Putin's Policy Of Civilian Masacres Is Hitler-Style "Schrecklichkeit"--

 

Russian Army massacres of civilians are not spontaneous actions by rogue units or poorly trained soldiers. It is part of Putin's strategy of using terror for demoralizing and breaking the Ukranians resistance by conducting the most brutal reprisals, and it is reminiscent of Hitler's policies in Nazi occupied countries during WW II. 

The following is a short excerpt from a two year old article I wrote on Hitler's decision to liquidate an entire Czechoslovakian town, Lidice, in retaliation for the Czech partisans assassination of the SS Occupation head, Reinhard Heydrich

["On May 27, 1942, the British SOE, (Special Operations Executive) headed by Sir William Stephenson, committed one of the most costly and reckless blunders of WWII, when he deployed his irregulars in Czechoslovakia to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich,  who served under Himmler as head of the Gestapo, and Chief officer of the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia. 

Along with Adolph Eichmann, Heydrich was the main administrator of the "Final Solution" policy drafted at the infamous Wansee Conference, where the annihilation of European Jewry was planned out. There was no one in the Nazi regime worse than him, save Himmler and Hitler themselves. 

Czech partisans working with the British threw a grenade in his vehicle.  Heydrich died of his injuries on June 4th. What followed was one of the bloodiest reprisals of the War, in which the SS liquidated an entire town, Lidice, killing 5,000 people in one day, and arresting 13,000, many of whom were tortured until they gave the names of people in the Underground.

Heydrich's assassination accomplished only massive unnecessary bloodshed, and did nothing to disrupt Nazi operations or policy. American Intelligence (OSS) had recommended against doing this, as they had Hitler profiled and knew that he had a heavy reliance and deep sexual infatuation with Heydrich, and that this action would backfire, with Hitler unleashing a horrific bloodbath that would cause the death of most of the Allies assets behind enemy lines."]

Putin will defend killing civilians by arguing they are not civilians at all, rather they are partisan volunteer fighters engaged in attacks on Russians, who serve as auxiliaries to the Ukranian armed forces, therefore are legitimate targets. He will claim the Ukrainian Army is using civilians as "human shields." He also argues that they are engaged in delivering weapons from NATO countries being used against Russian soldiers. And as has been his refrain, he will cast the Ukrainian people as "Nazified" threats to Russians living in Ukraine, which he believes to be historically Russian territory. Therefore he characterizes his actions as a "peacekeeping mission" turned violent by the Neo-Nazi fighting units of Ukranian paramilitaries. 

Putin will lie, spin and fabricate evidence to this effect to refute the charges of war crimes. Likewise the Putin defenders of the US fascist Trump media universe will spread Putin's propaganda to cover up these crimes.

This is proved to be lying propaganda by Russia's forced interdiction and deportation of 400,000 Ukrainian civilian refugees to Russia, where they are, in effect, being held hostage. Putin will use them as leverage to make demands of one sort of another which are unacceptable to Ukraine, including permanent ceding of territory and regime change, with the intent to russify the entire country and annihilate their national identity, as did Hitler in those countries he chose to invade. 

Civilian massacres and forced deportations are war crimes for which the Nazis were prosecuted at Nuremberg. When formal charges are brought against Putin and his government at the ICC, there will be presented evidence which is both compelling and airtight. Putin will use the threat of continuing massacres along with the captive Ukrainian deportees as bargaining chips to demand these charges against him be dropped as a precondition to a cease-fire and partial withdrawal. It is almost certain Ukraine will reject such demands. 

It is also likely that Putin will continue his terrorist policy of targeted assassinations of Western journalists as a way of suppressing international coverage of these war crimes. 

What can be done about this? Well, there are still major nations which refuse to condemn Putin's actions, abstaining on UN Resolutions and refusing to impose sanctions. This includes the despicable autocrat leading India, Modi, and the collective leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. They must be induced or otherwise put up against the wall to condemn Putin's actions and isolate Russia further. 

The possible upcoming Papal visit to Kiev by Francis will also register as a strategic intervention, as it will represent a complete rupture in relations between the Western Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Rite. This will also have non-linear effects in Catholic countries such as Brazil, Hungary, Mexico, Venezuela, the Phillipines whose right-wing or populist autocratic leaders have been Putin allies or been weak or non-existent in their condemnation. 

The main thing is that most government-to-government policies, including security agreements, trade, and arms treaties are negotiable. War crimes and crimes against humanity are not, especially as they are still unfolding and likely to continue even in the aftermath of an agreement. It must be restated however that NATO as an entity has no sane military option to remedy this, other than to continuing arming the Ukrainians, providing Intel, outside logistical support for refugees and humanitarian aid, and strangling Russia's economy with sanctions and asset seizures until they relent. 

It is also important to step back and remind ourselves that this is not the first or only instance of large-scale civilian massacres occurring in our modern world. It occurs before our eyes everyday in conflicts throughout the African continent, Middle East, and Southeast Asia. However the major developed nations and international agencies have mostly settled only for legal proceedings at the ICC, diplomatic sanctions and humanitarian aid, but little else.

It is largely ignored relative to the Ukraine situation because we have become used to it, and because of indifference born of racism. We did go to war to protect the victims of Serbian ethnic cleansing in Europe. But in the case of Rwanda, which happened only twenty-eight years ago, we only watched as 800,000 massacred human beings were left floating on Lake Victoria on our TV nightly news. Incredulously, there seemed to be as much news coverage then about the fate of Jane Goodall's endangered Gorillas as there was of the causes of that genocidal war, and the failure of nations to prevent it. Back then, that said a lot about us, and still does today.

Fundamentally however, Ukraine is different because it puts the world's nuclear superpowers in a head to head showdown crisis, therefore it rightly consumes our emotional and intellectual energy. 

Whatever happens, justice for the civilian victims of Putin's aggressive war cannot become a "bargaining chip". And any voices arguing otherwise coming from the US Trumpworld media psycho-sphere must be attacked, exposed, and denounced as accomplices in mass murder. Boycotts of sponsors of such media are totally appropriate, as would be DOJ investigations of prominent media figures acting as foreign agents. 

Putin talked about his and Russia's "red line" months ago during the run up to the invasion. He needs to know that civilian massacres as Hitler-style  "schrecklichkeit," or a terror weapon are American's and the world's red line. It is urgent that the NATO allies deliver that message in the most timely and forceful manner, whether publicly or not.

(Photo credit--Nuremberg Trial, nationalww2museum.org and "Viator"-- Memorial to victims of Lidice massacre on anniversary)