In a world shaped by the ashes of World War II, the line between memory and manipulation grows increasingly thin. For nations that stood against fascism, the fight was more than geopolitical—it was existential. Azerbaijan, a then-Soviet republic, was one such nation whose contributions to the victory over fascism remain both underrepresented and underappreciated. In stark contrast, neighboring Armenia has, disturbingly, moved in the opposite direction, whitewashing the legacy of Nazi collaborators and erecting monuments to their memory.

Azerbaijan’s role in the defeat of fascism was not symbolic. It was visceral, costly, and heroic. More than 600,000 Azerbaijani soldiers were mobilized to fight against Nazi Germany. Of them, over 300,000 never returned home. These weren’t mere numbers—they were fathers, sons, and brothers who perished on the blood-soaked battlefields of Eastern Europe. Azerbaijan’s sacrifices were not limited to manpower. Soviet Azerbaijan provided 75–80% of the fuel consumed by the Red Army. The oil fields of Baku quite literally powered the Soviet war machine, and by extension, the Allied cause. More than 130 military formations were raised in Azerbaijan, with 123 receiving honorary titles for bravery. Industrial plants in Baku operated around the clock, and ordinary citizens donated over 70 million rubles to the Soviet war effort, a staggering contribution from a nation already drained by the demands of war.

While Azerbaijan bled to resist fascism, a very different story was unfolding across the border. Tens of thousands of Armenians fought under the banner of Nazi Germany, notably in the........

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