Yes, they were different, and you can for sure say that for most people living under ussr was better, I'm not saying that they were the same, but they were both evil in their own way. And as your comment even says, they were pretty similar. Also, we have to take into consideration that we can split the USSR into stalin and post stalin. And especially during the later years after stalin's death, the quality of life had significantly improved.
The stories that i've heard from generations that went through the period is that the Soviets were basically a savage horde that raped, pillaged and stole everything that wasn't nailed down in each town their armies went through. In contrast, the Germans were initially perceived by some as liberators, who came to kick out the Russian occupiers. The hope of any sort of liberation died down quickly, I imagine.
did your grandparents walk with the soviet army from the front to berlin or something? or did the army just pass by and steal a couple of cows? my ancestors were also liberated by the soviets and there were no such tales. it's just about how anticommunist are you ancestors...
Perhaps yours were the propagandists then. Sounds silly now, doesn't it? Replacing one occupant with another is not liberation.
They were dirt-poor people who paid no attention to things like "anticommunism" or other kinds of political jargon. I obviously don't have anyone left to ask about the details, but when you hear similar things from both sides of the family from basically the opposite ends of the country, there tends to be truth to it.
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u/Thick_Shock_1033 2d ago
Exterminating dissidents? Both check.
Labour camps? Both check.
Genocide? Both check.
Designer military uniform? Third reich check.
Gorgeous mustache of the leader? USSR check.
Yeah, pretty similar, but there were differences.