The Soviets Defeated Nazism, But Western Fascism Lived On
Victory Day! China just commemorated the 80th anniversary of its victory over Japan in the Second World War. This comes several months after Russia’s own massive celebration of the Great Patriotic War and its victory over Hitler’s Nazi war machine. I find the unfathomable sacrifices honored at these celebrations to be sacred. More than 80% of the Nazis were vanquished on the Eastern Front. This test of strength came at the great expense of 25 to 30 million Soviets. But more significantly, the Great Patriotic War was fought against Nazi ideology around notions of German supremacy. Unfortunately, the causes and costs of this war have been forgotten, while our current geopolitical order demonstrates that the lessons against supremacist ideologies were not fully internalized. The reality is that, while the Soviets won the war, the Nazis ultimately won the “peace.”
