Russia puts the focus of World War II on Soviet victims

At the end of St. Petersburg, a dramatic memorial rising more than 40 meters high. At the very top is the figure of a mother with her children.

Below, depicted in bronze, are real stories of human suffering.

At the bottom of some steps it burns an eternal fire, surrounded by the names of Nazi concentration bearings and bearings for destruction.

Auschwitz, Sobibor, Belzek, Treblinka …

Horrific words, synonymous with the Holocaust.

Still, this is not a monument to the Holocaust as such. Its official name is “Memorial of Soviet civilians who have fallen victim to the Nazi genocide.”

I listen to a guide while telling a group of students about the Treblinka death camp. There, the Nazis killed up to 900,000 Jews.

“Treblinka-2 was a death camp, where a large number of people were killed in gas chambers,” she says, without specifying that most of the victims were Jews.

Russian President Vladimir Putin opened the monument last year on January 27th: a dual historical importance for Russia. On this day in 1944, the Soviet troops pierced the almost 900-day siege of Leningrad. Exactly a year later the Red Army enters through the gates of the Auschwitz Death CampS

It was because of the release of Auschwitz from the Red Army later January 27 was declared International Day in memory of the Holocaust.

But when he discovered the Memorial of Soviet civilians, Vladimir Putin spoke not about the Holocaust but of the “genocide of the Soviet people”.

He claims that the purpose of the Nazis was to “seize the rich natural resources and territories of our country, as well as to destroy the majority of its citizens.”

Not that Russia has been silent on the Holocaust. On the eve of the 80th anniversary of Auschwitz's Liberation in the country, there were several events related to the Holocaust.

But in Russia today there is a noticeable shift in focus, away from the Holocaust to how the Soviet people as a whole, including the Russian people, suffers during World War II. More than 27 million Soviet citizens have been killed in what is known here as the Great Patriotic War.

This change in the accent did not go unnoticed.

“No one argued that there were millions of casualties during World War II,” Simon Halperin, Ambassador of Israel to Moscow, tells me.

“But an industrialized plan for killing, eliminating, deleting from the face of the earth of a race: it was against the Jewish people. I think it is crucial to remember that the Holocaust was conceived as a genocide against the Jewish people. “

“Not because (the Russian authorities) do not want to talk about the Holocaust or the Jews,” suggests historian and researcher Konstantin Pahalyuk.

“The idea is to present the Russians as victims, to feel that we are victims: victims of Western powers, victims in history. This is the main idea of ​​this story. “

Constantine lives and works abroad. At home, he was declared a “foreign agent”, a label that is often used to punish critics of Russian authorities.

He claims that the narrative for Russia as a victim has become particularly strong since the beginning of the war of Russia in Ukraine.

“If you are a victim, you can't be responsible,” says Mr. Pahalyuk.

There were few public discussions about the Holocaust in the Soviet Union and what was the systematic murder of European Jews from Hitler.

There were few monuments or slabs mentioning Jewish casualties at the places of a mass execution of Jews in Soviet territory.

This began to change after the fall of communism. Russian officials began to speak proudly about the historical role of their country in the victory over Hitler and the rescue of the Jewish people from extermination.

Twenty years ago, President Putin was invited to Poland to participate in the events on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Auschwitz's release.

Speaking in Krakow on January 27, 2005, he noted:

“The Nazis chose Poland as a place for a planned mass extermination of people, above all of Jews … We see the Holocaust not only as a national tragedy for the Jewish people, but also as a catastrophe for all humanity.”

“It's our duty to remember the Holocaust,” he added.

Since then, Russia's relations with Poland, Europe and the West are generally becoming more intense, especially after the full-scale invasion of Russia in Ukraine in 2022.

Russian officials have not been invited to Poland again for the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz Camp.

“This is the anniversary of the Liberation. We remember the victims, but we also celebrate freedom,” wrote the director of the Auschwitz Museum Piotr Civilian last September. “It is difficult to imagine the presence of Russia, which obviously does not understand the value of freedom.

The decision not to invite Moscow was condemned by one of the most influential Jewish leaders in Russia.

“Not to invite Russia is offensive to the memory of the liberators and their contribution to the victory over fascism,” said Rabbi Alexander Boroda, president of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia at a press conference recently in Moscow.

“This is a very bad sign because memory is important and has common values ​​that have helped to victory over fascism. Despite its differences, the countries of the anti -Hitler coalition, the various political systems and ideologies have been able to unite … for a common victory.”

In the meantime, the Jewish groups here do what they can to remind the Russians of the past so that it never repeats itself.

“The right wing is on the rise everywhere. The number of denying Holocaust is increasing, “says Anna Bokshitskaya, CEO of the Russian Jewish Congress.

“That is why it is extremely important for people to know about the events that happened more than 80 years ago.