The unacceptable Bandera
F****** unbelievable
Ukraine has both given the Kremlin a fantastic piece of propaganda AND gravely insulted Poles. This is unbelievable. Its like celebrating Himmler when your main ally is Isreal.
My family from Lviv (Lwow then) would have been killed by Bandera’s soldiers for being a mixed Polish and Ukrainian marriage. Probably crucified.
(Images from deleted post. Text is “When people choose bread between bread and freedom, they ultimately lose everything, including bread. If the people choose freedom, they will have bread grown by themselves and not taken by anyone.” - which is a shitty Benjamin Franklin rip off)
I don’t think anybody can call us at Fallout anti-Ukrainian. Two of us wrote Russian Genocidal Warfare. We ALL called it Genocide back in March/April and the receipts are in our podcasts from that time - also available here.
We however all hate fascists and Nazis. Russian or Ukrainian. We don’t need a reason to but we all have them - my grandfather in Auschwitz, Ben is Jewish and Phil is a Holocaust historian.
This all ties into my post about the threat to Zelensky from the right especially in the military.
The trolls are already running with it:
Bandera is a subject that needs a full analysis and posts down the line. Maybe even a book under our new imprint.
No grift buttons because f******* hell.
PS we don’t come to this subject as ‘stupid Westerners’. I’m 1/8 Ukrainian and my grandmother was like a mother to me. One of my ex is also half Polish and half Ukrainian. My best friend is married to an Ukrainian and has kids with her - Bandera would have crucified them as well as all of us. Phil studies the holocaust in the East:
In the words of a smart man (another Holocaust scholar) on the subject:
“And the crazy thing is, the vast majority of those people glorifying Bandera would tell you that they love the Poles and love the Jews and they are. They just can't add 2 and 2 and see that the cartoon version of the Bandera they were fed has consequences”
Update 4 January 2023
This is what being Ukraine’s closest ally means, a Polish medic protecting and comforting a severely wounded terrified Ukrainian in Polish and Ukrainian. A Polish driver as well.
The ambulance medic video is powerful. Underlines how terrible the Bandera birthday celebration was for relations (widely covered in Poland). I cover my personal POV in a future video - even if Bandera in real life loved Jews and Poles and his story is a misconception/Russian lie, then Ukraine should not celebrate him as long as Poles think he is the devil.
If it’s all a Russian lie then deal with educating the entire world outside of Ukraine, after the war. Not causing more offense to Poland than accidentally killing Pol villagers with an air defense missile (Russia’s fault).
And I think Poland should be officially fighting in Ukraine, helping the Ukrainians. Fighting to stop Russian genocide. The Polish army.
I can imagine how ridiculously happy the Russians are over this faux-pas which is a thousand times worse than Zelensky bodyguards with Waffen SS patches (idiots - stupid young men).
Thx Monika. I made the same point in a post scheduled for tomorrow.
Thank you for writing this. I also don't understand how they don't get it. Whitewashing national history is, sadly, not uncommon in that part of the world. But they are aware how Bandera is perceived abroad. Not only in Poland but among Western historians .This is not even a controversy anywhere outside of Ukraine. So shelving this grotesque figure for now at least , regardless how they really feel about him , would be plain common sense and acting in their own best interest. Bizarrely, they choose to drag him out all the time and shove his mug in everyone's faces. Not only Zaluzhny/Rada/West Ukrainian officials but Ukrainian public figures living in the West as well. Where is the logic?