| Sieg Heil originated in Germany around the 1900, etc A broken analogy. The difference lies in the fact that these symbols were utterly obscure to German public before the Nazis introduced them in the early 1920s; though they had previous incarnations, in essence the Nazis reinvented them. In fact, they were so successful at it that most people are surprised to learn that these symbols had prior origins. The situation with "Slava Ukraini" is entirely different. It first appeared in a poem of Shevchenko in 1840, and gained widespread traction during the War of Independence. It was then co-opted by the OUN, but the point is, by that time it had its own "legs" as a slogan rooted in Ukrainian national consciousness, completely independent of Bandera and his program. And used today, it has no fascist connotations, and does not indicate support for Bandera or the OUN. That's just a simple fact. You obviously want the slogan to mean something different in the current context -- but we're talking about a country of 44 million people here, and if you have any interaction at all with this society, it's perfectly obvious and clear what they mean by it. I take their word over yours. The Poles have long gotten over all this history too, of course. They know what happened in those years, but they know that what's happening in the current day is infinitely more important. They know there's a fascist aggressor to the East which threatens their survival as a people, and it isn't Ukraine. Your attempts to conflate the slogan with a meaning it simply doesn't have are disingenuous. You're clearly not interested in what's historically accurate, or what describes the feelings and intents of people who use slogans like "Slava Ukraini" today. You're only interested in this stuff as scare imagery -- as a way to push people's buttons. |
That's BS. Do some research, check how many marches like this one[0] (clearly mimicking nazis and glorifying Bandera) there are in Ukraine. Check the countless pictures and videos showing elements of the AFU wearing nazi symbology. Check what is the role of fascist militias like Azov and neo-nazi parties like Svoboda in the 2014's Maidan.
What evidence do you have to support that symbology taken straight from Bandera period has no relationship with him?
> The Poles have long gotten over all this history too, of course. They know what happened in those years, but they know that what's happening in the current day is infinitely more important. They know there's a fascist aggressor to the East which threatens their survival as a people, and it isn't Ukraine.
That's bullshit as well, and you know it. To this day Poland comdemns Ukraine's commeration of Bandera & co.[1] That's a constant source of friction between the two countries, which are only united at the moment because of Russia.
The real problem with Ukraine as a nation is that the only national cultural identity they could find is rooted in collaborationism with the nazis, ethnical extermination and hatred for the URSS. Not a great base to start from.
> You're only interested in this stuff as scare imagery -- as a way to push people's buttons.
All I'm interested in is to see an end to the constant glorification of nazism.
- [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHhGEiwCHZE
- [1]: https://notesfrompoland.com/2023/01/02/poland-condemns-ukrai...