Blood for blood. [WWII]

>When they arrived on German soil, Soviet soldiers knew what was expected – or at least that they would not face penalties for violence against the German civilian population. One former Soviet soldier reflected in an interview 45 years later: ‘Had not the Germans raped our women? Yes, and we knew that from the press. The mechanism functioned without a hitch. Therefore blood for blood. If they had done it, now we do the same’. ________________________ **Source:** Bessel, Richard. “Revenge.” *Germany 1945: From War to Peace*. New York, NY, HarperCollins, 2009. 152. Print. **Original Source Listed:** Quoted in Heike Sander and Barbara Johr (eds.), *BeFreier und Befreite. Krieg, Vergewaltigung, Kinder* (München, 1992), p. 129 (scripts of the film ‘BeFreier und Befreite’).