The Soviet War Memorial – situated in the grounds of the Imperial War Museum (London) – was filthy, neglected and abused. This demonstrates how the Management of the IMW carefully aligns itself with the Bourgeoisie and its political peccadilloes – although many of these (highly destructive) indiscretions remain far from minor indiscretions. For 24-years (1967-1991) – I lived through the existence of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) – and one element of that time living in the UK is obvious to me and that is we possessed a far-greater freedom of thought (and expression) then – than we do today during the internet age and 44-years since the collapse of the USSR and the Communist Bloc (1991-2023)!
Until 1988, the truth is that the UK was very similar to a very wealthy ‘Socialist’ (or ‘Soviet’) State! Many British people thought that Marx might well have been correct when he predicted a Socialist Revolution in England. Thatcher put an end to all this Socialist progression when she began the privatisation process of the NHS (switching the onus from ‘care’ to ‘cost’) and abolished ‘free at the point of use’ Universal Education! I was amongst the last generation to receive ‘free’ further and higher education – which was ended in England during 1988! Those of us who lived through this era did NOT refer to it as the ‘Cold War’ – as that description remained a vague US designation – used to justify its military aggression around the world. It has only been since 1991 that this era (1945-1991) has been termed the ‘Cold War’ in the UK – with even a medal being issued for those who served in the British Armed Forces – who never actually fought in a war that never existed!
The IMW now presents history from a US Cold War and anti-intellectual perspective. Chiang Kai-Shek is portrayed as a hero and Mao Zedong as a villain – whilst the horrors inflicted upon the Soviets by the Nazi Germans and their Catholic allies are viewed as being a natural consequence of following the Socialist path. The IWM says very little about the 41 million Soviet men, women and children killed by the Hitlerite invasion – or the fact that it was the Soviets (and the Chinese Communists) that fought and won WWII – saving the lives of British and American soldiers! The IMW also says little about the Soviet Red Army – which at the behest of President Roosevelt – entered North-East China and destroyed the Imperial Japanese ‘Kwantung’ Army during late 1945! The Soviets gave all the Japanese arms they captured (including the Japanese factory equipment) to the Chinese Communists – thus tipping the balance of power – which eventually led to the 1949 Revolution. In Vietnam and Greece – Churchill ordered the British Army to re-arm the surrendered Nazi Germans (Greece) and Imperial Japanese (Vietnam) – and fight with these fascist forces to ‘crush’ the Communist troops (our allies during WWII) that had ‘Resisted’ the fascist invasions on our behalf! Of course, the IWM has NOTHING to say about this inconvenient history.
When we entered a back corridor – slightly disheartened by the shallowness of the IWM coverage of WWII from an ordinary British and Chinese perspective – we were astonished to find that a ‘Black’ British art exhibition – regarding WWII – had been consigned to an ‘out of the way’ place! The corridor is both bare and bleak – the sort of place one (momentarily) traverses through to get to another place – or perhaps rest for a moment to get one’s bearings. In no civilised way should this location be interpreted as ‘suitable’ for an art exhibition – as it reeks with Eurocentric disdain! Such is the contemporary IWM and the disjointed face it shows to a general public it intends to fleece in its gift shops!
SANGHA KOMMUNE (SSR) 