DISINFO: In 1945, German civilian population feared the departure of the Soviet soldiers
SUMMARY
The Red Army helped to solve conflicts between the Germans and the Poles taking place on the territories given to Poland after WWII. The Germans paid attention to the generosity of the Soviet soldiers and feared their departure. “The Red Army soldiers even shared tobacco with us. We would have preferred to live under Russian, not Polish domination”. The same opinion was shared by the majority of the German population of Danzig [Gdansk] and Gdynia.
RESPONSE
This message is part of the Kremlin’s policy of historical revisionism. It tries to promote the idea that Red Army soldiers were not involved in crimes against German civilians living on the former German Eastern territories (passed under the control of Poland in 1945) – on the contrary, they allegedly “defended” them from “hostile” Poles.
The claim that the “Germans paid attention to the generosity of the Soviet soldiers” and “preferred to stay under Russian, not Polish control” is a historical manipulation. These claims should be perceived as the Russian attempt to distract attention from the massive well-documented crimes of Red Army soldiers committed against the German civilians throughout 1945 (such as massive rapes, looting, murder of civilians, etc.).
Read more about the post-war resettlement of ethnic Germans from Poland here and here.
Read other examples of the Russian historical revisionism: Poland should be thankful to Stalin for the return of Silesia and major part of East Prussia; Stalin decided to establish the independent Polish state; It is thanks to Russia that Poland exists today as a country and Warsaw would not have been rebuilt without the decision of Stalin.