Lessons on VE Day

Lessons on VE Day

The 70th anniversary of Victory in Europe invokes the time-honoured narrative of an existential conflict between good and evil. Yet, there is also an underlying history that also needs to be told. Lest we forget!

We must never forget that WWII was a sequel of the First World War that produced a stalemate on the battlefield and a disaster in its aftermath. The long and bloody path toward May 8th of 1945 began on November 11th of 1918, when Germany, albeit undefeated in war, eventually ran out of steam and was defeated in peace. In their earnest efforts to extinguish the possibility of recurring German militarism, the victors, particularly France, inadvertently sowed the seeds of resentment that in turn created the nourishing environment in which Hitler’s Nazi party could successfully metastasize until Germany was back with vengeance.

Lest we forget that, while trying to avoid another disastrous war on the continent, European powers conscientiously catered to the ever-growing Hitler’s demands, willingly buying into his bluff. For that is what it was – deliberate bluff. Under no circumstances Germany could successfully take on any of the three superpowers: Britain, Soviet Union or USA. It had neither resources nor manpower to wage a prolonged war. The infamous German blitzkrieg was as much a result of military genius as it was born out of economic necessity. The opponent’s resolve to keep on fighting, a rope-a-dope strategy of Mohammad Ali, would inevitably lead to Germany’s defeat.

It is important to remember that the shape of the world as we know it today could be different, if in May of 1940 British prime minister’s name was not Winston Churchill. Contrary to commonly held views, he was not that great a politician, and even worse as a military man or a diplomat, but that moment in history demanded the only quality and Churchill had plenty of it – tenacity of a bulldog. Unlike his French counterparts, who chose to save the people by losing the nation, he refused to accept defeat, and so did the Britons and the RAF by winning the Battle of Britain.

Chronic gamblers and ideological tyrants are unable to recognize that while their luck is accidental, their failures are systemic. Hitler could take this loss after the triumph of Dunkirk and settle for a draw. Lest we forget that the reason we went to war was not our superior moral values but the acts of aggression, impossible to ignore. The most heinous crimes by the Nazis were committed during the war; they were never its cause. In 1940 the Western democracies could still live with Hitler, however uneasily.

The war was decided in June of 1941, when Germany attacked the Soviet Union. The Red Army suffered arguably the worst defeat in military history, yet Soviet dictator Stalin refused to accept it, and so did the Soviet people. In October, the Wehrmacht lost the battle of Moscow and the rest was predetermined. Germany would gradually bleed to death. And when Hitler declared war on the United States, the end of his regime was all but assured.

But VE Day serves us not only as a reminder of what went wrong. It signifies a moment in modern history when the victorious allies learned from their past mistakes and, instead of humiliation and retribution inflicted on the defeated, provided them with assistance and security. Europe began its transformation from a permanent conflict zone into a union of nations.

Today, Putin’s gamble in Ukraine in many ways resembles Hitler’s bluff. Canada and our NATO allies must call it now, so there will remain one and only VE Day.

Dmitry Berger is an Ottawa-based writer currently providing political and historical analysis for the Ukrainian informational and analytical portal “Hvylya”.

Autor`s blog: http://thesagesmarketplace.tumblr.com/post/118452202600/lessons-on-ve-day