I love learning about things that happened in the past. History has always been one of my favourite subjects, even if I was failing or doing average in school. Discussing the past is one of my hobbies. I know I have many hobbies, like reading, writing silly stories, collecting bizarre objects and doing arts and crafts. Learning about history is just another one.
History in its self is very much a subject every child should take interest in. I mean, how can we better our future, if we turn a blind eye to everything that has happened before us? The saying does go, that those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it. George Santaya apparently said it. And I agree, wholeheartedly.
There are so many examples to draw from history that confirm this theses. You don't even have to look too far into the past to see them. The 20th century was a constant rinse and repeat cycle. World War I and World War II have so many similarities, it's insane that people were so stupid to repeat their mistakes. And it's not like they have a long peaceful time period between them. Yes, of course there were many differences between them too. WWII was so much worse with holocaust and mass-cleansing. It's hard for an Estonian to swallow the fact that Russia (Soviet Union) was considered an ally and a winner. I mean, the West basically teamed up with the worst country in the world, back then. I mentioned in my previous post the Singing Revolution, but that's the happy conclusion to decades of oppression and horrors. For us, the "republics" of Soviet Union, Stalin and all the following leaders of CCCP, were a nightmare to deal with. There were mass killings to rid the land of people who either had more land than they should or who didn't think as a communist should. I obviously was not alive back then, but luckily I had a great history teacher in school and I have watched documentaries about that time period. What they did to people, it's really awful that they were considered allies and the good guys. What happened behind the Red Curtain, people tend to forget about it.
What most people talk about are the Nazis and Hitler. I get it. It was horrible what he did to his own people. What he did to humans in general. But his actions seem to over-shadow Stalin's madness. His terror began before Hitler's. There were many more casualties in his run for dominance. I mean, during the winter of 1932-1933, SEVEN MILLION Ukrainians died, most of them from starvation. That's way before Hitler started killing people in concentration camps. I might go off on a rant now. Just a quick warning.
There's a good documentary, made by Latvians, which explains the ideology behind communism and describes the horrors that were happening way before WWII. They are trying to make the world realise, that the Soviet Union was at least just as bad as the Nazis, if not worse. And I agree with them. Sending people off to Siberia, because there's a quota to fill, because they have their own opinions or because they own land, for which they have worked so hard for... it makes me angry, even if I was not around to experience it for myself. The name of the documentary is The Soviet Story. If you want to learn more about it, find it and watch it. I must warn you that there are horrifying images. Here's a video, discussing the documentary:
I am amazed how little you hear about it in the media or in general discussions. Everybody wants to talk about the Germans and I commend them for being honest and open about their past. It's really great that they are not trying to hide what their ancestors did. I went to Berlin last March (2016) and I was glad I took a day tour to the near-by concentration camp, Sachenhausen, because it opened my world up to more history. As a human who lives in a country that has more history shared with the Soviet union, we kind of hear more about that terror. Sachenhausen was a work camp, people were mostly killed by the weather and working until they couldn't any more. But there were some excruciating situations that really describe how bad people can be. Maybe you've heard about how Stalin treated his son Yakov horribly. Maybe you've even heard that he was captured by the Germans and tortured in a German concentration camp. But did you know that Sachenhausen was that camp? I have seen the post they used to string him up, I have been in the cell they held him. And to think that Stalin refused to trade for his son's release gives you an idea of how cruel that man was.
My grandmother, the one I've lived with most of my life and who is one of the most important people in my life, was born in 1941, August 7th to be more exact. I will never forget why that date is so important in our history. That, my friends, is the date when the Germans started rounding up people and killing them. In Estonia. You see, during WWII, Estonia (just as Latvia and Lithuania) changed regimes three times. First the Soviet Union made a deal with the presidents in 1939 for building bases on our soil. With the bases came the Red Army. They mostly built these bases in the Western part of Estonia, which if you now Geography, is a terrible idea. Russia is our Eastern neighbour. Once the war was on, the Soviets just took over. Done! 20 years of a republic, gone. Then, in 1941, the Germans started their war against the Soviets and took over. In 1944, the Soviet Union, who was part of the allied powers by then, came back. They waged a war on our soil and as everyone knows, the Germans lost. Back to being a communist.
What really sucks, is that once the regime changed, people had to be killed off as they were clearly supporting the previous ideology. Which is total bull crap by the way. If your life depended on it, wouldn't you act as if you agree with what the government wants you to believe. It's called self-preservation. Ugh, it makes me angry that it happened and that I know about it. I mean I am glad we have the freedom to learn about stuff and also that I can write about it in my honest opinion. It's just maddening that things like that happened and that people seem to be blind to it. We are not learning from our ancestors' past mistakes. Look at the world we live in! It's so fucked up, I just literally don't want to live on this planet anymore. Sometimes I wish I could force everyone to sit down and just consume documentaries and history books.
I think I might have steered off-course in my rant. I will address my other reasons for loving history in next week's post. I will try and keep it more light-hearted. Maybe talk about my fascination with monarchs and their spouses. That is literally a thing I spend time on, learning about their spouses. You can skip it, if this subject is boring, I won't hold it against anyone, as I am mostly typing this up for myself. And I'm currently running out of ideas. Give me some, please!
All the best in the world, that's what I want for you.
Regina.
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