This is John Batcher, a conversation with Ennold Leaven of the Quincy Institute about D-Day, Normandy.

The 80th anniversary, the gathering of the representatives of the What is not there, however, is Russia. No representatives from the Russian Federation, formerly

the Soviet Union. To my knowledge, no veterans of the Soviet army nor of Operation Bogratian that was

launched within days after the Normandy landings to secure the German army in the east to keep it

from reinforcing the German army in the west in Normandy. Here Anatole even describes what that means then and now and what

is to be done about this conflict being updated to erase a major piece of the success against the Hitler

rights, the Soviet Russian army and the sacrifices of the Russian people 80 years ago right now so that the allies could

land and hold on to the beachhead.

The Germans were ferocious adversaries and as it was the Allies took weeks to

break out of Normandy. Meantime the Soviets advanced in Belarus here's's Anatole to explain more of this later.

A contribution, I mean not just this, but obviously to the whole war effort was

central. I think though it is important to remember, I mean, especially in the context of what's now going on in Ukraine, that although, you know, in a rather lazy fashion during the Cold War, and the Second World War. We always spoke of the Soviet Union as Russia.

Of course, this was a Soviet army and millions of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Belarusians, Central Asians, Caucasians,

fought and often died and you know the destruction and given it Belarus and Ukraine were under you know

German occupation for longer you know that that was also where the worst suffering of the civilians occurred.

So, I mean, it's quite right that from a historical point of view, Zellensky should be invited there but you know so should as

you said I mean at the very least veterans from Russia and Belarus and indeed Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and

and other countries.

But I fear that you know this has become simply another

geopolitical display, which is not really about

you know accurate accurate historical remembering at all. It is said and in my experience that could well be accurate.

That a very large number of American students now believe that

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