History of Sexual Violence During World War 2

Maybe I'm being a revisionist, maybe I'm reading or learning history different to others, maybe I'm just wiser or perhaps, and I suspect this to be the truth, the journalist who created this report, and the supposed masses who are ignorant of sexual crimes during and especially in Berlin at the end of World War 2 are just ignoring the obvious.

I'm talking about this report from the BBC: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-32529679

It talks about Soviet troops raping and assaulting Nazi German women, we'll make the distinction that they were still Nazi's and as the report itself says "in the west German suffering was ignored due to the guilt for Nazi crimes", and crimes they were.

The wrath, pillage and rape of Soviet citizens was widely known, and understood, I was taught about it and in learning about World War 2, and the waves of troops following Operation Barbarossa it was generally understood to me, by my teachings, that the Germans were animalistic and treated the Soviet and sub-humans, and that included raping and killing the women and children.

I had read an account of a German officer on the Volga front who was "only interested in a little buggery", so whilst his troops had the farm wife and teen age daughter, he took the 7 year old boy to the barn... "All were killed later by the unterfeldwebel, who took great delight in stabbing their necks and holding them up by their hair as the life drained out of them" the account read, I remember reading this at around 12 year of age, it chilled me to the bone... What are people actually learning now-a-days?... Only of the heroic struggle?... Only of the Combat of Arms?  Only what Call of Duty teaches them?

The rape of German women, was not ignored, indeed there is an interviewee in the Thames Television series "The World At War", a German man named Friedrich Luft; a Berliner, and he explains how when the Red Army came (38m20 on wards) other members of the house hid whilst he lead the Soviet soldiers to two dead women's bodies from another flat... he explains, "I told them these are my women, our only women, in their broken German, or what they called German, they gave me condolences, but then moved onto the next house to get what they wanted there".

It always struck me more how condescending, about the Russians ability to speak German, and how lacking of guilt for the whole war that German man was... He comes across as a complete arsehole... But it never struck me as he was revealing a dark secret in the rape of Berlin, it was common knowledge, the status-quo.

The essence of the problem with German and Soviet peoples being ravaged of course is that, there are reports both German and Soviet forces pillaged and dismembered Poland in 1939, wind forward to 1945 the allies in the West were fighting the Axis alongside the Soviets, so the pall of guilt lies heavy over the honour of the victory gained.

It's clear in the post war Soviet Block talk of Soviet forces committing such crimes were forbidden, but why not talk of it now?  Is this another one of those Russian idiosyncrasies that they can't face?

I find many computer games made by today's, or even my, generation of Russian (War Thunder being a good example) have a very rosy idea of how the second world was was conducted... 

This is a very interesting ideal of what was going on, and is reflected in the game with the performance and action of the "Russian" aka Soviet vehicles...  If we spin into the "Making of" blog post...

"we worked with a British studio, veterans of video trailer production. Together with them, we have created one of the most successful trailers referencing the military. But the British have their own history and their own view on the Second World War and we, the descendants of our Soviet heroes had our own war and own memories of it"

And it seems, certainly sexually, for the "honour" of the Soviet soldiers sake yes, Yes Russia you do have a different view of the Second World War, and it seems; like in Germany; it's slightly too far through rose tinted glasses.

Germany v Argentina - Who does an Englishman Support?

Its agony, total agony, who to support for the World Cup Final?!??!

I'd of course started off the cup supporting England, I knew the fall was coming so was not surprised when they lazed their way out of contention, at least we weren't drubbed like Spain or Brazil.

I set my sights on supporting our near neighbours then, so I supported Belgium, the Netherlands and even France against Germany... All to fall at their respective hurdles.

I thought the Netherlands loosing on penalties was very stinging, I'm convinced they played the better game, and I really don't like the Argentine attitude, either on the pitch or off.

But both Argentina and Germany have history with us here in Britain, Wars mainly, and both are still pains in our political backside, most recently Germany with the PM loosing his case against J C Junkers getting into office, and their interminable economic dominance of the continent they tried to take by force in the 40's.

But then the scars of that conflict are old, and played as computer games, and if not forgotten they've been forgiven.

Its the centenary of the first world war too, so we're not forgetting that great conflict at German hands either, but still I'm more riled by the Argentines.

Their attitude over the Falkland islands has not gone unmentioned on this blog before, their politicians use of that topic to distract from home affairs problems they have, and their general blinkered approach to the islanders themselves voting to be part of the UK protectorate... It just beggars belief that the rest of the world doesn't look at them a bit more lob sided when they start sounding "Viva las Malvidas" or what ever they call them... Because if you've ever met a Falkland Islander (and I have) they have a slight Norfolk style twang to their very English/British accents!

They have red letter boxes, and red telephone boxes, even the Argentine soldiers who landed in 1981 said "we landed and took a look around, and realised this was nothing like back home", "we'd been taught the island was part of Argentina, taken from us, but there was no sign of home here, it looked like London on the postcards", "we knew we were a long way from home when we saw the people, for some reason we expected them to speak Spanish, then there was the car crashes as they drove on the left".

It all said it all really, but those accounts get ignored, and I think quite strangely when the British forces had cleared up they offered to return the Argentine dead to their homes, but they refused, they refused those grieving families the chance to bury their Sons, Brothers, Fathers and Uncles.  Instead making the political statement that the dead should be buried on the Falklands, as it was "part of Argentina", this from an illegal government who "disappeared" millions of innocent civilians and orchestrated and illegal war, nice moral high ground there lads.

I can tell you now folks, we British have buries so very many of our forefathers, Ruper Brooke said it best:

IF I should die, think only this of me;  

  That there's some corner of a foreign field  

That is for ever England. There shall be  

  

In his poem "The Soldier", he spoke of the first world war, but it fits so aptly with our British experience in the middle east, the far east, India, Malasia, across the battlefields of the ages the British Empire stuck its ugly nose.

So we know when you're not wanted, and not liked, and the Falklands are an area where Argentina bark up the very wrong tree...

So, with all that said, I'll just have to support Germany for the Final...