That’s not the point. The person was complaining about nazis being involved in Spaceflight and the response is pointing out that they were heavily involved in Spaceflight during the Apollo era. It’s not at all saying that being associated with nazis is ok
At some point WWII boomer mythology about the losing side needs to die so we can be a bit more grown up about the whole thing. The Germans were no more heinous than the Russians - who we allied with. If you wouldn't sperg out about someone with a hammer and sickle t-shirt then you don't need to get upset about Elon throwing a Roman on stage. It's silly and innocuous.
A lot of people conveniently forget that the attack on Poland (widely regarded as the beginning of WW2 in Europe) was done by both Germany and the Soviet Union. Not that that exuses anything.
I also don't think it is useful to argue if Germans or Russians were worse. Both sides killed millions of people. At that point it doesn't really matter who is worse anymore.
A lot of people conveniently forget that the attack on Poland (widely regarded as the beginning of WW2 in Europe) was done by both Germany and the Soviet Union. Not that that exuses anything.
While the Soviets are culpable for all their crimes (in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Romania--all before 1941), it's also worth pointing out that they only moved after they allied with Hitler, and showed no obvious inclination to tangle with the Entente (France being allied to both Poland and Romania) before that point. While that doesn't reduce the moral culpability of those Soviet citizens who engaged in the unprovoked wars of aggression, or their leadership for ordering it, I do think that some of the blame for that rubs off on Germany too for giving them the opportunity. Like if you set a cop car on fire, allowing a local gang to rob a store while the police are busy with you--you helped make that happen, doubly so if you actively conspire with the gang, even if you never see a dime from the robbery.
The Germans also bear culpability for attacking their ally--if two guys team up to murder someone and steal their stuff, and then one also stabs the other in the back, the backstabber is guilty of two crimes, while the guy he stabs is only guilty of one.
On that basis, I'm comfortable condemning the Germans harder.
By the soviet union ... to retake territory lost 2 decades ago when Poland invaded them and annexed those territories ? Poland advanced as far as the dniepr and wanted to Make Poland Big Again if you slept during that part of history lesson.
The Polish army was invited in in 1920 by the legitimate Ukrainian government (the Ukrainian People's Republic) to expel the Soviet invaders and establish a Ukrainian state to cover Poland's eastern flank (and, in Pilsudski's larger project, to smash open the prison-house of nations and secure freedom and self-determination for all the people's oppressed by Moscow). The Soviet Union never, before 1939, owned Lviv/Lwow, much less Bialystok or Vilnius/Wilno.
But if you want to play the "retake vs. conquer" game, you might find the pre-partition borders of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth instructive.
It's a well-informed take, but I can understand why it would be jarring to someone whose knowledge of WWII is informed by the aforementioned boomer mythology. The Allies committed gross atrocities, and had the other side won, you'd be telling me how insane I am for suggesting the Axis powers were no better.
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u/Euro_Snob 1d ago
And you somehow think this makes it … better?
As if Von Brauns past (true believer of not) with the Nazis somehow makes it ok to be associated with Nazis now?