crimes committed by totalitarian regimes - Ministrstvo za pravosodje

Crimes committed by totalitarian regimes
Vytautas Landsbergis *1
Hypocrisy of discrimination among victims of
totalitarian crimes
What is starting today is an extremely important action of the Commission to be welcomed with
our most sincere gratitude, as a better Europe is our common goal.
Knowledge and awareness of newly presented facts may appear in a limbo of social indifference,
if no valuation exists. The essence of the crimes of totalitarian states and governments may be lost, if
we try to reach “full extent”, with various margins, immediately instead of seeking to make an autopsy
of the phenomenon of totalitarianism in its worst seed and actuality.
Here we are at a one of the last, special circles of hell.
That very circle is defined by crimes perpetrated against humanity, which means deliberate
mass killings of people on the grounds of their difference from the killers. A desire for crimes against
humanity, a “final solution” for an entire group of millions of people was called the Holocaust.
Perverse doctrines, allegedly justifying such campaigns of annihilation, could expose, as the
grounds for action, racial, national, religious or social differences, but what was really common for
all these doctrines was inhuman hatred towards other humans. – They do not deserve to live! Such a
simple decision was employed by various fundamentalists in Europe, Asia, Africa, etc. Among all, by
Communists and their pupils – executioners, servants for the system of oppression and destruction. If
you would call that ideo-emotional mechanism of behaviours not “inhuman” but bestial hatred to “the
others”, in many cases that word “bestial” would not be a wrong description.
In line with the above-mentioned range of crimes, there are also war crimes. During the war they
were been perpetrated to murder the unarmed detainees or helpless civil population. Often with bestial
cruelty, as well. Look, please, at the distributed booklet on the massacre in Rainiai and remember Katyn,
where tens of thousands war prisoners have been executed on the order of Joe Stalin and his gang.
To launch an aggressive war, with the aim to destroy your neighbour, turn its country into ruins and
cemeteries, and afterwards annex it in line with premeditated “revolutionary” or “national” benefits, such
action certainly appears to be the greatest war crime. Conspirators of the assault and decision makers
are the gravest criminals. Sometimes they were hanged, sometimes granted monuments. Strangely, the
defeated Nazis in Nurenberg were forgiven for this crime. Joachim von Ribbentrop was not sentenced
for starting the deadliest war, only for the other crimes.
How could it happen?
The Nurenberg trial started under the Soviet ban to touch upon issues of conspiracy against nations –
against humanity – which was the beginning of aggression against Poland and Finland, and then that
so destructively annihilating war followed. Therefore, the Nazis appeared forgiven in advance for the
international conspiracy to attack Poland, since the Soviets were left out of responsibility for attacking
Finland and invading other Baltic States.
What happens now, when we go ahead from the previous common maxims to an even greater
number of real events?
The first counter-reaction to be met is the question: for what sake, gentlemen, should we move
those ashes and bones, aggravating the so slowly healed wounds?
The response was given a hundred years ago by Polish writer Stefan Zeromski after he was accused
in a similar way. “National wounds have to be disturbed to bleed again and again to prevent them from
being covered by crusts of knavery.” Justice per se is another reason. I would say, the lack of justice for
the killers kills justice.
* Vytautas Landsbergis, Member of the European Parliament.
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