 For more videos on People's Struggles, please subscribe to our YouTube channel. On June 6, 1944, over 156,000 troops from the UK, the US and a number of occupied European countries landed at six spots in France to officially launch the Western Front against Nazi Germany. These were known as the D-Day landings. This year, on the 75th anniversary of these landings, massive celebrations were held in the UK and France with representatives of 15 countries participating. Missing, however, was one country who the Allies seemed eager to forget, Russia, which resented the Soviet Union and played the single most significant role in defeating fascists. On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union and during the course of the Great Patriotic War, nearly 23 million soldiers and people of the Soviet Union died. As the country's leadership and people, the sheer will slowly rolled back the German war machine. Compared to the Asian Theater and the Eastern Front of the War, Western Europe and the United States suffered only a fraction of the civilian and military losses in casualties. The Eastern Front was the largest conflict in human history. The Soviet Union lost more than 13% of its total national population. One of the Nazi wartime strategies was known as the Commissar Order, which sanctioned the shooting at sight of all known Soviet political officers. Soviet prisoners of war death rates were as high as 45% compared to the 3-5% part. The Order aimed at the breakdown of the political and tactical unity of the Eastern European Allied Forces and was reflective of the Nazis, seeing Communism as a major enemy. Many anti-fascist resistant friends across Europe were led by Communists with tactical and military support of the Soviets. One of the most important events in the whole war was the defeat of the German forces at the Battle of Stalingrad after a five-month conflict that led to the deaths of nearly 2 million. Other key moments, such as the Battle of Kursk in 1943 and the breaking of the 842-day long Siege of Leningrad in early 1944, saw the Soviets advancing and pushing the German forces out of their country. Around 70% of German military deaths were from fighting the Soviets alone. As far back as August 1942, the Soviets had requested the U.S. and the U.K. to open the Western Front, which could have greatly limited the extent of the Nazi rampage in the East. But the Western Front was only opened with the landings on Normandy in June 1944, more than a year after the Axis forces began to retreat. Many historians even believe that the Second Front was launched only out of the Western Allies sphere that the whole of Europe would fall under communist influence. The erasure of the role of the Soviet Union is not something new. From official celebrations such as D-Day to popular culture, World War II has often sought to be portrayed as a battle for freedom waged by the West against the Nazis. A key part of this has been the portrayal of the Normandy landings as a turning point in the war. The term D-Day speaks for itself. Thus it is that the annual D-Day celebrations have become the byword for marking the victory against Nazi Germany, whilst Stalingrad and the Great Patriotic War are forgotten. This year, the official account of the British royal family put out a tweet with the video of Queen Elizabeth greeting leaders of allies. One of these allies, however, was German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin was not even invited to the celebrations. The celebration of the Second World War has thus become more about pandering to current political realities and promoting the US narrative of itself being the reason for the defeat of the Nazis. Incidentally, most of the troops and carriers which took part in the D-Day operations were British and Canadian rather than American. Russia announced on June 6th this year that it would address the United Nations to declare the victory in World War II as a heritage of humanity while also making the monuments to those who fought against Nazis as part of a global memory. Clearly, it is time we get out of this hegemonic narrative and acknowledge the sacrifices of the men and women of the Soviet Union who fought valiantly to liberate the world from fascism.