Lourdes Velasco |
Madrid (EFE).- The German historian specializing in the history of Russia, Karl Schlögel, calls on Europe to prepare for “self-defense” as well as to learn that “freedom has a price” and that peace cannot be achieved by sitting.
Schlögel (Hawangen, Germany, 1948) defends this in an interview with EFE on the occasion of the publication in Spain of his book “Ukraine, crossroads of cultures” (Acantilado), a work where the professor of Eastern European History at the University Union of Viadrina (Frankfurt on the Oder) and author of various works on the history of Russia, portrays Ukraine as a country between two worlds and with a precarious balance that was broken in 2014 with the annexation of Crimea.
This historian, who has known Ukraine since the 1960s, assures that this country is now “the most important factor in the defense of Europe.”
“Putin’s main hope is not only to have a victory on the front in Ukraine, but also for Europe to surrender,” says this historian who believes that the Ukrainian war is a “testing ground.”
And he adds: “If the Europeans do not support the struggle of the Ukrainians, they will have to pay a much higher price later.”
The weight of propaganda
The historian regrets the existence of movements in Europe that work to stop support for the delivery of arms to Ukraine, parties that are being strengthened by the price that Europe has to pay for the war.
Schlögel says that these so-called pacifist movements are related to the “appeasement” policies advocated at the end of the 1930s by the British conservative politician Arthur Neville Chamberlain, who thought, the historian recalls, “that if we gave Czechoslovakia to the German dictator, everything would be over.” good”.
On whether Putin will answer before an international court, Schlögel points out that “it is quite clear that he has committed war crimes, against humanity.” However, he says that he can only be brought before the international court if he has the power to do so, and this “is quite open.”
Schlögel would like any European to spend an evening watching Russian television and understand the weight of propaganda, which also crosses borders.
“We have to be strong in defending the truth, which sounds very outdated. Defend the truth, defend reality and oppose the construction of false realities”, says Schlögel.
That is why the historian asks to support the radio and television stations and the media where Russian, Ukrainian or Belarusian expatriates work, who now report from Riga, Amsterdam and other European cities.
Ukraine will not give up
Schlögel points out that after this “total destruction” of Russia’s relations with Ukraine, “it will take decades and generations, not to restore, but to find a new way of living together that is based on recognition and the end of asymmetry.” ”.
“I belong to the German post-war generation. When we traveled as young people in the 50s and 60s to France, Holland or Belgium, we hesitated to use our language because we knew it was that of the Germans who occupied these countries. And now it will be the same with Russia. Russia now represents a culture of evil and threat, it is no longer just Dostoevsky or Tolstoy ”, she compares.
When asked how he thinks the war will progress, the historian replies: “I am not a prophet and I am not Cassandra. I don’t know what the result will be, but the Ukrainian troops, the military, civil society and the whole society in Ukraine have shown in recent years, and especially in this last one, that they will not give up.”
Schlögel ranks the annexation of Crimea as a “big surprise.” “It was the starting point to reconsider the history of Russia, to understand in Soviet history the empire and colonization, the relationship between the center and the periphery,” he says.
However, at that time most of the political elites in the West, in Europe, and especially in Germany, were not ready to take charge and respond, he explains. “Only after the full invasion last February did they start talking about the weather change,” says Schlögel, who believes most Europeans preferred to “ignore the Crimea.”
“If the incident with the Amsterdam-Kuala Lumpur plane had not happened, most people would not even know that something was happening in Donbas,” he says.
The role of the Russian population
“I think it will take time for historians to analyze how and why the West did not fully realize what is happening. But it’s not just the West. I mean, Russia itself did not and does not understand how this process from the liberal empire to the totalitarian or one can say to the fascism implanted there today took place, ”he adds.
Schlögel, author of “The Soviet Century”, finds it difficult to answer how he thinks Russia will evolve in the coming years. “Speaking in general terms about Russian society is very complicated. It is a very big country ”, he comments, referring to the fact that the capitals can be similar to some global cities while only a hundred kilometers from Moscow one has the feeling of being in the 19th century.
“I would say that most people are not enthusiastic but believe the narrative and interpretation that Russia is defending itself against some conspiracy by the West as a collective or by decadent Europe against old-fashioned values and traditional Russian tradition,” comments Schlögel, who believes that it will take time for the news about the destruction and casualties from the front to reach the provinces.
“We don’t know what will happen, but I don’t think there will be a social movement against the war tomorrow,” says this historian, who nevertheless does believe that there could be a process of erosion of confidence in the Russian population.