![]() | This page is part of the
Military history WikiProject's online
Academy, and contains instructions, recommendations, or suggestions for editors working on military history articles. While it is not one of the project's formal guidelines, editors are encouraged to consider the advice presented here in the course of their editing work. |
![]() | This page in a nutshell: Use "World War Two" or "Eastern Front" or some close variant instead of "Great Patriotic War". |
In the English Wikipedia, when multiple terms for a single entity are available, the term most common in the English-speaking world is generally preferred.
When referring to events on Eastern Front in World War Two, even when viewed from a Russian or Soviet perspective, the term "Great Patriotic War" should not be used. Instead, terms such as "Second World War" or "Eastern Front Campaign of the Second World War" or (when context is clear) ""Eastern Front Campaign" or "Eastern Front" or other similar appropriate terms should be used. (In all the examples shown, the link would be usually be piped to Eastern Front (World War II), e. g. [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Second World War]].)
Exception: actual titles and direct quotes are not to be changed. For instance:
While the above applies to events that occurred during the conflict and other entities directly associated with the conflict, entities and events related to Russian remembrance of the conflict may be treated differently.
For example: "Ivanovich commanded a tank division during the Second World War" (or "Ivanovich commanded a tank division on the Eastern Front" or "Ivanovich commanded a tank division on the Eastern Front during WWII" or similar). This describes an event of the war, so WWII or Eastern Front or some close variation is used.
But all of these are acceptable:
In cases regarding remembrance, editors are advised to use their best judgement, and are strongly advised not change terminology existing in an article without first engaging on the article talk page.
There is no one right and true answer to the question of whether Great Patriotic War or Eastern Front / Second World War is "better". However, the guidance embodied in this essay is based on the following considerations: