Soldiers raise the Soviet flag on the roof of the Reichstag in Berlin in May 1945.

[Yevgeny Khaldei (1917-1997)]

Who won the war in Europe? Historians weigh in

STORY BY STEPHEN J. THORNE

History isn’t always what we might assume it to be, and there appears to be no consensus among nations over the question of which country contributed most to the Allies’ Second World War victory in Europe.

The North American public tends to assume that the United States played the greatest role in bringing about VE-Day. But don’t tell that to a Russian.

As many as 30 million Soviets are estimated to have died between Germany’s June 1941 invasion of the USSR and the war’s end, while the number of German troops killed by the Soviets is estimated at more than 3.5 million. That’s three-quarters of the total 4.7 million German military killed by Allied forces in the Second World War.

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• Undying love, Part 1: A grieving mother secrets her Great War soldier son’s remains home to Canada

Kevin Hicks of the Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts speaks to visitors. [Courtesy Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts]

An armchair tour of the Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts

STORY BY ALEX BOWERS

From Halifax to Vancouver, Winnipeg to St. John’s, N.L., Royal Canadian Legion halls across the country have proudly displayed the likes of uniforms, medals and other military memorabilia for nearly a century, each object standing as a testament to Canada’s contributions in war and peace, all stories unto themselves.

Such is the case at the Saskatoon Museum of Military Artifacts, where its many tales, old and new, speak to the service of Saskatchewanians. What began as an informal exhibit space at the city’s Nutana Branch, has developed, following decades of donations, into a fully fledged centre with a diverse collection. Since 2017, when Legionnaires officially transferred the thousands of items to the newly incorporated museum situated on site, the facility has continued its work of promoting military heritage, driven by a cadre of community volunteers with a bright vision for the future.

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More from The Briefing

• New graphic novel highlights Italian-Canadian internment during WW II
• Children’s book published on Canadian WW II dog mascot
• Forgotten Japanese-Canadian soldiers added to Richmond, B.C., cenotaph

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