28, 1942, when he said: “On the European front, the most important event was the crushing counterattack by the great Russian Army against the powerful German group. Russian troops have destroyed, and continue to destroy, more troops, planes, tanks, and guns of our common enemy than all the other Allied nations combined.”
On February 4, 1943, in a letter to I.V. Stalin, he stated: “As Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States, I congratulate you on the brilliant victory of your troops at Stalingrad, achieved under your high command. The 162 days of epic fighting for the city, a struggle that has immortalized your name, as well as the decisive result that all Americans celebrate today, will constitute one of the most glorious chapters in this war of the united peoples against Nazism and its imitators.”
In another letter to Stalin, dated February 22, 1943, Roosevelt emphasized: These achievements can only be accomplished by an army with competent leadership, solid organization, adequate training, and, above all, the determination to defeat the enemy no matter what the sacrifices… The Red Army and the Russian people have undoubtedly put Hitler’s forces on the road to final defeat and have won the lasting admiration of the people of the United States.
On a previous occasion, the current White House president stated that Russia “helped” Washington win the war.
Let us ask ourselves then: Has Trump read Roosevelt’s memoirs, or have his advisors told him about them? Has he studied any documents or books about those wars? The answer, of course, is no.
Official data indicate that the USSR’s losses in World War II were 27 million people and incalculable material damage, reflecting the enormous Soviet contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany. The United States lost 418,000 people during the conflict and suffered no material damage on its territory.
There were many decisive battles in the defeat of German forces within Soviet territory, such as the resistance to the siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), which lasted from September 8, 1941, to January 27, 1944, that is, 872 days during which entire families died of hunger and cold, but the Nazis were unable to take the city.
The Battles of Moscow (1941-1942), Stalingrad, now Volgograd (1942-1943), and the Kursk Bulge (1943), to name but a few, stand out for their heroism and love for the homeland.
Let us remember that in June 1944, after the Soviets had dealt the Hitlerian hordes their heaviest blows and taken the strategic initiative away from the invaders, the Allies decided to open a second front with the Normandy landings.
This allowed the Soviet Army to begin Operation Bagration, march on Berlin, and cross the German border in January 1945. In three weeks, they covered the vast territory between the Vistula and Oder rivers and reached about 65 kilometers from the German capital. However, they halted their advance in the face of the Nazis’ Operation Solstice in February, also known as the Stargardt tank battle, which postponed the battle of Berlin.
Hitler turned Berlin into a huge fortress. Three defensive lines were erected around the capital, with all access routes mined. It was protected by three gigantic anti-aircraft towers, fortresses, barricades, tunnels, and bunkers. He had 460,000 men, 1,500 tanks, and 3,300 aircraft at his disposal for defense.
After an air and long-range artillery offensive, the Red Army attacked the Reichstag for the first time. On the afternoon of April 30, Hitler committed suicide, and at 9:30 p.m., Soviet troops took the Reichstag and raised the victory flag on its dome.
In that single battle, which culminated in the defeat of German fascism, the Soviets suffered 45,000 dead and 172,000 wounded.
The feat of the Soviet people cannot be equaled by any other country. After this brief summary, one can only hope that one day Trump will learn a little universal history. A task that will apparently be difficult.
* Hedelberto López Blanch is a Cuban journalist who writes for Juventud Rebelde and the weekly Opciones
Source: Cuba en Resumen
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