Last week, President Donald Trump announced that starting this year, the United States will mark May 8 as “Victory Day for World War II.” This bold step aligns with annual commemorations held by our allies in Europe marking the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
The president’s decision to recognize this date brings deserved attention to those Americans and allied Europeans who fought for freedom in the face of tyranny, defeating totalitarianism.
America’s newly established Victory Day also serves to draw a sharp contrast with the counterfeit version of the holiday celebrated in Moscow and Belarus every year on May 9. Starting with the Soviet Union and continuing under Russian strongman Vladimir Putin, Moscow dictators have used the day to hail military strength and national exceptionalism. Meanwhile, they minimize or ignore the principal role of the United States and Allied Forces in defeating the Nazis.
Russia’s Victory Day also conveniently omits the failed Soviet Union’s responsibility for starting World War II by colluding with Hitler via the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 to divide Europe between the two totalitarian regimes. This secret deal not only emboldened Hitler to invade Poland, starting the war, but also paved the way for Stalin to pursue his own imperialist ambitions, culminating in his occupation of the Baltic states and parts of Finland.
Hitler invaded Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, and Stalin invaded Poland on Sept. 17, 1939, murdering tens of thousands of Poles in five weeks, dividing Poland.
Under Putin, the holiday is more prominent — and more politicized — than ever. For Putin, the defeat of Nazism is not just a historic milestone; it is a contemporary rallying cry for his imperialist agenda. In launching his invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Putin said the “special military operation” would aim to “denazify” Ukraine — a reference to Russia’s bogus claims that Ukraine’s opposition to Soviet imperialism equates to allegiance to the Soviet Union’s former Nazi enemies.
While the Moscow military parades for Victory Day are frequently attended by dictators from the former Soviet Union, this year’s spectacle will regrettably feature the largest participation by European leaders since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Disgracefully, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico, and Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik from Bosnia and Herzegovina have all committed to attending. These leaders should be ashamed of themselves for aligning with Russia’s historical revisionism and imperial ambitions. As victims of Soviet imperialism themselves, their subservience to Putin is shocking.
I experienced firsthand the friendship of America for the Russian people when led a congressional delegation to St. Petersburg to place a VE Day wreath at Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery, the world’s largest open-air cemetery, for the victory of the Siege of Leningrad. There, I learned the Soviets were successful only because of lend-lease American armaments for the Russian people to stop the Nazi invasion.
Trump is right to invite Americans to celebrate on May 8. This first Victory Day is an important occasion to proclaim the truth of American greatness and defeat the propaganda of Putin’s imperialism.
Americans should be proud to celebrate the true legacy of World War II: victory over totalitarianism and creation of a more democratic world order that discourages redrawing borders by force.
Let us recommit ourselves to standing with those on the frontlines of today’s fight against failing Soviet aggression in Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Georgia, while upholding the legacy of American Allied victory in World War II.
Joe Wilson represents South Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District.
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