You probably already heard, Russian President Vladimir Putin was not invited to attend the 70th Anniversary of the liberation of Nazi death camp Auschwitz held this week in Poland. For insight into this strange news, I decided to inspect the online presence of Poland’s Foreign Minister Grzegorz Schetyna, for clues. What I found is interesting, sad, and somehow crudely funny.
For a bit of background, Schetyna told reporters the other day that Ukrainians had actually liberated the notorious death camp. Here is his statement:
“The 1st Ukrainian front and Ukrainians liberated [the concentration camp], as on that January day there were Ukrainian soldiers, so they opened the gates of the camp.”
News flash Mr. Minister, 1st Ukrainian was not Ukrainian, but multiethnic (something Poland does not understand evidently) multinational in nature. A whole bunch of peoples liberated Poland and Judaism from the Nazi boot! Maybe all Poland needs to be reminded.
Yet somehow, the president of the country that actually liberated all of east Europe, Vladimir Putin of Russia, the Poles neglected to invite him. Instead, Ukraine’s newly placed chocolate oligarch, Petro Poroshenko, he got the nod to represent the salvation of the holocaust victims left living by Nazis fleeing in front of Soviet armies. Here’s the long and short there. If not for the 27 million dead Russian soldiers in WW II, every Jew on the continent would now be dead or banished, Israel would not exist, and in all likelihood, Britain and the rest of Europe would be vassals to some Nazi thousand year empire. But forget about debts owed, western leaders and the people have long since forgotten. Even the indomitable holocaust survivor seem too old or too dead now, to even care.
What does etch itself into my reality is the utter stupidity and obtuse behavior of leaders from Warsaw to Washington. All anyone has to do is really look inside what these people are doing in social media, to grasp how mediocre and pitifully transparent they are. This Schetyna fellow, his first Twitter follows stand symbolic of a man who does not know which way to go…
The mashup above is from Schetyna’s profile, it shows his social priorities, probably in order of importance. First is Leszek Cezary Miller, former Premier and current leader of the far left in Poland. Next, as you’d expect from any politician playing at social media, we have two Polish news outlets. Then, curiously, Ellen DeGeneres takes precedent over the leadership of the free world? (What does this mean?) Then, in a wisp of reverse reality, the sexiest model in the world, Joanna Krupa was on the minister’s mind before even Obama! Is he preoccupied with sex of one kind or other? Then, of course, we have the office of the Prime Minister of Poland. Of course we’re not sure if which side of Mr. Schetyna’s brain is being used here, but at least government seems to be somewhere in his thought processes. Then to look at Poland’s leadership… wondering set aside…
Nowa Premier. Charyzmatyczna, zjawiskowa i porywająca. Aż nie mogłem przestać się uśmiechać. pic.twitter.com/NWwySp8N8Y
— GrzegorzSchetyna (@GregorzSchetyna) September 19, 2014
Using Twitter to profile leaders, it’s not been proven scientifically sound theory just yet, and I am certainly no psychoanalyst. I am a social media expert however, and catching a snapshot of anybody’s life on line, it’s just not that hard. Maybe world leaders should recognize this? Whatever the implications of thinking of Ellen DeGeneres before German chancellors or American presidents are, following the world’s sexiest model next indicates misdirect of some kind. Maybe it was a confusing day when Poland’s foreign minister set up Twitter? All I know for certain is, his idiotic statement in the face of a world in crisis, it indicates instability, incredulity, or ignorance for me. But then, the dude likes Jimmy Fallon and MTV on up the line, the Barack Obama and the Pope. At all this, I just wonder who Poland is taking orders from? Hell, it could be the Vatican!
For the record, whoever Mr. Schetyna’s information officer is, the 1st Ukrainian Front he mentions was officially named the Voronezh Front prior to November 1943, and before that, it was the Bryansk Front. 1st Ukrainian was added because the same Soviet army group liberated the land Petro Poroshenko and Washington are currently dividing and destroying. The Jews and others interned at Auschwitz, they cry out from their remote places and their graves today, in condemnation of those who would dishonor their saviors. The idea of Schetyna’s indecency here, it enrages anyone with an ounce of fairness in their body.
To say Poland’s leadership has no class, tact, dignity, integrity or intelligence, this seems a bit extreme for now. My Mom used to say about people who had taken a wrong turn; “They hitched their wagon to a bad horse.” Maybe fear of Bolshevism, left over hatred of some Soviet commissar, or just indifference brought about by being always in the “middle” of things has made Polish policy an extension of the US State Department? In the end, it does not matter who pulls the strings of an ugly puppet. I do know this though, if Grzegorz Schetyna is a NATO Pinocchio somebody needs to untangle his strings.
Finally, if any politician on Earth goes too, too far, hotties like Katy Parry, Honorata Honey Skarbek, and even Justin Timberlake won’t want to be associated with them. Europe rescued literally by the blood of 27 million Russians, and Ukraine did it all. Amazing. Ridiculous. A crime against history and us all. Shame on you sir.
Anyone who can look at the Soviet soldier US forces found doing forced labor for the Nazis (at left) , and then question what Russia gave, is not worth standing among us.
Schetyna seems to follow a certain trend.
It was on September 18, 2014, when the US Ambassador to Serbia Michael Kirby asked a journalist of a local paper when they talked about then coming 70th anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade:
“It is not yet confirmed that Putin will come, but if he does – why is he coming? To attend the celebration of the liberation of Belgrade? Belgrade was liberated also by the Third Ukrainian Army, as a part of the Red Army. If Putin is invited, are all others who participated in the liberation [of Belgrade] also invited?”
http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/us-does-not-pressure-serbia-to-introduce-sanctions-to-moscow
Here he evidently mixed Army and Front, yet the idea is clearly the same.
Besides, just to add some precision to your post.
It was not 27 million soldiers that the USSR gave for the victory over the United Europe edition 1. Our losses by official statistics finally collected from all possible sources and analyzed as late as in 1990, include:
8.67 million — total demographic losses of the Red Army, including KIA and POWs that never returned (killed, dead, non-repatriated). This figure includes 5.76 mil. Russians, 1.38 mil. Ukrainians, 253 thousands Belorussians, 188 th. Tartars, 143 th. Jews, 126 th. Kazakhs, 118 th. Uzbeks, 84 th. Armenians, 80 th. Georgians and thousands of dozens more ethnicities.
13.68 million — total losses of the CIVIL POPULATION of the USSR. The figure includes 7.42 mil. intentionally killed by Nazis and killed during the warfare; 4.1 mil. dead from the humanitarian catastrophe (hunger, diseases, lack of medical assistance; including about 1 mil. in Leningrad), 2.16 mil. dead at forced works in Germany, about 450 thousand that not repatriated after the war.
1.3 mil. — children due to increased mortality among those born during the war.
Some demographers estimate that if there was no war, taking into account existing trends, imroving medical service and level of life, population of the USSR would be about 35 million people more on 1946.
You can hardly find a family untouched by these unbelievable losses. And as it was the total war, the USSR lost about 30% of its national wealth (the UK — about 1%, France — about 1.5%, the USA close to 0). Can one imagine 83,500 destroyed schools and colleges or 6000 ruined hospitals? 43,000 libraries? 32,000 plants and factories? A special commission counted everything, including, e.g., 427 museums and 1.2 million of city and town houses, plus 3.5 mil. village houses. The material losses totaled at 128 billion US dollars of 1940 — as for today’s dollar, by different estimates it is somewhere between 2 and 20 trillion.
Sorry for so many words; the WW2 is a very special theme for us.
Just 5 minutes for better understanding:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iepcZshmQE0
I understand completely Vladimir. I did not intend to forget about 7 million souls, I assure you. The figures stagger the imagination. Like you, I detest when valor and sacrifice is marginalized or forgotten. These western officials are completely devoid of any saving grace. The more I read from them, the more I realize we’ve been lied to for generations.
What a sad state of affairs that after most of one’s life is gone, the truth seeps through the cracks of a wall of deceit.
I wonder what did you learned in school ’bout WW2? I mean, an American school? Most of your compatriots are sure, that it was all ’bout bad Hitler killing innocent jews and punished for that by US and British forces … with a bit of Soviet help … So what this Polish idiot is saying is quite alines with that western story.
Rewritten history is coming. And the real one is flushed down the toilet.
Hi Manok, You are pretty much correct except for me. I was a rarity actually, somebody who enjoyed history, especially WWII. Even I did not fully understand the extent of the Russian sacrifice though, not until much later. As you say, we were taught to revere mostly American heroes. These were justified, of course, but America paid only 1000th of the price for victory that Russia did.
For this, we should all be eternally grateful, but some are not as we see today. I am trying, like you, to rectify this and help set us back on the path to peace.
Thanks for your input here, your words echo what all my Russian friends feel, and what I feel.
Well, Phil … if I can call you Phil? … I really appreciate your work, for (trust me on that )after spending a few years with the mainstream US journalists it seemed it was impossible to communicate at all, that we’re way too different.
The biggest surprise for me – there’s still some sane Americans, who’s trying to find a way out of the dirty political game making us enemies …
I’m sure you can see my IP and know with your guts I’m Russian … 🙂
Yes Manok, and I hope Hungary comes to their senses and heads east, instead of falling down with the EU into a chasm.