executed by the Nazis.

Photograph of young woman executed by the Nazis, and

young man about to be executed, for partisan activities.

If Morley Safer feels impelled to instruct 60 Minutes viewers that Ukrainians were loyal Nazis,

then he should also pause to explain how it is that the Ukrainians were able to reconcile their

loyalty with German contempt:

When the time came to appoint the Nazi ruler of Ukraine, Hitler chose Erich

Koch, a notoriously brutal and bigoted administrator known for his personal

contempt for Slavs. Koch's attitude toward his assignment was evident in the

speech he delivered to his staff upon his arrival in Ukraine in September 1941:

"Gentlemen, I am known as a brutal dog. Because of this reason I was appointed

as Reichskommissar of Ukraine. Our task is to suck from Ukraine all the goods

we can get hold of, without consideration of the feelings or the property of

the native population." On another occasion, Koch emphasized his loathing for

Ukrainians by remarking: "If I find a Ukrainian who is worthy of sitting at the

same table with me, I must have him shot." (Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A

History, 1994, p. 467)

Koch often said that Ukrainian people were inferior to the Germans, that

Ukrainians were half-monkeys, and that Ukrainians "must be handled with the

whip like the negroes." (Andrew Gregorovich, World War II in Ukraine, Forum,

No. 92, Spring 1995, p. 15)

If Morley Safer wishes to proclaim to the 60 Minutes audience that Ukrainians were enthusiastic

Nazis, then he should simultaneously explain how Ukrainians were able to maintain their

enthusiasm as 2.3 million of them were being shipped off to forced labor in Germany:

By early 1942, Koch's police had to stage massive manhunts, rounding up young

Ukrainians in bazaars or as they emerged from churches or cinemas and shipping

them to Germany. (Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History, 1994, p. 469)

If Morley Safer insists on announcing to 60 Minutes viewers that Ukrainians were devoted Nazis,

then he should explain to these viewers how Ukrainians were able to maintain their devotion when

the Kiev soccer team - Dynamo - beat German teams five games in a row, and then received the

German reward:

Most of the team members were arrested and executed in Babyn Yar, but they are

not forgotten. There is a monument to them in Kiev and their heroism inspired

the film Victory starring Sylvester Stallone and Pele. (Andrew Gregorovich,

World War II in Ukraine, Forum, No. 92, Spring 1995, p. 21)

If Morley Safer will not swerve from his position that Ukrainians were keen on Naziism, then he

should explain how Ukrainians were able to maintain their keenness when their cities were being

starved:

Koch drastically limited the flow of foodstuffs into the cities, arguing that

Ukrainian urban centers were basically useless. In the long run, the Nazis

intended to transform Ukraine into a totally agrarian country and, in the short

run, Germany needed the food that Ukrainian urban dwellers consumed. As a

result, starvation became commonplace and many urban dwellers were forced to

move to the countryside. Kiev, for example, lost about 60% of its population.

Kharkiv, which had a population of 700,000 when the Germans arrived, saw

120,000 of its inhabitants shipped to Germany as laborers; 30,000 were executed

and about 80,000 starved to death.... (Orest Subtelny, Ukraine: A History,

1994, p. 469)

Among the first actions of the Nazis upon occupying a new city was to plunder it of its

intellectual and cultural treasures, material as well as human, and yet somehow - if we are to

believe Morley Safer - being so plundered failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the Ukrainians for

Naziism:

Co. 4 in which I was employed seized in Kiev the library of the medical

research institute. All equipment, scientific staff, documentation and books

were shipped out to Germany.

We appropriated rich trophies in the library of the Ukrainian Academy of