Travelling, for me, is a way to fill in the gaps of my understanding of the world we live in, each place visited adding a small piece of the infinite jigsaw that is the world. If you don't understand where people come from, - their past, their traditions, their culture - you can't understand where they are now and you will be forced to misunderstand the events of today.
My last stop in the Baltics was at Grutas Park. A local entrepreneur bought up many of the Soviet-era statues of Stalin, Lenin and various other local Communist personalities and has created a sculpture garden along with expositions of other memorabilia from the time, earning it the moniker of Stalin World. I find the name unjustified (probably some media hacks trying to stir up some controversy) as the park is very informative and balanced in its message, describing in detail the terror, suffering, hypocrisy and even idiocy of the regime. It was an apt summary for the region whose trio of small countries share a very similar history over the past 150 years or so, and it is one that has really made me stop and think.
In the West we like to think that with our free press and open society we have access to an unbiased and objective view of the past, if not the present. It is therefore an undisputed fact for us that World War II was won by the Allied defenders and lost by the Axis aggressors. The war started a week before the first shots were fired by the Nazis on the 1st of September when the Nazis and Soviets carved up Eastern Europe between themselves in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. And so, although we ostensibly declared war on Nazi Germany for invading western Poland, we were deafening with our silence when the Soviets annexed the eastern half of the country and then proceeded to do the same with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In the Baltics the Soviets unleashed a wave of terror that included mass deportations, killings and forced conscription amongst others. That the inhabitants of the countries (with the exception of the Jews) saw the Nazis as liberators and the lesser of two evils is only natural (something that advocates of recent military adventures in the Middle East should bear in mind). As the tide of war turned, and the Soviets returned, partisans in all three countries set up resistance movements (known collectively as Forest Brothers) to maintain their independence, buoyed by the knowledge that Britain and America had assured it in 1941 with the Atlantic Charter. But at Yalta and then at Potsdam we betrayed them and their hopes and those of all the Eastern European countries by giving them up to Stalin, in effect not only accepting the Soviet part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, but adding to it as well. These were countries that, after centuries of foreign, imperialist rule, had gained their dearly dearly-bought independence only 25 years before. And now we sacrificed them to a new, more vicious, imperialism because we weren't willing to stand up for our own stated convictions. The partisan movements carried on for almost a decade, never losing hope in the West, until they were slowly extinguished as their support base got deported to Siberia and more people were coerced into becoming informants - reading the mountains of testimonies and personal accounts of what happened during the Soviet regime, especially during the Stalin years, in the various museums dedicated to the subject has been a sobering experience. So, in Europe at least, the Axis powers may have lost the war, but the democratic Allies (for want of a better term) only drew, whereas the Soviets clearly won, gobbling up half the continent, killing millions and deporting many millions more in the process and setting the stage for the Cold War that was to follow.
OK, there are various counter-arguments to the above view of events, but the fact is it's not a viewpoint I (or, I think, most people in the West) have been exposed to, despite it being eminently valid (the closest being the baddie in the James Bond film Goldeneye being a descendant of Lienz Cossacks, a particularly damning event that ought to be an indelible stain on our collective consciousness). There is much to be proud of in our history, but ignoring our less honourable episodes does us a disservice by being unaware of legitimate grievances and examples of hypocrisy. I was personally ashamed of this ignoble part we played, but was surprised when discussing it with several people here who saw it as an understandable result of power politics. I don't know if I could view it with such equanimity if my family members had directly suffered as a result. Perhaps I am judging what happened then by today's standards. But then again it wasn't that long ago, standards of morality and what is right haven't changed that much.
I often get asked why I travel. There are, of course, a myriad reasons, and often I find it difficult to adequately express in words what I feel, but one important reason would have to be to challenge and question my perceived truths. Everyone thinks that what they believe is right and true (otherwise they wouldn't believe it), and to admit that you are wrong and change your worldview is not always an easy thing to do. I am working on it.
My last stop in the Baltics was at Grutas Park. A local entrepreneur bought up many of the Soviet-era statues of Stalin, Lenin and various other local Communist personalities and has created a sculpture garden along with expositions of other memorabilia from the time, earning it the moniker of Stalin World. I find the name unjustified (probably some media hacks trying to stir up some controversy) as the park is very informative and balanced in its message, describing in detail the terror, suffering, hypocrisy and even idiocy of the regime. It was an apt summary for the region whose trio of small countries share a very similar history over the past 150 years or so, and it is one that has really made me stop and think.
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| Has anyone seen my thumb? One of the myriad Lenin statues that dot Grutas Park |
In the West we like to think that with our free press and open society we have access to an unbiased and objective view of the past, if not the present. It is therefore an undisputed fact for us that World War II was won by the Allied defenders and lost by the Axis aggressors. The war started a week before the first shots were fired by the Nazis on the 1st of September when the Nazis and Soviets carved up Eastern Europe between themselves in the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact. And so, although we ostensibly declared war on Nazi Germany for invading western Poland, we were deafening with our silence when the Soviets annexed the eastern half of the country and then proceeded to do the same with Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. In the Baltics the Soviets unleashed a wave of terror that included mass deportations, killings and forced conscription amongst others. That the inhabitants of the countries (with the exception of the Jews) saw the Nazis as liberators and the lesser of two evils is only natural (something that advocates of recent military adventures in the Middle East should bear in mind). As the tide of war turned, and the Soviets returned, partisans in all three countries set up resistance movements (known collectively as Forest Brothers) to maintain their independence, buoyed by the knowledge that Britain and America had assured it in 1941 with the Atlantic Charter. But at Yalta and then at Potsdam we betrayed them and their hopes and those of all the Eastern European countries by giving them up to Stalin, in effect not only accepting the Soviet part of the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, but adding to it as well. These were countries that, after centuries of foreign, imperialist rule, had gained their dearly dearly-bought independence only 25 years before. And now we sacrificed them to a new, more vicious, imperialism because we weren't willing to stand up for our own stated convictions. The partisan movements carried on for almost a decade, never losing hope in the West, until they were slowly extinguished as their support base got deported to Siberia and more people were coerced into becoming informants - reading the mountains of testimonies and personal accounts of what happened during the Soviet regime, especially during the Stalin years, in the various museums dedicated to the subject has been a sobering experience. So, in Europe at least, the Axis powers may have lost the war, but the democratic Allies (for want of a better term) only drew, whereas the Soviets clearly won, gobbling up half the continent, killing millions and deporting many millions more in the process and setting the stage for the Cold War that was to follow.
OK, there are various counter-arguments to the above view of events, but the fact is it's not a viewpoint I (or, I think, most people in the West) have been exposed to, despite it being eminently valid (the closest being the baddie in the James Bond film Goldeneye being a descendant of Lienz Cossacks, a particularly damning event that ought to be an indelible stain on our collective consciousness). There is much to be proud of in our history, but ignoring our less honourable episodes does us a disservice by being unaware of legitimate grievances and examples of hypocrisy. I was personally ashamed of this ignoble part we played, but was surprised when discussing it with several people here who saw it as an understandable result of power politics. I don't know if I could view it with such equanimity if my family members had directly suffered as a result. Perhaps I am judging what happened then by today's standards. But then again it wasn't that long ago, standards of morality and what is right haven't changed that much.
I often get asked why I travel. There are, of course, a myriad reasons, and often I find it difficult to adequately express in words what I feel, but one important reason would have to be to challenge and question my perceived truths. Everyone thinks that what they believe is right and true (otherwise they wouldn't believe it), and to admit that you are wrong and change your worldview is not always an easy thing to do. I am working on it.
2 comments:
Just one comment. Partisan movements carried on everywhere in Eastern Europe, after the occupation by the Bolshevik Empire. While it is true that many independence commandos where formerly supported by Nazi Germany, their essence was nationalistic.
It is a pity that Western historiography still uses the Soviet induced term of "fascist terrorists" for these groups, without accepting the magnitude and systematic character of anti-Bolshevik resistance throughout the whole Eastern block.
The longest armed anti-communistic resistance took place in Romania, until around 1964, when the last guerrillas have either extinguished, or they accepted the fact that West will not bother helping and that fate of Eastern Europe is sealed.
The common idea that many East-European intellectuals share was that the West betrayed and sacrificed the East in a cynical way, unjustifiable solely through grand politics and international pragmatism.
To give you just one example - throughout the whole 50's, Western radio stations (BBC etc.) broadcasted constantly messages of support for the partisans "resist, we will come to help you, even if it is necessary to involve military action". Of course, support was out of question, but what can you know when your country is completely cut from any other source of information. My parents whole childhood was filled with such fake "support" messages listened to foreign radio stations, who were nothing but ways to create agitation in the Eastern block.
Other cynical actions included the organisation by British secret services of Romanian, Hungarian and Polish commandos (formed of ancient war veterans or members of intelligentsia who wanted to return to fight) supposedly sent to help the partisans, but parachuted straight into the hands of KGB, next to the trains for Siberia. Such deals were done behind the scene between Western and Bolshevik powers, in a total disregard for the struggle of Eastern countries to fight the plague.
You will maybe find such stories in Eastern Europe. I recommend visiting the Museum and the Memorial in Sighet Romania (in the prison formerly used as the extermination camp of the intelligentsia), as well as the National Museum of Chisinau (you'll need a guide to help you read the texts related to the 50's and 60's).
H.
Just one comment. Partisan movements carried on everywhere in Eastern Europe, after the occupation by the Bolshevik Empire. While it is true that many independence commandos where formerly supported by Nazi Germany, their essence was nationalistic.
It is a pity that Western historiography still uses the Soviet induced term of "fascist terrorists" for these groups, without accepting the magnitude and systematic character of anti-Bolshevik resistance throughout the whole Eastern block.
The longest armed anti-communistic resistance took place in Romania, until around 1964, when the last guerrillas have either extinguished, or they accepted the fact that West will not bother helping and that fate of Eastern Europe is sealed.
The common idea that many East-European intellectuals share was that the West betrayed and sacrificed the East in a cynical way, unjustifiable solely through grand politics and international pragmatism.
To give you just one example - throughout the whole 50's, Western radio stations (BBC etc.) broadcasted constantly messages of support for the partisans "resist, we will come to help you, even if it is necessary to involve military action". Of course, support was out of question, but what can you know when your country is completely cut from any other source of information. My parents whole childhood was filled with such fake "support" messages listened to foreign radio stations, who were nothing but ways to create agitation in the Eastern block.
Other cynical actions included the organisation by British secret services of Romanian, Hungarian and Polish commandos (formed of ancient war veterans or members of intelligentsia who wanted to return to fight) supposedly sent to help the partisans, but parachuted straight into the hands of KGB, next to the trains for Siberia. Such deals were done behind the scene between Eastern and Western, in a total disregard for the struggle of Eastern countries to fight the Bolshevik plague.
You will maybe find such stories in Eastern Europe. I recommend visiting the Museum and the Memorial in Sighet Romania (in the prison formerly used as the extermination camp of the intelligentsia), as well as the National Museum of Chisinau (you'll need a guide to help you read the texts related to the 50's and 60's).
H.
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