Posted on 12/03/2018 12:11:29 PM PST by CondoleezzaProtege
"Even if this story were made up from start to finish, even if there had been no Panfilov, even if there had been nothing at all,"... "this is a sacred legend, which simply cannot be touched. And those who do so are washed-up scumbags."
Russia's culture minister has revealed historical records that he claims prove the authenticity of a World War II legend largely debunked by historians, delivering the latest salvo in a long-running dispute that challenges the official narrative of the Soviet Union's war experience.
Commonly referred to as "Panfilov's 28 men," the legend is among the most controversial episodes of World War II. According to a version long advanced by Soviet and Russian authorities, 28 soldiers of Panfilov's division gave their lives stopping a column of several dozen German tanks in its advance on Moscow in the winter of 1941. The men were posthumously named Heroes of the Soviet Union.
The legend was first popularized on the pages of the Soviet Army newspaper Red Star in a November 1941 article by Aleksandr Krivitsky, and was quickly spread by other journalists on the front line as an example of the bravery and sacrifice of Soviet soldiers. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the opening of state archives, it came under scrutiny from historians. In 1997, an article in the journal New World dismissed the story as a fabrication, claiming among others that many of the men listed dead were in fact still alive.
(Excerpt) Read more at rferl.org ...
I don’t think I know that story, but it does ring a bell.
If you read Audie Murphy's Congressional Medal of Honor Award narrative and compare it to the movie (To Hell and Back), the movie really underplays his heroism and what he actually did. Perhaps this was due in part to his own modesty as he obviously had some control over what was portrayed in the film.
THAT is one glaring exception. And I think you are right, it was because he was personally involved and tried to keep the story at a low simmer.
Very good movie.
True. Millions of Russian men and women died fighting the Nazi’s, which was a necessary and just cause, it’s just a crying shame that they only strengthened Communism by doing it.
Did Pavlov have a dog by any chance?
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