Over-thinking?

Yes, it's certainly possible that we are... but I made that point when the original question was raised about the connotations attached to the hammer and sickle.

Would a display of the US flag alongside of the Union Jack and the Soviet Red Banner be offensive to you? These flags represent the major powers that worked together to defeat the Nazis, and it was these powers (and France) that divided Europe and maintained an occupational presence in Germany and Austria for the next 47 years (with the Soviets occupying ALL of Eastern Europe as well), with ONE of those flags representing decades of repression and tyranny. In fact, the display of the Soviet flag is completely ILLEGAL in Poland and Lithuania, with the penalty for public display of the flag coming in as high as two years in the slam. I'd say the Poles view the Soviet flag as every BIT as offensive as the Nazi flag... wouldn't you?

Tens of thousands of men (and women) put their lives on the line defending the Rodinya, and that "motherland" was represented by the Soviet's "hammer and sickle" symbol. If we would choose to honor the Red Army soldiers that sacrificed so much with a permanent addition to one of our museums, then perhaps we should do so in the way that Russians do it now... with a hammer and sickle representing civilian efforts during the war, and a red star representing military efforts. I was at a cemetery in St Petersburg where 750,000 men, women and children were buried after dying during the siege of Leningrad, and more than half of them were NOT soldiers or sailors, so they were buried (unnamed) under the hammer and sickle and the soldiers and sailors were buried under the red star.

I'm totally against the display of a bust of Stalin... Stalin was not out ally, as Ryan pointed out... but Russia was an ally and a partner in defeating the Nazis. Not a great partner, and certainly not an equal partner, but I think the sacrifice made by the Russian people deserves all recognition here in the West (as does Ryan, I know). Honoring Stalin does nothing to further the effort to honor the Russian cause, and the bust should be removed.

Hell, we put up busts of FDR or Churchill because they FURTHERED the cause of the Allies, as did de Gaulle... but Stalin did nothing to further the Allies' efforts, he hindered them beyond measure from day one.

Anyway, I just wanted to make sure that Ryan's distaste for the hammer and sickle didn't carry into displays honoring the soldiers of the Red Army that did assist in the defeat of the Nazis, that's all.