Putin Calls Shamaful from Exclusion of Soviet Role in Nazi Camp Liberations

Putin Calls Shamaful from Exclusion of Soviet Role in Nazi Camp Liberations

Russia Not Invited to Commemoration

A commemoration marking 80 years since the liberation of Auschwitz by Soviet troops was attended by world leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Britain’s King Charles, French President Emmanuel Macron, and Polish President Andrzej Duda. Russia was not invited due to its war in Ukraine.

Putin Calls Exclusion “Shameful”

Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the decision, stating that ignoring the Soviet Union’s role in liberating Nazi death camps was a “shameful” act. He expressed that while he did not expect a personal invitation, the families of Soviet soldiers who liberated the camps should have been included.

Soviet Role in Liberating Nazi Camps

During World War II, Soviet troops liberated several Nazi concentration camps, including Majdanek, Auschwitz, Stutthof, Sachsenhausen, and Ravensbrück. Meanwhile, U.S. and British troops liberated other camps such as Buchenwald and Bergen-Belsen.

Auschwitz: A Symbol of Nazi Atrocities

More than 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, were murdered at Auschwitz through gas chambers, starvation, and disease. Other victims included Poles, Roma, Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war, and others persecuted under Nazi racial policies.

Holocaust and Nazi Crimes

Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered six million Jews across Europe. The second-largest victim group of Nazi racial policies after the Jews were Soviet prisoners of war. Other persecuted groups included Poles, Roma, people with disabilities, and those deemed racially or politically undesirable by the Nazi regime.

Political Tensions and Historical Memory

The exclusion of Russia from the commemoration reflects ongoing political tensions due to the war in Ukraine. While Putin faces an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes, Russia denies the accusations, calling them politically motivated.

This incident highlights the intersection of history and modern politics, raising questions about how nations reconcile past contributions with present-day conflicts.

“Putin Calls Shamaful from Exclusion of Soviet Role in Nazi Camp Liberations” “Putin Calls Shamaful from Exclusion of Soviet Role in Nazi Camp Liberations”