The Witcher 3 may be fantasy, but it cannot escape the real world.
At the beginning of the game, Velen has been stirred by two armies: the army of the Northern Kingdoms and the army of the Neil Highland Empire, and they are fighting each other in a deadlock. The former state of Velen, Temeria, no longer exists. Governance of this country has not been harmed so much: the man occupying the castle on the hill called himself "Bloody Baron" and was another bandit who looted an unprotected people.
The similarities with wartime Poland are extremely extreme. In August 1939, the Nazis and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression treaty. But a secret clause indicates that the two powers agreed to separate Eastern Europe. In the following month, their troops invaded Poland, and each country ruled a separate "sphere of influence" side by side. Two armies stirred the whole country.
The Nazis regarded Poland as a "living space" for the Germans, and the population was expelled or extinct. At the same time, Stalin has long taken Poland as territory and took advantage of the opportunity the locals thought the Soviets had arrived as allies. In fact, during the war, both powers intended to wipe out Polish culture and monitor cruel regimes.
For many who have been educated in history through video games, this can be shocking. Medals of Honor and Call of Duty often portray incidents of Stalingrad's defense or the involvement of the Red Army in Berlin, which clearly illustrate the role of the Soviet Union in breaking Nazi control of Europe. But the Poles remember a different story, and the evidence can be seen in the deeply pathetic Velen footage of The Witcher 3.
There are no leaves on the tree overlooking the village of Mulbrydale, only the dead. Some are deserters, and many are villagers and travelers. One of them is Oxenfurt scholar Aldert Geert, who is committed to "writing history on the forefront of conflict." The civilian population was the first to suffer in Velen, as was the case in Poland: about six million citizens died there during World War II, almost in a non-military environment.
The Soviets confiscated and redistributed all private property, deporting hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom eventually died. According to the International Military Tribunal for the Nuremberg Trial, the Nazis have "all the characteristics of genocide" in a plan that systematically killed Poles and Jews.
During these years, no leader could defend Poland. The local government was exiled, and both occupants targeted the political and intellectual elite to prevent resistance. The church was also persecuted by both regimes.
The Soviet Union favored national atheism and therefore opposed all organized religions. Meanwhile, in a large area of western Poland annexed by Germany, the Nazis arrested church leaders, closed monasteries and monasteries, and sent clergymen and nuns to labor camps or concentration camps.
This history gives Velen a meaninglessness. Someone told us that there used to be a goddess in this country, but she was slowly going crazy. Her daughters murdered her and buried her under a whispering hill. Everywhere in Velen, the people you meet are mad for anything like higher abilities. You will find a avatar hidden in the basement-a selfish forest that gains weight on the farmer's alms. There are also witches who may consider using their power permanently if they wish. Literally.
It's not that Velen's people are stupid or superstitious. That's it, stateless, without sacred protection, they have nowhere to go.
They wrote in a book discovered by Gerat: "The gods have abandoned us." "The power of the earth ignores our destiny. Only Ms. Wood monitors Velen. In the filthy period, when plagues and famines are harvested , We must beg the ladies for help. "
Poles are not picky. They sought help from the Soviet Union even after the occupation. In 1944, as the Nazis retreated, Poland's resistance in Warsaw rose. The goal was to recapture the capital when the Allies pushed the tank back across Europe, and it would have worked if the Red Army continued. Instead, the Soviets stopped outside the city limits, ignored Polish attempts to make radio contact, and allowed Nazi rallies. By the second year of Warsaw's liberation, Polish resistance was suppressed and the city was largely destroyed. This is the last cruel turning point in which foreign forces trampled the land during World War II.
Today, this history is controversial. The European Parliament passed a resolution in September condemning Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for launching World War II as a result of the Polish invasion. But Vladimir Putin told the media before Christmas that this interpretation was "completely unacceptable and inaccurate." In recent years, the Russian leader has worked hard to restore Stalin's image as a war hero and to legitimize his dictatorship.
In this context, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki believes that telling the story of Poland in wartime is more important than ever.
He wrote: "Today, when someone wants to trample on these events in the name of political goals, Poland must defend the truth." "Not for their own sake, but for the meaning of Europe." The Witcher 3 has its own tilt Way to do it.
