Russia Today has done multiple stories regarding Nazis in western Ukraine. They documented parades in support of Nazi events, etc. There were reports of Nazi involvement within the rebel coalition, that they comprised about thirty percent of the rebels.
America-based news channels are dismissing reports of Nazi activity in the revolt as Russian propaganda.
Giving credence to the Russian view of it is the actual history of Ukraine which has heavy engagement with the occupying Germans during WWII. That split of about a third aligning with the Nazis and the other two thirds aligning with Russia continued long after the war.
Ukrainian nationalism has been a live matter there ever since the Bolshevik Revolution. The Nazis tried to tap into the nationalism and the story of Stepan Bandera is tied deeply into this due to his very strong association with the German government which he saw as a means to drive the Muscovites out of Ukraine. This is sounding familiar, yes? (Wiki: Stepan Bandera)
Bandera was ultimately assassinated by KGB agents in 1959 and he is a national hero in Ukraine today.
But how much did he hate Jews and what did he do about it.
My interpretation is that he had the same feeling for Jews as in most of Europe of the time, somewhere between distrust and open hatred. However, OUN, the organization working toward Ukrainian independence, would support Jews so long as they were also working toward nationalism. It's true there were multiple exterminations of Jews in Ukraine, very little was done about them, and that there is a strong anti-Semitic force in Ukraine but the problem now is determining how much that affects the politics of Ukraine today.
In summary, I do not believe it is appropriate to dismiss Nazi influence in western Ukraine as trivial. I agree it is secondary to the nationalist purpose but the evidence looks clear of a significant amount of anti-Semitic activity in present day and this has been very poorly addressed. Both sides are spewing propaganda faster than Joseph Goebbels' answering machine.
To what end. Does the United States dream of installing another half-ass democracy which falls apart as soon as they leave. Or, in short, who gives a shit what U.S. wants and why don't they stay the hell out of a squabble between Russia and Ukraine. Instead, we get stooges like McCain issuing pontifical statements from the country and no-one is willing to trade so much as a Hershey's Kiss for the truth.
America-based news channels are dismissing reports of Nazi activity in the revolt as Russian propaganda.
Giving credence to the Russian view of it is the actual history of Ukraine which has heavy engagement with the occupying Germans during WWII. That split of about a third aligning with the Nazis and the other two thirds aligning with Russia continued long after the war.
Ukrainian nationalism has been a live matter there ever since the Bolshevik Revolution. The Nazis tried to tap into the nationalism and the story of Stepan Bandera is tied deeply into this due to his very strong association with the German government which he saw as a means to drive the Muscovites out of Ukraine. This is sounding familiar, yes? (Wiki: Stepan Bandera)
Bandera was ultimately assassinated by KGB agents in 1959 and he is a national hero in Ukraine today.
But how much did he hate Jews and what did he do about it.
My interpretation is that he had the same feeling for Jews as in most of Europe of the time, somewhere between distrust and open hatred. However, OUN, the organization working toward Ukrainian independence, would support Jews so long as they were also working toward nationalism. It's true there were multiple exterminations of Jews in Ukraine, very little was done about them, and that there is a strong anti-Semitic force in Ukraine but the problem now is determining how much that affects the politics of Ukraine today.
In summary, I do not believe it is appropriate to dismiss Nazi influence in western Ukraine as trivial. I agree it is secondary to the nationalist purpose but the evidence looks clear of a significant amount of anti-Semitic activity in present day and this has been very poorly addressed. Both sides are spewing propaganda faster than Joseph Goebbels' answering machine.
To what end. Does the United States dream of installing another half-ass democracy which falls apart as soon as they leave. Or, in short, who gives a shit what U.S. wants and why don't they stay the hell out of a squabble between Russia and Ukraine. Instead, we get stooges like McCain issuing pontifical statements from the country and no-one is willing to trade so much as a Hershey's Kiss for the truth.
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