On May 7, 2020, James S. Gilmore III, US ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), urged Moscow to stop falsifying the history of World War II. Gilmore announced this on the eve of the celebration of the victory over the Nazis in Europe during the virtual meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.
Gilmore emphasized: “While the Soviet Union’s military and civilian population made tremendous sacrifices to defeat the Nazis, as our Russian colleague has reminded us today – and we honor those sacrifices entirely and completely – we should also not forget that the Second World War began in 1939, when Stalin and Hitler aligned through a pact that divided Eastern Europe into Soviet- and Nazi-controlled zones. I’m confident our Polish friends today have not forgotten that fact for one second.”
The diplomat reminded the participants of the meeting that in 1945, many European countries did not receive freedom but fell under the “almost 50 years of oppression by the Soviet Union.” Thus, the path to true liberation turned out to be a long one. Some former socialist countries have still to complete their journey.
“We call on Russia to stop making self-aggrandizing claims based on purposeful misrepresentations of history. We stand in solidarity with our European partners against Russia’s falsification of history,” Gilmore said.
The full text of James Gilmore’s speech is published on the website of the US Mission to the OSCE.
Read also: German-Soviet Military Parade – Brest-Litovsk, 1939
U.S. calls on #Russia to stop making self-aggrandizing claims based on purposeful misrepresentations of history. We stand in solidarity with our European partners against Russia’s falsification of history. #HistoryMatters #VE75 >> http://t.co/Oa4RwFzvYR pic.twitter.com/9YMUMvrsWX
— U.S. Mission to OSCE (@usosce) May 7, 2020
