I would also add that condemnation of hitler became more obvious after discovering the true nature of death camps.
But if their liberators were appaled and shocked of what they seen there it means they couldn't have the same knowledge about death camps that we have today.
So even more some Ukrainian villager who miracoulously survived Holodomor, couldn't know that those nicely dressed soldiers who chased away soviet mass murderers are mass murderers too.
That being said, it doesn't absolve this hypothetical Ukrainian from crimes he commited and it doesn't justify Ukrainians today celebrating him or lying to pretend this hypothetical Ukrainian never commited any crimes.
That's the biggest difference between how russians deal with their atrocities like Katyń (it is not true and it was Germans and polish officers deserve it also we can repeat, often in less than one hour) and Germans (we are ashamed, those were horrific crimes, we vow to make sure Never Again).
Both PL and Ukraine has some part of population that commited crimes during WW2. I believe we should acknowledge it happened and forcefully condemn them, they not represent what we strive to be today instead of trying to whitewash them or deny they happened.
It's also worth mentioning that collaboration was not always voluntary. Obviously not the case of Hunka, but in many parts of Poland that were directly incorporated into Third Reich, Poles were drafted into Wermacht, not something you could politely refuse. This is important to remember when you hear about Russia drafting people from Zaporizhzhia or whatever: just because they serve in Russian army doesn't mean they are "liberated" Russians.
"If you are interested in the mundane details: how do you starve to death people living on fertile farmlands, I recommend a great book by Anne Applebaum to you."
If you recommend a book, could you mention the title? :) (I can google for it, but many readers - especially those would benefit the most from reading it - may be too lazy.)
I would also add that condemnation of hitler became more obvious after discovering the true nature of death camps.
But if their liberators were appaled and shocked of what they seen there it means they couldn't have the same knowledge about death camps that we have today.
So even more some Ukrainian villager who miracoulously survived Holodomor, couldn't know that those nicely dressed soldiers who chased away soviet mass murderers are mass murderers too.
That being said, it doesn't absolve this hypothetical Ukrainian from crimes he commited and it doesn't justify Ukrainians today celebrating him or lying to pretend this hypothetical Ukrainian never commited any crimes.
That's the biggest difference between how russians deal with their atrocities like Katyń (it is not true and it was Germans and polish officers deserve it also we can repeat, often in less than one hour) and Germans (we are ashamed, those were horrific crimes, we vow to make sure Never Again).
Both PL and Ukraine has some part of population that commited crimes during WW2. I believe we should acknowledge it happened and forcefully condemn them, they not represent what we strive to be today instead of trying to whitewash them or deny they happened.
Peak Central European experience in WW2 is to escape from Auschwitz only to be killed by the Soviet liberators few days later (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Przyszowice_massacre).
It's also worth mentioning that collaboration was not always voluntary. Obviously not the case of Hunka, but in many parts of Poland that were directly incorporated into Third Reich, Poles were drafted into Wermacht, not something you could politely refuse. This is important to remember when you hear about Russia drafting people from Zaporizhzhia or whatever: just because they serve in Russian army doesn't mean they are "liberated" Russians.
"If you are interested in the mundane details: how do you starve to death people living on fertile farmlands, I recommend a great book by Anne Applebaum to you."
If you recommend a book, could you mention the title? :) (I can google for it, but many readers - especially those would benefit the most from reading it - may be too lazy.)
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