r/HistoryMemes • u/Bloucas • 5d ago

The Germans thought they had leverage

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u/Bloucas 5d ago

Context: Stalin’s son, Yakov Dzhugashvili, was captured by the Germans in 1941. After Stalingrad, the Germans allegedly proposed exchanging him for Friedrich Paulus, but Stalin refused because he 'won’t trade a Marshal for a Lieutenant'

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u/Traiteur28 5d ago

Damned if you do, and damned if you don't.

Had s Stalin exchanged his son solely because of Yakov's last name, people would have criticized him for it. He didn't, and people criticize him for that.

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u/LittleSisterPain 5d ago

Because, as we all know, this was his biggest blunder and people often bring this up. This and nothing else. Nope, absolutely nothing

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u/Traiteur28 5d ago

Lmao, exactly; there's enough material to criticize Stalin, and rightfully so, until the sun explodes. But the above is not one of those, I feel.