Latest in Biden's gaffes series: Europe was liberated from Nazis by US

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
27 May 2024 23:33

Historians estimate that between 25 million to 31 million Russian lives were killed in the conflict.

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President Joe Biden listens after delivering the Memorial Day Address at the 156th National Memorial Day Observance at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Va., Monday, May 27, 2024 (AP)

US President Joe Biden on Monday claimed that it was the US armed forces that rescued the world from Nazism and liberated Europe during World War II, alluding to their pivotal role without acknowledging the contributions of the Soviet Union and other allies in defeating Nazi Germany.

"Members of the greatest generation, who eighty years ago next week took to the beaches of Normandy and liberated a continent, and literally saved the world," Biden said at the Memorial Day ceremony at the Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia.

US soldiers buried in the cemetery had been involved in "every major conflict in history" and had sacrificed their lives "to defend our independence, to preserve our union, to defeat fascism and build powerful alliances forged in the fires of two world wars," Biden said.

The Normandy landings, also known as the D-Day invasion, occurred on June 6, 1944, involving US, UK, and Canadian forces. This operation marked the largest naval, air, and land assault in history, with nearly 7,000 allied naval vessels and an estimated 156,000 troops landing in Normandy, France. The total Allied casualties are estimated at 10,000, including approximately 2,500 US soldiers killed.

Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told Sputnik that the US has a tendency to increasingly overstate its contribution to the victory over Nazi Germany in World War II while downplaying the roles of the Soviet Union and other allies. For perspective, more than 1 million Soviet soldiers participated in the 1943 Battle of Kursk, widely acknowledged as a pivotal moment in World War II that decisively contributed to the defeat of the Nazis, resulting in tens of thousands of casualties.

In mid-April, media outlets reported that organizers of the commemoration ceremony for the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings had extended an invitation to Russia to participate. However, the Russian Foreign Ministry denied having received any such invitation.

Since the conclusion of WWII, a colossal conflict claiming over 70 million lives, both Washington and Western European nations have extensively worked to obscure the significant contributions and sacrifices made by the Soviet Union and China. These nations suffered more casualties in WW2 than any other.

In 2019, the European Parliament controversially attributed joint responsibility for World War II to both the USSR under Joseph Stalin and Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler. This resolution pointed to the Nazi-Soviet Treaty on Non-Aggression of 1939 as a key factor in starting the war. This narrative, equating socialist leaders like Stalin and Mao Zedong with Western European fascists, has been promoted for decades.

Moreover, the assertion that World War II was solely caused by the Soviet-German Non-Aggression Pact is unfounded. Prior to this agreement, there were several significant European agreements with Nazi Germany. For instance, the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935 allowed Germany to rebuild its fleet, and the Munich Pact of 1938 saw Britain, France, and Italy acquiesce to Germany's annexation of part of Czechoslovakia. Additionally, there were active fascist collaborations between Germany, Spain, and Italy, including the Italian-German Pact of Steel.

Moreover, much of Europe's fascist collaboration was formalized under the Anti-Comintern Pact, established by Nazi Germany and Japan in 1936 to counter communist states. This pact later garnered support from Italy, Hungary, Spain, and, during the war, from Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Romania, and Slovakia. Fascism was widespread across Europe in the 1930s and 1940s.

Historians estimate that between 25 million to 31 million Russian lives were killed in the conflict. 16 million of them civilians, and more than 8 million from the Soviet army.