Why don't the Russians make their own WWII movies?
I read so much griping about the lack of World War II movies that give more credit to the Soviet war effort in defeating the Wehrmacht.
I'm serious...why haven't the Russians made more movies about World War II from their perspective? I know there are a few, but far too few. I can only speculate that the war was so traumatic that even though overwhelmingly victorious, the Russians have no real desire to live it out again on film. No one wants to see movies about their own homeland being overrun and devastated with millions killed, no matter if the outcome was ultimately victory.
For those who gripe about Western propaganda largely crediting WWII's victory to the Western Allies, blame Hollywood, not the history books. I stayed awake in high school history class, unlike a lot of fellow students. Western history books do give large credit to the Russians. The facts are indisputable. The Germans invested 70% of their war effort into the Eastern Front and Eastern Europe. The Eastern Front is where the Wehrmacht suffered its most casualties until the Western Allies launched the Battle of Germany in early 1945.
Could the Russians have won World War II all by themselves without the West?
Historians think it most likely, but would have taken longer. It could have been a negotiated surrender for the Germans to evacuate Russia and return to Germany. It's speculation.
Was the Soviet Union secretly planning to invade Eastern then Western Europe before the Nazis took the first punch?
Interesting theory. I first heard about this theory back in the early 80s from a person studying Russian history who claimed Stalin was planning such an invasion in 1944 had the peace held with Germany. Then came a book authored by a Russian in the late 90s which claimed Stalin was preparing to do just that. The author's rationale was based partly on that Stalin had deployed all his military forces on the Western borders in offensive positions, not defensive ones, which is why all the Russians were caught out in the open when Germany attacked in the summer of 1941. Hitler knew that the Soviet Union could only get stronger in time and sooner so Hitler had to quickly strike the first blow even though the Wehrmacht was not totally prepared.