"The Soviet Role in World War II: Realities and Myths" Topic

"This year marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II—the end of the fighting in Europe in May 1945 and the end of the fighting in Asia in September 1945. Although precise numbers of those killed in the six years of warfare from 1939 to 1945 are impossible to tabulate, the total deaths attributable to the war exceeded 70 million, more than in all other wars in history combined. Roughly two-thirds of those who died were non-combatants.

The war in Europe began on 23 August 1939, when the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany signed a pact that created a partnership between them in dividing up Poland and the rest of Eastern Europe. Under the terms of this pact, the German Wehrmacht moved into western Poland on 1 September 1939, and the Soviet Red Army moved en masse into eastern Poland sixteen days later. Great Britain, which had signed a bilateral defense treaty with Poland earlier that year, declared war against Germany as required by a secret protocol to the treaty. However, the protocol, as we now know, applied only to defense against Germany, not against any other country. Similarly, France, which also had signed a bilateral defense treaty with Poland that expressly applied only to Germany, declared war against Germany hours after Britain did. But neither the British nor the French government declared war against the Soviet Union. In Britain, where the public did not know about the secret provision to the British-Polish defense accord, the failure to declare war on the USSR was controversial at the time, seeming to give carte blanche to the Soviet Union for its conquests…"

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Armand

I had thought that the start of a war was the the initiation of hostilities and not the signing of political agreements that set the conditions for war?

It depends on what political benefit you are looking for in the current conditions)))
Why not consider the occupation of Czechoslovakia as the beginning of the Second World War? Or the Anschluss of Austria? Or the Japanese attack on China? But if you leave all these events out of the equation, you can get some preferences in the current situation)))

The article above is simply political manipulation. As I understand it, the author of the article regrets that Hitler did not get Poland in its entirety in 1939, as well as the Baltic republics. But Churchill then welcomed the entry of Soviet troops into Polish territory. Apparently, he was a Soviet agent)))

I do consider Japan's attack on China as the start of what became WW2 Cuprum. Neither Austria nor Czechoslovakia were able to carry their armed resistance to Nazi aggression forward into the general European war, so I would rule those out as start dates.

To quote Mussolini, on the invasion of Ethiopia, "What are we? Chopped liver?"
"Cosa siamo, fegato tritato?"

If you are looking for the start of continuous hostilities, I think the Marco Polo Bridge Incident was it: 7 July 1937.
If you are looking for when the war encompassed the entire world (that is, a World War), then the invasion of Poland is it, because Germany started commerce raiding on all oceans: 1 September 1939.

Murvihill + 1

Armand

Here is an article, although politicized, but providing many real facts about how no one considered the USSR an ally of Hitler and an occupier in 1939, when Soviet troops entered Poland. Put politics aside – just read the facts. Any of them can be easily verified:

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Articles politicized are real facts?…

England at that stage of the War has to choose between two Devils… Churchill consider Stalin a little better than Hitler… then he consider continue the war against him…

Nobobdy who has read some about the WW2 considered the Russians as heroes or good guys… barbaric animals? Yes…

Armand

Tango, why didn't the League of Nations recognize the USSR as an aggressor after the Soviet troops entered Poland? And not a single state recognized it then.
But after the attack on Finland, they did.
Explain – what's the difference?

Because they went against Hitler…. First they ignored him… then they tolerated him and finally they feared him…

Exactly the same as with Russia… let's suppose that tomorrow China decides to invade Siberia… do you think it would be condemned or would its invasion be applauded for the subsequent destruction of Putin and his bloodthirsty gang?

Evil is Evil… when you have more than one… you tried to kill the most feared first…

Armand