1938/39 in Soviet and Russian historiography and historical memory
https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2018-1-41-55
Abstract
The article is devoted to the comparison of the Soviet and Russian historiography of the Anschluss of Austria in 1938. In the approach of Soviet and Russian historians, there are significant differences in the study of the Anschluss. The article examines in detail not only the works of Soviet historians, but also the main publications of the archival documents prepared in the second half of the 1940s-1950s by the NKID / USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs (the principle of selecting documents, analyzing published materials, etc.). At the heart of the Soviet interpretation there was the thesis of the diplomatic isolation of the USSR in the pre-war period, which prevented the Anschluss from being averted. In addition, it was stressed that Austria was the victim of German National Socialism. But, of course, the fact of supporting the Anschluss by the majority of the Austrians was not denied. The study of the Austrian resistance movement was important.
However, based on the research of Russian historians in the 1990s - 2000s it becomes obvious that one can not unequivocally speak of the diplomatic isolation of Moscow in the late 1930s. The situation was much more complicated. The key to further research was the declassification by the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service of the archival material concerning the events of 1938-1939. More attention in recent years’ studies has been given to the role of the Polish factor, to the interests and ambitions of Warsaw.
About the Author
O. V. Pavlenko
Russian State University for the Humanities
Russian Federation
Russian Federation
Olga V. Pavlenko, PhD in History, professor
bld. 6, Miusskaya sq., Moscow, 125993
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Review
For citations:
Pavlenko O.V. 1938/39 in Soviet and Russian historiography and historical memory. RSUH/RGGU Bulletin Series "Political Science. History. International Relations". 2018;(1):41-55. https://doi.org/10.28995/2073-6339-2018-1-41-55
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