Defeat of Nazi Germany 1945: A celebration with tears in our eyes

By Sergey J. Nechayev

May 8, 2025

Sergey J. Nechayev has been the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Germany since 2018. He wrote this essay for the German daily, junge Welt, on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the victory over Nazi-ruled Germany on May 9, 1945, a victory for which the Red Army of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was mainly responsible. His essay is especially important as the West European ruling class has enormously increased military funds to confront Russia. Translation: John Catalinotto.

On May 9, our country will celebrate the 80th anniversary of victory in the Great Patriotic War and the liberation of Germany and Europe from Nazism. For all the peoples of the former Soviet Union, this is truly a sacred date. The war of extermination waged by the Nazis against the peoples of the Soviet Union claimed the lives of 27 million Soviet citizens. More than half of them were civilians. The bloodiest conflict of the 20th century affected almost every Soviet family, bringing bitter hardship and immeasurable suffering and reducing countless towns and villages to rubble and ashes. 

As descendants of the victors, we have a duty to preserve the memory of the events of those years and to keep the harsh lessons of the war in mind, so that such a tragedy never happens again. To quote [Vladimir Putin], the president of the Russian Federation, “Only by understanding the price our ancestors paid for victory in defending their homeland can we come to understand what defines us and our country.”

At the same time, Russia has never distinguished between the heroic achievements of Soviet soldiers and the sacrifices made by the Soviet people for victory on the basis of nationality and does not intend to do so today. Victory is our common good, and the memory of those who died in the war is our shared pain. 

Members of all Soviet allied peoples stood shoulder to shoulder to repel the invasion of Hitler’s hordes into their homeland and entered into deadly combat with the enemy without sparing their own lives. We could only survive and win that war together.

Russia attaches extraordinary importance to the celebrations marking the 80th anniversary of the victory; those  in Germany are particularly significant in this context. For it is here that more than 4,000 graves lie in which more than 700,000 Soviet soldiers are buried. We are doing everything possible to commemorate this anniversary with dignity. 

The Russian diplomatic missions in Germany, together with colleagues from the diplomatic missions of the Commonwealth of Independent States, are working to put together a comprehensive program of events. These range from commemorative events and exhibitions to concerts, film screenings and other cultural events, as well as educational and informational events. 

Together with veterans, Russian compatriots in Germany, members of the Russian Orthodox Church and representatives of the German public, we are visiting Soviet graves and memorials to lay wreaths and flowers. We are also participating in the “Immortal Regiment” campaign, which will take place in several major German cities, including Berlin.

We would like to express our heartfelt thanks to German communities and local authorities, the German War Graves Commission, volunteers and all German citizens who cherish this memory for their painstaking treatment of Soviet military cemeteries and memorial sites and for the support they all provide in giving the heroes back their names. During the numerous commemorative events held in various regions of Germany in recent days to honor Soviet soldiers, we were able to witness the friendly feelings of ordinary Germans who continue to uphold an objective culture of remembrance.

Learn the lessons of the war

Eighty years later, it is appropriate to look back and ask what the international community has achieved and whether it has sufficiently heeded the terrible lessons of the war. We note with regret that in recent years, as more and more eyewitnesses leave life behind, political forces are becoming increasingly vocal in revising the causes, course and results of the war and casting doubt on the decisive role of the Red Army and the Soviet people in the victory over Nazism. 

The reconciliation between the German and Soviet peoples after the war is being suppressed, as is the gratitude towards the people of the USSR who renounced their hatred of their former enemy and extended a hand of friendship and support to the German people in their reconstruction efforts. 

It is unthinkable that today in some European countries, Nazis and their accomplices are being glorified as national heroes, streets and avenues are being named after them, marches by SS veterans are being held, and at the same time, monuments to Soviet soldiers are being destroyed, and symbols of victory are being banned.

The perception of what occurred during World War II and the war’s resolution must not be allowed to depend on the momentary political climate. This message is all the more urgent given the current calls in Western countries to prepare for war against Russia. We condemn this rhetoric as irresponsible and extremely dangerous. 

Russia firmly rejects any attempts to politicize and instrumentalize history, to revise the resolution of the war, including the judgments of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal, to relegate the Soviet peoples’ role to oblivion and to equate the executioners with the victims, the aggressors with the liberators.

Every year at this time, we honor the memory of the heroes who, through their determination and courage, brought us closer to the common victory over the enemy. We remember the contribution of the countries of the anti-Hitler coalition to this great victory. We honor the memory of the victims who fell in battle, were shot and tortured to death in concentration camps, died of hunger, cold, injuries and disease and fell victim to siege and occupation.

The crimes committed by the “Third Reich” and its collaborators, which are unparalleled in world history and documented in the judgments of the Nuremberg Military Tribunal, must be recognized as genocide against the peoples of the USSR. We call on the new German Bundestag and the new federal government to take this important step for millions of people and thus restore historical justice.

See the original article in junge Welt.