“Hitler's Germany's” display of the white flag of surrender in May 1945 is being celebrated with ceremonies in Russia. Of course, Russia's, or to put it better, the “Soviet Union's” contribution towards Hitler's defeat was substantial. The Soviet Union experienced the greatest amount of losses during that process; more than twenty million Soviet citizens lost their lives in that war. Some left-wingers announced the “May 9th” ceremonies in Russia as “the victory of socialism is being celebrated.” However, Stalin didn't win that victory based on “Socialist” slogans. On the contrary, by making emphases on the religious and national values of the “Tsarist Russia”, he sent the public to the front line as masses. The Soviet propaganda abandoned the excuse that the country is fighting for communism. By mentioning the military successes of religion and the Tsarist regime, the objective was to have the nation fight for the “Holy Russia”. The reputation of the church had been restored, and the bells started to toll and candles started to be lighted. This swift turnabout of Stalin, who opened war against the religious values throughout his rulership, was a result of his shock against Hitler's sudden attack.
According to the comments, World War II was the only incident in history of the Soviet Union that got the government and nation closer to each other. After the German attack in June 1941, the official theses had coincided with reality for the first time in the Soviet history. Germans were relentless invaders, and truly the nation was face to face with a life and death struggle. The war helped the regime gain the legitimacy they never had. This was only one side of the medallion. On the other side of the medallion, there was the agreement between Hitler and Stalin in 1939. In order to prevent the other front from expanding, Hitler started negotiations with Stalin. As for Stalin; he calculated that Hitler, who would be steering towards Europe, wouldn't interfere with the Soviet Union. Thus, Europe's militant capitalist forces would have collapsed from within. On the other hand, in honor of the agreement, Poland was going to be shared between Stalin and Hitler. The Nazi Hitler and the Socialist Stalin signed the “Non-aggression Pact” in August 23, 1939. One week after that, Hitler invaded Poland. This was how World War II started.
Hitler continued his expansion in Europe until 1941. During this phase, Stalin supported the Nazis by providing them with food, metals and other required equipment. The Nazis entered Poland on September 1, while the “Red Army” entered on September 17. The Polish army was attacked from the East and West, and they surrendered. In March 1940, Stalin gave the order to execute more than 20,000 Polish officers kept in prison camps. After the most educated people, who joined the army to defend Poland, were killed, opened pits were filled with their bodies. These slaughters had gone down in history as the “Katyn Massacre”. In the next phases of the war, when the corpses were revealed, Stalin's propaganda machine accused the Nazis.
In June 1941, Hitler made the worst mistake of his life and attacked the Soviet Union. Stalin didn't believe the intelligence reports related with Hitler's preparation for attacking the Soviet Union. Because of that, the Soviet Union experienced great losses against the first German attacks. Russians showed an extraordinary resistance in order to defend their country. By attacking Russia, Hitler dug his own grave. Hitler lost and committed suicide. As for Stalin; he captured half of Europe as booty. Hitler started the most horrible war in the history of mankind by making an agreement with Stalin, and he lost the war because of attacking Stalin. Thus, in this war, where 40-50 million people lost their lives, Stalin also had a part.
