WW2. And what does it mean to you??

[von Rantala]

Finnish history would have been a lot different, if we wouldn't been able to defence against soviet union. For me as Finnish man feel wrong that when Soviet Union attacked against us, no countries come to help us. A lot Swedish, and Estonian volunteers came to help us, and once those Estonian volunteers return to home, Soviet Union send them to Siperian camps and most died there. Soviet Union made a lot crimes what wasn't punished, because they was winning side. Winner always write history. Now in my (second) work i have one war veteran as client. I have huge respect towards him, i admire him a lot. Grandfa lost one of his brothers to war, Onni was his name and he was lost in the badle and never found. Grandfa always told to me how much it affected to her mother, when Onni body wasn't found. Also two of my grandfa brothers came from war with bad injuries and die not long ago after war, because those injuries. Still in today, many thinks that Finnish started Winter war against Soviet Union, it was teached in many schools like that. As i sayed winner write the history, but once soviet union fall apart, they finally admit that they started war by Shelling of Mainila. They aim was to make look like Finland started to war, so Great Britain or France wouldnt come to help us. We are healthy and great countrie, because we was able to defence soviet union. Thats mean alot for me. We as Finland wouldnt been like we are now, if we would have lost. Soviet Union had 10x more soldiers than Finland had, and still we was able to defence them. Every finnish war movie we hear line "One finnish soldier mean 10 Soviet union soldier"I will be thankfull for finnish war veterans rest of my life and in bad days i just can think, without those soldiers our countrie would be a lot different. So first thing what come to my mind on WW2 is how thankfull i am to those who fight behalf of Finland our Fatherland!

 

History is always history and we have to move on. We have to be thankfull for those all who fight behalf better future. I have very good russian friend. I also admire ppls who can forgive.

[DeKing]

Hard topic to speak about yes... I also think about this last week

Since I'm kid i'm passionate about history, I would like to understand why.. why all of this happened 

Here in France there is a lot of remains of this period ( Normandy landings beachs, Bunkers,..) Not the worst ones compared to what happens in the eastern europe.. 

With all of this it's always difficult to imagine what they could live.. 

My grandparents see this, but they have the luck to have a farm, and they was needed here, they don't have to fight..  They don't talk a lot of this, like if it's something to forget. Or something to hide.. like the people they could have hide in their farm

In my little city there was a prisoner camp, there was a kommandantur where a group of resistant try to remplace the flag, before to be deported..

Lot of stories are inscribed forever in these walls 

 

2 hours ago, von Rantala said:

Winner always write history.

Sadly true... We never know the real motivations of this war.. We can only think about every one who undergoes this... 

What I keep from that is that we have to resist against any kind of oppression, lots of people died for our lifes 

 

Thank you for the touching stories you've shared

[Xiahou Dun]

My great grandfather from my mother side was one of the defenders who died during the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defence_of_the_Polish_Post_Office_in_Danzig

 

I went to high school in the neighbouring building... and since I always loved history, that place had great significance for me. Unfortunately, the president of Gdańsk (Danzig) is defiling the memory of that place, by putting trashcans on the property, and designating that place as a spot to throw out trash after the fair that takes place in the city every year. A sad reminder that the memory of war heroes is becoming very distant.

[Dink the Clown]

Wow so many amazing stories and very touching ones as well.  I have always wondered how people felt about this subject especially people from Eastern European contries, and I thank you deeply from the bottom of my heart.   

[Vice86]

well, i am german, crazy times back then...

we are all so glad to be born afterwards imo.

i hope we all know what happend in 1920's and 1930's before the ww2, and what made it possible that the 3. Reich did came up, and the NSDAP could get so big. If you wanna know how it worked, try to watch these movies.

"the wave".

Old one:

 

New one:

 

If you never watched these movies, do it! no matter where you're from.

 

I personally hate war and i am all against it in any way.

my Mothers family lost her granddad and grandma. The granddad in Stalingrad missing in action, and the mother of my grandma was a trainconductor for the reichsbahn and was shot by us allied forces while she drove a train to the city of ulm.

My granny (their daughter) grew up in a monastery at the nuns afterwards.

She told me that Us Forces,

did occupy my grandmas city in 45 while she was 15 years old.

she said they had only one Nsdap mayor left in town, and that this mayor orderd the hitlerjugend to defend the city with panzerfausts and dynamite under the river bridge, to build a ambush for the allied tank forces (there was only one bridge).

when the tanks arrived, all the poeple put out their white sheets of the windows and as soon the population saw the tank troops approaching over the horizon,

the whole city ran upfront on the tanks to stop them with hands held up.

since only one teacher could speak english, he told the company to stop and wait, while meanwhile the mothers were trying to pull their kids back from under the bridge hideout. Story so far, the mothers were successfull on their kids and that day another city of Germany was "peacefully" occupied/freed. Not one shot was fired.

After the tanks went closer into the towncenter, the nazi mayor was dressed as civilist and brought to the station by his family. from that day on he wasnt seen ever again...

Everyone thinks he made it to chile, because years later, a family from chile did came back to germany with the same family name. His grandson was a good friend of mine and sat in school in spanish beside me.

The Nazis, well they distinguished as fast as they came up, and thats the shitty thing about em, almost everyone can become a nazi, if the "right" mindsetting is done, you wont understand anymore what is right or wrong.

You start to believe at the wordings of Endsieg, make germany great again (yeah Adolf said it too), 1000 and 1000 years and other shitty urealistic political slogans...

 

boy i am glad i was born in 86 and didnt had to go through this shit. i wish i could ask my grandma more, but sadly she is also not here anymore...take your chances and listen aslong as u can. and dont fall for any hatery. 

Love u all and Peace ✌️

[von Rantala]

@Vice86 Seen that The Wawe from 2008 many many times. It is in my DVD collection. Good movie. I like German language and history. Not only WW2.

 

13 hours ago, Vice86 said:

i hope we all know what happend in 1920's and 1930's before the ww2, and what made it possible that the 3. Reich did came up, and the NSDAP could get so big. If you wanna know how it worked, try to watch these movies.

 

If i understood correcly when i read history. Main reasons was

1. German was treated very badly in Treaty of Versailles. German felt they was treated wrongly and its true. I dont think WW2 would happen if German wouldn't been treated so wrongly.

2. Huge unemployment what Hitler was able to fix. He was lucky to get in the leading role, just when economic started to raise. German ppls saw him as savior, who got they jobs back.

3. Most of German ppls didnt know crimes what happened in the war or before that. Thats why there wasn't Uprising. Also German ppls was raised to respect they leader. This came all the way from German Empire times.

 

 

 

History is full of bad leaders, we can be very lucky to live in time where we have so great civil rights. I also believe we should respect more elders, they been building word which we live now. Without our grandparents and parents, we wouldnt have as good civil rights as we have now. My grandfa was fighting for better collective agreements. He was strike guard, he told me how his company was almost two month in strike, when they was fighting saturday as holiday. It was difficult to him understand why ppls are now ready to go work in saturday, when he fight that we get that as holiday. Sunday is also double salary day and we can thank our granparents for that too

 

Sorry little bit off the topic.

Edited October 9, 2020 by von Rantala