In the TV24 program “The week. Posts scriptum” discussing the current topic related to threats of war in Europe along with the war in Ukraine, which has been ongoing since February 24, 2022, historian, professor of the University of Latvia (LU) Vita Zelče was asked – how should we perceive the situation of this day, knowing history ?
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Zelče started his comment with the words: “I would answer that I don’t know!” However, in the continuation, the LU professor said that she would name some facts that we can interpret if we “look at historical parallels” – what did Latvia do?
“In other words, the political elite of Latvia knew about Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact secret protocols. There was such information, but the authoritarian establishment at that time did not provide this information to the wider public. Then the next thing is – was Latvia preparing for war? Yes, they tried to buy modern weapons at the last minute. In general, the Latvian army was numerically good, trained, but armed with old-fashioned weapons,” explained historian Zelče about the situation in Latvia before World War II beginning, which lasted from 1939 to 1945.
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Likewise, historian Zelče told the TV24 program that at that time authoritarian regime in Latvia controlled the information space. “He did everything not to disturb the potential aggressors – neither Nazi Germany nor the communist Soviet Union, and not to disturb his own citizens. But at the same time, in November 1939, a very extensive fundraising campaign was carried out for the defense of the country, when people donated more than 2 million lats,” Luu professor Zelče outlined the historical events.
Also, the historian mentioned the fact that at that time before the Second World War in Latvia there was a “war fever” in various social groups in the society.
“We can say – the number of visitors to pubs had increased, life was bubbling in restaurants… As if it was the last moment before the unknown, such a pronounced culture of celebration. What did the farmers do? They have the responsibilities of their work: they plowed, sowed, did everything that needed to be done to ensure this situation. But, of course, there were still economic problems in the country, because there was limited access to various imported resources, which means that there were no such strategic raw materials to be able to produce, there was a lack of fuel, a lack of kerosene, which was limited accordingly,” said Zelče in the program ” Week. Post scriptum’.
At that time, migrant workers from Poland and Lithuania stopped coming to the country. “This is the pre-war situation. What did people do? People used to guess, decide who would be a better invader – the Soviet Union or Nazi Germany? At that time, the fear of the Germans was greater than the fear of the Soviet Union, but at the same time, people had little information about what the real Soviet Union was like?!” knew how to say the historian Zelče, explaining the socio-political events and atmosphere before the Second World War in Latvia.
Lu professor Zelče mentioned the Latvian poet and writer in the TV24 program in this context Karla Skalbes the travelogue he wrote in 1934, where he said: “The Russia you knew – that tsarist Russia, is no more!”
“There is a completely different Russia, where there are people with pale faces, cities without dogs and cats, cities without old people and so on… And so with such a large military potential and with a large presence of military personnel – such is its environment. Well, we could also think now – what would we do? What can we do?” This is how the historian, Professor Zelče of the University of Warsaw, summed up her comment in the TV24 program, answering the question – how should we perceive the geopolitical situation of this day in Latvia, knowing the history of our country.
The LA.LV portal already reported that German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has repeatedly warned that Europe is at risk of war.
Russia’s attack on Ukraine has created a new reality, which Germany had experienced in the last 30 years, Pistorius stated in an interview with the radio station “Deutschlandfunk” on Tuesday, October 31.
He added that the Germans were not morally ready for this, but now they must change their position. “We must be ready to wage a war, a defensive war,” the minister admitted.
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He also said that the restructuring of the Bundeswehr will soon be carried out, correcting the mistakes made in the past 30 years. Pistorius addressed this topic two days earlier in the “Berlin direkt” program of the public television channel ZDF.
“We have to get used to the idea that there may be a threat of war in Europe, and that means we have to be ready for war,” the minister emphasized on Sunday.
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2023-11-07 16:13:19
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