Video goes at 3:41 and does not come back until 6:18 although there is audio. I appreciate that people are more interested in seeing the film rather than listen to me rabbiting on so I will see if I can fix the problem.
What is your opinion on why Stalin wanted the border to be the Oder-Neisse line? And who was proposing an alternative border with Wroclaw remaining inside of Germany? I find that the post WW 2 scenario fascinating about how everything turned out in eastern Europe. How do the Germans feel today about this massive loss of territory in the east? What is feeling about this whole situation?
@michael112254 Stalin wanted to weaken Germany as much as possible - also he wanted to 'compensate' the Poles as much as possible for his territorial seizures in the east. Churchill proposed the Oder as the border.
In Germany today it is not an issue except for a few extreme right wing nuts. For younger people it is a question of it happened and it is this way now.
@alan heath Stalin and Hitler were both leftists. The Nazi Party was a socialist party, formerly called the German Workers Party. The American media (NY Times) called Hitler a leftist before WW 2. The left in the US sympathised with Hitler before the war. Hitler hated capitalism and free markets. In the end it all came down to power for Hitler and Stalin and both had an agenda to expand their territorial gains. Small government, free markets and low taxes are the right wing position.
@alan heath Stalin wanted to destroy Poland and proceeded to everything to accomplish this goal. The joint invasion of Poland by Hitler and Stalin was the first action to this goal. Stalin shipped countless Poles to Siberia for extermination and made the rest accept Soviet citizenship. I do not see why Stalin was so suddenly generous to the Poles after the war. Roosevelt, Truman and Churchill behaved like cowards toward Stalin. Stalin got everything that he wanted and maybe even more.
@alanheath I suppose that the Poles, East Germans, the Baltic peoples and others should be grateful because it could have been worse. They still suffered immensely due to that manic. Also, many of the former Nazi concentration camps were put to use by the Soviets to imprison and exterminate many other the people they perceived to be enemies of the new socialist order. I believe that this bloody period after WW 2 in eastern Europe has been glossed over by the writers of history in the west.
@michael112254 Maybe to a certain degree. The end of WW2 did not bring liberation to central Europe - they just swapped one very unpleasant system for another. Various camps were used again - especially in Germany. Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald and Ravensbruck were all used by the communists. Even Majdanek was used to incarcerate members of the Polish resistance (AK).
Alan, you travelled to Lodz i believe...are there any memorials to the Lodz Ghetto? My boyfriend and I have twice been to Krakow and loved the city, the culture, the food...everything - gorgeous city! thanks again for your videos, brilliant!!
@merseywhogirl Thanks for your message. I was in Łódź last weekend as well as spending nearly one month there last year and keep meaning to film the former ghetto. There are several memorials in various places to the ghetto.
Video goes at 3:41 and does not come back until 6:18 although there is audio. I appreciate that people are more interested in seeing the film rather than listen to me rabbiting on so I will see if I can fix the problem.
alanheath 2 weeks ago
What is your opinion on why Stalin wanted the border to be the Oder-Neisse line? And who was proposing an alternative border with Wroclaw remaining inside of Germany? I find that the post WW 2 scenario fascinating about how everything turned out in eastern Europe. How do the Germans feel today about this massive loss of territory in the east? What is feeling about this whole situation?
michael112254 7 months ago
@michael112254 Stalin wanted to weaken Germany as much as possible - also he wanted to 'compensate' the Poles as much as possible for his territorial seizures in the east. Churchill proposed the Oder as the border.
In Germany today it is not an issue except for a few extreme right wing nuts. For younger people it is a question of it happened and it is this way now.
alanheath 7 months ago
@alan heath Stalin and Hitler were both leftists. The Nazi Party was a socialist party, formerly called the German Workers Party. The American media (NY Times) called Hitler a leftist before WW 2. The left in the US sympathised with Hitler before the war. Hitler hated capitalism and free markets. In the end it all came down to power for Hitler and Stalin and both had an agenda to expand their territorial gains. Small government, free markets and low taxes are the right wing position.
michael112254 7 months ago
@alan heath Stalin wanted to destroy Poland and proceeded to everything to accomplish this goal. The joint invasion of Poland by Hitler and Stalin was the first action to this goal. Stalin shipped countless Poles to Siberia for extermination and made the rest accept Soviet citizenship. I do not see why Stalin was so suddenly generous to the Poles after the war. Roosevelt, Truman and Churchill behaved like cowards toward Stalin. Stalin got everything that he wanted and maybe even more.
michael112254 7 months ago
@michael112254 You may have missed the ' .. ' marks I left!
alanheath 7 months ago
@alanheath I suppose that the Poles, East Germans, the Baltic peoples and others should be grateful because it could have been worse. They still suffered immensely due to that manic. Also, many of the former Nazi concentration camps were put to use by the Soviets to imprison and exterminate many other the people they perceived to be enemies of the new socialist order. I believe that this bloody period after WW 2 in eastern Europe has been glossed over by the writers of history in the west.
michael112254 7 months ago
@michael112254 Maybe to a certain degree. The end of WW2 did not bring liberation to central Europe - they just swapped one very unpleasant system for another. Various camps were used again - especially in Germany. Sachsenhausen, Buchenwald and Ravensbruck were all used by the communists. Even Majdanek was used to incarcerate members of the Polish resistance (AK).
alanheath 7 months ago
Alan, you travelled to Lodz i believe...are there any memorials to the Lodz Ghetto? My boyfriend and I have twice been to Krakow and loved the city, the culture, the food...everything - gorgeous city! thanks again for your videos, brilliant!!
merseywhogirl 7 months ago
@merseywhogirl Thanks for your message. I was in Łódź last weekend as well as spending nearly one month there last year and keep meaning to film the former ghetto. There are several memorials in various places to the ghetto.
alanheath 7 months ago