Fighting fascism, Armenian soldiers sought defense from Turks

Fighting fascism, Armenian soldiers sought defense from Turks –

Tankers of the 119th Tank Regiment, popularly known as the Sassuntsi-Davit Tank Regiment preparing to transfer from the Second Ukrainian Front on July 20, 1944. 

With their fierce fight to push back Nazi forces in the Great Patriotic War, the Armenian troops also sought defense from the Turkish threat, an literary critic and a veteran of the Nagorno-Karabakh war said today, highly praising the Armenian forces feats in the fight against fascism.

At a news conference devoted to the May 9 Victory and Peace Day, Director of the National Academy’s Institute of Literature Vardan Devrikyan spoke particularly of the war’s reflection on the Armenian literature.

He noted that the war-era literary heritage included pieces by both direct participants of the battle and contemporary authors.

“The patriotic war had a double-layer effect on the Armenian society,” he said, adding  that the Armenian troops fought fascisms while simultaneously defending the country against imminent Turkish attacks.

“So our soldiers fought with the understanding that by combating fascism, they were protecting Armenia from the Turkish threat,” he added.

Devrikyan said he finds that the sense of revenge inherited from the early-20th century Armenian liberation movement had a role given the knowledge of the German officers’ complicity in the Armenian Genocide. He added that the Great Patriotic War heroes were always treated with glory in both literature and by members of the society.