We ran from Irma to New Orlean, and I donot regret a single minute. We needed a break. Not such as Irma, but we needed a break.
Yesterday we visited National World War II Museum in New Orleans. “Ranked by TripAdvisor as the #1 Attraction in New Orleans, named by USA Today as the #1 Best Place to Learn U.S. Military History, and designated by Congress as America’s official museum about World War II, The National WWII Museum features a rich collection of artifacts that bring history to life.”
It is a very impressive museum. Large screens telling a story of some event allow you to stop and watch and learn, and then another one, and another one, and another one. You really need time to see the most, probably a day. We came for 3 hours, and had to skip some of it.
We sat for the movie, and a 48-minute movie was excellent. And the last point of our visit was the interactive USS Tang Submarine Experience. Olga and I had what appeared to resemble dog tags of real submariners, unfortunately they were not among those lucky 9, who survived this attack on a convoy.
I am from the Soviet Union. It is hard to find a family, who had not lost their loved ones in this war, whether they were killed on the battlefield, or civilians died in the hands of Gestapo and SS. My grandparents, who refused to evacuate with children, lived in a small Ukrainian town of Malin were burned alive with other Jews in my grandparents’ house in July 1941.
My generaion was born after the war. Baby Boomers generation, we played war, watched movies about the war, read books about the war... It was in our blood, in our heart even though the war itself was gone… It never was our past.
It was shocking to be in the National World War II museum and not see practically anything about the role of the Soviet Union in this war. 23 million of Soviet citizen died in this war, the biggest number of all nations-participants in the war. And in the museum it is as if there were no Soviet Union, no Red Army.
Actually, you would not see other allies either.
It is really shocking. No, it is not like it is only about Americans in the war. It is not Americans in the World War II. But it keeps visitors under the impression that what they see is actually about World War II, the European Theater and Pacific Theater... European Theater was without the Soviets? Really?
Did we forget that from June 22, 1941, when Hitler cross Russian border, Soviet Union was an ally? That since June 22, 1941 until the D-Day on June 6, 1944 there were 3 years of war.Of everyday fighting the German Army...
There was a battle of Moscow in 1941, where German Army was stopped first time in the WWII.
Battle of Stalingrad in 1942, one of the most ferocious battles in the war history, ending in Fieldmarshall Paulus’ surrender. About 2 million people died in Stalingrad… Russians lost nearly half a million soldiers at Stalingrad, about as many as US lost in all their WWII battles both in the European and the Pacific Theater...But there is no Stalingrad...
Then there was Kursk, the biggest tank battle in war history.
Then a successful wide-scale offensive in the Ukraine and defeat of Group of Armies (Fieldmarshall Manshtein), and Group of Armies “A” (Fieldmarshall-General Kleist).
And quite a few of smaller offensive operations. Germans were fully engaged in the war against the Soviet Union for 3 long years before the D-Day. Of course, opening of second front in June 1944 put Fermany in bad situation, but without 3 years of Soviet Union fighting Germany on Eastern Front, one can hardly expect much success of the allies in Europe.
I believe there is no question that even without the D-Day, or opening of Second Front, as they called it in Soviet Union, the Red Army would have defeated Germany and won the war.
And none of it is in the museum.
So, no wonder if you ask a young person who won the World War II they proudly say “US”.
Presenting WWII without allies, including Russians is simply unethical.Un-historical.
It is a shame.
Why are we doing it?
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