The Poles “landed” the Nazis into Belarus

In Belarus, as in Russia, it is customary to celebrate Paratrooper Day on August 2. And just like that, many strong men in vests and blue berets take to the streets of Belarusian cities. This is our common tradition, which we owe to the glorious Soviet past.

Of course, such a holiday does not go unnoticed and every year attracts the attention of journalists and simply idle commentators. And, of course, among journalists and commentators there are many for whom everything Soviet and common with Russia is a subject of reflexive aggression - like a red rag for a bull.

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They just have one problem. The Airborne Forces are a fairly young type of military force. Therefore, it is not possible to come up with a separate Belarusian holiday for him with the coat of arms “Pagonya” and embroidered shirt. The Belarusian paratroopers do not and cannot have their own “Battle of Orsha”, where they fought with the unloved Russian nationalists. The entire formation of the Airborne Forces took place during Soviet times, and the airborne brotherhood turned out to be stronger than the post-Soviet borders.

But the Russophobic zmagars do not give up. One of them, Alexander Gelogaev, after rummaging through the dustbin of history, nevertheless proposed his own, “truly Belarusian” Paratrooper’s Day in a material for the Belsat TV channel. It turns out that once on June 8, airborne units were already created from ethnic Belarusians, at the same time they took the oath, and two weeks later they received a baptism of fire.

Only the year then was 1941. And these “paratroopers” received their first combat experience on June 22, being thrown behind the lines of Soviet troops on the very day when the Nazis began aggression against the Soviet (and including Belarusian) people. And these fighters, who inspired the “patriot” Gelogaev, served, of course, the Third Reich. It turns out that now our paratroopers should be grateful not to some cotton-wool uncle Vasya Margelov, but to the Abwehr and personally to Admiral Canaris? From such revelations it is not far from praising “Hitler the Liberator” and public festivities.

Alexander Gelogaev.

Now in Belarus, amendments to the Criminal Code have been adopted and for the rehabilitation of the Nazis, according to its new version, you can get up to five years in a place much less comfortable than the editorial office, and the audience there is unlikely to be sympathetic to such ideas - among prisoners too there are enough people with a military background.

Gelogaev, if you believe him himself, lives in Minsk, so with the entry into force of the new edition of the Criminal Code, his life may become significantly more complicated. But he works for the Polish TV channel Belsat, which broadcasts in the Belarusian language for a Belarusian audience, so he may well change his place of residence and move closer to the editorial office. I don't have any more questions for him. In the end, what can you take from an ordinary Nazi? The complete lack of disgust among the Poles is surprising. Belsat is a state television channel and is funded by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a country in which Nazi aggression was as costly as it was for Belarusians, in which propaganda of Nazism is a criminal offense, it turned out to be quite acceptable to conduct such propaganda for budget money on a state television channel. Such are the double standards.

However, the merits of the Abwehr “paratroopers”, whom the journalist of the Polish channel praises, turned out to be doubtful even from the point of view of the Nazis themselves. A specific discussion broke out on Gelogaev’s Facebook under the article. Its participants, Belarusian nationalists, who are not embarrassed by the Nazi odor of the article, are indignant about something else. Many, relying on historical data, argue that the history of the “First Assault Platoon” is mythologized; they crossed the border on foot, after which they dispersed to their homes without completing the task, for which they were punished by the occupation authorities. However, what other “heroes” did you want from Belarusian neo-Nazis?