New RT documentary "Remembrance" examines the revisionist narratives about World War II that have muddied the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany, and obscured the sacrifices made by its people.
“I think World War II has been distorted incredibly by the Anglo-American media, and that’s because they wanted to diminish the role of Russia and Stalin who actually defeated Hitler, you know. It wasn’t the United States and Britain that defeated him, it was really Stalin,” says Dan Henderson, a US journalist.
As the crew journeys through Poland, one of the main ideological battlegrounds where perception of the conflict still influences present-day politics, it speaks to those who view the Red Army as liberators, and increasingly those to whom they were invaders. It discusses war landmarks such as the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and lend-lease and sees how their perception changed during the Cold War, and again since the fall of the Iron Curtain.
“Red Army soldiers as liberators? In Poland, the situation's different. It's hard for Poles to speak of liberation. We were liberated only in 1989, it's a different topic altogether,” says Krzysztof Kowalec, professor at the Institute of National Remembrance.
“In 50 years, Polish kids will think Poland was liberated by... the US Army and not the Red Army. But we won't allow that!” responds Tadeusz Kowalczyk, a Polish army colonel, defending the opposite view.
The full film "Remembrance" will be aired on RT on May 09 and will also be available on the RTD website.