3 ms·
It is possible to recognise without conferring a sense of preeminent victimhood, and doing so may even have benefits for internationalism; but I do not wish to
by sratner 10y ago
It is possible to recognise without conferring a sense of preeminent victimhood, and doing so may even have benefits for internationalism; but I do not wish to argue this point. The response above is just an elaboration on the parent's simplistic claim.
From the same Wikipedia page: "An official memorial to Soviet citizens shot at Babi Yar was erected in 1976." Yevtushenko starts with an incredulous observation that there is no memorial at all, as of 1961. Your comment hints at a possible reason: it may be difficult to commemorate this specific site if one is unwilling to mention the Jews. It is imaginable that had a memorial existed--in any form--the poem may not have been written, but its lack had caused the poet to search for reasons.
- abalashov 10y agoI didn't say it's impossible, just that the reluctance to walk this tightrope on the part of the Soviet leadership was considerable. It was a descriptive account. :-) As to your larger point, entirely fair.
- bzbarsky 10y agoNote that the memorial erected in 1976 still did not mention Jews, just "Soviet citizens", as the quote says. It took until 1991 for a memorial explicitly mentioning Jews to appear.