FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Education is our best defence against revival of Nazism

Education is our best defence against revival of Nazism

As the representative of a country that suffered terribly during World War II, but also as an average citizen, I cannot ignore the recent incident in which a popular Thai singer wore a T-shirt with the Nazi swastika.

History records that the Great Patriotic War – the Russians’ name for the war against Nazi Germany’s invasion of the USSR – claimed the lives of almost 27 million Soviet citizens. It is difficult to find a family in Russia that didn’t lose at least one of its members in that heroic defence. May 9, Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, is a sacred occasion for all Russians, a day when we recall the great feat accomplished by our peoples in the fight against Nazism. This is why Russia together with likeminded partners is actively countering all attempts to falsify history, attempts that are unfortunately taking place more and more often nowadays.
Orientalists know the deeper meaning of the swastika better than most, of course. We understand that this symbol in Buddhism has its own dimension. Yet, regrettably, fascists and Nazis changed the attitude of the world towards the swastika by making it the symbol of the greatest evil in the history of humankind.
I suppose the BNK48 singer did not intend to hurt anyone’s feelings by wearing the T-shirt. Her choice merely showed a lack of education among younger generations. 
Luckily, Thailand was far away from the main battlefronts against Nazi Germany, but the history of the world’s bloodiest war should be taught everywhere in order to prevent such atrocities in future. We know that we stand together with our Thai friends in the struggle against revival of the evil of Nazism, since year after year Thailand has supported the United Nations General Assembly resolution against the glorification of Nazism. It must not happen again.
Evgeny Tomikhin
Russian ambassador to Thailand

nationthailand