Russians fighting for the Nazis during WWII
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Russians fighting for the Nazis during WWII
Lots of russians fought for Hitler. Lots of people from different countries fought for the Nazis during WWII
Spoiler: The kremlin’s bullshit propaganda about Ukrainians fighting for Hitler during the WWII is not only bullshit but also enormously hypocritical even by the kremlin’s standards. More russians than Ukrainians fought for Hitler during WWII. Before Operation Barbarossa, Soviet Union was on Hitler’s side. After Operation Barbarossa, still more russians than Ukrainans fought on Hitler’s side. In fact, lots of other people from the Soviet Union fought on Hitler’s side. In fact, lots of people from other countries than the Soviet Union and the Axis powers fought on Hitler’s side. Conclusion. The kremlin is full of shit. This post was inspired by Ilia Ponomarenko’s tweet.
Some people are more stupid than other people. That’s why they believe and spread bullshit from the kremlin. The kremlin has been spewing out incredible amounts of bullshit since the little person in the kremlin decided to wage war against Ukraine. Much of this bullshit concerns Ukrainians being nazis in the past fighting with Hitler against the Soviet Union. In fact, more russians and people from other parts fought in Hitler’s armies than Ukrainians.
The St. Andrew's Flag, used by Russian Liberation Army and the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia
Source: Wikipedia
Russians on Hitler’s side before Operation Barbarossa
To begin with, the Soviet Union entered a pact, the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, with Nazi-Germany in 1939. The purpose of this pact was to divide Poland between them and delimit their “spheres of influence” in other parts of Eastern Europe. This could not be done without a war on Poland. So, on 1 September 1939, the Nazis attacked Poland from the west and 17 days later the Red Army attacked Poland from the east. On the morning the same day, Soviet Union unilaterally terminated the non-aggression pact it had signed with Poland.
The two brothers in arms also cooperated in what they considered administrative measures regarding the border between their two occupied parts of Poland, held a Victory Parade together in Brest-Litovsk, and more.
Their pact did not end on Stalin’s initiative. He was happy with the pact that allowed Hitler to murder jews without being disturbed. In fact, Stalin sent a number of jews to Hitler at his request, most known of those are the German jews who were communists and who had fled the Nazis to Moscow.
Russians on Hitler’s side after Operation Barbarossa
The most famous russian military formation on Hitler’s side was perhaps the Russian Liberation Army. Maybe you recognise its flag.
Source: Wikipedia
The Russian Liberation Army is infamous for its brutality during the crushing of the Warsaw Uprising when the Nazis During the uprising, Stalin had his troops stand by and watch from the other side of the Wisla.
Lots of people from other countries on Hitler’s side before and after Operation Barbarossa
Other russians soldiers were found in the 1st SS Cossack Cavalry Division, the XV Cossack Cavalry Corps, the Kaminski Brigade, the First Russian National Army, and the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS, to mention the largest and most well-known. Some of these merged in to the Russian Liberation Army. Not only russians but also Armenians, Azerbaijanis, Belorussians, Turkmen, Tatars, and other ethnic groups from the Soviet Union fought in Hitler’s armies.
In fact, there were lots of people from different countries who fought in Hitler’s armies, including Swedes in the Waffen-SS Abteilung Division Sveaborg and in the 5th SS Divison Wiking. Here’s a list which shows Foreign Waffen-SS units recruited by Nazi Germany, here’s a list of Wehrmacht foreign volunteers and conscripts, and here’s an article about Non-Germans in the German armed forces during World War II.