Vladimir Putin and his parents. © Photo: putin.kremlin.ru
Moscow Times: Putin Opens Up About Parents' World War II Experience
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has written a magazine column about his parents' struggles and hardships during World War II, but said they did not hate Nazi Germans — unlike his own generation that did.
"There wasn't a family who didn't lose someone [during the war]. But they was no hatred toward the enemy, and that's what was amazing" Putin said of his parents in a column published Thursday in Russian Pioneer magazine.
The Russian leader singled out his mother for particular praise, noting that she did not blame German soldiers for the war and told him: "They are the same working folks as us. They simply were forced to go to the front."
In contrast, Putin's own generation "was brought up on Soviet books, films... And we hated [the enemy]," he added in the column.
Update #1: ‘My breathing mom was among corpses’: Putin recalls his parents’ WWII ordeal -- RT
Update #2: Putin Remembers Family’s WWII Past in an ‘Intimate’ Op-Ed -- Sputnik
WNU Editor: Putin's post (in Russian) is here. Every Russian family has a similar story .... mine included.
On a side note .... World War II will always remain for those who lived through it ... and even beyond. Case in point .... my father .... he is buried at a Russian cemetery in Rawdon, Quebec .... and he chose this place on purpose because only a few yards away from his grave is a monument (Glory To The Russian Warrior) that recognizes the sacrifices that he and his comrades experienced during the war (see photo below). My dad .... sighhh .... what can I say.
(Click on Image to Enlarge)
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