On May 7, 2019, a Russian edition of Sputnik Georgia posted a video of a Russian columnist, Armen Gasparian. In the video he reminds Poland about how Stalin granted them territories and notes that Poland is planning to build a Hitler memorial as “a sign of gratitude”.
Armen Gasparian: “Stalin was a smart man and understood that if the German spirit was to be revived, it would be on the territory of Eastern Prussia. So, the area of East Prussia should have been slightly reduced in order to repress the German spirit. But here, these offspring of an uncooked soap (Poles) exceeded all predictions – they are building a memorial for the führer … Poles are building this memorial on this territory (“Wolf’s Den”) to Adolf Hitler, son of Alois … ”
This statement from Gasparian is a manipulation. The actual story is about reconstruction of the “Wolf’s Lair” in Poland, which was one of Hitler’s bunkers. “Wolf’s Lair” is an important historic monument and its renovation is planned for educational purposes. Gasparian interprets this fact and attempts to portray the Poles as supporters of Nazism.
Hitler’s bunker “Wolf’s Lair” is one of the important historical monuments in Poland. As Deutsche Welle and Smithsonian Institute write, “Wolf’s Lair” will be transformed into an educational center and a museum. According to historians, the reconstruction of the site aims to change its purpose, which has long become a place of “disgusting entertainment” for tourists.
In an interview with the New York Times in 2012, the director of the Warsaw Rising Museum Jan Oldakowski says that the “Wolf’s Lair” has turned into a “grotesque Disneyland” for the viewers. In the same article, a representative of the Ministry of Culture of Poland stated that the goal of reconstruction of the site is to show people “how ideologies like Nazism can warp a society”.
According to Sebastian Trapik, a spokesperson for the “Wolf’s Lair” memorial, in 2019, priority will be given to the reconstruction of the room in which Claus von Stauffenberg attempted to blow up Hitler. The reconstruction project also includes setting up the museum, exhibition halls and other sights.
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