Ukraine's Nazi problem is real, even if Putin's 'denazification' claim isn't
Not acknowledging this threat means that little is being done to guard against it.
Ukrainian veterans of the Azov Battalion, formed by a white supremacist and banned from receiving U.S. aid, attend a rally in Kyiv on March 14, 2020.Vladimir Sindeyeve / NurPhoto via Getty ImagesMarch 5, 2022, 9:08 PM ACDT
By Allan Ripp, principal of Ripp Media
Of the many distortions manufactured by Russian President Vladimir Putin to justify Russia’s assault on Ukraine, perhaps the most bizarre is his claim that the action was taken to “denazify” the country and its leadership. In making his case for entering his neighbor’s territory with armored tanks and fighter jets, Putin has stated that the move was undertaken “to protect people” who have been “subjected to bullying and genocide,” and that Russia “will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.”
Putin’s destructive actions — among them the devastation of Jewish communities — make clear that he’s lying when he says his goal is to ensure anyone’s welfare.
On its face, Putin’s smear is absurd, not least because Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is Jewish and has said that members of his family were killed during World War II. There is also no evidence of recent mass killings or ethnic purges taking place in Ukraine. Moreover, labeling enemies Nazis is a common political ploy in Russia, especially from a leader who favors disinformation campaigns and wants to stir up feelings of national vengeance against a WWII foe to justify conquest.
But even though Putin is engaging in propaganda, it’s also true that Ukraine has a genuine Nazi problem — both past and present. Putin’s destructive actions — among them the devastation of Jewish communities — make clear that he’s lying when he says his goal is to ensure anyone’s welfare. But important as it is to defend the yellow-and-blue flag against the Kremlin’s brutal aggression, it would be a dangerous oversight to deny Ukraine’s antisemitic history and collaboration with Hitler’s Nazis, as well as the latter-day embrace of neo-Nazi factions in some quarters.
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On the eve of World War II, Ukraine was home to one the largest Jewish communities in Europe, with estimates as high as 2.7 million, a remarkable number considering the territory’s long record of antisemitism and pogroms. By the end, more than half would perish. When German troops took control of Kyiv in 1941, they were welcomed by “Heil Hitler” banners. Soon after, nearly 34,000 Jews — along with Roma and other “undesirables” — were rounded up and marched to fields outside the city on the pretext of resettlement only to be massacred in what became known as the “Holocaust by bullets.”
The Babyn Yar ravine continued to fill up as a mass grave for two years. With as many as 100,000 murdered there, it became one of the largest single killing sites of the Holocaust outside of Auschwitz and other death camps. Researchers have noted the key role locals played in fulfilling Nazi kill orders at the site.
Who is President ZelenskyyFEB. 28, 202201:43
Nowadays, Ukraine counts between 56,000 to 140,000 Jews, who enjoy freedoms and protections never imagined by their grandparents. That includes an updated law passed last month criminalizing antisemitic acts. Unfortunately, the law was intended to address a pronounced uptick in public displays of bigotry, including swastika-laden vandalism of synagogues and Jewish memorials, and eerie marches in Kyiv and other cities that celebrated the Waffen SS.
In another ominous development, Ukraine has in recent years erected a glut of statues honoring Ukrainian nationalists whose legacies are tainted by their indisputable record as Nazi proxies. The Forward newspaper cataloged some of these deplorables, including Stepan Bandera, leader of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN), whose followers acted as local militia members for the SS and German army. “Ukraine has several dozen monuments and scores of street names glorifying this Nazi collaborator, enough to require two separate Wikipedia pages,” the Forward wrote.
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Another frequent honoree is Roman Shukhevych, revered as a Ukrainian freedom fighter but also the leader of a feared Nazi auxiliary police unit that the Forward notes was “responsible for butchering thousands of Jews and … Poles.” Statues have also been raised for Yaroslav Stetsko, a one-time chair of the OUN, who wrote “I insist on the extermination of the Jews in Ukraine.”
Far-right groups have also gained political currency in the past decade, none more chilling than Svoboda (formerly the Social National Party of Ukraine), whose leader claimed the country was controlled by a “Muscovite-Jewish mafia” and whose deputy used an antisemitic slur to describe Ukrainian-born Jewish actor Mila Kunis. Svoboda has sent several members to Ukraine’s Parliament, including one who called the Holocaust a “bright period” in human history, according to Foreign Policy.
Just as disturbing, neo-Nazis are part of some of Ukraine’s growing ranks of volunteer battalions. They are battle-hardened after waging some of the toughest street fighting against Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine following Putin’s Crimean invasion in 2014. One is the Azov Battalion, founded by an avowed white supremacist who claimed Ukraine’s national purpose was to rid the country of Jews and other inferior races. In 2018, the U.S. Congress stipulated that its aid to Ukraine couldn’t be used “to provide arms, training or other assistance to the Azov Battalion.” Even so, Azov is now an official member of the Ukraine National Guard.
For sure, none of this disturbing context justifies the misery that has befallen Ukrainians over the past several weeks — and it’s unlikely that Putin was motivated by any of it when he launched his invasion. Indeed, thanks to Putin, Jews living in Odessa, Kharkiv and other eastern cities are under extreme duress. While many have taken refuge in local synagogues and Jewish centers, others have fled to foreign countries, including Israel, which has urged all Jews to leave Ukraine.
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My own grandparents themselves had to flee western Ukraine to escape persecution, and it is tragic to see this cycle continue. If the country devolves into chaos and insurgency, Jews could once again be at risk from some of their fellow citizens. Not acknowledging this threat means that little is being done to guard against it.
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But even if some elements of the country have been entangled with one of history’s most loathsome movements, standing with Ukraine is without doubt the honorable posture to take in this drama. Right now, every day that Putin ratchets up his assault against the Ukrainian people with scorched-earth zeal, it’s hard not to see who truly deserves the N-word.
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Allan Ripp
Allan Ripp runs a press relations firm in New York, and has contributed commentary and reporting to The Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Time.com, Newsweek, The Washington Post and other publications.
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푸틴 러시아 대통령이 우크라이나에 대한 러시아의 공격을 정당화하기 위해 만든 많은 왜곡 중에서 아마도 가장 기이한 것은 그러한 조치가 국가와 그 지도부를 "비나치화"하기 위해 취했다는 주장일 것이다. (중략)
네오나치는 우크라이나에서 점점 늘어나고 있는 자원봉사 대대의 일부이다. 그들은 2014년 푸틴의 크림 반도 침공 이후 우크라이나 동부에서 모스크바의 지원을 받는 분리주의자들을 상대로 가장 힘든 거리 전투를 벌인 후 전투에서 단련되었다.
하나는 백인 우월주의자에 의해 설립된 아조프 대대이다. 2018년 미국 의회는 우크라이나에 대한 지원을 "아조프 대대에 무기, 훈련 또는 기타 지원을 제공하는 데" 사용할 수 없다고 규정했다. 그럼에도 불구하고 아조프는 현재 우크라이나 방위군의 공식 구성원이다.
확실히, 이 혼란스러운 상황 중 어느 것도 지난 몇 주 동안 우크라이나인에게 닥친 불행을 정당화하지 못한다. 그리고 푸틴이 침공을 시작했을 때 그러한 상황에 동기가 부여되었을 가능성은 거의 없다.
실제로 푸틴 덕분에 오데사, 하르키우 및 기타 동부 도시에 거주하는 유대인들은 극심한 압박 을 받고 있다. 많은 사람들이 지역 회당과 유대인 센터로 피신했지만 다른 사람들은 모든 유대인들에게 우크라이나를 떠날 것을 촉구한 이스라엘을 포함한 외국으로 도피했다.
국가의 일부 요소가 역사상 가장 혐오스러운 운동(*나치) 중 하나와 얽혀 있더라도 우크라이나와 함께하는 것은 의심할 여지없이 영예로운 자세이다. 지금 푸틴이 지구를 불태우는 열정으로 우크라이나 국민에 대한 공격을 강화하는 날마다 누가 새 단어(*네오나치)를 쓸 자격이 있는지 알 수 없다.
[필자] Allan Ripp은 뉴욕에서 언론 관계 회사를 운영하고 있으며 월스트리트 저널, CNN, The Atlantic, The New York Times, Time.com, Newsweek, The Washington Post 및 기타 출판물에 논평 및 보도를 기고하고 있다.
<구글 번역 중 발췌>
*네오나치 관련 정당 현황
2019년 대선에서 극우 정당인 스보보다(Svoboda) 후보는 1.6%의 득표율에 그쳤다.
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