Valor Even in Captivity: Putin Shares Story of Russian POW Revolt Against Nazi With Bibi Netanyahu
Attempts to deny the Holocaust and belittle the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union to the victory over Nazism must be resolutely stopped. Vladimir Putin said this during a visit to the Moscow Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center. Today, there were events dedicated to the International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the anniversary of the liberation of Leningrad from the fascist blockade. And the first stone to the memorial devoted to the participants of the resistance in the Nazi camps and the ghettos was laid. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew to Moscow just to take part in this event.
Pavel Zarubin will talk about the historical memory that now brings our countries together.
Benjamin Netanyahu: Shalom!
Vladimir Putin: "Shalom, hello! "Thank you for coming here".
Of course, they could have met in an official atmosphere, but it's unlikely that there could have been a different place these days. It was at the end of January 1945 that Soviet soldiers liberated Auschwitz. Today, Putin and Netanyahu are together in the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center.
Vladimir Putin: "It was a deliberate, mass extermination of people. The Nazis committed this horrific act on an industrial scale. Even today, this horrific act doesn't stop giving us nightmares. Needless to say, this was hell on Earth. No matter how many years pass, it’s impossible to comprehend the dismal scale of these atrocities. The Nazis created about 40,000 camps and ghettos throughout Europe. Children, old people, women, and physically and mentally challenged people were subjected to terror and ruthless violence. However, they didn’t give up".
Mass shooting, poisoning, burning. The fascist machine was methodical as it worked ceaselessly. It was possible to stop this conveyor from hell only once, in Sobibor. The only successful uprising was organized by the Soviet officer Alexander Pechersky. He inspired and rallied people to fight, and as a result, those who were doomed to die got a chance. But years later he couldn’t recall what he saw and went through without tears.
Natalya Ladychenko, Alexander Pechersky’s granddaughter: "When he spoke, he began crying. They didn’t have any weapons, they didn’t have anything. They were hungry, naked, cold, they were mocked, they were humiliated. And, nevertheless, they did it even in those conditions. They got together, and in the end, they won."
Vladimir Putin: "The unbending will of the uprising's leader, the Soviet lieutenant Alexander Pechersky, cannot but cause admiration and amazement. These people defended their right to live. Defying death, they fought for freedom and human dignity. Doomed, but not broken, they won in the end".
They bet on the greed of the fascists. After all, it was known that they had ripped out gold crowns from the teeth of corpses, and they took their clothes. The workers reported to the SS members that there was an excellent leather coat among the group of new arrivals.
Alexander Pechersky’s memoirs: "No matter how punctual the Germans are, this time the chief of all camps, Ernst Berg, arrived in the tailoring shop twenty minutes ahead of schedule. Jozef asked the German to face the door, saying that it was better to do the fitting like that. Shubaev grabbed an ax and, with all his might, hit Berg’s head with it. The horse, having heard the cry of its master, fled the workshop. If it had run through the camp, it could have destroyed all our plans. Fortunately, one of the prisoners managed to grab the horse by the bridle".
Arkady Vayspapir, the son of one of the uprising's participants, flew in from Kiev today. He's here in Moscow just for this event. His father died 3 weeks ago. He was saying his whole life that despite the atrocities of the fascists, despite the daily deaths before their eyes, the hardest thing for those who started the uprising was living with the fact that they had to kill.
Vadim Vayspapir, Arkady Vayspapir's son: "He couldn’t get over it. Well, he killed them, killed these Nazis with an ax. And, it would seem, well, nothing could be done. And he was saying that he couldn’t get over it, he was trembling because of it. He couldn’t get over it for a long time."
- How many people survived?
- More than 300 people escaped. Then, they separated into three groups. One group, headed by Pechersky, went to Belarus. Almost all of them survived until the end of the war. The second group went to Ukraine and almost all of them were killed by the Banderites. The third group went to Poland. Some of them were snitched out by the locals and the Germans killed them. After the war, the rest of them died in the massacres that were organized after the war.
- That's horrific.
The Sobibor camp in Poland, preserved as a reminder of the horrors that were going on there, needs care and renovation. However, in an incomprehensible way, Russia was denied participation in this work. Poland is against it.
- Why does Poland object to Russia's participation in the restoration of Sobibor?
Włodzimierz Marciniak, Polish ambassador to Russia:
- Poland strongly supports Russia's participation in the renovation of the museum in Sobibor.
- How can it be explained then? Could you explain? We don’t understand something, do we?
- Don’t film without my permission.
- Oh, of course, we won’t. Well, you just said that Poland supports it.
- You probably mean participation in the managing committee, but these are two different things.
Only Polish officials themselves and nobody else seem to understand what kind of different things can there be in such a question.
Alexander Boroda, President of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia: "This is immoral, it doesn’t correspond to either historical justice or historical truth."
Nina Kryuchkova, resident of besieged Leningrad: "How many people died liberating Europe and Poland? In Europe, one million of our soldiers were killed."
Russia, for its part, is taking new steps to make sure that as many people as possible know and remember. A highway section in the Moscow Oblast was named after Alexander Pechersky. A movie devoted to Alexander Pechersky and his deed is awaiting its release.
Today, the foundation of the future memorial dedicated to the participants of the resistance in the camps was laid on the territory of the museum. The stone was brought from a spot where Jews were mass murdered in the Smolensk region.
It’s very important to deal with all the growing attempts to deny the Holocaust and to belittle the decisive contribution of the Soviet Union in the victory over fascism, emphasizes Putin. In Israel, as the Russian president believes, people carefully cherish the memory of the exploits of the Soviet Army. He remembered how he went to the opening of the monument to the soldiers of the Red Army, the event which, according to Putin, turned out to be very touching.
Vladimir Putin: "This is especially important amid the destruction and desecration of monuments to Soviet soldiers in a number of European countries. These soldiers gave their lives to liberate prisoners from Nazi concentration camps. They saved Europe and the entire world from Nazism. I’m convinced that modern politicians, religious and public figures must do their utmost to preserve historical memory in the 21st century and to prevent the weeds of nationalist ideology from ever sprouting".
Benjamin Netanyahu: "We never forget the role played by the Soviet Army in this victory. We see the truth in this museum."
These days, Russia also recalls those who broke the siege of Leningrad, those who couldn’t survive it and those who survived, no matter what.
Vladimir Putin: "Like the victims of the Holocaust, they faced down death, suffering, and loss. Theirs was one of the most remarkable, one of the greatest mass feats done by a group of people. We honor their fortitude. Their pain is still felt in our hearts".
There’s another important anniversary in the next few days, the 75th anniversary of the defeat of the fascists in the Battle of Stalingrad.
Pavel Zarubin, Anton Kasimovich, and Natalya Gubina, Vesti