Why does Russia Own Kaliningrad/ Königsberg? (Short Animated Documentary)
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- Опубліковано 11 вер 2019
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Why does Russia own Kaliningrad? Well mostly because Germany lost it.
Sources:
Post-War Sovietization in Comparative Perspective. A Commentary. by Julia Orbertreis.
A 'Baltic Republic in the Russian Federation' or the 'Fourth Baltic Republic'? Kaliningrad's Regional Programme in the 1990s by Paul Holtom.
"Lithuanians refused because they felt incorporating so many Russians would cause long term issues"
Dodged one hell of a bullet there
explain
@@Serek_Studios you know the answer, if you haven't lived under the rock for the past year
@@xeanderman6688 that doesn’t prove anything
@@rochitgurung9090 the current Russian government uses that as a justification for war. Therefore not having any Russians in your country grants you protection from that, at least (ofc if they want they'll find another bullshit claim)
@@xeanderman6688 i hate when people are a dick instead of just explaining, so now please stop being an asshole and just explain
When I was a child I knew map of Poland and thought that Kaliningrad region is the whole Russia, so when someone told me Russia is the biggest country in the world I thought they lost their mind, because Poland is clearly bigger.
Can't stop laughing =)
When I was a child I was told I lived in the biggest country on Earth. At age of 4 or 5 I first saw the map of Russia - it looked like a huge horse pooping a tiny piece on the west. I asked ‘so where are we here?’ Imagine my disappointment when they pointed on this tiny piece:)
@@jerrytc2978 just shut up man... holy fuck
@@jerrytc2978 "When I was a child" he said. I don't think children care a lot of who what country is historical ennemy of what country, unless the parents want to brainwash them.
Oh man 🤣😂
"incorporating so many Russians into its territory would cause long-term issues"
Wise decission
Just purge the russians of that zone
Kaliningrad' or Königsberg belongs 100% to the Germans of East Prussia (Königsberg in particular) and instead of helping the Ukrainian nationalist government which is hostile towards Germany, we should have taken back Königsberg and all of East Prussia.
Unfortunately you turned into Nazis and lost all credibility about "land"@@stlouisix3
@@stlouisix3there are more Armenians in Kaliningrad than Germans and Poles combined. There are more Germans in New York than Germans in Poland.
@@stlouisix3 Bro thinks he's the next Austrian painter 💀💀
I used to take care of a German woman at a nursing home who most people dismissed as crazy because she'd always say she wanted to go home but couldn't. Asked her one day if she was from Konigsberg and she came alive with the biggest smile and told me all about her childhood there and how all she ever wanted in life was to go back and visit just once, but the Russian government forbade it as her family fled to West Germany. Sadly, she passed away a few years ago still here in the states.
Most likely she couldn’t go there cause her family were Nazi, it is well known lots of Nazi escaped to the USA and didn’t receive any juridical punishment
Бывает
That's pretty depressing, dying alone in a nursing home more than a thousand miles from home and not being able to visit. I wonder how she would've felt had she visited with it being so different
@@user-ur9ru5iy3s why are you guys always so bitter
@@Paul-ck3dm Because everyone around is very kind
To be honest Russia and warm water is like America and oil.
If you had snow at home 7 months a year, you would also be ready to fight for warm water xD
Wrong conclusion.
but U.S. bigges oil producer
@@seniorilay8291 And Russia makes warm water with Gas boiler systems.
@@seniorilay8291 U. S. Is major terrorist.
You forgot a very important thing that Russians love, ICE FREE PORTS.
Nah, russians really love exporting poverty, corruption and political instability.
@@mignas Lol. Do you prefer genocide and governmental disintegration supplied by US?
If things go south with NATO this is their unsinkable aircraft carrier group.
Russia, your number 1 choice when it comes to poverty in Europe!
@@mutaitomaster that is the balkans
The fate of Königsberg is one of the most tragic in history for cities, imo. Huge cultural center for Germans with lots of historical buildings now is neither a cultural center, nor German, nor filled with historical buildings (most were destroyed in ww2)
Agree, Königsberg and Prussia is literally the birthplace of modern Germany, and it all doesn't even exist anymore.
If you were back in the 19th century and told people that in ~100 years Königsberg would be Russian territory with 0% German population, you would be called crazy.
Just like constantinople
@@thecakeisalie6392 And I assume if you said that during the Nazi regime you could be hung for treason.
I live in Kaliningrad rn. Yeah alot of buildings are destroyed, but there is some beautiful buildings like the german airport. its very huge like almost 2 villages.
They commited such horrid atrocities that taking away Kaliningrad was righteous
It so annoys me that people tend to ignore that "Prussia" itself derives from the Baltic ethnic group Prussians. They were very close to current Lithuanians and Latvians but sadly went extinct because of Teutonic wars
The people didn't go extinct, the language did. The locals assimilated into German culture.
And also they were from East Prussia, West Prussia was German for longer.
@@alonsoACRso we can say that it was latvians/lithuaninas with german culture. Im stupid, i didnt get it first time
Yes, the history of why the "lands of the Teutonic Knights" became technically German is pretty shameful and disturbing.
Germany : Give it back
USSR : No
Germany : Give it back
USSR : No
Germany : Give it back
USSR : No
* the soviet union disolves *
Russia : You want it back ?
Germany : Nah you can keep it
Edit: its been 3 years, a lot has changed since then and i acknowledge this is grossly oversimplified, but i believe its worth keeping it around.
Hahahah
Different leaders, it's sad.
Dumbasses
@@kingdomofprussiaball7438 I think that it was pretty smart of them as there were virtually no Germans left in the region as they were replaced by Russians, which could cause instability if incorporated into Germany.
@Daniel Who cares about that? If I got offered a free city (especially Königsberg) I would take it without question.
russians be like, change all the ''bergs'' to ''grads''
HAHYSH YESSS
Heisengrad
@@user-vm4uw6vc6h hahaha :-D
Berg means city and grad means city. Logic
@@ndrechtseiter i cant tell if you are serious or joking.
I haven't learn history so fast ,straight, simple and full of knowledge. Thank you.
Polish name for it is Królewiec. If you are interested what happend to the Eastern Prussia peaople after the war I recommend the movie Rose (Róża), is a 2011 Polish film directed by Wojciech Smarzowski. It depicts the love story of a Masurian woman and an officer of the Armia Krajowa in postwar Masuria. It's pretty drastic like it was back then. And nowdays polish part of Eastern Prussia is great place for a travel!
Also Kaliningrad was an important strategic position for the military because it was one of the few places where the sea didn’t freeze in winter (unlike St. Petersburg).
I think Russias pacific port like in Vladivostok also doesn't freeze in winter
I think Russia got a Pacific warm water port after the Second Opium War also, when Britain lopped northern Manchuria off China and gave it to them.
*Królewiec
@@josephsaafan7838 yes, but its so far from Europe. In Russia people have strong mind that if global war Ru vs USA would start, Europe will be on USA side. So in military purposes bases in Kaliningrad justified.
@@josephsaafan7838 Murmansk port doesn't freeze but it's too far from Baltic
“Lithuania thought incorporating Russians would lead to long term problems”
Crimea: “good move”
It was ultimately a bad move. Now Russia has nukes and probably will never return it. Should have deported those Russians when we had the chance
@Mor Dor 1. Vilnius was lithuanian city since it was first built, by grand duke Gediminas. So it wasn't polish, even thou majority were speaking polish, because of polish influence. 2. Your sentences " right from Stalin's hands" is not correct, because USSR were supporting lithuanian claims on Vilnius region. 3. Molotov-ribbentrop pact had nothing to do with it, except the fact that whole Territory were given to soviets. 4. It was an ultimatum for Lithuanians. If they refused the deal they would have been invaded by soviets. Stalins' words: "No matter if you take Vilnius or not, the Russian garrisons will enter Lithuania anyway".
Vilnius has been Lithuanian since before the fall of the Roman Empire you absolute sperg lol
@Mor Dor In the wars following WWI lithuania held that land but lost it to the 2nd polish republic
@Mor Dor Vilnius region was occupied by Zeligowski with the blessing of Polish rulers after WWI. Rather weird to portray Poland as a victim here and Lithuania as an agressor tbh. However, as a Lithuanian I love my Polish neighbours. Let's be friends forever!
I love the Mikhail Gorbachev figure, complete with unfortunate birthmark!
You instantly know exactly who the figure is because of the birthmark!
I live in Kaliningrad. We locals often call her just König. In general, there are many slang abbreviations of city names in Russia, such as Vladivostok-Vladik or St. Petersburg - Peter. And I see Russian soldiers here almost every day. In fact, it is quite a protected area. A deeply echeloned, dense air defense system has been created here, the Baltic Fleet (missile ships and submarines, naval aviation and a tank regiment), missile brigades, shock aviation regiments, and army corps have been deployed. I think we can easily compete with Moscow and Crimea in the field of security :)
who cares
Here comes the easily bored guy
Then foreigners must not be allowed? I went to pushnoy and then they stopped me because I didn't had Norwegian visa. Looked like lots of security and stuff.
@@karanchougule6075 well visa must be in any case when visiting Russia. visa-free regime is valid only with friendly countries. there are a couple of exceptions. where are you from? there is a difficult situation in the world haha. it has always been a protected region and even more so now
India.
In Hearts of Iron, we call this: "border gore".
When you forgot to select a country to cede a province to in HOI4
There is always that 1 province you forget to annex lol
@@lieutenantsupascoop2126 Always press take all states.
And then slowly carve it up afterwards.
In hoi*
This is what happens when I accidentally don’t select a small province, then I ponder my life choices. Lol
Russia be like:
W A R M. W A T E R. P O R T.
Normie.
Crimea
@@BobuxGuy Crimea can't really be used as a good port because everything would have to go through Turkey to get to the Mediterranean sea
@@sammybeaver9130 military ships can pass trough Instambul, it aint 1939 anymore
@@BobuxGuy true
I wish everyone watching this on new years,a very pleasant year
Happy New Year!
the official story says “people fled” but the truth is that it was an ethnic cleansing... there are people who still remember the atrocities that happened to German people in Kaliningrad/Königsberg...
Exactly!!! Same was with Crimea where Tatats were sent to russias interior or just killed... I hope this russian sh.thole will just collapse from inside...
@@BocaoZ oh yeah don't start this shitty russian propaganda, both russia and Germany are totally guilty of death and misery of milions in eastern europe.
@@BocaoZ there are no winners or good guys in the WW2 and the WW2 didn't end in 1945. It's just the part of the history that you know because the West washed its' hands and betrayed the whole Eastern Europe condemning it to the second wave of atrocities, tortures and genocides, that it had already lived under nazis, but this time committed by soviets. Germany excused itself, recognised its' mistakes and is feeling guilty till today. Russia however built up a "glorious liberation" fairytale and have been feeding its' population (and the naive uneducated foreigners) through generations ever since. It became truth, because if you repeat for so long something, everyone forgets what was the truth, so this becomes the truth. That's why people in Russia support Putin and this myth of the "above-all-the-other-humans-RUSSIAN-SOUL" because they are the "great liberators". This sort of extreme nationalism and superiority feeling is no different from nazism. And you probably don't know that Soviet soldiers did exactly the same atrocities what they did in Bucha also back then. And not only that. Our grandparents remember all those things very well. But sadly, it doesn't find its' way into the Western historical narrative too much. The truth about the WW2 is that it started with Ribbentrop-Molotov pact through which two psychopaths Russia and Germany divided Europe into two influence zones, like Tordesillas. And decided to eat each its' own part. One got condemned, the other was called "liberator".
In the Shadow of Wolves is a novel about german kids of Kenigsberg and how did they survived or not 2WW.
WW2 was a war of warcrimes and ethnic cleansing, and atrocities. neither alliance was pure, although most of the allied ones happened after the fact in east Europe.
I live in Poland near Kaliningrad. And we smuggling cigarettes, fuel, alcohol from there. Because Russia have this cheaper. And they have a very good sweets and chocolate.
EverydayNormalGuy that’s true. I like those cigarettes, especially blueberry ones... I am looking forward to come back when they will open borders. I use to travel there from Gniezno
Ну, так разумеется. "Под контрабанду" толкаите туда сюда. Польша-Литва, Россия-Польша...
Aleksander Lisowski Но не только контрабанда! Вообще она на последним месте... У вас вкусная кухня и хорошие люди))) Есть тоже много что можно увидеть. Мне Калининград нравится очень
😳🤔
GERMAN CHOCOLATE!!!
This story of Kaliningrad is so surreal it feels like it could only happen in a Civilization game.
Named after Michael Kalnin which signed the order of killing over 21k polish officers in the 40s. I despise this goddamn name.
@Gobrech i mean, you can raze cities which technically counts as ethnic cleansing if you think abt it
There was this one game a civ settled in a place I claimed so the turn it became a free city, I took it, razed it, and then brought a settler to settle in that same exact place so it wouldn’t be questioned that the land was mine XD
@@GobrechEvery Stellaris, Victoria and HOI4 players 👀
@@Gobrech that ship sailed the ethnic German natives have been driven out or murdered long ago...
A thing I noticed while look at on some maps, during the German empire days, what looks like bridges connect to east Prussia/Kaliningrad and they got in half while they permanently lost it
I live in this part of Poland. It's an amazing place. We have hundred-old prussian buildings, nice and majestic, along with a horrible, post-soviet architecture that's already crumbling down. But the nature here is soooo beautiful!
We should embrace a peaceful Europe that doesn’t define itself in borders only!
Ох уж эта жуткая советская архитектура. Ты уж прости, что эти ужасные коммунисты, которые потеряли десятки миллионов сограждан в войне, десятки тысяч городов и деревень, вместе с инфраструктурой, не успели тебе за пару десятилетий отстроить роскошных зданий и домов. А строили быстро и из того, что было, чтобы у таких поляков, как ты, был кров над головой после войны. Странно, что ваша демократичная власть так мало думает о вас и не построит вам бесплатно новые и раскосные дома, вместо «ужасных советских», раз ты жалуешься. Вроде войны то подобной той не было, да и «злых русских» у вас нет уже более 30 лет
@@th3WhiteKnight No, the south of Prussia already had a sizeable Polish population for a long time, which was even mentioned in this video. Much different situation than that of Russia - before 1945 there was virtually no Russians in this area
@@th3WhiteKnight There were massive population movements after the war, yeah, they were all organised by Russians though
@@th3WhiteKnightyeah pretty much most of eastern and balkan europe had massive ethnic cleaning post WWI, well before WWII kicked off. Turns out large multiethnic empires tend to become quite mixed in a way nationalistic ethno states really dont like
"Why does Russia Own Kaliningrad/ Königsberg?" Two words: "Ethnic", "Cleansing".
It's how, not why
@@khamphaTG Crippling warm water port addiction.
Try, "Won war".
Lol, google "what did third reich do to slavs"
@@fertfert4661 google how many slavs fought for the Third Reich, even against their own governments... we're talking millions...
The soviets forgot to puppet it and they annexed it by mistake in the peace conference.
Unturned is hell of a drug
Never again, not even once
Stalin missclicked
Just reset the Peace Conference
@@3mir420 nope. Stalin was really serious about that. Churchill laughed about this, when Stalin talked about that, but Stalin still got it.
Damn peace treaty menu.
2:32 "(T)he people there weren't Lithuanian and its leaders felt that incorporating so many Russians into its territory would cause long term issues"
*Putin:* "Clever girl"
That was some remarkable foresight.
@@european-one i wish it was that easy for things like Crimea but the difference would be that Lithuania never had a claim for Konigsberg in recent modern history, while Crimia is a solid claim by Ukraine
When the USSR collapses, and you have a choice to annex territory with an ice free port from Russia and some ethnic Russians living there, DON'T! Lithuania, Poland and Germany all choose wisely. Unfortunately for Ukraine...they didn't.
J R Ukraine was given the Crimea back in 1954 so it was already going to get yeeted in the future.
@@robloxgaara22 Nah, it's not a case of "ethnic homogeneity good". It's more a case of "it's better not to have a territory inhabited by the ethnicity of your bigger and more powerful neighbor that is known for its agressive foreign policy". If it had been inhabited by literally any other ethnicity, they'd all be fighting to get it.
I love your videos very informative but also short and concise. short and sweet
Czechia is now the proud owner!
Virtual world addict.
♿♿
That is the weirdest take on Kaliningrad I've ever heard
That legendary German efficiency removed one letter from the owners of Konigsberg. From Prussia -> Russia.
RIP Prussia. It’s so sad that it was dissolved 😭
What does Prussia even mean? Productive Russia?
that does not make any sense, Preußen is not simmilar to Russland. Пруссия is not that simmilar to Россия.
@@thelastprussian6491 well, Пруссия is similar to Россия tbh
@@matvejkap its close but not that close
I am german and my deceased grandpa was from Königsberg. He often told stories of how his family had leave their home.
@wlodek bąk Sadly your words are true. That´s why many young good educated people leave the country. I am not exception.
@@jpk190988 Please, can you tell where most of your people going? Just interested what country preferred more from your perspective
@@alexanderbell4976 I think most Germans go to Switzerland and Austria. But there are also many that go to Hungary and the US. I live in China now.
@@jpk190988 Thank you! Still valid subject for me. Hope you are doing well during these difficult times🙏
@@jpk190988 how do you get access to UA-cam meanwhile China bans yt?
Thanks for this clarification. Always wondered.
Great video, really well explained!
Königsberg was the capital, not the region itself. The region was called East-Prussia.
Or just Prussia. What the Germans called West Prussia had nothing to do with the Baltic Prussians in the first place - it was either East Pommerania or Pomerellia, but after Teutonic takeover, and especially due to propaganda by the later Prussian kingdom, the area was referred to as West Prussia.
So from native Prussian perspective it's weird to call the region "East" Prussia, when it was JUST Prussia - Prūsa in their native language.
@@Vitalis94 Prūsa? Waht do you mean with Prūsa?
@@moinulf4503 Exactly what I've said... Prussians called their region Prūsa.
@@Vitalis94 nah I think Preußen
@@moinulf4503 I ment the Baltic Prussians.
As far as I understand it also had a lot to do with Russia wanting a port on the baltic which didn't freeze during some winter periods
well yes exactly
That's the version of history I read as well. St Petersburg can freeze up in winter, leaving only Kaliningrad as their only open winter-long sea port.
Okay guys look, i live here and i know what i talking about). Its really can be looks like Kaliningrad can be very good trading port on the baltic for Russia... but actually... NO=) The problem is poor relations of the Baltic countries with Russia and expensive duties, what makes transportation goods to the center of Russia inefficient.
But for fleet, that placed here, in the Baltiysk(Pillau) its a really good place.
@@komrade5361 yeah I realise it's not the best economically, and the port gives Russia a lot of control over the baltic if a war happened
@@jakubwolski2277 Yeah, really think so? For all time russian "baltic" fleet was a bauble. It was created to fight with sweds, and since 18's times its used not too offen. It takes part of fighting in WW1, but nothing serious. In WW2 its stay in St.Petersburg and using like defence artillery cause germans mined all o the sea. Every time its actualy used for defence or support black seas fleets, or british... OR PACIFIC in japanese war. Danmark block free way to ocean and in modern war this fleet are not too handle...
I love your videos and history . well done !
So many thanks for this great history shortcut
The craziest thing to me is to look at the modern map and see how much territory Germany has lost in the last hundred years
@@daarksideyt so yea, germany is like the nerd kid who get bullied by other kids during school but become rich and famous when adult
@@swolzer
Economy is literally something they deserved.
The United Kingdom and Russia have lost more land over the past hundred years
@@swolzer
But they do. Just like their economy. A good economy does not exactly form out of thin air, so it is very much deserved.
@@swolzer why are you saying this? your sharing free hate for a nation who deserved it's economy. the germans can looks like cold people but after tha you stay a bit with them they can be the most sweet persons around the world. and during WW2 the people didn't know about what their government was doing agaisnt jews and slavic people
imagine, if Lithuania had adopted Kaliningrad, now they would have the same problem as Ukraine with Crimea, they dodged a bullet
@@user-qe9tr9gp6b It was annexed against Ukraine's will. So the annexation was in no way compliant with the international law.
Edwin No, it’s not true. There was a democratic referendum where people of Crimea made their choice voting to reunite with Russia. So it was a historical reunification. Meanwhile, at the time Ukraine was experiencing yet another violent revolution and illegitimate coup.
@@user-qe9tr9gp6b It was not up to international standarts and not verified by independent sources.
Edwin It was actually. And there were international observers invited to accompany the procedure. Also, there was not a single drop of blood spilled during the Crimea-Russia historical reunification. For me it’s like when the Berlin Wall fell and West Germany and East Germany got reunited. People got what they desired and longed for, for many years. And their choice should be respected.
@@user-qe9tr9gp6b stop drinking vodka, it was putinxuiloendum.
Cute, quick and succinct and all very well put!
Great info! Thanks very much.
You failed to mention the strategic position of Kaliningrad extremely important in the deployment of Russian Navy in the Baltic sea as against st Petersburg, the harbor is not subject to ice. Which means that the Russian Navy got a harbor open all year
Yeah but they depend on Lithuania and/or Poland/Belarus to get access to it from their mainland.
@@carultch What about sea access?
@@Vitalis94 They have sea access to Kaliningrad, except when the port of Sankt Peterburg freezes solid.
@@Vitalis94 for sea access you would need an ice free port and if they would have one then why should they care about Kaliningrad?
@@SchwertKruemel But Kaliningrad IS a ice free port, nearby Baltyisk even more so.
Königsberg was where my paternal grandmother was born in 1899. She emigrated to the U. S. in 1911. The stories she told us were pretty cool.
SHARE ONE OR TWO WITH US,
My grandfather a s axon married to a Prussian said. Bleibe Im land. Und nahre dich redlich. Stay in your country. And earn your food honestly....he went through 2 wars....i miss my opa. And oma
I have been living in Kaliningrad for many years, ask questions)
@@GermancreatorA Do historical buildings from the Teutonic Knights and the Prussians still exists?
@Tonya Lover That’s political history. It doesn’t have much effect on the people actually living in an area
great video as always
Comes
Explains a complicated in detail topic in 3-4 minuets
Leaves
Refuses to elaborate
Do a video on Yugoslavia in WW2, theres much to talk about, for example that Yugoslavia joined the axis shortly
That's fortunate for you because the next one is on the Yugoslavian Partisans.
@@HistoryMatters thank you
@@HistoryMatters Sweet
Be ready for a heated comment section then.
@@brandonlyon730 I can just hear it.
The germans still cook a very jummy traditional dish called “Königsberger Klopse” (Königsberg’s meatloaf)
Nice
meatBALL, methinks... Meatloaf is, well, a "loaf" made of meat and "other stuff" (herbs, oatmeal, bread/ roll crumbs,, and such. Klopsen are small balls - Auntie Wiki says "Königsberger Klopse, also known as Soßklopse, are a German specialty of meatballs in a creamy white sauce with capers". And who am I to question her knowledge and undermine her authority, ja? ;-)
Pretty debatable, if that's yummie. Just the thought of minced fish makes my stomach turn.
@@mikelytou "No like, no eat", as they say... ;-)
But hey, lutefisk is NOT minced, maybe you should try this? Or "pickled herrings" (Surströmming), another Scandinavian "specialite de la maison"? Bon appétit! ;-)
@@MrKotBonifacy *blargh XD
Love this channel’s humour.
Gorbachev with the “I Broke It” sign cracked me up 😅
Nicely done!
Lithuania refusing the territory is actually very smart in hindsight. If they had accepted that territory filled with ethnic Russians then they have been facing what the Ukraine is today - a Russia that views it as lost territory.
Russia still sees all of the former eastern block states as a lost territory.
@@samuela-aegisdottir in fact, the way it is, the states - Belarus, Ukraine, Latvia, Estonia appeared only after the collapse of the Russian empire.
Prior to the Russian empire conquering the Baltics they were other nations or principalities. In fact, they maintained their linguistic and cultural independence even under the Russian rule. That’s like saying that because India only formed as a United nation after British colonial rule that it’s really just a lost British territory.
This comment aged sharply.
@@samuela-aegisdottir Yeah but Lithuania has the smallest russian population of the Baltics so with Kaliningrad we would be in big trouble…
Russia offering Kaliningrad to Lithuania who declines is the real world equivalent to a queen sacrifice in chess where the opponent is smart enough to not accept.
Best comment 😂
Underrated
Exactly. Chess is Russia’s game. I applaud.
But knowing that Russians know everyone else knows they are experts at chess and would suspect its a trap and refuse the gambit, so maybe thats what the Russians wanted them to think that they really had something up their sleeve when they really had nothing, so they held onto Kaliningrad. 🤔
Russians can be crafty if they can manage to stay off the volka.
How does the sacrifice of the queen work? I'm not a grossmeister but isn't the game lost when you lose your queen? Or it's not just plain sacrifice but a bait to set it up?
great work as usual
Kaliningrad was a very important strategic position. USSR sent a lot of soldiers on its storm. About 750000 people got “medals for capturing Konigsberg”
it had a very symbolic value to USSR. It was the center of German militarism - the Original Prussia. Capturing it signified the end of that chapter of German history, which eventually led to the rise of Hitler and WW2. The core of German Wehrmacht were Prussian officers.
0:29 The newly fomed Prussia, a puppet state of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
That didn't go well for long.
Yep, and it was the Polish that brought germans too prussia too
@@majk5995 Teutons. But they broke the agreements cause Poland was divided like HRE and weak
@@filipkopec525 Teutons were from germany, so Germans does work
@@majk5995 the Germans were arriving as civilians before the Teutons
@@filipkopec525 that place was a home to Prussians, not germans, not poles. One Polish prince invited teutonic order to get rid of prussians and they did just that, it was basically a medieval holocaust.
Normies: Kaliningrad
Me, an intellectual: Königsberg
me, an actual intellectual: Królewiec
Normies: Königsberg
Me, an intellectual: Karaliáučius
also germans don't even call it Königsberg anymore lol
me, an actual actual intellectual: Královec
Me, a philistine: A circle jerk.
@Don't question my comment Only Poles and Lithuanians now about Królewiec/Karaliaučiaus. The rest of smart people in the world knows it as "Königsberg". Sorry, my Polish and Lithuanian friends.
Super cool history lesson, thanks!
Now it is Královec after Czech referendum
kid moment
0:01 The baltics make a german flag
And switzerland with Austria make Polish flag
Deutschland über alles
Sounds like rightful german clay to me lmao
HOLY SHIT
And Belarus makes the flag of Saudi Arabia
Oh man, whenever I told people I'm from Kaliningrad, people would say :"oh, Leningrad, awesome..." 🙄
@Jhae 3 in Kaliningrad?
@Jhae 3 that's awesome hear, Kaliningrad is pretty unique. I've always felt like it's too small, though. Haha St Petersburg, on the other hand is richer in culture, in my opinion.
@@anyak885 hey Anya,
Do russian recognise past of konig?
@@LukasSRR yeah, we are taught in school about its history and there are many museums you can visit to learn about it if you want.
@@anyak885 maybe one day when there wont be so strict border control
Update needed; It's part of Czech Rep now xD
This aged well 🇨🇿❤️
only in your dreams
@@artempluzhnikov7325 cope
@@pisaks6782 Cope with what?
German-Könningsberg
Russian-Kaliningrad
Polish-Królewiec
It comes from the word king, right?
This Not juste so in Russian!.. Калининград / Kaliningrad = only in efemery Sovietic ; in Russian = Кенигсберг/ Koenigsberg ; in Russian Gréât Poetry [Иосиф Бродский / Joseph Brodsky], after 1945 = «В городе К.» / Poem «In city K.»
@@user-no4di9ro7c not russian one but the others yes
@@piotr4048 yes, I know. Russian is my native language. I just know a little bit of German and Polish word sounded a lot like Russian word for king. So I just wanted to make it sure. Thanks:)
Wow polish is hard to work out! Hope if i get lost looking for kaliningrad i dont ask a pole for directions! .
Everyone from Kaliningrad watching this video: 🗿
Ill bet they're like: Come on! why cant we be part of another country? WAIT WHAT? OTHER COUNTRIES DENIED US??? WHY!!!!!!!!!
@@mrfryingpanowo1100 потому что мы слишком мелкие для более-менее приличной автономии. Получилось бы очень сомнительное государство
@@urmipie erm... that cant've been good
@@mrfryingpanowo1100 nope mate.
Fuck Kaliningrad, all my homies are from Königsberg
Very interesting! Thank you!
Thank you for discussing this! I feel like everyone just overlooks this area of the map. 🤔
Kaliningrad: *is the hot potato of eastern Europe*
Russia: Man, I really love hot potatoes!
I am from Kaliningrad. We smuggling a lot from Polland.
I wonder if "hot potato" is a euphemism for a live grenade. It would explain the game a lot better. I mean you can eat hot potatoes. Heck, I prefer them over cold ones.
That's very good 👍🇷🇺🇷🇺
*Królewiec
@@polishavokadomapping414 Przez jakis czas. Wczesniej Koenigsberg, jeszcze wczesniej Conigsberg, a jeszcze wczesniej Twangste.
I used to live 6km from that region. The reason why Russia kept it is strategic, they have a massive army there just in case if anyone wants to make a move against them, they are protected in the middle Europe. It is actually a well thought move. I'm from a town in Poland which is pretty much the neighbours of that region and we have the biggest army based in Poland. Everything is very well thought and prepared.
Yeah , but saying we Germans didn't want it back is incorrect. There was a very big movement to reclaim it but the chancellor refused and lost the next election
I don’t believe in Russia massive army anymore, peasants with ak, but yeah Kaliningrad is heavy militarised with a lot of strongpoints. Question is if they would fight for this shitty life quality which Putin deliver to them?
Well, actually, they offered it to Lithuania in 1954, When Khruschew was gaining favor in the Soviet republics, like the same year he gifted Crimea to Ukraine, on top of the Donbas, Kherson and Odesa they already got from Russia, but the Presidium of the Lithuanian SSR declined, since, then, they would have a lot of Russians (maybe 1/3 or 1/2) on their territory. And they could vote and stuff so it was not worth it. The second time, Russia offered it back to Germany, when they were reunifying, but the Germans never even answered. They didn't even consider it seriously... They say that they were too busy with reunification back then... Check it up
Если Польша будет много болтать ...мы придём из Кёнигсберга отбирать Восточную Прусию
@@beyondrecall9446 Печально, что глупость одного человека заложила бомбу замедленного действия, которая разорвалась, не без помощи США конечно, много лет спустя. Я думаю потерю Калининграда в 1991 в Рф никто бы особо не переживал, а вот потеря Крыма с Новороссией это было больно. Кстати тогда Украина первая оккупировала русские земли. Так как в 1954 году передавали только Крым, а город-герой Севастополь оставался в составе РСФСР. В 1991 году Россия была предана собственным руководством и почти уничтожена, поэтому пришлось смириться с этой оккупацией. Но сейчас бумеранг вернулся отправителю...
Great video, learned something. Most important, Lithuania refused it twice because they did not want Russians in their country and they would start trouble.
Boy they foresaw what is happening to Ukraine, happening there. 👍🏻 to Lithuania.
This definitely a needed explanation, thanks ^-^
Funnily enough, some Volga Germans (Germans who settled in Russia centuries ago who astonishly STILL speak German, and number 500000+) who have been unable to return to Germany for one reason or another have taken to settling in Kaliningrad, so it now has a small German speaking population of around 3000.
they are called Kazah germans nowdays. Since during WW2 they were sent from central Russian to Kazahstan. But you are right. There are some. But also Kaliningrad is kind of transit city for them. They come here to handle papers for getting to germany and prepare to the move.
@Amon Ra Koenigsberg is also fine.
Same pronunciation
@Amon Ra there's not much left of that old Königsberg, it's been a different city for decades. Renaming it doesn't make any sense now. And it would be costly, in the first place.
@Daniel Eyre
You dont know what you talking about.
Many wolgagermans got citizinship of federal german republic from helmut kohl.
Furthermore the ethnicity dont change just because an minority group lives in a foreign land.
Sam Rodrigues Most the Volga German's ended up in Gulags, Kazakhstan or with a bullet in their head.. Russia 101
UK with the Gibraltar.
"Oh I thought that was mine"
I mean it is they won it in a war with Spain when they wished to invaded
Gibraltar is in a weird situation where we kind of agree that it should be returned but the population actually living there has to agree as well, which they will never do because voting to pay more taxes will never happen.
@@arandombard1197 Gibraltar has been a part of the UK since 1713, 63 years prior to American independence.
Scotland at that time was only recently added to the UK, 6 years before.
Why on earth you think there's a legitimate reason to return the territory to Spain a full 307 years later, I've no clue.
@@jamesmccomb9525 There in a principle known as territorial integrity. The UK as a sovereign power owning Gibraltar damages the territorial integrity of Spain. It's also the product of a time when land was governed by those who could conquer it, rather than by the people living there.
Again, I'm not saying it should be handed over as the people living there don't want that to happen. But instead, I'm just acknowledging that the land is part of the Iberian Peninsula, not the British Isles.
@@arandombard1197 Territorial integrity? I'm sorry but... What?
Should the Spanish towns across Morocco be ceded to Morocco, konigsberg to Germany, North Ireland to Republic of Ireland, so on so forth?
You seem to be in favour of removing border gore or inconveniences but I'm sorry, the world isn't that simple.
Thank you. Very helpful.
Romania just voted and approved that this is new Czech territory so they can also have sea access.
Remember when Prussia was Germanic? Otto von Bismarck does
@Luuk R. but the ruling class sets its spirit. It's like saying that Indian isn't indian on behalf of the majority of dravidians and muzzis living there
Remember when prussia was old prussian? Mantas herkus remembers
Remember when germans tricked poles into giving them prussia?
Bismark always had a plan
@@Aggie1295 Bismarck a l w a y s has a plan
Kaliningrad: the country version of the last slice of pizza at a company party.
"No, you take it... I insist."
"I couldn't, really... you should have it!"
In the end, the fat guy who already had too much takes it.
the only guy who likes pineapple migrated all his pineapple on to the slice first, then acts surprised when nobody else wants the slice with pineapple
Your Boy Mr Mac What's wrong with pineapple? You racist against pinapple or something?
Very funny..lol
@@abren5974 pineapple pizza is an abomination
I feel personally insulted
Love, love, love your animations. And your history lessons.
Очень интересно смотреть видео про свой город, узнавать кто что о нем думает.
Братииишкаа
Жизяка,ток я с Немана👍🏻
Дык это не твой город, а немецкий. Вы там эмигранты по факту)))
@@msitelrd6102 только почти все коренные немцы ушли))
@@gorgon0531, ушли? Просто так взяли и ушли?)))
Prussia wasn't the origin of the German imperial dynasty, nor did it expand out across Germany. It was inherited by the Hohenzollerns, rulers of Brandenburg, and was ruled as Brandenburg-Prussia until 1701. The rulers of Prussia were Brandenburgers, and lived in Berlin. Brandenburg was always the center of this state.
The reason it became known as Prussia was because Duke Frederick III of Brandenburg replaced the Duchy of Prussia with a kingdom in 1701 and became king in order to increase his prestige. He could do this because Prussia was his territory, but Brandenburg was still technically a fiefdom of the HRE, so he couldn't become King of Brandenburg. This is why for most of the 18th century the Hohenzollern king was known as "King in Prussia" rather than "King of Prussia"
That always has sounded like the most loopholiest workaround ever for being a king
Ah feudalism always so complicated
You are very correct - and the ruling family of the Hohenzollern dynasty has its roots in an area from around the town of Hechingen, Baden-Württemberg, about as far away from the area that you can get in the opposite direction and still be in German lands. The original Hohenzollern castle near this town, from where the family took its name, I think is still owned by someone in the family. So where this fellow came up with the idea that ruling family came from Kaliningrad/Königsberg is something I can't explain. Totally against what I understand to be true. Also, it is likely that my distant ancestor, an officer in the Prussian Army, was somehow connected to this family out of some duty to the family - so I am very aware of the history of the Hohenzollerns. This distant ancestor was born not far from Hechingen, but served and died in or near Königsberg. This was all very odd until I figured out the probable connection to this royal family. How and why did a Swabian born peasant join the Prussian military, and die in or near Polish lands. Incidentally, he had a stop in Ansbach, another part of the ruling family's domain. So when I ran across the Hohenzollern history, it made sense.
Small correction: It was King in Prussia bc they did not own all of it from the start. They only had East Prussia while West Prussia belonged to Poland. They became kings of Prussia when they took those lands.
Also fun fact: Hohenzollern Castle is in south Germany (would have to look up though if the house is from there)
What about Bismarck? Germany's greatest chancellor. Pretty sure he was born in the east.
“Warning: Politics”
The Weimar Republic in a nutshell 😂
XD!!!!
it's literally a country
Konigsburg is in Prussia (but the the P is silent)
The answer concerning the present day is quite simply, Russia owns Kaliningrad because the German Kohl government didn't want it back in 1990 when it was offered by Russia.
At least the russians offered it. The polish never offered us to give us back east-germany.
@@Ratselmeister why we should give you back or offered your previous lands? Who the fuck start the World War II? Blame yourself and your shame country for start it! That’s the compensation for this what you’ve done! It’s not even enough, your nazi country should pay us a lot of reparations for destroying our buildings and houses! How dare you even ask for that!
Show the facts where Russia offered Kaliningrad to Nazis(Germany pretty much the same) in 1990 🤣 can’t stop laughing 🤭🤣🤭🤣🤭🤣 Nice joke buddy🤣🤦🏻♂️
@@Vintage8411 There were no Nazis in 1990 in Germany. Cancelor was Helmut Kohl.
@@Ratselmeister mate... you don't get my conclusion 🤣 For us you always gonna be nazis no matter what year we are in! You only change the name but you always gonna be German Nazis for us. You don't have to teach me history because I know exactly what was in 1990. You just don't get my sarcasm 🤣
Bit sad that the birthplace of Prussia, the German kingdom that essentially united Germany, is now no longer German at all.
Not sad at all because. Last time Russia conquered it was middle of 18th century
Worth noting that Prussia proper, including Königsberg, was always exotic to most Germans, as it was outside of the Holy Roman Empire and the ceremonial Kingdom of Germany. It was only settled by Germans during the late Crusades.
Berlin was the seat of the Prussian kingdom when it came to unite Germany.
What people know as "Prussia" is mostly the margraviate of Brandenburg with its Capital Berlin.
They inherited the duchy of Prussia (called a Polish "puppet state" in the video, actually a vassal) at some point and when that was converted into a kingdom later on, the margraves of Brandenburg had the chance to call themselves "King in Prussia" instead. An as kings are way more prestigeous than margraves, they just did that.
"Prussia" as in the lands around Königsberg aren't the heart of Germany and the dynasty ruling "Prussia" as well as the German Empire later on wasn't Prussian either, they were Swabian.
To be fair - who knows what comes next?..
Prussia wasn't German to begin with; originally it was a Baltic culture similar to Lithuania, but was colonised by Germans in the Medieval Period.
The one time Germany didn’t want more land
Modern Germany constitutionally cannot acquire any more land without Britain and France saying its okay.
@@Jotari good to know
@@Jotari Poland: (chuckles) I'm in danger.
@@Jotari Germany has never been independent ever since world war 2
@@twrk139 Depends on what you mean independent. All recognized nations have international agreements and stipulations with other countries, granted most international contracts don't cover things as strict as their ability to acquire new land.
Был Нюрнбергский процесс, Ялтинская конференция и т. П. Во это прежде всего нужно изучать. Поэтому сколько бы версий не придумывали после, все это лишь чьи- то фантазии.
My family living near Kaliningrad in Lithuania (maybe 500 metters from border) Thanks for this video!
It’s also because that’s where Russia houses its Baltic fleet. Russia will never give it up as, if I remember correctly, it is the only warm water port that Russia has in the Baltic.
if Russia ever gets into another war with Europe, i see Russia's borders shifting east, Belarus's borders shifting east, Poland's borders shifting east, and Germany returning to what it was pre-WWI.
@RadTheLad but in that scenario, Germany and Poland would be on the same side. that's why I said they would all shift east.
@@jwil4286 if Russia ever gets into another war with Europe than Europe becomes radiocative desert.
@@ugandanwarrior5657 Russia becomes a radioactive desert too, and China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Japan, and America will all move to make claims in Siberia
@@jwil4286 nice
I remember having fun trying to figure out this answer for myself, and it's nice that I did find myself backtracking its history all the way to the Teutonic Knights.
it goes further back though!
Gracias por el video. Resuelve mis dudas.
Thank you!!
Kaliningrad is just a longer and more complicated word for border gore
Hello from Kaliningrad!
Hello, happy new year Kaliningrad!
Are you russian?
@Random we have old red brick german building and cathedrals. Most of those have been reconstructed, but there are also collapsed red brick buildings in farest parts of Kaliningrad region. By the way, battle for Königsberg was a real massacre because of many forts, that was built by nazi germans. And now you can go on a guided tour in them (and they are really scary, so we have a lot of legends about people, that were lost there, or just hitted with smth metal in the back of the head)
Looking more at the Ukraine situation, Lithuania played it right when they refused to takeover Kalingrad. Russia uses the excuse of having Russian speaking people there to invade.
Lithuania doesn't have any gas reserves or pipelines. There's no point for the Russian government to invade, thankfully.
NYC's Brighton Beach is sweating heavily
Wow, who would know? Thank you for the rapid-fire history.
The tale of Prussia sure ends sadly
It's not a tale the Communists would tell you
@@aaronmarks9366 wow i appreciate the affort you make trying to disgrade communist in any way possible. Germany lost it during a war they STARTED. So why wouldn't the communist "tell you about that"?
@@mikeock7919 Dude, it's a Star Wars meme
all hail gaben First, improve your English.
@@aaronmarks9366 oh now thats... shit for me
Russia finally got its warm water port.
The end.
BLACK SEA IS WARMER
@@Ifyouwantyoucan2 WHO CARES
They already have one at St Petersberg
@@asdf3568 that port in winter may have ice
i appreciate your fairness
This is going to be very relevant shortly
Unfortunately. Kaliningrad and the Suwalki Gap will soon be known by many people.
Y
Fun fact:
One of the terms for Prussian independence from Poland in the treaty of Oliwa was that Prussia would be returned to the Kingdom of Poland if the ruling dynasty died out.
They did. Partially))))
Well the family who ruled Prussia "Hohenzollern" are still alive
@@larsviktorfreirewakenhut6930 And then you have to factor in that you could even argue that the you would have to wait until all of the german dynasties would die out
@@larsviktorfreirewakenhut6930 it was not the dynasty but "the line" in the origina ltreaty. But the polish politicians did fuck up... again
The signing parties were the Commonwealth and Prussia. Both entities are no more
First time I hear Poland had an offer to get Kaliningrad and were not interested
not only you
I don't know where this guy gets his informations from but it never happened.
Wouldnt mind having it back
I came across an info about that some time ago. President Yeltsin made such an offer to President Walesa along with a motion to move all the remaining Poles from USSR to the province. Unfortunately, it's been withdrawn the moment the Russian generals heard about the offer...
@@mordapl1641 Never ever in Human history was it yours.
Well, that history doesn't show this land before Teutonic Order. And before it for many centuries it was a land of Old Prussians - one of the largest Baltic tribes (relatives of nowadays Lithuanians and Latvians). As they were pagans, in 1226 Catholic church issued Golden Bull of Rimini, which started Prussian Crusade. This crusade lasted for 60 years, many Prussians died, remaining were baptized by force and Teutonic Order became owner of this land. Few Old Prussians still tried to resist until in XVIII they became totally extinct. By irony, Germans that lived on this land started to call them 'Prussians', although they have no connections with old Baltic Prussian tribes
This was very interesting.