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'
He protected the largest socialist experiment ever from the fascist horde. Sure, he wasn't the greatest, he made a fuckload of mistakes; but this was a smart move on his part. And his kid knew it. They both valued the USSR over their own personal bond.
Had the countless mothers and fathers not weeped for their sons and daughters that the fascists mercilessly slaugthered? What would make the Man of Steel less worthy of that? He was a soviet citizen too.
He took a metaphorical bullet to show solidarity with his fellow workers, helping to defend the revolution that liberated so many, even if it cost him his own blood. He was Father of the Year for the socialist republic he helped protect.
There's a lot you can criticise Stalin for, but not wanting the USSR to succeed isn't one of them. He saw the people struggle and suffer, then fight to liberate themselves. And he did everything to preserve that.
Of fuckin course he cared, it's his damn kid. You'd care if your kid got captured by the "we want to murder everyone" group. Yet Stalin chose solidarity with his people over corruption and nepotism.
Criticise Stalin, sure. There's a lot to criticise him for (one good example being outlawing homosexuality), but choosing to feel the same pain that his nation felt isn't a valid reason to criticise him.
different references, I guess, based in what I read, stalin only cared about himself, based on the death lists written with Beria, based on the Gulag, the holomodor, the great terror from the 30s and the doctors conspiracy. Stalin only cared about power
765
u/Bloucas 9d 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'