The world owes the Soviet people a debt of gratitude for defeating the Third Reich, musician Roger Waters has told RT in an exclusive interview.
Waters, 80, is well-known as co-founder of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd and as an outspoken human rights advocate. He spoke with RT about the ongoing plight of the Palestinians in Gaza, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and censorship in the West, among other things.
“Weaken the Russian people’s resolve? Do you know who they are? They are the people who defeated the Wehrmacht!” Waters told RT, addressing the purported goals of the US and its allies in the Ukraine conflict.
“I’m talking to the good people of Russia. We’ve never really yet thanked them for beating the Germans in World War Two at the cost of 22 million dead,” Waters said. “We thank you, people of Russia, for that huge sacrifice that you made. And no, we didn’t win the war on D-Day, you won the war on the Eastern Front.”
British and American historians have long omitted the Soviet Union’s role in defeating Nazi Germany, de facto “erasing” it in favor of depicting the 1944 Normandy landings as the “turning point” of the war.
Russia was snubbed entirely at the 80th anniversary of Operation Overlord in June, after the US reportedly disapproved of initial French plans to invite someone from Moscow. The event ended up involving only US President Joe Biden and his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron.
Russia has always honored the role of the Western Allies in the victory over the Third Reich, making a point of thanking the British and American veterans at every anniversary.