DISINFO: EU's historical revisionism contributes to neo-Nazi trends in Ukraine and the Baltic states
SUMMARY
The glorification of Nazism, historical revisionism and reassessment of the USSR’s role in WWII are worrying. The European Parliament’s resolution equals the USSR and Nazi regime. It opens the door for the demolition of Soviet monuments in European countries. Anti-Soviet interpretations lead to tolerance towards neo-Nazism – the ongoing trend in Ukraine and the Baltic states.
RESPONSE
This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism. It accuses the EU and particular EU members such as the Baltic states of the “falsification and re-writing” of WWII history. Any disagreement with the official Kremlin’s view on the history of WWII is automatically labelled by Russia as support for “Nazism” or “falsification of history”.
This publication also falsely links Ukraine with Nazism. The accusation of Nazism is a popular propaganda technique used by pro-Kremlin outlets. Read more: Nazi east, Nazi west, Nazi over the cuckoo's nest. The myth of Nazi-ruled Ukraine has been the cornerstone of Russian disinformation about the country since the very beginning of the 2013-14 Euromaidan protests, when it was used to discredit the pro-European popular uprising in Kyiv and, subsequently, the broader pro-Western shift in Ukraine's foreign policy. In fact, far-right groups enjoyed a very limited presence during the Euromaidan itself and had poor results in the 2014 presidential and parliamentary elections. In the 2019 election, far-right candidates fell short of the 5% minimum guaranteeing entry into parliament.
The European Parliament resolution on the importance of European remembrance for the future of Europe stressed the fact that WWII was an immediate result of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. The resolution is aimed at the promotion of historical remembrance about WWII and condemnation of totalitarian ideologies. It is a proven fact that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact contained the Secret Supplementary Protocol, which assumed the division of Poland and other Eastern European countries between the USSR and Germany. Thus, the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact enabled the German and Soviet military aggression against Poland in September 1939, which resulted in the occupation of this country by Germany and USSR, triggering the beginning of WWII.
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that Europe supports the revival of fascism, that “fake history” became a norm in the Western World, that Western countries revise WWII history to evade responsibility for allowing Hitler to gather strength for the attack on the USSR, and The European Parliament resolution on the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact is aimed at the demonisation of Russia.