ILLUSTRATED HISTORY: RELIVE THE TIMES: Images Of War, History , WW2: women

History Poll No. 2: "Was The Mass Rape Of German Women Justified IN ANY WAY In 1945"?

Excerpts from Rape Of German Women In 1945
Stalin said people should ' understand it if a soldier who has crossed thousands of kilometres through blood and fire and death has fun with a woman or takes some trifle'.

Vodka played a role, of course, but the worst of the behaviour was fuelled by sheer hatred and aggression, as well as a cold-hearted sense of deterrence for the future.

'It's absolutely clear that if we don't really scare them now, there will be no way of avoiding another war in future,' one Red Army soldier wrote at the time.

What do you think of this justification?

DO YOU THINK THE MASS RAPE OF GERMAN WOMEN IN 1945 WAS JUSTIFIED IN ANY WAY?

SOME REACTIONS

Taste of revenge. Someone choose Hitler, someone salute him on the streets since '30. If we compare this what Germans makes with Russians (they didn't take Russian prisoners)soldiers and civils. In Poland we saying "who fighting of sword, dying of sword". If we look on this in aspects of nation we can understand whole machine of brutality. From river Bug this same fate meet Polish womans, this same as Germans. Russian soldiers where mainly from asiatic regions, wild sons of the desert + after and in strong influence of political officers which heat up in them need of revenge. Also under a strong pression, because they could be shot in back from political commando soldiers ("enemy at the gates" showing this clearly in first minutes of the movie). Answer on this question is very hard because from one side we have war machine, from other single unit in a person of female sex. We should realize that they get all, from 4-5 year old kid to very old grand mom. Soon will be in Poland movie ("Rose from Mazurian")about this what Russians done on the north of Poland - I recommend it.
---ANONYMOUS

FINAL RESULTS: DO YOU THINK THE MASS RAPE OF GERMAN WOMEN IN 1945 WAS JUSTIFIED IN ANY WAY?

(Total votes cast: 428)
Yes: 51 (11%)
Somewhat: 29 (6%)
No: 365 (82%)

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Mass Rape Of German Women In 1945....

Mass Rape Of German Women In 1945....

One young officer coming upon a unit that had overtaken a column of German refugees fleeing westward later recalled: ‘Women, mothers and their children lie to the right and left along the route, and in front of each of them stands a raucous armada of men with their trousers down. The women who are bleeding or losing consciousness get shoved to one side, and our men shoot the ones who try to save their children.’ A group of ‘grinning’ officers was standing near by, making sure ‘that every soldier without exception would take part’.
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