Young People Must Remember the Important Role of China's War of Resistance in the World Anti-Fascist War

Perhaps no global event has attracted as much sustained attention from scholars, politicians, and ordinary people over the past 80 years as the Second World War. British historian Antony Beevor points out: "The Second World War and its global impact is the greatest man-made disaster in human history." To this day, not all archives concerning the Second World War are open to the public, and the fabrication of "myths" and false interpretations of events that happened 80 years ago continue. However, through oral transmission from generation to generation, we remember the Second World War and forever cherish the achievements of those people who successfully resisted and stopped the black threat that once hung over the earth.

可能没有任何一个全球事件能像第二次世界大战一样，80年来持续引起学者、政客和普通人的密切关注。英国历史学家安东尼·比弗（Antony Beevor）指出：“第二次世界大战及其全球影响是人类历史上最大的人为灾难。”时至今日，有关第二次世界大战的档案并未全部向公众开放，对80年前发生的事件的“神话”编造和虚假解释仍在继续，但是，通过代代相传我们记得二战，并永远铭记那些成功抵抗和制止当年笼罩在地球上的黑色威胁的人民的功绩。

In modern China, as in Russia, there are many families that have suffered grievous harm from militarists. I was fortunate to hear my grandparents tell about that war 80 years ago. Although what they recounted were only facts, actions, strategies, and tactics, without a single word about feelings, thoughts, or dreams, decades later I can say with certainty that it was precisely this exchange that kindled in me a love of peace and a pursuit of justice.

在现代中国，与俄罗斯一样，有很多遭受过军国主义者严重伤害的家庭。我有幸听祖辈讲述过80年前的那场战争。虽然他们讲述的都只是事实、行动、战略和战术，没有只言片语是关于感情、思想和梦想，但几十年后，我可以肯定地说，正是这种交流在我内心燃起了对和平的热爱和对正义的追求。

Soviet writer Vasily Grossman wrote more than 70 years ago: "Fascism abandoned the concept of the individual, abandoned the concept of 'man,' and used vast numerical sums." According to statistics, the Second World War caused enormous direct economic losses; besides that, we must also remember the demographic losses, and remember those who were never born and will never be born.

苏联作家瓦西里·格罗斯曼（Vasily Grossman）70多年前写道：“法西斯主义抛弃了个体的概念，抛弃了‘人’的概念，使用的是庞大的数字总和。”根据数据统计，二战造成了巨大的直接经济损失，除此之外，我们也要记住人口损失，记住那些没有出生也永远不会出生的人。

In the process of building a beautiful China, we must remember those who gave their lives for our freedom and independence. Love for the past should become a basic emotion in our hearts; the tens of millions who sacrificed in the Second World War were concrete individuals and should not be seen merely as statistical figures.

在建设美丽中国的过程中，我们必须记住那些为我们的自由和独立而献出生命的人。对过往的热爱应该成为我们心中的一种基本情感，在二战中牺牲的几千万人是一个个具体的人，不能只将其看作统计数字。

Perhaps influenced by my family, every year I talk with students about the great victory of the Second World War, and each time I discover that the students have new feelings and a new worldview. This understanding is not unfounded; sentences from students' written assignments provide good evidence: "We should not forget the role of the Chinese people in the Second World War, because their contribution to the common victory is immeasurable and deserves high respect"; "The contribution of the Chinese people in the anti-fascist war was enormous and should not be forgotten"; "The war deeds of our people teach us to fight for justice with selflessness, unity, and tenacity." These words prove: only honest and sincere words can cultivate people who love peace and yearn for peace.

也许是受到家庭的影响，我每年都会和学生谈论二战的伟大胜利，每次都会发现学生们有新的感受和新的世界观。这种认识并非毫无根据，学生书面作业中的句子就是很好的证明：“我们不应忘记中国人民在第二次世界大战中的作用，因为他们对共同胜利的贡献是不可估量的，值得高度尊重”；“中国人民在反法西斯战争中的贡献巨大，不应忘记”；“我国人民的战争事迹教会我们为正义而战的奋不顾身、团结一致和不屈不挠”。这些话证明：只有诚实和真诚的话语才能造就热爱和平和渴望和平的人。

Nevertheless, after conducting a written questionnaire survey of third-year students at Xi'an International Studies University, I found that the students' knowledge of specific information about the course and outcome of the Second World War still needs improvement. For example, in response to the question "Which countries played the most important role in the Second World War?", the answers and their proportions were as follows: the Soviet Union (33.3%), China (31%), the United States (26%), and the United Kingdom (10%). Among them, 65% of respondents ranked China first, 28% ranked the Soviet Union first, and the remaining 7% ranked the United States first. These data provoke some reflection: young people understand that the Chinese people played a huge role in the war against fascism and Japanese militarism, but at the same time, young people's understanding of the harm caused to the world by the members of the Nazi group is not yet deep enough.

尽管如此，我在对西安外国语大学大三同学进行书面问卷调查后发现，同学们对有关二战进程和结果具体信息的了解还有待提高。例如，针对“在第二次世界大战中发挥最重要作用的国家有哪些”这个问题，作答及占比情况如下：苏联 （33.3%）、中国（31%）、美国（26%）、英国（10%），其中，65%的受访者将中国排在第一位，28%的受访者将苏联排在第一位，其余7%的受访者将美国排在第一位。这些数据引发一些思考：年轻人明白中国人民在反对法西斯主义和日本军国主义的战争中发挥了巨大作用，但与此同时，年轻人对纳粹集团成员给世界带来伤害的认识还不够深刻。

Regarding the question "What major events occurred during the Second World War?", the students listed a total of 46 battles and events. Here we list only the top 10 events by frequency of mention: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (8.4%), the blitzkrieg on Poland (8.4%), the Battle of Stalingrad (7.9%), the Normandy landings (7.2%), the Battle of Britain (4.4%), the September 18 Incident[1]1 The September 18 Incident refers to the Mukden Incident of 1931, when the Japanese Kwantung Army staged a bombing on a railway near Mukden (now Shenyang) and blamed it on Chinese dissidents as a pretext for invading Manchuria. It is widely regarded as the beginning of the Chinese War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (the Chinese front of World War II). (3.7%), the Battle of Moscow (3.7%), the Battle of Midway (3.5%), the Battle of Kursk (3.5%), and the Battle of Berlin (3.5%). It is noteworthy that most of the important events listed by respondents occurred in Europe. This shows that, on the one hand, young people have rich overall knowledge, but on the other hand, the events that took place on Chinese territory during the Second World War that were listed are too few, the internet space is weak, and young people suffer from a "memory deficit" regarding these events.

关于“第二次世界大战中有哪些重大事件”的问题，同学们共列举了46次战役和事件。这里仅列出按出现频率排名靠前的10个事件：日军偷袭珍珠港（8.4%）、波兰闪击战（8.4%）、斯大林格勒战役（7.9%）、诺曼底登陆（7.2%）、不列颠空战（4.4%）、九一八事变（3.7%）、莫斯科保卫战（3.7%）、中途岛海战（3.5%）、库尔斯克会战（3.5%）、柏林战役（3.5%）。值得注意的是，受访者列举的大部分重要事件都发生在欧洲。这表明，一方面，年轻人整体知识丰富，另一方面，所列举的发生在中国领土上的二战事件过少、互联网空间薄弱，年轻人对这些事件存在“记忆缺失”。

The third important part of the questionnaire survey concerned the names of heroes of the Second World War. The students listed a total of 49 hero names, from 12 countries including China, the United States, and the Soviet Union. Among them, 18 were from China, 9 from the United States, and 7 from the Soviet Union. This set of data shows that young people generally consider the Second World War to be a global disaster, and that the people of all countries contributed to the ultimate victory.

问卷调查的第三个重要部分涉及二战英雄的名字，同学们共列举了49个英雄的名字，分别来自中国、美国、苏联等12个国家。其中18人来自中国，9人来自美国，7人来自苏联。这组数据表明，年轻人普遍认为第二次世界大战是一场全球灾难，所有国家的人民都为最终胜利作出了贡献。

In September 2025, China will hold commemorative activities for the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. The end of the Second World War was a major event that requires us to strive to preserve the common memory of all humanity of this man-made tragedy, which must never be repeated. Doing so can not only bring the main theme of peace and harmony to our descendants, but also help shape the common values of all humanity, practice the core socialist values, and establish cross-cultural connections for young people. At the same time, the survey results also show that there is a lack of specific information about the events and heroes of the Second World War in cyberspace, various blogs, platforms, and other resource carriers. Therefore, it is necessary to make full use of all kinds of resources and actively tell the heroic stories of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War.

2025年9月，中国将举行纪念中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争胜利80周年纪念活动。第二次世界大战的结束是一个重大事件，要求我们努力保存全人类对这场人为悲剧的共同记忆，这样的悲剧决不能重演。这样做不仅可以为我们的后代带来和平与和谐的主旋律，也有利于塑造全人类的共同价值观，践行中国特色社会主义核心价值观，为青年人建立跨文化联系。同时，问卷调查结果也显示，在互联网空间、各类博客、平台等资源载体中缺乏有关二战中的事件和英雄的具体信息。因此，必须充分利用各类资源，主动讲好中国人民抗日战争暨世界反法西斯战争中的英雄故事。

(Author: Olga Vladimirovna Dubkova (Дубкова Ольга Владимировна) is an associate professor at the School of Russian Studies, Xi'an International Studies University)

（作者：杜布阔娃·奥莉卡·弗拉基米尔洛芙娜（Дубкова Ольга Владимировна）系西安外国语大学俄语学院副教授）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心