Cossack Collaboration in World War II (1941 - 1945) - Cossacks in the German Army
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- Опубліковано 30 лип 2024
- Cossacks in the German Army: Cossachs in the Wehrmacht and SS Cossack units; in this video I will talk about pro-German Cossacks. The Cossacks came from Southern Russia. There were Don Cossacks, Terek Cossacks, Kuban Cossacks, Siberian Cossacks and others. Why would Cossacks fight for Germany in the Second World War? For that we have to go back to the Russian Civil War. Cossacks mostly fought on the side of the White Movement. There were even short-lived Cossack states: Kuban People's Republic (1918-1920) and the Don Republic (1918-1920). Both were conquered by the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks issued a policy of Decossackization which was continued by Stalin. Needless to say: many Cossacks had strong anti-Soviet sentiments. Then Germany invaded the Soviet Union and several Cossack formations saw the light of day: first Security Units, then the 1st Cossack Division (1. Kosaken-Division) and later the XIV Cossack Cavalry Corps (XIV. SS-Kosaken-Kavallerie-Korps) and the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps. These were led by German General Helmuth von Pannwitz. Also Cossack émigré Pyotr Krasnov and Andrei Shkuro played a role. Cossacks in de Wehrmacht and Cossacks in the SS were present during World War II.
History Hustle presents: Cossack Collaboration in World War II (1941 - 1945) - Cossacks in the German Army.
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SOURCES
- Cossacks in the German Army, 1941-1945 (Samuel J. Newland).
- Joining Hitler's Crusade. European Nations and the Invasion of the Soviet Union, 1941 (David Stahel) The Soviet Union (Oleg Beyda and Igor Petrov).
- Hitler's Russian & Cossack Allies 1941-45 [Men-at-arms] (Nigel Thomas).
- Foreign Legions of the Third Reich Volume 4 (Littlejohn David).
- Russia's War (Richard Overy).
IMAGES
Images from commons.wikimedia.org.
VIDEO
Video material from:
• Cossack Division Early...
Cossack Division Early in the War (1941)
• Russian Cossacks - Sol...
Russian Cossacks - Soldiers Of Wehrmacht
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Wanna join forces and do a collaboration? Send me an email at: historyhustle@gmail.com
Learn more about non-Germans for the Axis Powers:
ua-cam.com/video/F3BPW5WMmDo/v-deo.html
Hey Stefan can you do a video about Riffian and Jbala Berbers serving in the Spanish blue division who fought in the eastern front and Kabyle Berbers who served for Germany during ww2(like si nacer)
Wow this is a very amazing story. Such a long history of the independent soul of the Cossack. I think there could be a whole series of books written about them. Also, i have never heard the stories of the people groups being handed over to the Soviets. Ive heard that many White Russians who were refugees from the Russian Revolution were handed over even when so many had been born outside the Soviet Union, and i heard they went straight to the gulags and suffered once again. This video is the first of the individual stories that i have heard and makes me wonder if by Western standards this wasn't a crime against humanity. Its definitely not spoken of is it. Have you seen the wonderful film "Quiet Flows The Don" ? It is an award winning movie and its here on UA-cam. Its a long movie so it have 3 parts. The 1950s version is the best as the actors were themselves war veterans from WW2.
@@CalebNorthNorman i've heard of the movie. Not yet seen it.
@@Revitalization4241 perhaps one day!
@@HistoryHustle Thanks;)👍
What an amazing and informative video! My grandfather was a Ukrainian Cossack from Crimea who collaborated with the Germans and he met my grandmother in Kremenchuk, Ukraine while he was on the run from the Soviets. My father was born in the Peggetz DP camp in Lienz, Austria. It’s thought that my grandfather surrendered to the British troops in Austria and that’s how my dad and his family ended up there. My family told me that my grandfather was suspicious of the British because they ordered all Cossacks to show up to a meeting in military uniform. He disobeyed and hid in the forest with my grandmother and my infant father. My grandfather watched from a distance as Cossacks resisted repatriation, were beaten and rounded up on to train carriages and as you said, some took their own lives. My grandfather and grandmother escaped with my father and after years in hiding and on the run, they arrived in Australia in 1949. My father died in 2016 and was doing in depth research to find out more about my grandfather’s story. He never told Dad the whole truth as he was afraid he would be found out by the Soviets for deserting and fighting with the enemy. I visited the site of the Peggetz camp in Lienz in 2016 and I’m continuing my dad’s research so I would very much appreciate any videos you could make on the massacre in Lienz and what may have come of Cossack refugees after that, particularly those few who escaped. Thank you for your hard work!!
Hey Daniel, very interesting to read your grandfather's story. They were very lucky they made it out!
Hi Daniel, I am Polish living in USA. I have just finished reading a book about exactly these Cossacks. It was written by Józef Mankiewicz in 1950s. Book contains a lot of details. I had no idea that British betrayed so many people. The book title is “Kontra” and not sure if translated into English. Jozef Mackiewicz was a forbidden author during Soviet times.
Thank you for sharing your grandparents story.
Probably your grandfather settled in Carnia before passing in Austria in may 1945 in the area the Germans called Koskenland in Friaul. If you want a glimpse of that history I suggest you to reed the book of Carlo Sgorlon "Army of the Lost Rivers". They settled in Carnia starting from the summer of 1944 .
@Daniel Komarov G'day mate, another Aussie here!!
I grew up in the Western Suburbs of Sydney, in the Suburb of Liverpool. My next door neighbours were a Ukrainian couple I grew up calling them Tony (Anton) & Anna Melnik ( I don't think I have the right spelling of the surname, but that's the way it sounds) and I will try to (briefly) share what I recall of Tony's incredible story.
He, as far as I recall, grew up in Soviet Ukraine, somewhere near the border (in those days) of Ukraine and Poland. In 1941 of course, War broke out, although only brief in their region at the time, quite violent.
He was only a 15yr old, but already doing a Man's job on farm. Soon after the Germans arrived, they came to his village offering work in Germany for any willing hands, "well paid, feed, housed and clothed, with a once a year trip back home to the family" all would be provided, they said. He signed up immediately.
At about the same time his older brother had signed up for the local Partisans, and had gone up the bush into hiding, a bounty on his head. Meanwhile, Tony's in Germany, and for him, things are very much different from what he was promised. He was in a coal mining area in the Ruhr Valley, and the "housing" he was promised was a bed in a slave labour camp, the food was watery cabbage soup and a small piece of bread that was mostly sawdust. He worked 12-16hr days 7 days a week, and was beaten by guard's.
Meanwhile, his older brother Vasiliy who had gone to join the Partisans, was doing little better. He, to was starving most of the time, but from time to time could get some good rations. His time was mostly split between training from those who had more experience than others, planning raids, gaining Weapons and learning about them, running messages but most of all, gathering FOOD, for himself and his Comrades.
Time goes on for both of the Milnik boy's, for Tony, the British and American bombing, for Vasiliy, the approach of Red Army, and the slow retreat of the Germans, something he helped create.
Anyway, so one day in the North West of Ukraine in the scrub, Vasiliy and Co. get word that the Red Army is only 20kms away and fast approaching. No wonder that the Germans were putting all that they could on Train's and Trucks all heading West towards Poland. But, the bad news is ...
Well the bad news is very bad indeed if you're a Partisan or some sort of Slave labourer, the Red Army Commissars would like to have a special word with you mate.
Are you now, or have you ever been a member of the "decadent Capitalist Oligarchy", have ALWAYS been fighting for the Motherland? Where is your brother, and why did he go to Germany while you stayed here? What is the "Political attitude of your own squad leaders?" Have they been talking about or against the Government of the Motherland? ...
Yes, it was true!! The NKVD and the Red Army Commissars, instead of welcoming Partisans with open arms and clean conscience, instead of the welcome of great patriots of the supposed "Great Patriotic War", Stalin and sundry had huge doubt about people who had responded to the call made by Stalin himself in 1941, to "resist the invaders with all means" and to form squads of Partisans in the Germans rear to harass and interrupt the War effort. Now, in late 1944, there's danger ahead for most Partisans that seemed "to independent of the Party" who may have been a"danger to the future security of the Soviet Union" ... Stalin's murderous dog's were to be the most passive murderous dog's imaginable.
Meanwhile in Western Germany, time for the Nazi's was running out. By this late stage of the War, Tony was now farming, somewhere East of the Rhine River in a valley, this time looking after cows, and surprisingly well fed for a "slave labourer" something that changes for Tony only late in the War, but he always said, "save my life". He is there with 2 other Ukrainian youth's and some French Guiana guys, people he's never seen the like of before, but seem to get along with all the same. He never did get to the details of how these black french Guiana got there to Germany in WW2 on a Dairy Farm, in Nazi Germany with 3 Ukrainian youth's and a Partridge in a Pair Tree, though I digress ....
At least Tony's for now away from the heavily bombed area he was in, to a far more quiet setting, in the familiar surroundings of a farming area. And most important for Tony, the food ration. He was being a ( barley ) adequate diet for someone his age, size and level of activity, but ANYTHING else was better than the mines, which because of the constant bombing, became permanently flooded. For once one might say, a fortunate turn of events for the results of a bombing attack!!!
Meanwhile, in Central Poland, and by then seperated from his mate's Vasiliy is like the Wehrmacht, on the retreat, but where to? Trying to stay one step ahead of the Gestapo AND your own, soon to be triumphant Red Army, in (being Ukrainian himself) potentially hostile environment, I don't know a lot of the details of this particular part of Vasiliy story, except to say he successfully made it to Western Allied Forces held Germany, after eventually discovering that his Mother and (I think) it was his older Sister (?) were locked up by the Soviet Forces for the action of BOTH the brothers, both having been denounced as "spy's and collaborators"
My father also ended up in Austria from ukraine and then to Australia but told the British that he was mixed race Ukrainian Polish and Russian.
My relatives served in the Terek Cossacks' regiment in general Panvitz division. I am very proud of them. At least they took revenge on Bolsheviks, payed them for genocide of Terek Cossacks during Russian civil war of 1917- 22.
Two evils don't make one good I'd say.
@@HistoryHustle whats so evil they freed them but i just want to thank you that you make a video about this unknown history sry for my bad english greetings from germany
The usual amount and degree of both visual and narrated detail that Stefan never fails to deliver. Thank you, sir !
Great to read, thanks.
I remember my old man telling me about the forced repatriations. He was RAF on his way back home at the end of the war and they knew what was going to happen to these men. A very dark time for the UK government.
Take into account the crimes they committed against civilians and you won't feel so sorry for them.
Hanging would have been a quick death compared to that of Soviet pows
Till this day a topic of debate.
@@julianshepherd2038 This is an extremely limited view of people who know nothing about the history of the Cossacks - to write down the Cossacks as criminals, and even more so as anti-Semites.. The Cossacks wanted to go to liberate their lands, their relatives, to avenge the dead. But the Germans were afraid to transfer the Cossacks to the front line, fearing that the Cossacks would turn their bayonets not only against the Soviet army, but also against the German army and try to recreate their state. And therefore, the German policy of using Cossacks was thought out in such a way as to prevent the bulk of the Cossacks from entering their land and use them against the partisans, promising them to return home later...
@@julianshepherd2038 It wasn't just the Cossack men who fought during the war but just as many women and children who's only crime was being Cossack. So your statement about hanging is very naive. Or are some murders more justified than others?
Churchill made the deal with Stalin at Yalta convention. Over 80,000 Cossack men, women and children surrendered to the British only to be tricked and sent east in trains to the waiting Red army. A war crime if there ever was.
Love the depth of your discussions. This one, for whatever reason, this is parricularly interesting. It must be the mystique that surrounds the word "cossack."
Thanks for your reply.
Can you explain what this mystique is?
As a russian i don't see anything strange in cossacs and it is interesting to see foreign point of view
@@sodinc
Actually, it's very simple. As a kid growung up in the 1960's television had an amazingly strong impact on me. Star Trek had Walter Koenig who played Ensign Pavel Chekov. Whenever he got angry, he yelled out, "Cossacks!" As if that was a curse work like "f--k." F Troop had an episode ("Only One Russian is Coming") where Larry Storch not only played Agarn, but doubled as his visiting Russian cousin. He also referred to undesirables as "Cossacks!" Many other TV examples exist. So when i got older and got interested in history, i would hear such interesting things about the "cossacks." I would want to connect the TV obssession with the word to the reality.
@@rudolphguarnacci197 interesting cloud of associations!
Most often i see cossacks in the monasteries as security. They wear unusual uniform, the same as in historical paintings and posses a slightly "elite force" aura due to their history. Realistically though they are now just a form of militia, more organized then usual ones.
@@sodinc
I learn something every day!
Really interesting subject! I really enjoy the topics you pick to teach about, you don’t hear a lot of channels creating content like History Hustle. Thank you for all the research you do, I learn so much from your channel!
👍👍👍
Thank you for all that you do I have learned a lot from you and I thank you for every new video you make. I also wish you the best in everything you do in life brother.
👍👍👍 Many thanks!
Another very intresting history! I knew some, but learned more again. Thanks once again Stefan!
Greets, T.
Many thanks, Tonny, as always! :)
What a fascinating story, I loved the longer format!
Great!
You're now one of the Big Threes of UA-cam history in my opinion, right next to Mark Felton and TimeGhost History (also their sub-channel WWII). Awesome content!
Awesome to read, many thanks!!
I love your videos cause I learn something new every time keep them coming Best of luck to you Hustling History for all of your Followers/Sub's. Thanks again!!!!!!!
Awesome to read! Feel free to share :)
As always, your history lesson did not disappoint. Thank you
Thank you, Edward.
a very, very enlightening channel. this should have a lot more views than it does! keep it up!
Thanks. Feel free to share.
Your opening made me think of Monty Python's, "And now a Scotsman on a horse." Good material and delivery, as always. Take care.
Many thanks!
I love learning about the cossacks. Great video!
Thank you for replying 👍🏻
Excellent content today from the Hustle'. Fascinating history the Cossacks. Even today there are reports of pro Russian and pro Ukrainian Cossacks I. The current conflict
Thanks as always for watching.
Well noted. Indeed the conflict in East Ukraine has re ignited these divisions and there have been reports of persecution of certain Cossack groups in Occupied Crimea.
all the cossacks today are PRO Russian.. even Ukrainian ones.
@@ingvarz7468 I saw a documentary that had Cossacks within the Ukrainian army. He was fighting against Russia
@@ingvarz7468 Not exactly suprising after 40 years of Soviet control. They are the only ones left. I read that a certain ethnic group in Crimea are experiencing persecution since the annexation. Im not sure if they are Cossack
Finally a video on my people too, I love my culture and I am a Cossack from Semerichiye host, I have my uniform and my kubanka as I live in Canada with a Cossack community from Kazakhstan!
Thanks for your reply. Glad you liked the video.
Apparently British soldiers were forced to drive them onto the trains knowing that these people were more than likely to get shot at best!! Shamefull incident
If an American fights for another country against America they lose their citizenship. Soviet citizens who fought against the Soviet Union should have known what to expect.
@@neiloflongbeck5705 point taken but these cossacks were fighting for an independent homeland they hated the Reds for collectivisation and the abolition of their class after the Revolution It gets very murky bit like the Chechen thing i suppose
And all these Cossacks had done was rob, rape and massacre civilians.
Boo feckin hoo
@@danielgreen3715 and that's why the killed the Jews and civilians in Yugoslavia. Feck letting them out after Stalins death.
Till this day a topic of debate.
Fantastische uitleg weer op best een vaag stuk in de geschiedenis. Thanks! :)
Bedankt 👍👍
Don't miss a video now buddy. I'm loving your videos
Awesome!
cant wait to hear more about this subject.
Yes, this Saturday!
@@HistoryHustle i went to the military museum in soesterberg earlier today, they have a old model tiger 2 and a Fieseler Fi 103R Reichenberg(v1 with a cockpit) on display at the moment.
Love this channel. Depth and great presentation.
Thank you, Teddy!
It seems that the reason for the agreement to hand over each other's citizens is often overlooked. The British and American governments saw that Italians captured either fighting alongside the Germans or as POW of the Germans were being retained by the Soviet Union. To avoid this happening to aircrew who had evaded capture or POW the British and American governments were happy to sign not thinking about the impact.
Yes, the British and Americans wanted their own subjects back.
@@tatianalyulkin410 so you are saying the Soviets were sending Italian soldiers home after the September 1943 Armistice? Or that they were returning Allied aircrew who had fallen into their hands prior to the agreement?
Out of curiosity and without any malice - What was the survival rate of Soviet POWs in Germany? What was the same rate for German/Axis POWs in the Soviet Union?
Soviet POWs 1% - German POWs 35.8% (Waitman Wade Beorn numbers)
Neither.
@@mirkovic I am pretty sure the number for Soviets captured by Germans was actually a 50% survival rate.
The relatively low survival rate for Germans was due to two main factors. First disproportionate number of Stalingrad captured soldiers i.e. a large number were in bad health when captured. Second the much longer period of captivity i.e. the longest a Soviet could possibly be in German captivity would be four years whereas a German captured at Stalingrad wasn't released for eleven years.
It is also important to note Soviet former P.O.W. didn't generally return home i.e. if liberated during the war they were put back in service and if after the war into the gulag system.
more and more interesting. Thank you for all the effort!
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Wow. I have learned a lot in these 20 minutes! Thank you.
Great to read, your reply, thanks!
This guy has grown on me. Enjoying his content very much!
Great to read. Thank you very much 👍
Great video! It’s quite an interesting topic.
thanks for your reply!
This will be interesting ! The Cossacks are a very special group and played an important part in the history of Russia.
This afternoon.
Ukraine too. Big part of our history.
@@IAmAwesomeSoAreYou Of course ! And a great inspiration for literature (Gogol's Taras Bulba).
A deep dive! Thanks Professor!
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There was a documentary on UA-cam I watched about Keelhaul, there was one account from someone in it that stuck with me. It was a Priest who served as a translator, they were escorting this Cossack through a ship when he asked to use the restroom. An hour passes by and they go and check up on him, he is hanging from a belt in the restroom. Then when this priest comes home, he sees his daughter's teddy bear hanging up and cuts it down, because it reminded him of the Cossack.
Thanks for sharing. TIK History also covered it well.
Zo lekker bezig jij!! Heerlijk om te zien hoe goed je het doet!
Dank Jasper, jij gaat ook lekker vooruit. Blijf doorgaan. Die doorbraak gaat er komen 💪
@@HistoryHustle Dat is leuk dat je dat zegt :) Ik blijf lekker doorgaan!
Very well researched Stefan.
Thank you, Phil!
thanks for the history, I would like to signal that you only touched the history of Cossacks in Italy by mentioning Tolmezzo. They settled in the mountainous region of north east Italy called Carnia, they were needed to control the area formerly occupied by partisans creating the "zona libera della Carna" or "freed territory of Carnia" the rather unknow largest and longstanding freed territory in northern Italy. They were told that the it would become the "Kosakenland" the territory explicitly given to the Cosakks to settle.They arrived, twenty thousand of them, causing fear, despair occupying houses villages, then rose a sort of acceptance and at the end in may 1945 also pity for they unknown future. They moved from Carnia to Austria through the Passo di Monte Croce Carnico, the when they realized that they would be sent back in USSR by the English forces they committed mass sucide by throwing the carts with their families into the Drava river near Lienz. If you want to "feel" the history rather than reading it in books I suggest you to read the fantastic book of Carlo Sgorlon "L'armata dei Fiumi Perduti" or the English version "Army of the Lost Rivers".
Hi Marco, many thanks for sharing this with us 👍
What about the Security Bataillons of the Greek State 1941-44?
But also the Britons in France during the occupation or the Bulgarian Legionnaries?
This history channel is my favorite by far!
Great you like the channel. I'm afraid you'll have to wait about your suggestions. These will not be covered anytime soon.
I have read one report that stated some Cossacks that were handed over to the Soviets were immediately shot within sight of the British soldiers.
I haven't read that myself, but it may likely have happened on several occasions.
@@HistoryHustle A lot of war stories are apocryphal but yeah I wouldn't doubt it happened here or there.
I seen accounts that they heard them being shot but didn't see it. One account states that he saw the daughters being separated out and r*ped though.
Not within sight of British soldiers, but definitely within hearing of them.
Most informative. I would like to know more about the Cossacks who were loyal to the Soviet Union.
👍 Perhaps in the future.
Here is an example www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Z6WRwHg
I am a ethnic Kuban Cossack born in dontesk oblast, Ukraine,my grandfather was in white army,but supported the red army in WW2.i can explain more if you want?
@@alexanderurbanosky5351 I am not sure if your reply is addressed to me, but I'd really appreciate your explanations. An they would be useful for other people, too. Thank you.
@@mariyanadobreva8724 я понимаю
Nice Video Thank you, You missed of the Eastern Peoples awards that were for the Cossacks, as they were not allowed even the Iron Cross 2nd class, Also these units sometimes had Regimental crosses that are rare being for the 5th Don Cossacks and the 2nd Siberian Cossacks another thing was a special insignia that was the Winged swastika instead of the National emblem was to be worn but there were not enough to go round . But all in all a great Video thank you
Thanks for replying.
Thank you for your very detailed and comprehensive analysis of this and other chapters of WW2. I’ve read that Cossacks both fought for the Red Army and distinguished themselves, earning a “Guards” title. Did the Red Army Cossacks ever fight the defecting Cossacks?
Good question. Didn't find that in my research. Thanks for your reply, George!
Another great vid.. Thank-you
Cheers! Thanks for watching.
Cossacks are similar to the "centaur of the Pampas", the gauchos who live in extreme south Brazil. Despite the diverse origins of the people living here, we usually know ourselves as gauchos, before being brazilians 🇧🇷. Our flag is this: 🟢🔴🟡 Obrigado, tchê!
Santa Catarina flag??
@@sg76hr Rio Grande do Sul flag. Thanks!
Interesting, didn't know this!
@@marcoskehl Deutcher Brazilien?
@@sg76hr Jawohl! Danke!
Very good program. Thanks.
👍
Fastest 20 minutes ever!
It’s almost war crimes to give any prisoners back to Russia!!
Never knew that they took such a stand against Stalin!! Just remember them as rear guard thugs. Hmmm thanks for opening my eyes on a new subject!!
Thanks professor! Can’t wait for the big test!!
Allies certainly knew what it meant to send these people to Stalin.
Thanks again, Mike!!
@@gumdeo I agree. Stalin killed people at the 'drop of a hat '. Imagine what 😦 the future was for people he hated and considered enemies?? Your ' trial ' is on June 6th. The firing squad or the hangman is on standby.
Its a major shame on the British Goverment, that they handed back so many Cossacks, , I know from personal experiance that one soldier (British) Had nightmares for yeas after 1945, as in 1983 he gave me a Croat Decoration a Cossack officer gave him just before he jumped of a bridge and killed himself and a lot of his men followed him
The discussion about this rages on till this day.
Well done. Interesting!
Thank you, Randy.
Doing a video while wearing a Drillich is Boss. Subbed
Welcome to the channel.
The Cossacks were persecuted violently by USSR, hence you can't expect more.
It's understandable.
Sounds very familiar 🤔 referencing “Current Events”💪 Thank you for sharing Stephon 👍
no it does not
Thanks for your reply. Don't get the current events thing here...
@@HistoryHustle I will rephrase my comment, the past resembles the current modern model of humanity . Sorry I didn’t explain this more clearer Stephon and Jacek . ✌️
No problem.
Excellent work Sir
Thank you.
Good video! How many cossaks ended up in Liechtenstein (I have your previous video in mind where it is said that some pro axis russians found refuge there )?
I believe around 100.
Calling the Cossacks “pro Axis” isn’t accurate. They were anti-Communist first and foremost.
I had an honor to meet Colonel Constantine Kromiadi (in the center of the color photo on 8:41) in Munich in the summer of 1988. He was born to Greek parents, but loved Russia more than most of my Russian friends.
Interesting! Did he tell you about his experiences? Love to know!
My grandfather's Cossack regiment was fighting Turkish army during WWI and that's why it was so exiting for me to meet Colonel Kromiadi, who spent 3 years in the same area of Caucasus mountains. Later both were fighting bolsheviks in General Denikin's Army, might be just few miles from each other. We'll newer know...Mostly we talked about history and the amazing turns it takes sometimes. My grandfather did not emigrate after the defeat of White movement ...just moved to the another area, after their properties and cattle have been seized by communists. He volunteered to the Red Army in 1942 at age 46 and fought Germans. Grandpa told me many war stories, but his famous was from 1916, when their dismounted unit has been attacked by Kurds riding camels. 2 Maxim machine guns had no problems with 3 meter high targets....
Would you do a similar episode about the 14th Ukrainian SS Galicia unit? I would be very interested in this as it’s possible a relative of mine was in it although I cannot prove it. Thanks
Ukraine will be covered in the near future.
@@HistoryHustle thank you
Good Video. Thank you.
Thanks!
Just rewatched the video on the Soviet preparation for war. Stalin's immediate organisation of behind the lines Soviet Partisans contributed to this ethnic struggle. The randomness of survival is pause for thaught.
Thank you for watching and taking the time to write a reply, Phil!
Are there any more non german axis division left?
Plenty: Danish, Walloons, Ukrainians, Italians, Hungarians, Rumanians, Slovaks.
@@HistoryHustle thanks
Add in some Swede, Finns a few Swiss, the odd Icelandic, American volksdeutche , Bulgarian, Bosnian, Serbian, etc,
@@jamie7026 Serbian were fighting against the nazi puppet state of croatia which were putting them in camps. They wouldn't have really joined the Germans at all
@@HistoryHustle please October should be Hungarian month!! It’s my birthday!!
Good morning from California. Just saw a fun movie called American Pickle and the main character had all sorts of problems with the Cossacks. Cant wait for the history lesson
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The first video I watched on this channel was about Transnistria, can't wait for this one.
Cool! Have good memories of shooting that one. Hope you will enjoy this one tomorrow too!
@@HistoryHustle Thank you
Amazing video, many condolences to those men.
Thanks for watching 👌
These men are heroes!!!
Please explain.
@@HistoryHustlethe soviets massacre cossack pre WW2 ...they deported and massacre Ukraine Baltic , Crimea....they owere brutal enough that these people chose nazi collaboration vs Soviet occupation.....knowing if Germany lost war they would be liquidated
I had a girlfriend whose family were originally from Prussia, and had served in the army up until world war II. I noticed to my surprise when looking through some old family documents that her grandfather had begun his military career as an artillery officer in the Wehrmacht, then was transferred to the SS, then finally to the Cossacks. In the end he was captured, and spent a decade in the Gulags. I always thought it was unusual that he ended up in a Gulag for so long.
Thank you for sharing this.
10 years was pretty much the standard sentence for Germans captured by the Soviets. At least, for the ones who lived that long.
Interesting and informative
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Good Stuff, Thanks!
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Yes love this one very much !
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why no one talks about this topic
I do.
There are some heartbreaking films of the Cossacks and "Ostvolk " being handed over to murderous Bolshevik Kommisars and NKVD death squads in Austria at the demarcation line. Many committed suicide.
Which titles? Would be interesting to see.
@@HistoryHustle I've seen them on some uncensored Documentaries, but I think the film material belonged to the Imperial War Museum since it was mostly the Brits handing them over to the NKVD...
Great topic
Glad you enjoyed it.
Could you make a video on the Asano Brigade?
(Basically a brigade of White Russians that served in the Imperial Japanese Army)
Interesting topic. Dunno when I'll make a video, I have countless other topics I'm working on.
Yes, that is a great snd knowledgeable video. About the fate of the Cossacks, which were handed over by the British 8th Army to the Soviets there was decades ago a report from the Austrian TV channel ORF by Dr. Hugo Portisch, where the handing over of Soldiers wearing German Uniforms was more clearly explained as a war crime, what it probably was!?
My respect for the cossack brothers has grown even more it's in there blood to fight I reakon the cossack are for the cossacks yah man my respect has grown even more fa real
Ok.
Please let me know more about the Kuban Cossacks that fought with the Germans. Who was their leader, where did they fight in Europe and anything else that concerned them? Thanks!
Please research it yourself, I don't have time to go into that depth. Sorry.
How can you not like him! He’s on that history hustle!!!!
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Perfect. Thank you from Russia, sir.
Thanks for your reply.
Lienz the British have blood on their hands.
I understand.
Stefan is back in town
😎👍
I first learned of Cossacks from GoldenEye as a kid.
Remember that movie too!
In Croatia, in the regions of Podravina and Slavonia there are known for attrocies and war crimes. We had a bloody civil war, only the Domobran Army didn't commit war crimes, everyone else did, but the 15th SS Corps has outdone anyone else....
Okay, thanks for sharing. Soon more about Croatia in WW2.
The same in Poland during Warsaw Uprising. Let them go to hell.
They were in ss just nominally with a famous greeting "Halb Liter!". They didn't care about racial theory and other crap, they just tried to survive. I personally knew a cossack who've been in 15 KKK
Fascinating subject! The Ukrainians are very proud of Cossack heritage. They fought throughout the centuries, against or for the Turks, the Swedes, the Czar's to try and establish an independent homeland. Their traditional lands were always the battle ground of other bigger powers wars.
Thanks for watching!
Cosaks were fighting on the side of the Tsar
@@RisXXX Actually on the side of King George of Sweden as well against Czar Peter. I learned this at the Peter the Great museum in Poltava. A great museum by the way. Split loyalty was a function of which side certain Cossack groups thought would grant them independence.
They were always bothering Poland, not to mention committing atrocities against Jews.
@@edlawrence5059 It's true, the heartless atrocities and pogroms against Jews on the part of the Cossacks are well documented. But the Polish aristocratic owners of the Ukrainian Latifundia (the massive estates, farms and forests that covered huge amounts of territory) used the Jews as their tax and bill collectors and enforcers; meanwhile those Polish nobles lived in Moscow or Paris luxury and didn't have to "dirty their hands" personally to collect from the peasants. Thus the Cossacks came to see the Jews as the nearest "enemy" to take revenge on and attacked them with rage. The Jews had no choice of where to live, and most were just small artisans --- cobblers, tailors, shopkeepers. The Cossacks blamed and punished the Jews when their "real" grudges were with the remote Polish landowners. It's a sad and complex history of misunderstanding --- war, famine, disease, waste of innocent life.
How about the short-lived, post WWI Centrocaspian Dictatorship?? Would make an interesting topic to cover...
Perhaps in the future yes!
Read "Quiet Flows the Don" (Тихий Дон) (time period is WWI but it gives the background).
I've heard of it, sounds like an interesting read. Believe there's a movie too.
@@HistoryHustle There was a Russian language movie that has subtitles. There is a big scandal though in that the author, Sholokhov, may have stolen the manuscript and published it as his own.
Okay, interesting.
How sad is the way the British treated their Cossack prisoners? What did the Americans do? Read the book "Victims of Yalta".
Cossack Division was notorious in Croatia and Bosnia where they waged war against partisans. They were known for indiscriminate torching, pillaging and raping, not in just settlements that supported partisans, but also in neutral or pro-Axis. This was a problem because area in which they operated was predominantly Croatian and while Serbian population joined partisans because they were persecuted by Ustasha, Croats in that area remained mostly neutral until later in the war. Authorities of Independent State of Croatia made several appeals to Germans to remove them from Croatia, but they were dismissed, since Cossacks were main fighting force in Croatia north of river Sava. However, during 1944 some 25 Cossacks defected to Partisans and they formed Cossack detachment hoping more will defect. That didn't happen, despite many Poles, Czech, Croats etc. in German ranks willingly surrendering to partisans, Cossack remained reliable fighters
Thanks for sharing this additional information.
About cossacks in YU. Many times they saved Serbian civilians from Ustasha's slaughter,sometimes even getting in fight with them.
I haven't read much about the Cossacks in occupied Yugoslavia. Only things I read about their crual behaviour but not sure against which people. You could be right. If you have a source, lemme know.
@@HistoryHustle Most likely, he confuses the Cossacks from SS with the Russian Protective Corps, which was formed in German-occupied Yugoslavia from the local Russian white emigration for the self-defense of the Russian community. Indeed, he periodically fought with the Ustasha, Albanians and Bosnians and saved the Serbian population. And one of his commanders, General Boris Shteifon, was removed from command by the Germans for promoting Russian nationalism (Most amazingly, Boris Shteifon was a baptized Jew). But as I said, it was a different unit and should be distinguished from the SS Cossack division.
You should have started from the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth and cossacks as a miniority within this country. Then they separated from the Polish rule following Chmielnitski's uprising.
I had to pick a starting point. I can go all the way back to hunters and gatherers, but again, people are here to learn about Cossacks in WW2.
@@HistoryHustle ale Kozacy to Rosjanie i Ukraińcy .Historia rosyjskich Kozaków zaczyna się od Chmielnickiego. Ukraińscy Kozacy byli w Królestwie Polskim.W czasie II WŚ rosyjscy Kozacy byli w Armii Czerwonej.Ukraińcy w SS Galizien. Pozdrawiam .Miło Cię słuchać
A very thorough presentation. Many thanks.
I would like to add that if there are many influences from the Caucasus regarding the traditional uniform, dances and shashka sword, the Circassians and the Cossacks are completely different ethnically and linguistically (the mother of my father was Circassian).
The Cossacks were known for their love of freedom and military talents. Unfortunately, their romantic aura was tarnished by their virulent antisemitism.
It is not surprising that many of them fought on the side of Nazi Germany, although there were also many who fought against it. And regarding their forced repatriation, I must tell that when I read about it for the first time, I felt sorry for them. Until I learned about the atrocities they committed in Yugoslavia (my mother's country)...my compassion vanished completely. How could they betray the country that had welcomed them when they flew Russia and had lost everything? They had cadet schools and clubs there and the Yugoslavs greeted them as brothers. I can't consider them innocent victims.
Thanks for replying. Very interesting culture it is!
What was certainly a crime however was the repatriation of Russians who never fought for the Germans (including Cossacks) and of the family's of Russians, including children.
Thanx Staphan. (am I spelling your name right?) I watched this with interest because I know little of the Soviet hinterland. Seems these peoples were living a frontier life. That part of the world is a big place. Seems the Cossacks were just trying to live in a place they could call their own. But why so anti-Jewish?
It's Stefan ;) Thanks for your reply. Askinf the question is answering it: they wanted a place for their own.
@@HistoryHustle Thanx Stefan. I got it now. And I get your accent too. Your English is pretty good! There's a couple of UA-camrs I really have to listen to carefully. Even replay them and using closed captions, lol.
Very interesting!🇷🇼
Thanks!
We never stop learning 😢😢😢😢 Sad history if you were unlucky to be on the wrong side on that day...
Thanks for watching!
Just to add and this was touched on here in this cracking episode. Many of these Cossacks did NOT see themselves as Russian so therefore thought it unjustified to be repatriated as they did NOT associate themselves as “Russian”
They weren't seen as Russian but as Soviet citizens but then again: all knew what awaited them once they were handed over.
@@HistoryHustle Yes your quite correct...history is NEVER as clear as some might have us believe
Indeed.
They actually did see themselves as Russian, but not as Soviets. Many still had Imperial Russian passports and considered themselves citizens of Russia, but not of the Soviet Union, as the country they left was Russia and they never lived in the USSR which didn’t exist until after they left. A lot of the emigres, the White Russians, held “Nansen passports,” issued by the League of Nations to stateless persons (the Imperial passports were no longer valid for travel). Some of the Cossacks were waving their Nansen passports at the British as proof that they were not Soviet citizens but the British did not care.
Its deplorable that the US didn't do something to save them after the war.
@Customer Engineer well that makes sense because he hated the russians.
The US had made a deal with Stalin. They stick to it.
@@HistoryHustle yep. A very one sided deal.
@Lance Weyrich what happened right after ww2 has nothing whatsoever with what's going on now. The us military knew sending these people back was a death sentence. And the second the nazis were defeated the Russians were the enemy. I'm a left leaning liberal.
Specially for their atrocities.
These formations commited lot of crimes in Croatia during operations against Partisans.
True, they were allocated to that region at some point.
Thank you.
👍
In Chile, Miguel Krassnoff Martchenko, son of a Cossack, was in charge of counterterrorism operations against the MIR (revolutionary left movement), armed and trained by Cubans to create a ”foco guerrillero” in Chile.
Interesting. Didn't know this.
History Hustle je SUPER💪💪💪💪❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️Super, Super, Super.
Thanks for your enthusiasm.
On my humble "channel" there are 3 short videos with a Don cossack from 15KKK - Vladimir Pavlovitch Kapinos. He was for me as a third granddad. He succeeded to escape from pow camp in Lienz and avoided handover to the soviets. Then after 3 years in Austria he moved to Britain. Sadly he passed away in 2014.
Thanks for sharing.
Read, Operation Keelhaul by Tolstoy Thanks for a great video.
Thanks for your reply.
I met Tolstoy in 2015
Hey professor Stefan you keep forgetting to mention my name on the list of patrons
This was the old list (I compiled this video before the Summer) so yeah, sorry. It'll be updated soon. Nick T. (won't mention your full name in the comments here, but I know what it is) is it right?
@@HistoryHustle oh ok thank you sir lol I just thought it was funny, no problem thank you for responding! I will watch your channel and keep contributing anyways I love your channel!
Great!
Sounds good
Tomorrow!
can you do the Latvian legion of SS Please
Yes but not anytime soon. Sorry.
@@HistoryHustle oh it´s okay but you can do it on sometimes okay
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This shows how brutal the Soviet regime was to them, they even committed suicide (which didn't surprise me) to escape the horrible death camps.
I understand too.
The history is incomplete without reference to the Holodomor (1932-33) in which Stalin created an artificial famine and starved 9 million to death mainly in Ukraine, but also in Kuban Cossack lands. In the south east, 25% of the population perished. Germans were regarded as the lesser evil. Some Cossacks fought both Germans and Soviets and continued armed resistance to the communists into the 1960's.
This episode doesn't try to be 'a history of the Cossacks'. The Holodomor effected the Ukrainians but also other people of the USSR (Russians, Cossacks and Kazakh) like you said. I mention Stalin's continuing terror against the Cossacks.