I'm watching a documentary on the battle of Kursk in WW2. The graphics are great. But one of the most interesting things about it is the interviews of German and Russian soldiers, who are all very old now.
One Russian tanker said about his T-34 tank, "I love that tank, I'm in love with it." I can see why; it was an amazing innovative and effective tank.
I've watched a number of war documentaries with interviews and talked to a number of WW2 vets. I noticed a difference in how the Russian soldiers talk about the war compared to how the American, British, and German soldiers usually talk when they are interviewed. The Western soldiers arent as blunt as the Russians in the way they talk about the war.
An example of what I mean is one Russian soldier who said, "I wanted nothing else but to kill as many German devils as I could." The soldiers from Western countries when interviewed talk about being scared, etc, but they rarely talk about the reason they were there: to kill the enemy.
One reason for the difference might be that the war on the Eastern front was more brutal than anywhere else. Another reason might be that the Russians were fighting to repel a foreign invader, and a horribly savage one at that. But perhaps there are other reasons too. Maybe there was a difference in attitude about the war, or at least a difference in how the war is talked about. Some conversations I've had with family members who fought in WW2 provide some support for the idea that it's mainly a difference in how Western vets talk when they are interviewed. In private they are much more blunt than they would be in an interview. Not as much so as some of these Red Army soldiers though.
On an unrelated note, it's interesting when I see the maps onscreen it's fun to remember talking to girls from one city or another that I see on the map. Learning geography the RW way.
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