if you are going to use terms like the 'judeo-bolshevic state' you really should contextualize them so your viewers understand that they were a part of Nazi ideology, and not necessarily an uncontested historical concept. As a teacher , you should know better.
Hey Stefan, de school waar jij lesgeeft heeft die toevallig nog een stageplek voor geschiedenis vrij. Ben namelijk een student lerarenopleiding geschiedenis en heb een stageschool nodig. 😅
@@HistoryHustle I'm British, born in England. My father was a member of the 14th Waffen SS Galician Division, and I had a Russian uncle who was a Cossack, born in Rostov-on-Don. Both of fought with the German Army in WW2. Contact me if you want to hear their personal stories 👍
I had ww2 historians for teachers in high school and middle school. every few months we would visit the veterans in the nursing homes. Learned first hand from people who were there and seen it happen. Thankful to my teachers who exposed us to real history. Keep up the great work!
@@verihimthered2418 mad respect for those kind of people. Teachers like these deserve much much muchhh bigger respect and gratitude in our society. Sadly it isnt the case
It’s a crime this channel doesn’t have a larger audience. The quality is incredible and you clearly put a lot of effort into your research. I think you’ll pick up a lot of steam very soon!
The irony is that Hitler got defeated by his own evil. Any attacker that would have offered the peoples of the Soviet Union true liberation from the bolshevik yoke and a slightly better life as somewhat valued subjects of his empire - just like Mussolini did in Albania - would have swept away the reds for good. But Hitler prefered to corner the ordinary Russians with the threat of enslavement or murder no matter what they did. Even the Mongol armies of the middle ages that operated on a similar level of expansionism and disregard for human life as the nazis were more often than not way smarter in dealing with enemy populations and therefore much more sucessful. I wonder if Hitler ever studied Sun Tzu.
You can't have WW2, starting with German aggression, without the Nazi ideology. When they framed the war on racial and ideological lean's it was impossible to stop.
I’m writing my thesis paper on the Russian Liberation Army and I gotta say thank you so much for making this video! It’s such an interesting topic that doesn’t get much light
There is more proof that Chrichill starved 4 million people in India than for Stalin "ordering" the holodomor to happen. Only one regime was murderous, the Nazis and the other regime was under attack since it's inception. The author of the video in his description wrote about the 'white emigres', do you know who the white emigres were? Former Tzarist officers, usually very anti semitic as Tzarist Russia was the most anti semitic country to ever exist before Nazi Germany and these people who lost civil war against the working class people of Russia moved to Western Europe, the USA and started distributing anti Bolshevik propaganda along with with boo Protocol of the Elders of Zion. Then as we can see the in the video, they joined the Nazi brigades. Idk about you, but I'm not going believe a group anti semites and Nazis about what they had to say about the USSR. Even at the time they were calling it the 'Jewish-Bolshevik' state.. which had to be overthrown because "the jews are taking over the world". Read Mission to Moscow by Joseph Davies, America's Serbian Adventure by General William S Graves, History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union by the Central Committee, The Great Conspiracy by Albert E Khan. Idk man, I don't understand this recent pro Nazi sentiment of "feeling bad for the Nazis because they were forced to kill jews" while "the Soviets were collectively bad".
This remembers me of the soviet movie "Come and see" and it is the only movie i can remember showing anything about Russian people fighting for the nazi army. Very tough movie to watch, I recommend.
They got wrong the members of the Dirlewaanger unit and thier nationality. They were poles and ukranians from prisons or ASYLUMS, and in the movie they are average Heer units.
Cyrillic Р is not P but an equivalent of R, it's even called 'er'. cyrillic П 'pe' is P. 😉 Besides this little nitpick, it was an amazing summary of this complex topic.
Wanted to write the same. Good job!👍 But there is also to mention that the Cyrillic "H" isn't called "H", it is actually an "N" (en) in the Latin alphabet.😉🤓
I couldn’t begin to tell you, Stefan, how often I find returning time and again to this stellar video. Not only because of the absolutely fascinating topic in and of itself, but, because being able to watch and listen to you for half an hour is an absolute delight.
Great to read this, Matthew. Many thanks for your enthusiastic reply. Recently I did cover Russian political collaboration, it's right here: th-cam.com/video/Dvosm9w_7Zs/w-d-xo.html
I read about the story of Gen.Vlasov in WW 2 magazine ,Nov. 1997 issue it interesting that you enligthened me furthermore im from Philippines ,thank you sir
Thank you for your good work. Most informative to people who are unaware of the many variables during the war. As a 1/2 Pole, 1/2 Russian, much of this was 'somewhat' known to me but in general ways. Thanks for filling in the gaps.
Truly an epic episode, you are a legend. This was super interesting. Just goes to show humans are complex creatures who find themselves in complex situations that are very far from black and white. It is these insights into their motivations that make history such a captivating subject. Outstanding work Stefan⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I thought i knew so well WW2 but watching this i realised that i still have many things to learn about it. 600000 russians fought for the germans. I cant imagine this.
@@Bohemiane54 Yes, but not only russians. It this context it is more soviets, non russians, and non slavs. Also, in relative number related to the population this numbers are not so high compared to the other countries.
you mean "the horrors of... the spirit of socialism"- always the same, always rearing its genocidal head again & again- lenin, stalin, mao, kim il sung, ho chi mihn, pol pot, castro, che guevara, sandinistas, maduro, etc ...the FRANKFURT SCHOOL, antifa, Black Lives Matter...
Was waiting for this, I have many collections of ROA photos but I didn’t know where to send them, but I found some images of ROA child soldiers during Warsaw uprising, or maybe it was Czechoslovakia which is interesting...
ROA has nothing to do with the Warsaw Uprising, it was RONA commanded by Bronisław Kamiński (who was half polish btw) and they, along with Dirlewanger units commited the most war crimes during the Uprising, Własow and his soldiers did not commit any war crimes but some people still try to slander them assigning them the crimes of RONA or UPA
Very interesting video and covers areas not commonly discussed The unknown stories as very interesting and as far from the common narrative Many thanks again.
Interesting and complicated subject! Thank you for trying to shed at least some light to the situation of units that had things in common yet where different in many ways. Groetjes uit de Zwitserse Jura bergen.
Thank you for sharing this data in very professional manner. I enjoy your presentations of the Eastern front. This topic in history is often presented as a one-sided , you show the entire picture. Thank you Professor Stefan
many thanks too you , eagle eyes and bunker girl , ive been an advid fan off your channel for quite a few yrs now . plus i have heard other history buffs mention the fantastic work you and your kids do . regards from bonnie scotland. john.
Lots of really fascinating information. I just recently joined a Cossack (reenactment) unit that was voluntarily part of the German army. I am trying to learn everything I can so that I can accurately portray them and tell their story. Many thanks!
@@lastmanstanding-xp3ub sadly no. Most did not survive. German General Von Panwitz surrendered to the British, hoping for merciful treatment of his men. Unknown to him, Churchill had agreed with Stalin to return them to Russia. There are records of British soldiers, crying as they force these men onto trucks to take them back to the Soviet union. They were all executed. General Van Panwitz, being a Wehrmacht Officer, did not have to go with his troops, but he chose to stick by them and was executed as well.
Your material is of pretty high quality. Thank you. Maybe you could also digg out, what happened in Judenburg in Austria, as Kosaks were overgiven to the Soviets?
Goed bezig, Stefan! Volgens mij is dit het meest uitgebreide en inhoudsvolle video over dit onderwerp op heel Engelstalig TH-cam. Het is zeer verbazend dat iemand uit Nederland er zo'n interesse in heeft. Als je bepaalde hulp nodig hebt m.b.t. verwerking van de primaire bronnen en de desbetreffende wetenschappelijke literatuur in het Russisch voor het volgende video, zou ik heel graag deze willen verlenen.
Stefan , was on the the phone with my mother she has some photo stuff about Grebbenberg where my grandfather (Dutch Hero) fought. My grandfather (Dutch hero) was stationed at Dubbeldam near Rotterdam. My mother is sorting out some later comunications with the people that had my grandfather (Dutch hero) in their house stationed in Dubbeldam. I will get a box with all sorts of letters and photos of my grandfather (Dutch hero).
@@mikehydropneumatic2583 Did you point out the (dutch hero) part Enough. Or do you think you should throw it out there a couple more times. No offense meant just giving you a hard time i have much respect for all resistance fighters in ww2.
In case you're interested in Russian WW2 collaboration, I have 3 videos on that: th-cam.com/video/rheJ8IjuyO0/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/cKpj786Sorc/w-d-xo.html th-cam.com/video/SWRqCnwyQRQ/w-d-xo.html
Very interesting quality content !Thank you. Many of those who were fighting on German had to sort make a choice between bad and very bad. Since there were a lot who didn't like communists,as you well noticed. POV for instance were often sent to GULAG even if they did not collaborate. Also, I have read a few theories about Vlasov coming from Russian historians(V.I Filatov ,however, known to be antisemit,is one of them). Some of them say that Vlasov was a German spy from the beginning of the war, and his change of side was planned long ago. There is another one saying that Vlasov was a Soviet spy , and his execution in 46 was needed as he knew too much about NKVD/KGB inner things. Regarding Vlasov what is also intersting as being a general he had a chance to escape from German surrounding, but he refused to leave his troops. Another time was when before Prague uprising Franco offered Vlasov(according to Russian historian Aleksandrov) a safe place , while Vlasov again refused not willing to leave his men.
Very Interesting and such an Underrated topic of ww 2 ! There was also a high number of ethnic Volga Germans living in Russia since the 17th -18th century too , Stalin considered the Volga Germans potential collaborators, and deported many of them eastward, where thousands died . Over 33,000 ethnic Germans were also serving in the Red Army !
Very very good video! The part with liechtenstein was so interesting. Also the speech of the russian guy just showed me how similiar croatian and russian is 🤣
I was born in Saskatchewan 1999 my father does genealogy and traced back to where my ancestors lived in the Volga region near the Black Sea. They moved from Russia in 1901 when my great-grandfather was 5 years old. At 32:40 when you were explaining the different regions it shot at me with the Idel-Ural region, my last name is Heidel….
Very interesting. I have not heard of the Russians siding with Germans in such numbers. I always thought most were conscripts in small numbers. Very good documentary. Thank you nicely done sir!
The actual deployed number was actually fairly low most Russians that joined the nazis where usually used for manual labour and axilary jobs not many actually participated in combat.
I appreciate your diction, your narrative is easy to follow. English appears not to be your 1st language, you are very fluent and subtle in your expression. Well done.
My grandpa's uncle was in an NKVD mechanized regiment. He ended up captured and conscripted into the ROA. He was a hardline communist ironically forced into Hitler's army, and sadly did not survive the war
This is great to see, as a person of white Russian heritage I know of at least one person in the family who joined the SS. Interestingly I don't think he had any trouble joining them as our family is mostly of Volga German descent (really small ethnic group in Russia, still to this day). Most of the family fled to Western Europe after losing the Russian Civil war and so it's not surprising that many of them just saw WWII as an extension of that fight, once the Germans invaded Belgium they were more than happy to join. AFAIK he was arrested (serves him right) at the end of the war but not sent back to Russia (lucky idiot) and was eventually released and lived the rest of his days in Belgium.
good video sir i am a reenactor from taiwan my impression is POA Soldat(1943-45) and this video help me learned more about the RLA keep the good work sir:)
I read a book from a German officer who worked with Osttruppen and was an aid to Gen. Valsov and he said that they could have made a real difference in the war against the USSR. The ethnic minorities that looked on the Germans as liberators and Anti-Stalinist Russians could have been an even more formable force for Germany if they were given better treatment and pledges of political autonomy . But he conclude that would have never happened for it was not a German army that invaded the Soviet Union but a Nazi one and all Slavs were untermenschlich even those on their side.
@@HistoryHustle My favorite part was the original propaganda footage. I have not seen that before and it added great value. Best regards from Wuppertal. No more brother wars.
Stefan, thank you for your excellent work. It is extremely challenging to untangle this highly complex and bloody sphere of history and reorder it into a semblance of clarity as you do! Your work is also highly challenging because it is complicated by all the various false narratives, and propagandas by the various competing perpetrators of injustice, oppression, and invasion. It is almost impossible to find objective historical research such as yours.
“HiWi” is still used to this day to describe somebody who helps you with pesky tasks like photocopying, filing, fixing stuff etc. I never knew where that word came from. 😳
Thank you very much for the interesting content. Not all the White Russian émigrés supported the Russian Liberation Army. Among them, gen. A. Denikin, one of the most prominent leaders of the White movement during the Civil War. During WW2, he lived in France, where he was approached by the Nazis. He flatly refused to collaborate. When gen. Vlasov visited him with a same proposal, gen. Denikin told him: "I am a Russian officer and have never worn a foreign uniform. You dared come to me in a uniform which was put on you by the enemies of Russia. We have nothing to talk about." However, gen. Denikin did not condemn so harshly the Soviet soldiers who chose to survive by fighting for Germany.
@@HistoryHustle i dont know if there is anything im MOST interested in, since there is so much interesting stuff to learn about in history. But one of my goals is to know at least a decent about all/most topics/eras/etc in history - the walking lexikon as one might say :)
Although heavily biased and often poorly researched, the Timeghost WW2 channel did a special on Wilhelm Canaris, one of the most prominent members who arguably got most done. They didn't get that episode wrong, best I can tell.
As a Russian, whose relatives fought in the Second World War (for the USSR), I think that the most important mistake the Nazis made during the war was their attitude towards the Slavs, primarily Poles and Russians. Quite a few Russians fought for the Nazis (including immigrants): how many could have fought for them if they treated the Slavs as normal people? But during the war, some of the most important Nazis like Himmler and others hated the Slavs, most of all of the Slavs were, probably, the Poles and the Russians. 🇵🇱🇷🇺
@@HistoryHustle Yes. This is especially noticeable in the case of Asian peoples, or Tatars, Kalmyks (a small part of the Tatars and quite a few Kalmyks fought for the Nazis, although they were not initially considered "Aryans"), Indians. The fact is that from 1933 to 1941 Russians and Slavs were considered "Aryan peoples" or related to them (although many Reich leaders were already anti-Slavic), and even Russians received an "Aryan card" like Poles, Germans and others. At the same time, the Finns, for example, were not initially considered Aryans, but since the beginning of the war Hitler de facto gave all Finns the title of “Aryans”. And the Slavs (except Croats, Slovenes, Bulgarians - they fought for the Nazis) and collaborators, since 1941, began to be called "Untermensch", "Mongols" and non-Aryans. Himmler especially often said so.
Indeed, the Germans could have won the war in the East with help from Ukraine for example...but instead of embracing them, the higher ups from the Nazi-Party regarded them as ' untermenschen ' , not worthy to fight along Germans......such fools....
Think about us italians. According to their nazi-nordicism's theories, we italians like the Spaniards were considered not different from north Africans, they despiced us calling us "spaghettifresser" ([animals] spaghetti eaters) but Italy was the main (and weakest) ally of Germany.
@@frankv8891 That means majority of Jews would be killed and lucky ones perhaps deported. Russians would be enslaved, that’s what Hitler implied, to enslave Slavs because they need Jewish masters, they can’t rule themselves. Bolsheviks fought against slavery, Tsarism and Imperialism, they did remove Tsar Nicholas and anarchists eventually killed him and his family. Bolshevik stance was against Imperialism and exploitation of people for hard labour they were pro distribution of wealth, however Lenin miscalculated, he thought they can implement everything quickly once Tsar is gone but it don’t happen the human factor was still there because majority of folks were uneducated and didn’t know how to run its own business and had no available supplies. Nazis were getting ready for war at that time, Soviets weren’t ready this might be the reason why Stalin signed the pact to buy some time though Germans ambushed Soviets they definitely had an advantage militarily.
Stalin was horrific, but when he won, Eastern Europe was oppressed for decades, under brutal, totalitarian regimes. If Hitler had won, Eastern Europeans would have gone the way of the Tasmanians or the Cambodian Vietnamese, and have been driven to extinction. Hitler was already reluctant about using them, and if he had won, would have broken his promise, like he did in 1939, in Czechoslovakia, and in 1941, with the invasion of Russia, and would have just killed them anyway. I'm willing to bet, if Vlasov and the ROA had known about Generalplan Ost, they'd have deserted, immediately, on masse.
@@belgebelgravia100 no surviving copies of general plan ost exist. Much of what has been said about it is rubbish. Slavs were still considered “aryan” under German occupation
@@thomasmccann3679 You're almost correct, no surviving copies of Generalplan Ost exist - except for one. The June 1942 - the latest version - document written by Hans Ehrlich and Konrad Meyer did in fact survive the war. In fact, you can freely look at it online and see exactly what plans they had to exterminate the Slav.
Hello from Yugoslavia. Don't be surprised that ethnicities fight on wrong sides. Here's an example from the 90's. Tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs fought for Croats. One of the notable Croatian fighters in Vukovar was - from Montenegro One tank crew changed side. Today lives in Croatia, teaching anti-tank fighting at the academy. Serbian special forces general - was a Croat.
My father was taken POW in Normandy by the allies and was shipped out of France to the UK. He told me that there were thousands of Russian's serving as axis troops yet they all "disappeared" soon after their capture. Their are no war graves in Normandy for them either. Where did they go? Anyone know?
According to a German SS veteran's memoir I read, there were NKVD people with the Allied invasion force in Normandy who put the Russians on ships to Russia.
The German military recruited Russian civilians against Hitler's orders and disobeying this order had no serious consequences. It raises the question how powerful Hitler really was. He wasnt the almighty dictator as which he was portrayed.
Well not exactly. Rommel disobeyed many orders on the western front which turned out to be great victories. Yet in cases where Generals did this and failed they would be courtmartialed.
Learn more about pro-Axis volunteers:
th-cam.com/video/bQlF0ia-ABA/w-d-xo.html
They were criminals not soldiers, they murdered civilians in Ochota massacre in Warsaw
if you are going to use terms like the 'judeo-bolshevic state' you really should contextualize them so your viewers understand that they were a part of Nazi ideology, and not necessarily an uncontested historical concept. As a teacher , you should know better.
@@leechgully check
Hey Stefan, de school waar jij lesgeeft heeft die toevallig nog een stageplek voor geschiedenis vrij. Ben namelijk een student lerarenopleiding geschiedenis en heb een stageschool nodig. 😅
@@adnanekhatouti8154 helaas
The foreign volunteers in the waffen ss has to be one of my favourite history topics, so glad you are covering this!
You're welcome, great to hear. More of this will be talked about on this channel!
ik it is amazing I love learning this too!!
@@HistoryHustle I'm British, born in England.
My father was a member of the 14th Waffen SS Galician Division, and I had a Russian uncle who was a Cossack, born in Rostov-on-Don. Both of fought with the German Army in WW2.
Contact me if you want to hear their personal stories 👍
@@secretagent8900 i'm English and had a great grandad who was a Geogrian SS volunteer and fought on D Day.
This is why I absolutely love your channel, you always talk about topics no one else covers
Thanks, I'm glad yo hear that!!
Imagine that this gentelmen is your history teacher and that u can discuss history with him in your class #goals
:)
I had ww2 historians for teachers in high school and middle school. every few months we would visit the veterans in the nursing homes. Learned first hand from people who were there and seen it happen. Thankful to my teachers who exposed us to real history. Keep up the great work!
@@verihimthered2418 mad respect for those kind of people. Teachers like these deserve much much muchhh bigger respect and gratitude in our society. Sadly it isnt the case
I have waited a long time for this video...
Hope you liked it!
The great Luxembourgish Empire stood bravely against the Soviets!
@@ehanoldaccount5893 😂True.
@@HistoryHustle on 23.21. A high ranking ex soviet spy can tell you more about the person standing on the left
It’s a crime this channel doesn’t have a larger audience. The quality is incredible and you clearly put a lot of effort into your research. I think you’ll pick up a lot of steam very soon!
Thanks! Feel free to share my friend!
I learned more in 2 days watching you than 2 years with my history professor
Cheers! :)
The irony is that Hitler got defeated by his own evil. Any attacker that would have offered the peoples of the Soviet Union true liberation from the bolshevik yoke and a slightly better life as somewhat valued subjects of his empire - just like Mussolini did in Albania - would have swept away the reds for good.
But Hitler prefered to corner the ordinary Russians with the threat of enslavement or murder no matter what they did. Even the Mongol armies of the middle ages that operated on a similar level of expansionism and disregard for human life as the nazis were more often than not way smarter in dealing with enemy populations and therefore much more sucessful.
I wonder if Hitler ever studied Sun Tzu.
You can't have WW2, starting with German aggression, without the Nazi ideology. When they framed the war on racial and ideological lean's it was impossible to stop.
@Josef D poland was not german land
@@karloperkovic6710 well not all of it but a good portion was
I wish more people realized that
@@miikkasihvonen8612 None of it was
I’m writing my thesis paper on the Russian Liberation Army and I gotta say thank you so much for making this video! It’s such an interesting topic that doesn’t get much light
Cool. Glad you found the video useful. Good luck with your thesis!
Read Hitlers Revolution by Richard Tedor
гришь I will thank you!
@@grish2861 That’s Nazi propaganda
Even as a British person (and of Jewish descent) feel sorry for these people. They were stuck between two murderous dictatorship.
Indeed.
@T B Many didn't have the option
Then stay loyal to Russia if Russian...
There is more proof that Chrichill starved 4 million people in India than for Stalin "ordering" the holodomor to happen.
Only one regime was murderous, the Nazis and the other regime was under attack since it's inception.
The author of the video in his description wrote about the 'white emigres', do you know who the white emigres were? Former Tzarist officers, usually very anti semitic as Tzarist Russia was the most anti semitic country to ever exist before Nazi Germany and these people who lost civil war against the working class people of Russia moved to Western Europe, the USA and started distributing anti Bolshevik propaganda along with with boo Protocol of the Elders of Zion. Then as we can see the in the video, they joined the Nazi brigades.
Idk about you, but I'm not going believe a group anti semites and Nazis about what they had to say about the USSR. Even at the time they were calling it the 'Jewish-Bolshevik' state.. which had to be overthrown because "the jews are taking over the world".
Read Mission to Moscow by Joseph Davies, America's Serbian Adventure by General William S Graves, History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union by the Central Committee, The Great Conspiracy by Albert E Khan.
Idk man, I don't understand this recent pro Nazi sentiment of "feeling bad for the Nazis because they were forced to kill jews" while "the Soviets were collectively bad".
@@diehardsmokerbuddy go back to Russia and whilst you are there learn some facts.
This remembers me of the soviet movie "Come and see" and it is the only movie i can remember showing anything about Russian people fighting for the nazi army. Very tough movie to watch, I recommend.
I've seen it. Great film! Very impressive.
Yes i agree ,hard but real movie
That movie is set in Belorussia
They got wrong the members of the Dirlewaanger unit and thier nationality.
They were poles and ukranians from prisons or ASYLUMS, and in the movie they are average Heer units.
@@arturoroldan4839 they're based off the dirlewanger brigade, not actually them.
Cyrillic Р is not P but an equivalent of R, it's even called 'er'. cyrillic П 'pe' is P. 😉
Besides this little nitpick, it was an amazing summary of this complex topic.
I see now. Thanks for pointing out, Artur. Cheers!
Wanted to write the same. Good job!👍 But there is also to mention that the Cyrillic "H" isn't called "H", it is actually an "N" (en) in the Latin alphabet.😉🤓
@@patrichausammann Yep!
@@Artur_M. also equivalent of latin H is that sign similar to X in cyrillic
Artur M Bravo!
I couldn’t begin to tell you, Stefan, how often I find returning time and again to this stellar video. Not only because of the absolutely fascinating topic in and of itself, but, because being able to watch and listen to you for half an hour is an absolute delight.
Great to read this, Matthew. Many thanks for your enthusiastic reply. Recently I did cover Russian political collaboration, it's right here:
th-cam.com/video/Dvosm9w_7Zs/w-d-xo.html
@@HistoryHustle Thank you very much !
Tack!
Hi Patrick, many thanks for your patronage!!!
My late father remembered encountering Russian troops in Denmark in, I think, in 1943. He was impressed how they sang as they marched.
Interesting. Can you share some of his experiences? How did he reflect on his time in the war? Love to know!
Very nice touch that you included so many original photographs to show the uniforms and insignia layout.
Cheers!
I read about the story of Gen.Vlasov in WW 2 magazine ,Nov. 1997 issue it interesting that you enligthened me furthermore im from Philippines ,thank you sir
Thank you for your good work. Most informative to people who are unaware of the many variables during the war. As a 1/2 Pole, 1/2 Russian, much of this was 'somewhat' known to me but in general ways. Thanks for filling in the gaps.
Thanks for replying.
Truly an epic episode, you are a legend. This was super interesting. Just goes to show humans are complex creatures who find themselves in complex situations that are very far from black and white. It is these insights into their motivations that make history such a captivating subject. Outstanding work Stefan⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Many thanks as always!! 🙂
Great vid again! Very intresting. The popcorn was gone in no time :-)
Greets, T.
Hahah, guess so. Thanks :)
Normie
Excellent content. Thanks so much for bringing it to us.
Thanks for your reply!
I thought i knew so well WW2 but watching this i realised that i still have many things to learn about it. 600000 russians fought for the germans. I cant imagine this.
Great you learned something new :)
Well, soviets to be honest, not russians.
@@Bohemiane54 Yes, but not only russians. It this context it is more soviets, non russians, and non slavs. Also, in relative number related to the population this numbers are not so high compared to the other countries.
@@mladentomic7249 did the Belarusians also fight for Nazi germnay?
@@VisualdelightPro Seems so. HH has a new documentary about it.
The book "The Gulag Archipelago" has quite a bit of information about this subject and is a must read about the horrors of collectivism
Check.
That’s a fiction novel.
you mean "the horrors of... the spirit of socialism"- always the same, always rearing its genocidal head again & again- lenin, stalin, mao, kim il sung, ho chi mihn, pol pot, castro, che guevara, sandinistas, maduro, etc ...the FRANKFURT SCHOOL, antifa, Black Lives Matter...
solzhenitsyn's wife admitted that that book was based of of gossip and lies
Wow man I really like how you show and get into the meat and potatoes of the volunteer units and their ends! Keep up the good work thank you!
Thanks for watching.
Was waiting for this, I have many collections of ROA photos but I didn’t know where to send them, but I found some images of ROA child soldiers during Warsaw uprising, or maybe it was Czechoslovakia which is interesting...
If you wanna sent them do so via historyhustle@gmail.com :)
I think it was Czechoslovakia, they joined the Czechs during the Prague uprising, so they could find favour with the allies.
ROA has nothing to do with the Warsaw Uprising, it was RONA commanded by Bronisław Kamiński (who was half polish btw) and they, along with Dirlewanger units commited the most war crimes during the Uprising, Własow and his soldiers did not commit any war crimes but some people still try to slander them assigning them the crimes of RONA or UPA
Very interesting video and covers areas not commonly discussed
The unknown stories as very interesting and as far from the common narrative
Many thanks again.
Thank you for your reply, Jason!
Excellent episode. A long one, but full of great facts. Well done :)
Many thanks!
Interesting and complicated subject! Thank you for trying to shed at least some light to the situation of units that had things in common yet where different in many ways. Groetjes uit de Zwitserse Jura bergen.
Thanks for your reply, Rob!
I have two amazing ROA uniforms in my collection. A ROA Captain and a ROA Senior Sergeant who's tunic is a retailored Dutch M36 tunic.
Interesting stuff!
Thank you for sharing this data in very professional manner. I enjoy your presentations of the Eastern front. This topic in history is often presented as a one-sided , you show the entire picture. Thank you Professor Stefan
Many thanks for watching this longer video!
@@HistoryHustle the data was worth it. Have you considered any Napoleonic Wars Era Content? 🤔
Probably my favorite history channel
Great to hear!
Well done with this video. Good use of images and other media. I am subscribing. Keep the good work!
Thanks, a warm welcome to the channel!
what a fantastic channel, greetings from bonnie scotland.
Thanks!
many thanks too you , eagle eyes and bunker girl , ive been an advid fan off your channel for quite a few yrs now . plus i have heard other history buffs mention the fantastic work you and your kids do . regards from bonnie scotland. john.
Very interesting episode. It has a lat of words and topics TH-cam is sensitive about. Hope that won't cripple it's reach
So far so good, Jan. Thanks!
Lots of really fascinating information. I just recently joined a Cossack (reenactment) unit that was voluntarily part of the German army. I am trying to learn everything I can so that I can accurately portray them and tell their story. Many thanks!
That is pretty cool tbh, have you met any Cossacks involved with Barbarossa that are still alive?
@@lastmanstanding-xp3ub sadly no. Most did not survive. German General Von Panwitz surrendered to the British, hoping for merciful treatment of his men. Unknown to him, Churchill had agreed with Stalin to return them to Russia. There are records of British soldiers, crying as they force these men onto trucks to take them back to the Soviet union. They were all executed. General Van Panwitz, being a Wehrmacht Officer, did not have to go with his troops, but he chose to stick by them and was executed as well.
Your material is of pretty high quality. Thank you.
Maybe you could also digg out, what happened in Judenburg in Austria, as Kosaks were overgiven to the Soviets?
Thanks and perhaps in the future 👍
Goed bezig, Stefan! Volgens mij is dit het meest uitgebreide en inhoudsvolle video over dit onderwerp op heel Engelstalig TH-cam. Het is zeer verbazend dat iemand uit Nederland er zo'n interesse in heeft. Als je bepaalde hulp nodig hebt m.b.t. verwerking van de primaire bronnen en de desbetreffende wetenschappelijke literatuur in het Russisch voor het volgende video, zou ik heel graag deze willen verlenen.
Bedankt voor je bericht, Viktor!
I'm a reenactor and just now I'm making a ROA uniform. Aweaome history. Thanks.
Cool! Sent me a photo once it's done!
Again a very good episode on a subject that is known to everybody !
Thanks!
Stefan I am a bit confused but learned a lot!
This is some heavy stuff.
It sure is. Thanks for watching.
Stefan , was on the the phone with my mother she has some photo stuff about Grebbenberg where my grandfather (Dutch Hero) fought.
My grandfather (Dutch hero) was stationed at Dubbeldam near Rotterdam.
My mother is sorting out some later comunications with the people that had my grandfather (Dutch hero) in their house stationed in Dubbeldam.
I will get a box with all sorts of letters and photos of my grandfather (Dutch hero).
@@mikehydropneumatic2583
Did you point out the (dutch hero) part
Enough. Or do you think you should throw it out there a couple more times.
No offense meant just giving you a hard time i have much respect for all resistance fighters in ww2.
You are as fascinating as the history you teach. Thank you!
You're welcome, thanks for your reply Brian!
Thank you for your Videos every time i learn more
Thank you Ivan!
Danke für die Klasse Arbeit, endlich mal jemand der es laut sagt und zeigt 💪
You're welcome.
I've learned alot by watching your videos, thank you for sharing.
Thanks!
Wow 😳 Excellent video. I learned so much watching this guy.
Thanks for your message!
Your delivery of info and accent is hysterical.
Lol
Awesome Video ! I am also collecting some stuff from Russian volunteers
Thanks!
Cossack history as a whole would be an amazing video! Nobody covers the different hoardes.
Indeed. Cossacks will be discussed, although first I'll talk about the Eastern Legions within a few weeks.
Great video! I collect POA insignia myself and look forward to more great videos!
In case you're interested in Russian WW2 collaboration, I have 3 videos on that:
th-cam.com/video/rheJ8IjuyO0/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/cKpj786Sorc/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/SWRqCnwyQRQ/w-d-xo.html
Very interesting quality content !Thank you. Many of those who were fighting on German had to sort make a choice between bad and very bad. Since there were a lot who didn't like communists,as you well noticed. POV for instance were often sent to GULAG even if they did not collaborate. Also, I have read a few theories about Vlasov coming from Russian historians(V.I Filatov ,however, known to be antisemit,is one of them). Some of them say that Vlasov was a German spy from the beginning of the war, and his change of side was planned long ago. There is another one saying that Vlasov was a Soviet spy , and his execution in 46 was needed as he knew too much about NKVD/KGB inner things. Regarding Vlasov what is also intersting as being a general he had a chance to escape from German surrounding, but he refused to leave his troops. Another time was when before Prague uprising Franco offered Vlasov(according to Russian historian Aleksandrov) a safe place , while Vlasov again refused not willing to leave his men.
I always wondered why Vlasov didn't got away while he had the chance. Thanks for explaining.
Very Interesting and such an Underrated topic of ww 2 ! There was also a high number of ethnic Volga Germans living in Russia since the 17th -18th century too , Stalin considered the Volga Germans potential collaborators, and deported many of them eastward, where thousands died . Over 33,000 ethnic Germans were also serving in the Red Army !
Thanks for your reply.
What a fascinating video. I'm learning a lot from your channel.
Great! Thanks for your message :)
I appreciate all this interesting information and presented in English TY
Thanks for your reply!
Very very good video! The part with liechtenstein was so interesting. Also the speech of the russian guy just showed me how similiar croatian and russian is 🤣
Thanks for your reply 👍
this channel underrated
I see that as a compliment, so thanks. Feel free to share! :)
Good work, a very interesting episode.
Thanks!
I was born in Saskatchewan 1999 my father does genealogy and traced back to where my ancestors lived in the Volga region near the Black Sea. They moved from Russia in 1901 when my great-grandfather was 5 years old. At 32:40 when you were explaining the different regions it shot at me with the Idel-Ural region, my last name is Heidel….
Thanks for sharing.
Very interesting! I presume your ancestors were Volga Germans?
Helloooo. I really love your videos! Fan from the Philippines.
Thanks!!
Very interesting. I have not heard of the Russians siding with Germans in such numbers. I always thought most were conscripts in small numbers. Very good documentary. Thank you nicely done sir!
Thanks for your message!
The actual deployed number was actually fairly low most Russians that joined the nazis where usually used for manual labour and axilary jobs not many actually participated in combat.
@@command_unit7792 that's wrong
I appreciate your diction, your narrative is easy to follow. English appears not to be your 1st language, you are very fluent and subtle in your expression. Well done.
This is where you say 'I'm from Detroit.'...lol
Thanks. I'm Dutch haha.
Albeit highly accented
Kind comment from teacher - my Dutch is rubbish!
Great pronunciation of Russian names.
Splendid! one of your best.
MANY THANKS:)
31:27 everyone gangsta until Lichtenstein showed up
💪🇱🇮
#Normie
Very good video on a very complex subject. Thanks.
Thanks for your reply 👍
My grandpa's uncle was in an NKVD mechanized regiment. He ended up captured and conscripted into the ROA. He was a hardline communist ironically forced into Hitler's army, and sadly did not survive the war
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
This is great to see, as a person of white Russian heritage I know of at least one person in the family who joined the SS.
Interestingly I don't think he had any trouble joining them as our family is mostly of Volga German descent (really small ethnic group in Russia, still to this day). Most of the family fled to Western Europe after losing the Russian Civil war and so it's not surprising that many of them just saw WWII as an extension of that fight, once the Germans invaded Belgium they were more than happy to join. AFAIK he was arrested (serves him right) at the end of the war but not sent back to Russia (lucky idiot) and was eventually released and lived the rest of his days in Belgium.
Thanks for sharing this.
good video sir
i am a reenactor from taiwan
my impression is POA Soldat(1943-45)
and this video help me learned more about the RLA
keep the good work sir:)
ROA reenactment in Taiwan? Interesting!
in fact it's rare to see non-german volunteer impression in my country
and maybe i am only person do the poa impression
Perhaps!
I read a book from a German officer who worked with Osttruppen and was an aid to Gen. Valsov and he said that they could have made a real difference in the war against the USSR. The ethnic minorities that looked on the Germans as liberators and Anti-Stalinist Russians could have been an even more formable force for Germany if they were given better treatment and pledges of political autonomy . But he conclude that would have never happened for it was not a German army that invaded the Soviet Union but a Nazi one and all Slavs were untermenschlich even those on their side.
Thanks for sharing.
Was that book “ Between Hitler and Stalin” by Srtyk-Strykfelt (sp) ? That’s a great first had account of the POA
@@michaelduryea148 The book was titled Vlasov and I can't remember the author's name.
Another excellent video. Thank you for your hard work!
Thanks!
@@HistoryHustle My favorite part was the original propaganda footage. I have not seen that before and it added great value. Best regards from Wuppertal. No more brother wars.
Very interesting video! Well done!
Thanks!
Stefan, thank you for your excellent work.
It is extremely challenging to untangle this highly complex and bloody sphere of history and reorder it into a semblance of clarity as you do!
Your work is also highly challenging because it is complicated by all the various false narratives, and propagandas by the various competing perpetrators of injustice, oppression, and invasion. It is almost impossible to find objective historical research such as yours.
Thanks for your reply.
Tashkent?
Great and informative as always!
You're welcome!
interesting topic again, Stefan. Thanks for sharing.
Again thanks for your reply :)
Thank you for video sir
👏👏👏💐💐💐
Thanks!
An interesting subject, often overlooked and well presented as ever.
Many thanks, David!
Your video's are very intertaining bro
Thanks! I have over 250 of them on this channel. Feel free to check some of them you find interesting.
JUST SUBSCRIBED!!!!!!
Welcome to the channel!
27:27
Alittle bit of a mistake to clarify, officers would not have theirs in gold. Only generals would have it in gold.
Ok, thanks.
@@HistoryHustle np. I love your videos and covering on various subjects including this one.
This was great! Very interesting.
👍
Great Vid ..thank-you sir...very informative love history...
Thanks!
@@HistoryHustle Most welcome
Great video.
Thank you!
Well explained thanks for the video
Thanks for your message:)
It's strange, I don't get updates when you upload new videos. I had to go looking for you
Crazy... You're subscribed and hit the bell notification?
“HiWi” is still used to this day to describe somebody who helps you with pesky tasks like photocopying, filing, fixing stuff etc. I never knew where that word came from. 😳
Interesting!
Thanks so much for such in depth analysis! I would love to collaborate with you by writing content.
Thanks for your reply. Thanks, but no thanks: I write the content myself.
Great history recalling
👌
Very Good program
Thanks for watching.
Great video! Would love the Japanese one too.
One day... ;)
Thank you very much for the interesting content.
Not all the White Russian émigrés supported the Russian Liberation Army. Among them, gen. A. Denikin, one of the most prominent leaders of the White movement during the Civil War. During WW2, he lived in France, where he was approached by the Nazis. He flatly refused to collaborate. When gen. Vlasov visited him with a same proposal, gen. Denikin told him: "I am a Russian officer and have never worn a foreign uniform. You dared come to me in a uniform which was put on you by the enemies of Russia. We have nothing to talk about." However, gen. Denikin did not condemn so harshly the Soviet soldiers who chose to survive by fighting for Germany.
Very interesting to read this. Many thanks for sharing the additional information Mariyana!
Why did i discover this channel just now?! The content is great, ive got a lot of videos to catch up on!
Thanks for your message! What history are you most interested in?
@@HistoryHustle i dont know if there is anything im MOST interested in, since there is so much interesting stuff to learn about in history. But one of my goals is to know at least a decent about all/most topics/eras/etc in history - the walking lexikon as one might say :)
Great to hear. Welcome to the channel:)
Great job!!!
👍
23:14 the soldier standing up appears to be wearing an Earpod.
Interesting yeah!
What about the german resistance
More about that in a few weeks!
Although heavily biased and often poorly researched, the Timeghost WW2 channel did a special on Wilhelm Canaris, one of the most prominent members who arguably got most done.
They didn't get that episode wrong, best I can tell.
As a Russian, whose relatives fought in the Second World War (for the USSR), I think that the most important mistake the Nazis made during the war was their attitude towards the Slavs, primarily Poles and Russians. Quite a few Russians fought for the Nazis (including immigrants): how many could have fought for them if they treated the Slavs as normal people? But during the war, some of the most important Nazis like Himmler and others hated the Slavs, most of all of the Slavs were, probably, the Poles and the Russians. 🇵🇱🇷🇺
For the Nazis pragmatism trumped ideology on this point.
@@HistoryHustle Yes. This is especially noticeable in the case of Asian peoples, or Tatars, Kalmyks (a small part of the Tatars and quite a few Kalmyks fought for the Nazis, although they were not initially considered "Aryans"), Indians. The fact is that from 1933 to 1941 Russians and Slavs were considered "Aryan peoples" or related to them (although many Reich leaders were already anti-Slavic), and even Russians received an "Aryan card" like Poles, Germans and others. At the same time, the Finns, for example, were not initially considered Aryans, but since the beginning of the war Hitler de facto gave all Finns the title of “Aryans”. And the Slavs (except Croats, Slovenes, Bulgarians - they fought for the Nazis) and collaborators, since 1941, began to be called "Untermensch", "Mongols" and non-Aryans. Himmler especially often said so.
Indeed, the Germans could have won the war in the East with help from Ukraine for example...but instead of embracing them, the higher ups from the Nazi-Party regarded them as ' untermenschen ' , not worthy to fight along Germans......such fools....
Think about us italians. According to their nazi-nordicism's theories, we italians like the Spaniards were considered not different from north Africans, they despiced us calling us "spaghettifresser" ([animals] spaghetti eaters) but Italy was the main (and weakest) ally of Germany.
@@frankv8891 That means majority of Jews would be killed and lucky ones perhaps deported. Russians would be enslaved, that’s what Hitler implied, to enslave Slavs because they need Jewish masters, they can’t rule themselves. Bolsheviks fought against slavery, Tsarism and Imperialism, they did remove Tsar Nicholas and anarchists eventually killed him and his family. Bolshevik stance was against Imperialism and exploitation of people for hard labour they were pro distribution of wealth, however Lenin miscalculated, he thought they can implement everything quickly once Tsar is gone but it don’t happen the human factor was still there because majority of folks were uneducated and didn’t know how to run its own business and had no available supplies. Nazis were getting ready for war at that time, Soviets weren’t ready this might be the reason why Stalin signed the pact to buy some time though Germans ambushed Soviets they definitely had an advantage militarily.
Choose between two evil isn't easy option, I feel empathy for both side
Stalin was horrific, but when he won, Eastern Europe was oppressed for decades, under brutal, totalitarian regimes.
If Hitler had won, Eastern Europeans would have gone the way of the Tasmanians or the Cambodian Vietnamese, and have been driven to extinction. Hitler was already reluctant about using them, and if he had won, would have broken his promise, like he did in 1939, in Czechoslovakia, and in 1941, with the invasion of Russia, and would have just killed them anyway.
I'm willing to bet, if Vlasov and the ROA had known about Generalplan Ost, they'd have deserted, immediately, on masse.
Interesting what-if scenario.
@@belgebelgravia100 no surviving copies of general plan ost exist. Much of what has been said about it is rubbish. Slavs were still considered “aryan” under German occupation
@@thomasmccann3679 You're almost correct, no surviving copies of Generalplan Ost exist - except for one.
The June 1942 - the latest version - document written by Hans Ehrlich and Konrad Meyer did in fact survive the war. In fact, you can freely look at it online and see exactly what plans they had to exterminate the Slav.
My Uncle Nikolai fought in General Vlassov's unit, where as his brother fought with Kolchak's White Army.
Hello from Yugoslavia. Don't be surprised that ethnicities fight on wrong sides. Here's an example from the 90's.
Tens of thousands of ethnic Serbs fought for Croats.
One of the notable Croatian fighters in Vukovar was - from Montenegro
One tank crew changed side. Today lives in Croatia, teaching anti-tank fighting at the academy.
Serbian special forces general - was a Croat.
Interesting, didn't know this. Thanks for sharing.
My father was taken POW in Normandy by the allies and was shipped out of France to the UK. He told me that there were thousands of Russian's serving as axis troops yet they all "disappeared" soon after their capture. Their are no war graves in Normandy for them either. Where did they go? Anyone know?
I can't tell. Thanks for sharing your father's history.
@@HistoryHustle All very sinister. I wonder if there were mass executions and mass grave pits dug in France too?
According to a German SS veteran's memoir I read, there were NKVD people with the Allied invasion force in Normandy who put the Russians on ships to Russia.
@@irishboer7124 Thanks for your reply. Yes I managed to find that one out at last. I suppose it would have been mass executions in Russia then?
There are soviet graves in the British cemetery in Bayeux
There were russian emigrants (émigrés or their descendants) in serbian, belgian, french and spanish collaboration units against the soviet union...
Serbian I know of. Didn't know about the others you mention.
@@HistoryHustle I have names, photos etc. about them...
Ok!
The German military recruited Russian civilians against Hitler's orders and disobeying this order had no serious consequences. It raises the question how powerful Hitler really was. He wasnt the almighty dictator as which he was portrayed.
Well not exactly. Rommel disobeyed many orders on the western front which turned out to be great victories. Yet in cases where Generals did this and failed they would be courtmartialed.
If worked👍if not 👎
Indeed, some of Hitler's orders weren't obeyed.
Very interesting indeed!
Thanks!