“The Good War”: An Oral History of World War II

Joseph Polowsky recalls what it was like fighting in Germany at the end of the war. He describes celebrating the end of the war alongside Soviet soldiers who had occupied Germany.

Russian writer Mikhail Nikolaevich Alexeyev was involved in the Soviet invasion of Germany. Although Mikhail was overjoyed when the war ended, he reminisces about the empathy he felt for the defeated German forces.

Mikhail’s wife Galina recalls tending to wounded soldiers. Like her husband, she had sympathy for the German soldiers.