Detachable Subdivision
"Rivne Professional College of
National University of Life
and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine"
Introduction
Key messages
Historical background
When Nazism capitulated
How Moscow turned victory into a cult
May 9 – Europe Day
Thematic materials of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance
Last year, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, by the Law "On the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in the Second World War of 1939–1945," established May 8 as the Day of Remembrance and Victory - the only date when Ukraine celebrates the victory over Nazism and honors the memory of those who died in World War II.
The gradual official transition to the European tradition of remembrance began after the Revolution of Dignity. This tradition consists not only in changing the date, but also in changing the focus - from the cult of weapons and victory to the contribution of various communities to overcoming Nazism, to an individual person, their suffering and losses in the war. Remembrance and Victory Day is a reminder that the Second World War began as a result of agreements between two totalitarian regimes: the National Socialist (Nazi) in Germany and the communist in the USSR, as well as the tacit reluctance of the most powerful states in the world to resist the aggressors. In 1939–1945, both totalitarian regimes committed numerous crimes against humanity, war crimes and crimes of genocide on Ukrainian soil, as a result of which the Ukrainian, Jewish, Crimean Tatar and other peoples living within the territory of modern Ukraine suffered enormous losses.
The symbol of remembrance of World War II in Ukraine, as in Europe, has been the poppy since 2014. We encourage its use during public events and in thematic materials (see how to make your own poppy in video instructions and scheme).
As for May 9, in order to strengthen the unity of the peoples of Europe and ensure peace and stability on the European continent, Europe Day was established in Ukraine by Decree of the President of Ukraine No. 266 of May 8, 2023.
Key messages
This year, Ukraine celebrates May 8 for the first time as the Day of Remembrance and Victory over Nazism in World War II of 1939–1945.
We have joined the European tradition of celebrating this date. For Europe, May 8 is a starting point for the end of the war, a victory over the terrible evil of Nazism, a reminder of the catastrophe of war, and not of the triumph of some peoples over others, of the victors over the vanquished. The memory of the war should not lead to a cult of victory, but to develop the ability to value peace, to categorically and uncompromisingly defend it by all reasonable means, and to cultivate courage and principledness in the fight against aggression and injustice.
On May 8, on the Day of Remembrance and Victory, Ukraine will honor everyone who fought against Nazism. No less worthy of attention and memory are peaceful civilians who died or suffered from hostilities and the occupation of their cities and villages, children of war, forced laborers. After all, war is not only about tanks, guns and large-scale battles. It is about fate, millions of small and large human troubles that lasted for years.
World War II covered a significant part of the planet. 61 states took part in it. Military operations were conducted on the territory of about 40 countries - in Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the Pacific region. According to various estimates, from 50 to 85 million people died in that war.
Ukrainians on the side of the anti-Hitler coalition made a significant contribution to the victory over Nazism and the allies of Hitler's Germany. Millions of Ukrainians resisted with weapons in their hands in various regular armies of the world, hundreds of thousands fought in underground and rebel structures. Almost all Ukrainian enterprises were reoriented to the needs of defense. At the same time, Ukrainian land was one of the main theaters of military operations, a place of large-scale battles and the fiercest resistance.
Both totalitarian regimes committed numerous crimes against the civilian population during the occupation of the territory of Ukraine - the Holocaust, mass murders and deportations of peoples. Ukrainian losses in World War II amounted to about 8 million people (of which five million were civilians and three million were military).
At the beginning of the war, the Ukrainian people, without an independent state, were divided between several countries. The Nazis and communists, who equally disregarded the cost of human life, used the unresolved "Ukrainian question" and the desire of Ukrainians for independence and sovereignty for their own purposes and geopolitical games. They considered our lands exclusively as a resource.
The Second World War became possible due to the conspiracy of inhumane regimes - Nazi and Communist, as well as due to the hypocritical "policy of appeasement" towards Hitler of the leading countries of the world. Therefore, it is important to remember that the weakness, fear and indecision of the international community encouraged the aggressors to commit crimes on an ever-increasing scale. Today, the world community has the opportunity to rely on that bitter experience and historical lessons to make adequate security decisions, in particular regarding Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Today, the heir to the Stalinist regime is the Russian Federation, which claims victory over Nazism, manipulates its own citizens, and tries to intimidate the world.
No country can claim an exceptional role in the victory over Nazism. The victory is the result of titanic efforts of dozens of states and hundreds of peoples. Attempts to use the moral authority of the winner in World War II for revanchism are equally unacceptable. The culmination of this aggressive policy of the Russian Federation was the attack on Ukraine in 2014 and the criminal full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
The Second World War lasted six years. The victory over Nazism was achieved as a result of an incredible concentration of all forces, mutual assistance, consolidation and mobilization of society, solidarity of peoples and a complete reorganization of economic, political and social life in the interests of the fight against evil. This story well illustrates how communities achieve important victories.
Ukrainians with weapons in their hands are defending Europe and giving a chance to build a more lasting peace and create a new, more just, global security system. The condition for this is victory over Russia, restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and impossibility of future aggression of Russian imperialism against anyone on the planet. Today, in conditions of aggression, the only way to restore is to defeat the invader.
Historical background
World War II (September 1, 1939–September 2, 1945) was the bloodiest global conflict. It killed between 50 and 85 million people. For 21 months of this war, the USSR and the Third Reich acted as allies, and on June 22, 1941, they entered into military confrontation after the Nazis violated the non-aggression pact against the Soviet Union.
For Ukraine, the war began on September 1, 1939, with the attack of Nazi Germany on Poland. On that day, German military aircraft bombed Lviv and other cities. On September 17, the Soviet Union became a participant in World War II on the side of Germany. As a result of the redistribution of Central and Eastern Europe between the Nazis and the Communists, the territories of Western Ukraine and Western Belarus were included in the Soviet Union in 1939, and in 1940 - the Baltic countries, Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina.
For Ukraine, World War II was not limited to hostilities and the occupation of its modern territory. Ukrainians participated in hostilities in all theaters of war. For our people, World War II is not only a story of victory over Nazism, but also a national tragedy. Ukrainians, deprived of their own statehood, were forced to fight for foreign imperial interests and, sometimes, kill other Ukrainians.
At the same time, it is necessary to emphasize the contribution of Ukrainians to the defeat of Nazism and to remember both the servicemen of the Soviet Army (over six million), the soldiers of the UPA (over 100 thousand), and those Ukrainians and immigrants from Ukraine who were in the military units of other states: Poland (120 thousand in 1939), the USA (up to 80 thousand in 1945), Canada (up to 45 thousand in 1945), France (up to five thousand in 1940). For various reasons, Ukrainians also fought on the other side: in the armies of Germany (from 600 people in 1939 to 250 thousand in 1941–1945), Romania (24 thousand), Hungary (up to 20 thousand), Slovakia (up to two thousand), Croatia (one and a half thousand).
Ukraine's direct human losses in World War II amounted to over 8 million people, and economic losses amounted to 285 million rubles at that time. The war revealed to Ukrainians the destructive "power" of both totalitarian regimes. Everyone knows the crimes of the Nazis in the occupied territories of Ukraine (the Holocaust, executions of civilians, burning of villages, deportations). However, numerous crimes of the communist regime were long kept silent - the executions of political prisoners in Western Ukraine in June-July 1941, the bombing of the center of Kyiv and the Dnieper Hydroelectric Power Plant dam in 1941, the destruction of wounded Red Army soldiers in Odessa, thrown into the sea along with ambulances, etc. The end of the war is also connected with Ukraine. On September 2, 1945, General Kuzma Derevyanko, who was born in the Uman region, accepted the unconditional surrender of Japan on behalf of the USSR.
When Nazism capitulated
The act of unconditional surrender of Nazi Germany was signed in Reims at 2:41 a.m. on May 7, 1945, with the participation of the representative of the Soviet Union, General Ivan Susloparov. However, Stalin refused to recognize the act. He wanted a new one to be signed in Berlin, captured by the Red Army. So he made another demand of the Allies - no official declarations of victory until another surrender came into force.
British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and United States President Harry Truman refused. Churchill cited Parliament, which would demand information from him, and Truman - that Stalin's request came late and it was impossible to cancel the announcement.
To this, Stalin declared that the treaty signed in Reims could not be annulled and could not be recognized, because the surrender should be accepted not on the territory of the victors, but where the aggression came from – in Berlin. The Allies agreed.
The second Act of Surrender of Germany was signed in the Berlin suburb of Karlshorst on May 8, at 22:43 Central European Time, and on May 9, at 00:43 Moscow Time. Its text almost verbatim repeated the previous one. For example, it confirmed the time of the ceasefire – May 8, at 23:01 Central European Time.
How Moscow turned victory into a cult
Victory Day in the Soviet Union was established at the same time, on May 8, 1945 (even before the signing of the Second Act). By decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, May 9 was declared a day of national celebration and a day off. In 1945, no special celebrations took place on this day. The Victory Parade, by order of Stalin, was held in Moscow only on June 24. There were no festive parades or processions of veterans on Red Square in the following years. In 1947, the status of this day was changed altogether. According to the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of December 23, 1947, Victory Day became a working day, but remained a state holiday. Among other things, in the same 1947, the Soviet authorities decided to cancel any payments and benefits for veterans who had been awarded state awards.
From 1948 to 1965, May 9 was not a day off in the USSR, but certain celebrations took place. In hero cities and capitals of the union republics, artillery salutes were given, and official congratulations on Victory Day were published on the front pages of newspapers. Therefore, attention to this date and certain commemorative events were preserved. However, other Soviet holidays, for example, May 1 - International Workers' Solidarity Day and November 7 - the anniversary of the October Revolution, were celebrated at that time on a much larger scale.
Victory Day became a holiday again in 1965. At the same time, the anniversary Victory Parade was held to mark the 20th anniversary. This was the second parade after the end of the war. The third took place in 1985, and the fourth in 1990. The Victory Parade has been an annual event in the Russian Federation since 1995.
After the 1960s, May 9 became the main holiday in the USSR, and the myth of the Victory replaced the mythology of the Great October Revolution. The Communist Party and personally General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev began to actively exploit the theme of the "Great Victory" as a component of increasing the authority of the ruling elite in society.
The memory of World War II has gradually developed into a powerful quasi-religious cult. In modern Russia, myths about World War II, or more precisely, the "Great Patriotic War," continue to be at the heart of identity, and commemorative practices, often imbued with profanity and grotesqueness, have been called "pobedobiesie."
However, Russian propaganda actively cultivates myths about World War II not only within its own country and among the states that were once part of the USSR, but also manipulates them in Europe and the world. The aggressor state uses the victory in World War II and its supposedly “exclusive role” in it as an indulgence to commit mass crimes in Ukraine – against prisoners of war and civilians.
May 9 – Europe Day
After the end of World War II, European countries began to think about the principles of political cooperation and economic cooperation. Finally, on May 9, 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman took the initiative to establish joint coordination and control of heavy industry in Europe. He proposed developing principles of a common policy to achieve solidarity in this particular sector. The path to implementing the Schuman plan was to be the European Coal and Steel Community. According to Schuman's plan, France, Germany and other European countries were to transfer the management of coal and steel production to a single body. As a result of such a union, key branches of the military industry were also to come under joint control, which would make it impossible for a single country to prepare for a new war.
As a result, on April 18, 1951, the Treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community was signed in Paris. It was initially ratified by six countries: France, Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The organization was open to other European states. The Schuman Declaration is now considered to have officially launched the process of European integration. That is why the EU celebrates Europe Day on May 9.
In Ukraine, this day has been celebrated at the official level since last year.
Thematic materials of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance:
A set of electronic interactive postcards "Ukraine during the Second World War (1939–1945)"
Exhibition "Triumph of Man. Residents of Ukraine who survived Nazi concentration camps"
The book "War and Myth" (English version)
Video project "War and Myth", which debunks key Soviet myths about World War II
"Babyn Yar: Memory Against the Background of History. A Guide for Teachers" – a collection of educational and methodological developments for school classes based on a virtual exhibition and documentary film
Poster series "War makes no exceptions. Women's stories of World War II"
Edition “Castling: Four Essays on the History of World War II” (author – Olena Styazkina)
Assessment of demographic losses of Ukraine during World War II // Ukrainian World War II: Materials of the International Scientific Conference on the 70th Anniversary of the Victory over Nazism in World War II
By link http://ww2.uinp.gov.ua/ The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance has a website dedicated to World War II. It contains information about key events, figures, maps, infographics, a photo gallery, videos and electronic publications about the war, a selection of films "20,000 minutes that will change your perception of World War II," and other projects.
The materials were worked on by the Institute's employees:
Anton Drobovych, Olena Okhrimchuk, Hanna Baykenich, Viktoria Mizerna.
