Eh, I might sound politically incorrect here but a video on how Post world war 2 German population was systematically brainwashed so far as that they refuse to acknowledge their past will make a good video. That brainwashing is still present, still prevalent. It is as if some form of wokeism was invented and tested in both Germanies first where people are turned to ostrichs.
As an East German, I am positively impressed by how much you research the topics of your videos. Of course, when it comes to political assessments of German history, there are always completely contradictory points of view, especially from the various actors in Germany, but you can always make that clear and differentiate.
Yeah, whats happend with or to the Nazis? Firstly, except the National Zionists around 1900 and the American Nazi Party under G.L.Rockwell "Nazis" never existed!!! A leftist jew used firstly this term for the members of the NSDAP in the twenties. Language is a important tool to fight political enemies or for psychological warfare. Read Richard Tedors "Hitlers Revolution". There is also a german translation. Another point: the territory of the G.D.R. or DDR is not eastern Germany. (Ostdeutschland liegt östlich der Oder-Neiße!) This is historically and geographically incorrect. So, stop this nonsense, brother. Read also Gerard Menuhins "Wahrheit sagen, Teufel jagen" (tell the truth and shame the devil). Its time to wake up. Decades ago a russian historian named Viktor Suworow published his study "Der Eisbrecher" on the so called Kriegsschuldfrage and the war against Stalins U.d.S.S.R.. Nothing what the german majority today has in their mind about the past is true or historically correct. When all this nightmares today are over and western people survive and build new nation states, our people will have a complete other view on people like A.H. and the Third Reich. Read also Kevin B.MacDonalds "Kultur der Kritik" (Culture of Critique) and the books by Herve Ryssen about the jew. question and history. Its excellent and based primarily on jewish sources. You will be much surprised.
My great-grandfather was arrested by the Nazis because he was a member of the Dutch Resistance. After the war, the Soviets ""liberated"" the camp and used him and the other political prisoners as slaves who had to pay off their liberation. When he was finally released many months after the war, he went back to the Netherlands on foot. He always said that the few months under the Soviets were many times worse than his arrest and detainment by the Nazis (which was already pretty bad).
Keep in mind that he was most like treated (relatively) well by the Nazis because they saw him, a Dutchman, as a fellow Nordic of pure ethnicity who could still be reformed/brainwashed into the Nazi ideology, not because they were inherently any better people than the Soviets. Had your great-grandfather been a Slav or a Jew, he'd have faced far worse treatment under the Nazis.
@@sudonim7552 Oh don't worry, the Nazis did not treat him or the other prisoners well at all. There were many nationalities in the camp such as Poles, Ukrainians, British, Germans, French, even a Spanish Prime Minister and an Austrian Chancellor, and also one of Bismarck's grandsons. The Soviets just treated them even worse than the Germans.
@@hans7856, what exactly was the worse attitude of the "Soviets" towards prisoners compared to the Germans? I suspect that this is a lie, specially invented because of anti-communist and anti-Soviet views. Just as the author of this video simply passes off anti-communist propaganda as genuine historical facts. В чём конкретно выражалось более плохое отношение "советов" к заключённым по сравнению с немцами? Подозреваю, что это ложь, специально придуманная по причине антикоммунистических и антисоветских взглядов. Так же, как автор этого ролика просто выдаёт антикоммунистическую пропаганду за подлинные исторические факты.
@@hans7856, but can you be more specific? What exactly was the worse attitude of the "Soviets" in comparison with the Nazis? Но не могли бы вы быть более конкретным? В чем именно заключалось худшее отношение "Советов" по сравнению с нацистами?
I remember talking to East German colleagues when I worked in Potsdam in 1995 (as a Dutchman) and how upset they were when the extent of Nazi participation in the GDR became known. Particularly BECAUSE of how much the GDR was promoted as the anti-Nazi state compared to the FRG.
It's crazy to think anyone involved in any way would be banished from society. You would eliminate all of your most capable people for no reason. There was only ever a need to punish the leaders.
@@arostwocentsNot exactly "no reason". The GDR prided themselves on being the antithesis of Nazi Germany. There was even a separate party founded to politically reintregrate former Nazis. So to see that so many former Nazis played such a prominent role was quite disturbing.
Consider just how many Germans were involved in the NAZI party, if they didn't want anyone who had been a member, they would have had nobody! But that the soviets used the Gestapo to build their "newer better" secret police force, the Stasi was a bit shocking, but they knew the right people for the job.
@@arostwocents: There were scores of Nazis who had no practical skill except that they were "Parteibonzen" of various ranks of the Nazi regime, yet they soon got new - if they did not outright retain their old - posts in post-WW2 Germany. Not to mention that the whole stick of Nazi Germany had been ousting Weimar Germany's most capable people in favor of loyal nazis who for good reason had not gotten these posts before. Also, denazification was just one of many fields were east Germans had to realize east Germany was doing the polar opposite of what it propagated to do.
I would disagree that the Americans attempt at denazification was anything approaching "thorough". Even Marshall admitted that they couldn't rightly punish everyone and still ramp up the Soviet "threat". Many former Nazis found their way into the West German government, whereas in the Soviet zone, what became the GDR, they went HAM on the Nazis. "Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?: The German Democratic Republic and What Became of It" goes into this in depth.
@@scarybird977 no, it's not. in 1957 77% of senior officials in the west german ministry of justice were former nazis. later president walter scheel and chancellor kurt georg kiesinger were former nazis. to act like the frg and gdr were even remotely equal in their approach to denazification is literally just ahistorical
Denazification was partially forgotten when the Cold War arrived. There has been talk of Red Prussianism to refer to East Germany. It did not change as much as it seems, although nationalsocialism would not return.
Thank you so much for providing us with this information in English, with subtitles as well! You're doing a greet deed to history! And also, your way of sharing the information is very easy to absorb, and holds a strong educational value! Danke, greetings from 🇲🇰 ❤🔥
Since you touched on the DDR's support of the Hepp-Kexel group, I hope you eventually do a video about how they provided clandestine support for the Revolutionary Cells and the Red Army Fraction (Baader-Meinhoff group). I've always been fascinated by their stories since watching the film "The Baader-Meinhoff Complex"
Perhaps you should also look towards the West German government, since it appears the Verfassungsschutz agent Peter Urbach supplied not just the RAF, but also the Bewegung 2. Juni with explosives weaponry, and possibly other gear. de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Urbach
@@minhthunguyendang9900 But the Pankowers did neither kill Jewish people nor did they spread warfare all over Europe causing some fifty million people to die. They had the only German army that never took part in a war. So try to think again about your silly remark ! Hope you have got a good history book in your shelf.
@@henryseidel5469 In the reduced place allocated to them by their kremlin masters all that they were ordered to do was to stasi-crush their own German citizens.
*I would dispute the unqualified statement that the East German de-Nazification policy "was basically anti-Capitalism" (**6:10**). It is indisputable that the DDR was anti-capitalist but if the narrator believes that only former entrepreneurs, financial services managers, bankers, and investor-capitalists were prosecuted, executed, or imprisoned while former members of the NSDAP, former ᛋᛋ men, and Wehrmacht officers could go free in the DDR, which is the meaning of his statement, particularly with the use of the word "basically", then he is mistaken. I am not an expert in this topic and I hoped to learn from this video but I am disappointed that it is yet another attack on the attempt to make the DDR a socialist state. Even I can see how ridiculous his statement sounds. The video gives a false impression that both parts of Germany were more or less the same in their failed de-Nazification policies.*
The SED did not have to work too hard to 'Make' the DDR a socialist state, all that was needed was to re brand existing organs of the state such as the DAF, HJ and such. So a speeding up of the process started by the NSDAP.
@@Fanakapan222 I believe war criminals were supposed to be prosecuted in Nürnberg but the vast majority were let off. Those few who were sentenced to prison were usually let out early and very few served their full time. Maybe none. By the time the DDR was established, all the war criminals living there should have been prosecuted already.
@@jean6872 The big names, those actually within the upper echelons of government served their full time, think Doenitz, Speer, and of course Hess who lived so long that a whole prison was kept going to house one prisoner. It depends upon ones definition of Kreigsverbrecher, and by and large the individual psycho's that all wars throw up were caught up with and dealt with. But consider that the NSDAP were in power for 12 years and during that time any hope of advancement in public position would have been dependant upon party membership. So, where would one draw the line ? Its interesting that upon the fall of the DDR, the West Germans took a very much stronger line in terms of scope on Any functionary of the failed state, than was the case with the measures enacted by the Allies after WWII ?
If I may suggest a video, one that's similar to this one, could you cover how differently East Germany and West Germany taught German history including World War II and how they compared to each other? I enjoy your content by the way! Nice to see the GDR get covered in detail.
Great channel! There is a lack of content on internet when it comes to GDR most of the attention goes to the USSR maybe due to the lower standard of life, not sure. But it's a good thing that someone is taking about GDR hope to see more about the people daily life. Good luck.
The film footage showing the internment camps till 03:55 look like they're from post World War I. I mean, look at the uniforms. The German soldiers are all wearing the 'baker caps' (as we call them in Dutch), example 03:44 The British soldier in the same shot is wearing a World War I style visor cap. In World War II, British soldiers wore berets mostly.
the official story: there were no more Nazis in East Germany but my grandfather complained, before he had problems with the people with brown shirts, after that he had problems with the people red shirts. But the heads remained the same. Many of the lower ranks of the former Nazis joined the Communist Party in the East. Therefore they were communists and were considered blameless. The communist party gave the message that there were no Nazis hiding in East Germany and especially among the communists. And so many disappeared without anyone asking. East Germany only looked for Nazis in the West
There really is not that much difference: many former KPD members joined Nazi organizations after 1933, including the Gestapo and DAF (German Labor Front).
@@thegreatcat2095 Nazis and communists are vastly different, please don't say "horseshoe theory". Anyways, they utilized "socialism" in their name to kind of fool the people and it partly worked, they were not socialist but fascist. Also I'd appreciate if you told me more about the KPD members joining Nazi organizations.
@@gamerf3643they were socialists. They were simply a different type of socialist that believed in racial struggle over class struggle. Just because one isn’t a Marxist doesn’t mean they aren’t socialist.
@@doronaznible7298 the nazis/hitler were oppertunists. they wanted to gain power so they called themselves national socialists because socialism was very popular in the early 20th century, they needed to appeal to the working class while offering them hardly any benefits, the real beneficiaries was the ruling class. The first thing the party did after hitler was appointed by hindenburg was purging socialists/communists, social democrats and jewish people and outlawing trade unions. they used the term socialism to refer to how they interfered with the economy (which wasn't unique at all in both socialist and capitalist countries, since capitalism was in crisis at that time), but not for the interests of the working class but exactly the opposite, for the capitalists. Similarly how the (capitalist) US bailed out banks in 2008 (and any other financial crisis) and subsidizing many private companies. You're spreading a narrative that alters history by turning genocidal nazis into socialists, which just helps contempoary anti-worker policies (against your own interests) and minimize nazi atrocities
I've just found and subscribed to your channel Olaf. You could do a video about the Trabant, and how it got a nation moving, a bit like the DDR's version of the VW Beetle. As someone who has an interest in East Germany, and also a Trabant owner myself, it would be very interesting addition to your channel.
My only critique is during the talk about the internment camps, you used video footage from around WWI (the clothing and uniforms were dead give aways).
This channel provides outstanding content. Please keep making these videos. I'd be interested in the whole Wandlitz Waldsiedlung and the SED leadership even having a shop with Western goods there, obviously living against their own publicized believes
Outstanding content you say they completely neglected to mention a thoroughly relevant fact that ex Nazis particularly from the SS as well as Ultranationalist Ukrainians that had been collaborating with Germany were formed into various groups to conduct espionage against the USSR (Gehlen Organisation and as these people were fascists then the Russian or East German Anti-fascist machine guns is an apt title because the Ukrainian fascist’s were infiltrating East Germany and Russia as well and the biggest omission in this waste of data in a TH-cam server is that the OUN or Ukrainian Ultranationalists the Neo-nasties are still alive and active and attempted to ethnically cleanse Eastern Ukraine from Russo-Ukrainians and they started artillery shelling of civilians in 2014, killed over 10,000 people, many children because they targeted the children so the Russian speakers couldn’t reproduce (I know that for a fact I have seen the evidence of a Ukrainian fascist stating that literally and he said the were following the ideology of SS Officer Adolf Eichmann and these Nasties are still active, still shelling civilians and you are all blaming Russia for finally defending them because Ukraine never de-nazified so Russia is determined to finish it but is not interested in reviving the USSR or the empire or anything but they are not going to just pack up and leave.
Interestingly the NDPD Bloc Party in the GDR was meant to represent former Nazis and Wehrmacht soldiers in the new socialist state and supported the end of denazification (alongside all other SED policy). Even West Germany did not have an explicit party to represent former Nazi interests.
In the GDR, Nazism was not as shameful as in the West. When they managed to get drunk with the German colleagues, they started playing Erika and panzerlied, etc. to sing, we were terrified that the police would take us away. I'm Hungarian. Interesting, I saw a shocking tableau in the Topography of Terror museum. The people of the West German secret services were old Gestapo members until the end of the 70s.
Yeah, those Nazi guys basically made the backbone of our "security" services. From police to the "Verfassungsschutz". Seems like we have to deal with that crap again... Greetings from Germany! :)
every Nazi was welcome in the GDR if he worked for the new communist regime. Here a list of former Nazis in GDR parliament (called "Volkskammer") de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_ehemaliger_NSDAP-Mitglieder,_die_nach_Mai_1945_politisch_t%C3%A4tig_waren#Sowjetische_Besatzungszone_und_Deutsche_Demokratische_Republik
It's kind of played as a joke in the east sometimes. My grandpa used to kiddingly sing a song about wanting back kaiser Wilhelm in the GDR, which was, of course, forbidden. But no sane person herr takes nazis seriously
Thank you for making video on a difficult subject. I have always been interested in how Germans saw it themselves. But I have trouble following you. While I understand you decided not to pay extensive attention to comparison I have trouble following you in a comparison about amnesty perhaps because of German grammar and double negatives. Or maybe the use of word amnesty. What is implied by amnesty? 4:11 In the Eastern Zone there was an amnesty for former Nazi Party members. They were 4:16 allowed to be re-employed but not for internal administration, justice and police functions, 4:21 whereas this was not the case in the three Western zones where people with the necessary expertise, 4:26 except former high ranking Nazi officials that had been demonstrably involved in Nazi crimes, 4:32 were hired.
Thanks for your comment. Maybe it helps I split it in two: In the Eastern zone they took the effort to keep former Nazis out of internal administration, justice and police functions. In the Western zone, they cared less about it. Only the high ranking Nazis would not be hired.
Strangely, no mention of all the solders sent to the Gulags. Quite a few came back and lived long lives too. Who knows what their Opa really did in the War.
well to be fair the gulag system (however poor the conditions may have been, especially during the course of the war) were purposed for rehabilitation which is more than you could say for west germany with +70% of their high-ranking judiciary being former nazis lmao. now as to whether or not the released soldiers were *actually* rehabilitated is another question entirely, though
He did mention that 1/3 of prisoners in Soviet camps did not survive due to the poor conditions. *correction* Those were in the Soviet Zone in East Germany.
I read the account once of an Israeli who had been born in Germany. During the Third Reich, he had been taken into custody and interrogated by a Gestapo officer. Later, he escaped to Israel. During one of the many Arab-Israeli conflicts, he was captured, and this time, he was interrogated by a member of the East German intelligence services as part of the programme of the GDR to assist the Arab nations in their wars against Israel. That GDR intelligence officer was the same Gestapo officer who had questioned him back in Germany during the days of the Nazis.
@@BronxguyaneseYesnt. The state of israel didnt exist but the land didnt just appear in 1949 lol. There where to local arabs aswell as as an increassing amounts of jews fleeikg from... suprise suprise: the nazis
Nice video. One imoortant regrettably omitted was that a substantial amount of East German Nazis were sent to work camps in the Soviet Union of which many did not return. The last prisoner returned to the GDR in 1956. This also allowedthe GDR regime to claim that therewere no Nazis in their ranks.
It's obvious now, but ex-nazis benefited the most from the Cold war. At least in Europe. They were smart enough to realize USA and USSR put it against each other and they could play both. Brilliant
WOW! The paperwork you showed at the beginning of your video had a really interesting subject that I think you could make a whole video about. Listed on the document at number nine, it was about the seizure of property owned by IG farben. I know they were involved in slave labor and other shady and dark practices. I would love to see a video on this subject if you haven't done it before. Danke.
Dang I can't believe I'm just now finding out about this channel. My family is from East Germany so we grew up learning to speak German when we were kids so I find this stuff fascinating great work by the way you earned a new subscriber. Hope you do some more videos about the NVA military.
have to say im impressed that you gave up on being monetised by having the swastica in the thumbnail to start with, and mentioned nazi in first 30s, well done, not afraid to tell some truth
If something took place "behind closed doors," it cannot be a "show trial." That is on its face contradictory. The term you are looking for is summary justice.
You are right, it cannot be both, but I meant to say that both kinds of processes took place: The majority of the processes took place behind closed doors. An additional 10 processes were show trials.
Do you have knowledge that Olaf Kappelt's book (Braunbuch DDR - Nazis in der DDR) has ever been translated? I know that Albert Norden's book (Brown Book: War and Nazi Criminals in West Germany) had a English version released which is easy to access.
This is marvelous ! I’m so excited, I must confess ! As a person with an almost lifelong ‘ fetish ‘ for both DDR and Warsaw Pact history, and iconography, paraphernalia, etc. ( including that of Hoxha’s Party of Labour, and Albania 🇦🇱 in general ), I can scarcely believe that I’ve managed to discover such a channel ! 😊
Have you been to Albania in Hoxha's time because I have... Spent 2 weeks there in one of the few organized trips (no individual trips were allowed, no beard, no pop music, no cars,no foreign books, no nothing...)
Just discovered your channel I am loving this information before watching your videos all I knew about the DDR was doping during the Olympics and the Berlin Wall . Your documentary on the leaders of east Germany were brilliant
If I'm not mistaken a former SS officer became the West German ambassador to Sweden and many others went on to have careers in law, academia and business. One such was Hanns Martin Schleyer who became the most high profile businessman in West Germany, and who was murdered by the Rote Armee Fraktion or Red Army Faction in English.
Hi, I enjoy your videos, but as a native English speaker, I must point out that we universally pronounce "Corps" (the military term) as "core", with the "s" being silent. The way you pronounced it would be "corpse", as in a dead body.
Just a note that while I appreciate the references to Federal Republic of Germany, I feel like you just added the bit at the end with the book without exploring it. It would have been nice to know of like two people.
When I was a young Export Manager in the 1970s selling British products but also buying in technology from the DDR and other Warsaw Bloc countries I never got involved in my host's national politics. I did notice that DDR citizens could live a very good life if they were able to accept some of the restrictions of their regime. A bit like life in the U.K actually. I really enjoy your videos. Might I be so bold to ask if you are a Nederlander by birth?
Ok so saying that bc there was a couple of run off the mill ex NS members the denazification in the DDR was a failure in the same way as in the BRD where actual high ranks kept their careers not only in government but also in the military and security is a big stretch.
Another excellent vlog. An interesting look at a subject never usually explored as DDR seemed to be in a news and moral vacuum post 1949. Interested if you're intending to do one on 'sport in the DDR'
@@napasada Wernher von Braun and his engineers. And not defending them, though one wonders, were they all Nazis by heart.or Nazis by book.Because there was no other opportunity or choice? And again, not defending it, then my grandfather was also a nazi. He worked in a chemical factory as a turbine operator. Meaning he was - Management - and had to get his booklet and attend meetings. Otherwise he would have been fired. And with 8 kids at home, not a nice thought.
@@benediktmorak4409 I feel for your grandfather, and we can only guess what was in their hearts and minds, but survival was definitely on most peoples minds. The collapse of the Kaiserreich, in addition to the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires was a geopolitical nightmare that ushered in catastrophes that caused so much upheaval, that we are still feeling the effects today. Both National Socialism and International Socialism (Communism) forced millions into situations that was unheard of in the "old" era before, and to choose between one or the other was not much of a choice, but like your grandfather, he did what he had to do to protect his family.
@@napasada thank you for an answer that also makes sense. Unfortunately - mankind - or at least the polititians and their politics have nothing learned from the past.
8:25 actually, Globke was NOT involved in writing the Nuremberg Laws - and to my knowledge never was Nzi. However, as civil servant in the ministry of the Interior he was charged with writing what came to be the official commentary on the Laws. Oberländer got his position after the war not out of "irony" but becuse he was head of refugee party. He was forced to resign after the show trial.
What do you know about how the BRD dealt with redistribution of private property after the Weende? Just returned from Thuringen and there are many beautiful properties that were certainly not owned by regular Burghers before the war...
I’m not able to say the same, unfortunately. My grandparents lost three direct relatives in Latvia, two to execution on the sand dunes of Courland by a combined einsatzgruppen and Latvian anti-Semitic death squad, the other to an extermination camp,..not to mention a slew of distant relatives. No possibility for us to claim that Nazi occupation and rule did not equate with maltreatment and death.
One the one hand i find it cool, that you bring the GDR to an english audience. On the other hand "Investigated" is highly confusing. You dont investigate, but rather refer to some average literature. By the way you also make quiet some errors: The GDR never proclaimed that the FRG was a Fasist state, but rather a average western Imperialist state, like the USA. They only complain about the lack of denazification. In you wanna be investigating you could look at some 10-100 influental politicans, like generals, member of goverment, in both german state, maybe even austria and look how many percent of them where nazi. You could make i comparison with five categories, from antifacist to Mitläufer to leading nazi.
Two things that the DDR did to wash their hands for any responsibility for the past. As the video states, they rejected any attempts to restore businesses or property to any Jewish owners who might assert claims for their losses against the state. The DDR also never found it necessary to make gestures of reparations to Israel, the way West Germany did. The DDR was also actively hostile against any returning veterans who returned to civilian life either right after the war or during periods of repatriation in the years following. While former Wehrmacht soldiers in West Germany were able to claim a measure of support from the state, East Germany continued looking at these men as criminal attackers of the Soviet Union. Not only was it official state policy not to provide any support, or at best very little, to those veterans, but to actively shame and denounce them for their service.
I think when it comes down to it there were too many Nazis for any side to deal with completely. In the end, however, the effects of the war that hit the civil population, the loss of an entire generation, and an utter defeat and occupation that brought about the reality of the Nazi regime brought about de-Nazification. No one after the war wanted to be associated with the genocidal regime and in time those Nazis who returned to their positions were gradually replaced by those who wanted to distance themselves from the Nazis. Even during the Nuremberg Trials Goering allegedly remarked about the Allies efforts to condemn Hitler were unnecessary because "he condemned himself." This is all my own opinion based on whatever I've heard.
"East" Germany was partially financed and supported by "West" Germany As the Federal Republic of Germany never recognized the GDR - that, by the way wasn't democratic at all - and that gave the GDR the possibility to sell her products in west Unfortunately the real existing socialism system never managed to make the GDR a model country, on the contrary
Is there any possibility that you are considering a Patreon account? I would be very interested in beconing a paid subscriber to support you thoroughly detailed work. On a side note this video reminded me of the cultural side of denazification, including the move from Ufa to an Allied-based film industry in western sectors to DEFA in the Soviet zone. The account of the changes to the resolution in the film, "Die Mörder sind unter uns," for me was an interesting example: the antagonist facing prison rather than execution as justice, after alterations to the script.
Great video. It would be nice to deal with the subject of generals and other high-ranking military officers who were in the Wehrmacht, and then continued in the army of East Germany. I know for several generals from WW2 in the Wehrmacht , such as Von Seldlytz, von Lenski etc. which were a generals in new East Germany in NVA (after 1955, remember Germany was 10 years without army). I believe that in the case of the SS there was no such thing, but in the regular army it was.
Info: I have been made aware that the footage I used at 3:06 is not post WW2, but post WW1 footage. My apologies.
Good. 😂👍
@@viewer7200 Those little boys were on a winner with their beer trolley business 👍👍.
I was about to mention it.
Eh, I might sound politically incorrect here but a video on how Post world war 2 German population was systematically brainwashed so far as that they refuse to acknowledge their past will make a good video. That brainwashing is still present, still prevalent. It is as if some form of wokeism was invented and tested in both Germanies first where people are turned to ostrichs.
@@typograf62same here
As an East German, I am positively impressed by how much you research the topics of your videos. Of course, when it comes to political assessments of German history, there are always completely contradictory points of view, especially from the various actors in Germany, but you can always make that clear and differentiate.
You feel good about your grandfather and your grandmother now? Good for you! Rock On!
Dor wo ik her kaam nöömt man Lüüd as di Dödbaddel.@@andrejmucic5003
Yeah, whats happend with or to the Nazis?
Firstly, except the National Zionists around 1900 and the American Nazi Party under G.L.Rockwell "Nazis" never existed!!!
A leftist jew used firstly this term for the members of the NSDAP in the twenties. Language is a important tool to fight political enemies or for psychological warfare. Read Richard Tedors "Hitlers Revolution". There is also a german translation. Another point: the territory of the G.D.R. or DDR is not eastern Germany. (Ostdeutschland liegt östlich der Oder-Neiße!) This is historically and geographically incorrect. So, stop this nonsense, brother. Read also Gerard Menuhins "Wahrheit sagen, Teufel jagen" (tell the truth and shame the devil). Its time to wake up. Decades ago a russian historian named Viktor Suworow published his study "Der Eisbrecher" on the so called Kriegsschuldfrage and the war against Stalins U.d.S.S.R.. Nothing what the german majority today has in their mind about the past is true or historically correct.
When all this nightmares today are over and western people survive and build new nation states, our people will have a complete other view on people like A.H. and the Third Reich. Read also Kevin B.MacDonalds "Kultur der Kritik" (Culture of Critique) and the books by Herve Ryssen about the jew. question and history. Its excellent and based primarily on jewish sources. You will be much surprised.
East or Central? Part of my family is East German Prussian Silesian. East Germany is own by Poland and occupied by Russia
@@diongibbs312 "own by Poland and occupied by Russia", interesting phrasing
Wow, impartiality of this video is through the roof. Well done. Subscribed.
My great-grandfather was arrested by the Nazis because he was a member of the Dutch Resistance. After the war, the Soviets ""liberated"" the camp and used him and the other political prisoners as slaves who had to pay off their liberation. When he was finally released many months after the war, he went back to the Netherlands on foot. He always said that the few months under the Soviets were many times worse than his arrest and detainment by the Nazis (which was already pretty bad).
Keep in mind that he was most like treated (relatively) well by the Nazis because they saw him, a Dutchman, as a fellow Nordic of pure ethnicity who could still be reformed/brainwashed into the Nazi ideology, not because they were inherently any better people than the Soviets. Had your great-grandfather been a Slav or a Jew, he'd have faced far worse treatment under the Nazis.
@@sudonim7552 Oh don't worry, the Nazis did not treat him or the other prisoners well at all. There were many nationalities in the camp such as Poles, Ukrainians, British, Germans, French, even a Spanish Prime Minister and an Austrian Chancellor, and also one of Bismarck's grandsons. The Soviets just treated them even worse than the Germans.
@@hans7856, what exactly was the worse attitude of the "Soviets" towards prisoners compared to the Germans? I suspect that this is a lie, specially invented because of anti-communist and anti-Soviet views. Just as the author of this video simply passes off anti-communist propaganda as genuine historical facts.
В чём конкретно выражалось более плохое отношение "советов" к заключённым по сравнению с немцами? Подозреваю, что это ложь, специально придуманная по причине антикоммунистических и антисоветских взглядов. Так же, как автор этого ролика просто выдаёт антикоммунистическую пропаганду за подлинные исторические факты.
@@Дмитрий_Тихомиров Well, considering that my greatgrandfather was imprisoned for being a commie, you would expect the bias to be inverse.
@@hans7856, but can you be more specific? What exactly was the worse attitude of the "Soviets" in comparison with the Nazis?
Но не могли бы вы быть более конкретным? В чем именно заключалось худшее отношение "Советов" по сравнению с нацистами?
I remember talking to East German colleagues when I worked in Potsdam in 1995 (as a Dutchman) and how upset they were when the extent of Nazi participation in the GDR became known. Particularly BECAUSE of how much the GDR was promoted as the anti-Nazi state compared to the FRG.
Yeah, they were all claiming the Democratic State was somehow fascist. I love commie propaganda sometimes.
It's crazy to think anyone involved in any way would be banished from society. You would eliminate all of your most capable people for no reason. There was only ever a need to punish the leaders.
@@arostwocentsNot exactly "no reason". The GDR prided themselves on being the antithesis of Nazi Germany. There was even a separate party founded to politically reintregrate former Nazis. So to see that so many former Nazis played such a prominent role was quite disturbing.
Consider just how many Germans were involved in the NAZI party, if they didn't want anyone who had been a member, they would have had nobody! But that the soviets used the Gestapo to build their "newer better" secret police force, the Stasi was a bit shocking, but they knew the right people for the job.
@@arostwocents: There were scores of Nazis who had no practical skill except that they were "Parteibonzen" of various ranks of the Nazi regime, yet they soon got new - if they did not outright retain their old - posts in post-WW2 Germany. Not to mention that the whole stick of Nazi Germany had been ousting Weimar Germany's most capable people in favor of loyal nazis who for good reason had not gotten these posts before.
Also, denazification was just one of many fields were east Germans had to realize east Germany was doing the polar opposite of what it propagated to do.
I would disagree that the Americans attempt at denazification was anything approaching "thorough". Even Marshall admitted that they couldn't rightly punish everyone and still ramp up the Soviet "threat". Many former Nazis found their way into the West German government, whereas in the Soviet zone, what became the GDR, they went HAM on the Nazis.
"Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?: The German Democratic Republic and What Became of It" goes into this in depth.
Oh yes that one written by a socialist, yeah?
Did you watch the full video? He says clearly that the denazification process in all zones was not done thoroughly or correctly
@@scarybird977it was done way better on one side than the other
@@Vikdam Quite debatable
@@scarybird977 no, it's not. in 1957 77% of senior officials in the west german ministry of justice were former nazis. later president walter scheel and chancellor kurt georg kiesinger were former nazis. to act like the frg and gdr were even remotely equal in their approach to denazification is literally just ahistorical
Denazification was partially forgotten when the Cold War arrived. There has been talk of Red Prussianism to refer to East Germany. It did not change as much as it seems, although nationalsocialism would not return.
Thank you so much for providing us with this information in English, with subtitles as well! You're doing a greet deed to history! And also, your way of sharing the information is very easy to absorb, and holds a strong educational value! Danke, greetings from 🇲🇰 ❤🔥
I have to say this is a wonderful channel that provides great education on an often overlooked subject of common knowledge on the Cold War.
Interesting history! Thanks for the video.
Love your channel - so informative. Keep up the excellent work!
Excellent work! I was aware of some of what you reported, but this was concise and factual in the limited time you had.
Since you touched on the DDR's support of the Hepp-Kexel group, I hope you eventually do a video about how they provided clandestine support for the Revolutionary Cells and the Red Army Fraction (Baader-Meinhoff group). I've always been fascinated by their stories since watching the film "The Baader-Meinhoff Complex"
Perhaps you should also look towards the West German government, since it appears the Verfassungsschutz agent Peter Urbach supplied not just the RAF, but also the Bewegung 2. Juni with explosives weaponry, and possibly other gear.
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Urbach
"Once rockets are up
who cares where they come down.
That's not my department."
......said Wernher von Braun !
Von Braun should have gone to trial then jail
Nice move by the Pankow regime in replacing one brand of nazi by another brand of nazi of anutter color. 6:00
@@minhthunguyendang9900 But the Pankowers did neither kill Jewish people nor did they spread warfare all over Europe
causing some fifty million people to die.
They had the only German army that never took part in a war.
So try to think again about your silly
remark ! Hope you have got a good history book in your shelf.
@@richardsimms251 Indeed some SS-gangsters were hanged in Nuremberg. Others got a warm welcome in God's own country. What hypocrisy !
@@henryseidel5469
In the reduced place allocated to them by their kremlin masters all that they were ordered to do was to stasi-crush their own German citizens.
*I would dispute the unqualified statement that the East German de-Nazification policy "was basically anti-Capitalism" (**6:10**). It is indisputable that the DDR was anti-capitalist but if the narrator believes that only former entrepreneurs, financial services managers, bankers, and investor-capitalists were prosecuted, executed, or imprisoned while former members of the NSDAP, former ᛋᛋ men, and Wehrmacht officers could go free in the DDR, which is the meaning of his statement, particularly with the use of the word "basically", then he is mistaken. I am not an expert in this topic and I hoped to learn from this video but I am disappointed that it is yet another attack on the attempt to make the DDR a socialist state. Even I can see how ridiculous his statement sounds. The video gives a false impression that both parts of Germany were more or less the same in their failed de-Nazification policies.*
The DDR was by definition a socialist state.
The SED did not have to work too hard to 'Make' the DDR a socialist state, all that was needed was to re brand existing organs of the state such as the DAF, HJ and such. So a speeding up of the process started by the NSDAP.
@@Fanakapan222 I believe war criminals were supposed to be prosecuted in Nürnberg but the vast majority were let off. Those few who were sentenced to prison were usually let out early and very few served their full time. Maybe none. By the time the DDR was established, all the war criminals living there should have been prosecuted already.
@@jean6872 The big names, those actually within the upper echelons of government served their full time, think Doenitz, Speer, and of course Hess who lived so long that a whole prison was kept going to house one prisoner. It depends upon ones definition of Kreigsverbrecher, and by and large the individual psycho's that all wars throw up were caught up with and dealt with. But consider that the NSDAP were in power for 12 years and during that time any hope of advancement in public position would have been dependant upon party membership. So, where would one draw the line ? Its interesting that upon the fall of the DDR, the West Germans took a very much stronger line in terms of scope on Any functionary of the failed state, than was the case with the measures enacted by the Allies after WWII ?
@@jean6872got any source for that.
Very interesting topic. Und Danke für die Infos!
If I may suggest a video, one that's similar to this one, could you cover how differently East Germany and West Germany taught German history including World War II and how they compared to each other?
I enjoy your content by the way! Nice to see the GDR get covered in detail.
Great channel! There is a lack of content on internet when it comes to GDR most of the attention goes to the USSR maybe due to the lower standard of life, not sure. But it's a good thing that someone is taking about GDR hope to see more about the people daily life. Good luck.
Das ist extrem gute Arbeit! Bor danke für deine Bildungsarbeit!
The film footage showing the internment camps till 03:55 look like they're from post World War I.
I mean, look at the uniforms.
The German soldiers are all wearing the 'baker caps' (as we call them in Dutch), example 03:44
The British soldier in the same shot is wearing a World War I style visor cap.
In World War II, British soldiers wore berets mostly.
the official story: there were no more Nazis in East Germany
but my grandfather complained, before he had problems with the people with brown shirts, after that he had problems with the people red shirts. But the heads remained the same.
Many of the lower ranks of the former Nazis joined the Communist Party in the East. Therefore they were communists and were considered blameless.
The communist party gave the message that there were no Nazis hiding in East Germany and especially among the communists.
And so many disappeared without anyone asking.
East Germany only looked for Nazis in the West
There really is not that much difference: many former KPD members joined Nazi organizations after 1933, including the Gestapo and DAF (German Labor Front).
@@thegreatcat2095 Nazis and communists are vastly different, please don't say "horseshoe theory". Anyways, they utilized "socialism" in their name to kind of fool the people and it partly worked, they were not socialist but fascist.
Also I'd appreciate if you told me more about the KPD members joining Nazi organizations.
@@gamerf3643they were socialists. They were simply a different type of socialist that believed in racial struggle over class struggle. Just because one isn’t a Marxist doesn’t mean they aren’t socialist.
no diffrence other than the communists killing even more
@@doronaznible7298 the nazis/hitler were oppertunists. they wanted to gain power so they called themselves national socialists because socialism was very popular in the early 20th century, they needed to appeal to the working class while offering them hardly any benefits, the real beneficiaries was the ruling class. The first thing the party did after hitler was appointed by hindenburg was purging socialists/communists, social democrats and jewish people and outlawing trade unions. they used the term socialism to refer to how they interfered with the economy (which wasn't unique at all in both socialist and capitalist countries, since capitalism was in crisis at that time), but not for the interests of the working class but exactly the opposite, for the capitalists. Similarly how the (capitalist) US bailed out banks in 2008 (and any other financial crisis) and subsidizing many private companies. You're spreading a narrative that alters history by turning genocidal nazis into socialists, which just helps contempoary anti-worker policies (against your own interests) and minimize nazi atrocities
I've just found and subscribed to your channel Olaf.
You could do a video about the Trabant, and how it got a nation moving, a bit like the DDR's version of the VW Beetle. As someone who has an interest in East Germany, and also a Trabant owner myself, it would be very interesting addition to your channel.
Danke! Please keep this great and informative content coming! Another great one!
My only critique is during the talk about the internment camps, you used video footage from around WWI (the clothing and uniforms were dead give aways).
This channel provides outstanding content. Please keep making these videos. I'd be interested in the whole Wandlitz Waldsiedlung and the SED leadership even having a shop with Western goods there, obviously living against their own publicized believes
Outstanding content you say they completely neglected to mention a thoroughly relevant fact that ex Nazis particularly from the SS as well as Ultranationalist Ukrainians that had been collaborating with Germany were formed into various groups to conduct espionage against the USSR (Gehlen Organisation and as these people were fascists then the Russian or East German Anti-fascist machine guns is an apt title because the Ukrainian fascist’s were infiltrating East Germany and Russia as well and the biggest omission in this waste of data in a TH-cam server is that the OUN or Ukrainian Ultranationalists the Neo-nasties are still alive and active and attempted to ethnically cleanse Eastern Ukraine from Russo-Ukrainians and they started artillery shelling of civilians in 2014, killed over 10,000 people, many children because they targeted the children so the Russian speakers couldn’t reproduce (I know that for a fact I have seen the evidence of a Ukrainian fascist stating that literally and he said the were following the ideology of SS Officer Adolf Eichmann and these Nasties are still active, still shelling civilians and you are all blaming Russia for finally defending them because Ukraine never de-nazified so Russia is determined to finish it but is not interested in reviving the USSR or the empire or anything but they are not going to just pack up and leave.
Indeed , continue what life was like in the GDR
Many documentaries around on YT. That's the stuff he translates and condenses for his own videos.
Intershop ?
Interestingly the NDPD Bloc Party in the GDR was meant to represent former Nazis and Wehrmacht soldiers in the new socialist state and supported the end of denazification (alongside all other SED policy). Even West Germany did not have an explicit party to represent former Nazi interests.
They did it was called the CDU.
@@BibkyOh for @~?£'s sake.
They did, it was called SRP
I really am getting a lot out of your videos. I appreciate the detail and the ways the videos are broken up. Thank you.
That was fascinating! Thank you for all the hard work you put into researching that terribly interesting topic.
Damn dude, hope you didnt get that black eye after getting jumped for speaking fax about the DDR. Stay strong and keep speaking fax!
?
@@danielstan707Deutschland DR
@@danielstan707dance dance revolution
In the GDR, Nazism was not as shameful as in the West. When they managed to get drunk with the German colleagues, they started playing Erika and panzerlied, etc. to sing, we were terrified that the police would take us away. I'm Hungarian.
Interesting, I saw a shocking tableau in the Topography of Terror museum. The people of the West German secret services were old Gestapo members until the end of the 70s.
Yeah, those Nazi guys basically made the backbone of our "security" services. From police to the "Verfassungsschutz". Seems like we have to deal with that crap again... Greetings from Germany! :)
every Nazi was welcome in the GDR if he worked for the new communist regime. Here a list of former Nazis in GDR parliament (called "Volkskammer")
de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_ehemaliger_NSDAP-Mitglieder,_die_nach_Mai_1945_politisch_t%C3%A4tig_waren#Sowjetische_Besatzungszone_und_Deutsche_Demokratische_Republik
I always thought if was much more hated considering their history with the soviets
@@guycrew3973 It was, this guy is lying. The state was literally called an anti-fascist one.
It's kind of played as a joke in the east sometimes. My grandpa used to kiddingly sing a song about wanting back kaiser Wilhelm in the GDR, which was, of course, forbidden. But no sane person herr takes nazis seriously
Thank you for making video on a difficult subject. I have always been interested in how Germans saw it themselves.
But I have trouble following you. While I understand you decided not to pay extensive attention to comparison I have trouble following you in a comparison about amnesty perhaps because of German grammar and double negatives. Or maybe the use of word amnesty. What is implied by amnesty?
4:11
In the Eastern Zone there was an amnesty for former Nazi Party members. They were
4:16
allowed to be re-employed but not for internal administration, justice and police functions,
4:21
whereas this was not the case in the three Western zones where people with the necessary expertise,
4:26
except former high ranking Nazi officials that had been demonstrably involved in Nazi crimes,
4:32
were hired.
Thanks for your comment. Maybe it helps I split it in two: In the Eastern zone they took the effort to keep former Nazis out of internal administration, justice and police functions. In the Western zone, they cared less about it. Only the high ranking Nazis would not be hired.
Very well put together, thank you
Strangely, no mention of all the solders sent to the Gulags. Quite a few came back and lived long lives too. Who knows what their Opa really did in the War.
well to be fair the gulag system (however poor the conditions may have been, especially during the course of the war) were purposed for rehabilitation which is more than you could say for west germany with +70% of their high-ranking judiciary being former nazis lmao. now as to whether or not the released soldiers were *actually* rehabilitated is another question entirely, though
He did mention that 1/3 of prisoners in Soviet camps did not survive due to the poor conditions. *correction* Those were in the Soviet Zone in East Germany.
I read the account once of an Israeli who had been born in Germany. During the Third Reich, he had been taken into custody and interrogated by a Gestapo officer. Later, he escaped to Israel. During one of the many Arab-Israeli conflicts, he was captured, and this time, he was interrogated by a member of the East German intelligence services as part of the programme of the GDR to assist the Arab nations in their wars against Israel. That GDR intelligence officer was the same Gestapo officer who had questioned him back in Germany during the days of the Nazis.
Israel as a nation did not exist during world War 2.
Don't tell this to Max Hoffman, he swears the DDR was the greatest place be a Jew
@@BronxguyaneseYesnt. The state of israel didnt exist but the land didnt just appear in 1949 lol. There where to local arabs aswell as as an increassing amounts of jews fleeikg from... suprise suprise: the nazis
Bullshit
HA!
I just found your channel, really like the great information, and interesting topics.
Another excellent and highly interesting video. Thank you for your work 👍🏻
Nice video. One imoortant regrettably omitted was that a substantial amount of East German Nazis were sent to work camps in the Soviet Union of which many did not return. The last prisoner returned to the GDR in 1956. This also allowedthe GDR regime to claim that therewere no Nazis in their ranks.
This seems like a good punishment!
"Corps" is pronounced "cor". The pronunciation "corps" is the one used for the word "corpse", which means "cadaver".
In german its pronounced that way
@@Material_MonkeyInteresting, considering that Germany is closer to France than to the UK.
It's obvious now, but ex-nazis benefited the most from the Cold war. At least in Europe. They were smart enough to realize USA and USSR put it against each other and they could play both. Brilliant
WOW!
The paperwork you showed at the beginning of your video had a really interesting subject that I think you could make a whole video about. Listed on the document at number nine, it was about the seizure of property owned by IG farben. I know they were involved in slave labor and other shady and dark practices. I would love to see a video on this subject if you haven't done it before. Danke.
30th like from me. Keep making good works sir.
Dang I can't believe I'm just now finding out about this channel. My family is from East Germany so we grew up learning to speak German when we were kids so I find this stuff fascinating great work by the way you earned a new subscriber. Hope you do some more videos about the NVA military.
have to say im impressed that you gave up on being monetised by having the swastica in the thumbnail to start with, and mentioned nazi in first 30s, well done, not afraid to tell some truth
If something took place "behind closed doors," it cannot be a "show trial." That is on its face contradictory.
The term you are looking for is summary justice.
You are right, it cannot be both, but I meant to say that both kinds of processes took place:
The majority of the processes took place behind closed doors. An additional 10 processes were show trials.
Please keep up your good work on these otherwise informative and interesting posts .. cheers
Good video. Ivan really loved the 1957 re-issue of military awards the Bundeswehr could wear.
Do you have knowledge that Olaf Kappelt's book (Braunbuch DDR - Nazis in der DDR) has ever been translated? I know that Albert Norden's book (Brown Book: War and Nazi Criminals in West Germany) had a English version released which is easy to access.
This is marvelous ! I’m so excited, I must confess ! As a person with an almost lifelong ‘ fetish ‘ for both DDR and Warsaw Pact history, and iconography, paraphernalia, etc. ( including that of Hoxha’s Party of Labour, and Albania 🇦🇱 in general ), I can scarcely believe that I’ve managed to discover such a channel ! 😊
Have you been to Albania in Hoxha's time because I have...
Spent 2 weeks there in one of the few organized trips (no individual trips were allowed, no beard, no pop music, no cars,no foreign books, no nothing...)
Communists and non-communists are praising this video's accuracy, that's how you know it's legit
Most likely there were SS officers that would go on work for the East German Stasi but was kept silent.
Just discovered your channel I am loving this information before watching your videos all I knew about the DDR was doping during the Olympics and the Berlin Wall . Your documentary on the leaders of east Germany were brilliant
I LOVE THIS CHANNEL! thank you for putting this channel together. :D!
If I'm not mistaken a former SS officer became the West German ambassador to Sweden and many others went on to have careers in law, academia and business. One such was Hanns Martin Schleyer who became the most high profile businessman in West Germany, and who was murdered by the Rote Armee Fraktion or Red Army Faction in English.
The head of the BND in West Germany was a senor officer on the NSDAP intelligence service; Reinhold Gehlen.
Hi, I enjoy your videos, but as a native English speaker, I must point out that we universally pronounce "Corps" (the military term) as "core", with the "s" being silent.
The way you pronounced it would be "corpse", as in a dead body.
very high quality and detailed videos, keep it up
Excellent video! Thank you so much.
Just a note that while I appreciate the references to Federal Republic of Germany, I feel like you just added the bit at the end with the book without exploring it. It would have been nice to know of like two people.
When I was a young Export Manager in the 1970s selling British products but also buying in technology from the DDR and other Warsaw Bloc countries I never got involved in my host's national politics. I did notice that DDR citizens could live a very good life if they were able to accept some of the restrictions of their regime. A bit like life in the U.K actually. I really enjoy your videos. Might I be so bold to ask if you are a Nederlander by birth?
As a Flemish person I can confirm the speaker in the video is definitely Dutch.
As a regular visitor to the DDR in the 1980s I agree with your comment.
All your videos are very interesting,good stuff
So much to delve deeper in in future videos 🙂
I wonder what denazification took place in Austria? Or was it treated like a country that was occupied like Poland and France were?
Yes, Austria is considered the first of the nazi's victims
Direct geabonneerd, heel interessant!
Love your work, thanks for all your videos. Great info.
Excellent video, once again! Keep 'em comin", I'll keep watchin' :-)
Actually, Stasi apparently did hire former Gestapo officers.
The Stasi were literally the Gestapo, they were hired to create it.
Ok so saying that bc there was a couple of run off the mill ex NS members the denazification in the DDR was a failure in the same way as in the BRD where actual high ranks kept their careers not only in government but also in the military and security is a big stretch.
Hello, what about the NDPD or the policy of extending a hand to "The Little Nazis" of West Germany?
thank you very much for the video, very well made and the topic is fascinating
Another excellent vlog. An interesting look at a subject never usually explored as DDR seemed to be in a news and moral vacuum post 1949. Interested if you're intending to do one on 'sport in the DDR'
Wonderful content. Thank you
Very interesting video
11:27 no it achieved exactly what East and west Germany wanted to achieve
Well crafted coverage.
and how dealt the USA with them? they took them in open handed...
Operation Paperclip 📎
@@napasada Wernher von Braun and his engineers.
And not defending them, though one wonders, were they all Nazis by heart.or Nazis by book.Because there was no other opportunity or choice?
And again, not defending it, then my grandfather was also a nazi. He worked in a chemical factory as a turbine operator.
Meaning he was - Management - and had to get his booklet and attend meetings. Otherwise he would have been fired. And with 8 kids at home, not a nice thought.
@@benediktmorak4409 I feel for your grandfather, and we can only guess what was in their hearts and minds, but survival was definitely on most peoples minds. The collapse of the Kaiserreich, in addition to the Austro-Hungarian and Russian empires was a geopolitical nightmare that ushered in catastrophes that caused so much upheaval, that we are still feeling the effects today.
Both National Socialism and International Socialism (Communism) forced millions into situations that was unheard of in the "old" era before, and to choose between one or the other was not much of a choice, but like your grandfather, he did what he had to do to protect his family.
@@napasada thank you for an answer that also makes sense.
Unfortunately - mankind - or at least the polititians and their politics have nothing learned from the past.
That was only THE SCIENTISTS. And the soviet program for the same reason was FAR larger, apparently 3 times larger.
so if you had to put a number on it what percentage of deNSing happened?
8:25 actually, Globke was NOT involved in writing the Nuremberg Laws - and to my knowledge never was Nzi.
However, as civil servant in the ministry of the Interior he was charged with writing what came to be the official commentary on the Laws.
Oberländer got his position after the war not out of "irony" but becuse he was head of refugee party. He was forced to resign after the show trial.
What do you know about how the BRD dealt with redistribution of private property after the Weende? Just returned from Thuringen and there are many beautiful properties that were certainly not owned by regular Burghers before the war...
Great job . I thought it was a video to glorify the communist DDR regime but I have seen that it is very well documented and balanced.
I’m not able to say the same, unfortunately. My grandparents lost three direct relatives in Latvia, two to execution on the sand dunes of Courland by a combined einsatzgruppen and Latvian anti-Semitic death squad, the other to an extermination camp,..not to mention a slew of distant relatives. No possibility for us to claim that Nazi occupation and rule did not equate with maltreatment and death.
Does anyone claim it was not bad?
"The policy was applied consequently". This should be "consistently" or "thoroughly". ("Consequently" is a synonym of "therefore")
Fascinating information! Thanks from Florida!
One of my favourite channels and one of a few that I watch on topics I have no interest in simply becasue how well presented they are.
-They don't really have an Ernst Thalmann park in Germany these days do they?
Yes, it's a neighborhood of tall buildings in Berlin and there's a huge statue of him in front of a huge flag
Very interesting video! A topic not often talked about in all the depth that would be necessary
Highly recommended reading: “Stasi State or Socialist Paradise?: The German Democratic Republic and What Became of It” Bruni de la Motte
One the one hand i find it cool, that you bring the GDR to an english audience. On the other hand "Investigated" is highly confusing. You dont investigate, but rather refer to some average literature. By the way you also make quiet some errors: The GDR never proclaimed that the FRG was a Fasist state, but rather a average western Imperialist state, like the USA. They only complain about the lack of denazification. In you wanna be investigating you could look at some 10-100 influental politicans, like generals, member of goverment, in both german state, maybe even austria and look how many percent of them where nazi. You could make i comparison with five categories, from antifacist to Mitläufer to leading nazi.
There were plenty of Nazis in West Germany also. It was only during the war there were no Nazis in Germany
Two things that the DDR did to wash their hands for any responsibility for the past. As the video states, they rejected any attempts to restore businesses or property to any Jewish owners who might assert claims for their losses against the state. The DDR also never found it necessary to make gestures of reparations to Israel, the way West Germany did.
The DDR was also actively hostile against any returning veterans who returned to civilian life either right after the war or during periods of repatriation in the years following. While former Wehrmacht soldiers in West Germany were able to claim a measure of support from the state, East Germany continued looking at these men as criminal attackers of the Soviet Union. Not only was it official state policy not to provide any support, or at best very little, to those veterans, but to actively shame and denounce them for their service.
Why would they need to pay reparations to a state that was established three years after a war?
The DDR was a communist state, e.g. there were no privately owned businesses.
I think when it comes down to it there were too many Nazis for any side to deal with completely. In the end, however, the effects of the war that hit the civil population, the loss of an entire generation, and an utter defeat and occupation that brought about the reality of the Nazi regime brought about de-Nazification. No one after the war wanted to be associated with the genocidal regime and in time those Nazis who returned to their positions were gradually replaced by those who wanted to distance themselves from the Nazis. Even during the Nuremberg Trials Goering allegedly remarked about the Allies efforts to condemn Hitler were unnecessary because "he condemned himself." This is all my own opinion based on whatever I've heard.
3:05 why are you using a WW1 era footage?
Great description, a lot to learn here.
Another great video ! German is history has some dark pages but it is never boring!
"East" Germany was partially financed and supported by "West" Germany
As the Federal Republic of Germany never recognized the GDR - that, by the way wasn't democratic at all - and that gave the GDR the possibility to sell her products in west
Unfortunately the real existing socialism system never managed to make the GDR a model country, on the contrary
A minor quibble thee film with the internment camps dates from just after WW1
You are right. The footage is not correct. Thanks for making me aware!
Is there any possibility that you are considering a Patreon account? I would be very interested in beconing a paid subscriber to support you thoroughly detailed work.
On a side note this video reminded me of the cultural side of denazification, including the move from Ufa to an Allied-based film industry in western sectors to DEFA in the Soviet zone. The account of the changes to the resolution in the film, "Die Mörder sind unter uns," for me was an interesting example: the antagonist facing prison rather than execution as justice, after alterations to the script.
Danke - eine Analyse, die sehr „ausgewaagt“ war.
Great video. It would be nice to deal with the subject of generals and other high-ranking military officers who were in the Wehrmacht, and then continued in the army of East Germany. I know for several generals from WW2 in the Wehrmacht , such as Von Seldlytz, von Lenski etc. which were a generals in new East Germany in NVA (after 1955, remember Germany was 10 years without army). I believe that in the case of the SS there was no such thing, but in the regular army it was.
You forgot to mention about the Berufsverbot in BRD? Otherwise very nice video.
fantastic video! super informative
Can you get some documentation around the continuing existence of the Deutsche Vertiedigungs Dienst in Dachau or elsewhere?