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This article was first published by Truthmeter.mk (North Macedonia), within the framework of Western Balkans Anti-Disinformation Project.
The main historical events of World War II today serve as “material” that the Kremlin’s propaganda refers to, trying to manipulate for its own benefit and for its own purposes. Pro-Russian disinformation has used World War II for the past three years as a justification for the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and its “denazification,” drawing parallels with historical events from the period before and during World War II
Victory Day, May 9, which in Russia, even after the end of the Cold War and the division of Europe into blocs, has been used as an opportunity to demonstrate its military power, is being celebrated for the 80th time this year. The main historical events of World War II that the Kremlin propaganda refers to today are “material” that it tries to manipulate for its own benefit and goals.
Pro-Russian disinformation has used World War II for the past three years as a justification for the Russian military invasion of Ukraine and its “denazification,” drawing parallels with historical events from the period before and during World War II.
The USSR did not liberate Poland in 1939, but divided it with Nazi Germany
Among the most common disinformation is that the Soviet Union did not invade Poland in 1939, but rather liberated the country.
Historical facts show that on September 17, 1939, the Soviet Union invaded eastern Poland under the secret protocol of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact concluded on August 23, 1939, which divided Poland between Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Germany and Joseph Stalin’s USSR. This act is therefore internationally recognized as an invasion, not a liberation.
Subsequently, the USSR carried out the Katyn Forest Massacre in occupied Poland on March 5, 1940, in which over 20,000 Polish citizens were executed (according to Polish sources). The majority of them were Polish officers who had been captured after the Soviet invasion of the country. During the period when Poland was part of the Warsaw Pact (until 1990), the Katyn Forest Massacre was hidden and minimized for decades by the Soviet authorities, who “acknowledged” only 1,803 victims.
Kremlin propaganda often spreads disinformation with claims that the West is trying to rewrite history to diminish the Soviet Union’s victory in World War II.
Recognizing the atrocities committed during the Soviet era, such as the Katyn Massacre and the annexations of territories, does not diminish the Red Army’s contribution to the defeat of Nazi Germany. On the contrary, it simply provides a more complete, fact-based picture of history, recognizing that the USSR was a liberator, but also an oppressor and aggressor in different contexts.
Disinformation from that arsenal is also the claim that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was a necessary defensive measure that the Soviet Union had to implement to preemptively defend itself against Nazi Germany.
However, the Pact was not self-defense, but included a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence. Along with significant trade and cooperation between the USSR and Germany, the Pact helped fuel World War II by giving Hitler a supply line from the USSR and free space to attack Western Europe, while Stalin secured territorial gains in Eastern Europe. The focus of pro-Russian disinformation on the Pact leaves out the fact that the agreement between Hitler and Stalin also provided for credit between Germany and the USSR, a trade agreement, military technology, and cultural exchange. The Pact even provided for the USSR to send Jews to Nazi Germany.
The Soviet Union was not the only fighter against Nazism
One piece of disinformation falsely suggests that the Soviet Union single-handedly saved Europe from Nazism, defeating Nazi Germany.
Historical facts indicate that after June 1941, the USSR became part of the Allied powers and benefited from Allied support, particularly through the Lend-Lease program, which provided Soviet forces with critical equipment from the United States. Even Stalin and Marshal of the Red Army Georgy Zhukov acknowledged this essential assistance. Other European countries such as Great Britain were never occupied by the Third Reich and always fought for a free Europe, unlike the Soviet Union, which, together with Nazi Germany, invaded Poland.
The USSR signed a memorandum of economic exchange with Nazi Germany on 19 August 1939, and in early February 1940 signed an economic cooperation agreement with Nazi Germany for a period of 27 months, assisting Nazi Germany’s war effort with key resources during 1939–1941 (equal to one-third of the duration of World War II).
In recent years, Russia has promoted a false narrative that the USSR faced a unified “Nazi Europe” in 1941. In fact, most European nations were victims of Nazi aggression and occupation. Many resisted in various ways, including organized underground movements and contributions to the Allied war effort. The major Western powers–the United Kingdom, the United States, and Free France–played a key role in the victory over Nazi Germany.
Britain stood up to Hitler alone after 1940, the United States brought in enormous industrial and military power after 1941, and Free France continued the fight through its own forces and resistance movements. The Red Army helped liberate much of Eastern and Central Europe from Nazi occupation, but this did not mean freedom for many European countries as the USSR held them under its control and occupation for over 45 years, imposing communist oppression for decades.
The Kremlin is spreading disinformation that the EU today is the moral successor to Nazi Germany, so pro-Russian media outlets constantly talk about the “revival” of Nazism in the West.
Labeling Russia’s opponents as Nazis is a widespread pro-Kremlin disinformation technique that Russia used to justify its invasion of Ukraine, portraying it as a “denazification operation.” Russia spent years preparing the information battlefield before its kinetic attack, and “Nazi Ukraine” was one of its most prominent disinformation themes.
The EU was founded after World War II to promote peace, democracy, human rights, economic cooperation, social justice, and cultural diversity. The founding treaties of the EU emphasize economic cooperation to prevent future wars. The founders of the EU, such as Robert Schuman, Jean Monnet, and Konrad Adenauer, were active opponents of Nazi Germany. Part of their opposition to Nazism was the EU project itself, believing that by establishing a political and economic union between European countries, they could ensure that ideologies like Nazism would never arise again.
Disinformation topics include the claim that the European Union is spreading anti-Soviet myths about the origins of World War II, distorting the events leading up to World War II. The Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact between Nazi Germany and the USSR included a secret protocol for the division of Central and Eastern Europe, which led to coordinated invasions of Poland.
The disinformation also claims that the European Parliament is equating Nazi Germany with the Soviet Union, thereby falsifying the history of World War II. However, the European Parliament resolution recognizes that both Nazism and Stalinism were totalitarian regimes responsible for mass crimes. Recognizing these facts is not a distortion, but a commitment to historical truth.
Justified security concerns in Eastern Europe related to Russia
This spectrum also includes disinformation that historical memory is being systematically destroyed in Ukraine and the Baltic countries, with claims that Ukraine and the Baltic countries are erasing historical memory as part of a disinformation campaign to undermine the sovereignty of these countries.
These countries have laws prohibiting Nazi and Communist ideologies and are committed to preserving historical truth. Ukraine and the Baltic states are not neo-Nazi or Russophobic. On the contrary, these countries have clear and well-founded security concerns related to Russia from the period of Soviet occupation and repression. An additional source of concern is Russia’s continued aggression towards neighboring countries and how this has affected the security situation in the region as a whole. The Baltic states’ attitude towards Russia is driven by objective perceptions of aggressive Russian actions. Pro-Kremlin media outlets also ignore the Soviet occupation of much of Eastern Europe in 1940.
Another disinformation is that the Munich Agreement caused World War II, which attempts to deflect responsibility from the Soviet Union’s role in starting World War II. Although the Munich Agreement of 1938, in which Britain and France allowed the annexation of the Sudetenland of Czechoslovakia by Nazi Germany, is considered a failed policy of appeasement, it did not cause the war. The war in Europe began on 1 September 1939, when Germany invaded Poland, followed by the invasion of the Soviet Union from the east on 17 September 1939, under a secret protocol to the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact.
Ukraine is on the list of disinformation campaigns, with the claim that the country played no significant role in the victory over Nazi Germany. This claim downplays the significant contributions and sacrifices made by Ukrainians during World War II. Millions of Ukrainians served in the Soviet armed forces, and Ukraine was the site of numerous significant battles and suffered enormous civilian casualties. Recognizing Ukraine’s role is essential to accurately understanding the collective efforts that led to the defeat of Nazi Germany.
There is also the claim that Poland collaborated with Nazi Germany and provoked Hitler to start World War II. This narrative attempts to shift the blame for the outbreak of World War II onto Poland.
Although Poland signed a non-aggression pact with Germany in 1934, this was a diplomatic attempt to maintain peace and does not equate to cooperation and the level of cooperation between the USSR and Nazi Germany until June 1941. Poland had signed a similar non-aggression pact with the USSR even earlier, in 1932, as part of its foreign policy of maintaining a balance between the two superpowers between which it was trapped.
Author: S. Sinadinov