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The Germans also recruited anti-Bolshevik Soviets. There were millions of Russians and Ukranians who would have joined the Germans because of hatred toward the Communism and Soviet society. Hitler refused to take advatage of this opportunity. Wehrmacht commanders in the field recruited Soviet helpers, but in secrt. German recruitment was limited because of Hitler's genocidal policies and brutal occupation regime. Hitler stronly resisted the very idea of arming the Russians. As Slavs they were a people targeted under Generalplan Ost. Hitler was thus afraid that if he armned them, they would ultimately rise up against Germany. Substantial numbers were recruited, mostly from POWs in the field and later frpm concentratiion camps. Whermacht units in the field began began recruting Hilfswillige or Hiwi (helper) units. They were mostly used as labor and not armed combat units. It was done in secrevy, not from the allies, but from Hitler who was adamently against militarizing the Slavs. [Anders and Munoz] The largest formation was the Russian Liberation Army. They were never, however, used in any numbers in combat operations. Worker bataliaons were used, often without telling Hitler who was furious when he learned the extent to which Russians were being recruited. The same was true of the Ukranians, an ethnic group that would have joined the Germans in large numbers. But they were also targeted by Generalplan Ost. Another importabt group was the Ukranians. Because of Stalin's genocidal policies in the Ukraine, such as the Ukranian Famine, there was wide side anti-Soviet sentinent, essenially in the central and western Ukraine. Not all Ukranians lived in the Soviet Ukraine, there were large numbers of Ukranians living in eastern Poland, especially the southern areas like Galicia. And there were tensions with Poles and the Polish Government. The Soviets along with the NAZIs invaded Poland (Seotmber 1939). The Soviets occupied eastern Poland with its miked population inclusing Ukranians. There were also some Ukranians in Eestern Poland. The NAZIs at this stage courted the Ukranians, suggesting that a future indepebdent Ukranian state was possible. This eased the occupation of Poland s the Ukranianhs were so anti Polish. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Ukrainian: Організація Українських Націоналістів--ONU) was organized in eastern Poland before the ar (1929). The OUN was a union between the Ukrainian Military Organization, smaller radical right-wing groups, and right-wing Ukrainian nationalists and intellectuals organized by Dmytro Dontsov, Yevhen Konovalets, Mykola Stsyborsky and other Ukranian leaders.
As a result of the German-Soviet invasion of Poland, the OUN which from the beginning was an uneasy coalition split into two parts. The older, more moderate faction was led by Andriy Melnyk (OUN-M). The more radical fction with many of the younger members supported Stepan Bandera (OUN-B). The OUN-B had received some NAZI support and encoragement before Barbarossa. As the Whermacht drove into the Ukraine, the OUN-B declared an independent Ukrainian state in the area cleared of Soviet control (June 1941). Instead of supporting this action and helping OUN recruit an anti-Soviet Ukranian army, Hitler ordered the OUN leadership arrested and the idea of an independent Ukraine was edtinguished. The Whrmacht success in the opening weeks of Barbarissa convinced Hitler that succes was a hand and the complications associated with an Ukrnian ally wre not worth the benedits. After all the Uktnians were also Slavs and like the Ruians, a targeted oeople undef Generalplan Ost. This mean that the possibility os widespread Ukrainian support for Barbarossa was rejected. Brutal NAZI occupation policies convinced most Ukranians that they had no choie but to fight the Germans as part of the Red army. OUN-B established the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) (October 1942). They would fight both the NAZIs and Soviets. Hitler was more amenable to the recruiting of Cossock and Muslim units. The Whermacht actually formed units and they proved fierce fighters. Their numbers, however, were too small to have any major impact.
There were millions of Russians who would have joined the Germans because of hatred toward the Communism and Soviet society. Hitler refused to take advatage of this opportunity. Wehrmacht commanders in the field recruited Soviet helpers, but in secrt. German recruitment was limited because of Hitler's genocidal policies and brutal occupation regime. Hitler stronly resisted the very idea of arming the Russians. As Slavs they were a people targeted under Generalplan Ost. Hitler was thus afraid that if he armned them, they would ultimately rise up against Germany. Substantial numbers were recruited, mostly from POWs in the field and later frpm concentratiion camps. Whermacht units in the field began began recruting Hilfswillige or Hiwi (helper) units. They were mostly used as labor and not armed combat units. It was done in secrevy, not from the allies, but from Hitler who was adamently against militarizing the Slavs. [Anders and Munoz] The largest formation was the Russian Liberation Army. They were never, however, used in any numbers in combat operations. Worker bataliaons were used, often without telling Hitler who was furious when he learned the extent to which Russians were being recruited.
Ther were even more Ukranians than Russians that would have joined the Germans in large numbers. But they were also targeted by Generalplan Ost. Another importabt group was the Ukranians. Because of Stalin's genocidal policies in the Ukraine, such as the Ukranian Famine, there was wide side anti-Soviet sentinent, essenially in the central and western Ukraine. Not all Ukranians lived in the Soviet Ukraine, there were large numbers of Ukranians living in eastern Poland, especially the southern areas like Galicia. And there were tensions with Poles and the Polish Government. The Soviets along with the NAZIs invaded Poland (Seotmber 1939). The Soviets occupied eastern Poland with its miked population inclusing Ukranians. There were also some Ukranians in Eestern Poland. The NAZIs at this stage courted the Ukranians, suggesting that a future indepebdent Ukranian state was possible. This eased the occupation of Poland s the Ukranianhs were so anti Polish. The Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (Ukrainian: Організація Українських Націоналістів--ONU) was organized in eastern Poland before the ar (1929). The OUN was a union between the Ukrainian Military Organization, smaller radical right-wing groups, and right-wing Ukrainian nationalists and intellectuals organized by Dmytro Dontsov, Yevhen Konovalets, Mykola Stsyborsky and other Ukranian leaders.
As a result of the German-Soviet invasion of Poland, the OUN which from the beginning was an uneasy coalition split into two parts. The older, more moderate faction was led by Andriy Melnyk (OUN-M). The more radical fction with many of the younger members supported Stepan Bandera (OUN-B). The OUN-B had received some NAZI support and encoragement before Barbarossa. As the Whermacht drove into the Ukraine, the OUN-B declared an independent Ukrainian state in the area cleared of Soviet control (June 1941). Instead of supporting this action and helping OUN recruit an anti-Soviet Ukranian army, Hitler ordered the OUN leadership arrested and the idea of an independent Ukraine was extinguished. The Whrmacht success in the opening weeks of Barbarissa convinced Hitler that succes was a hand and the complications associated with an Ukrnian ally wre not worth the benedits. After all the Uktnians were also Slavs and like the Russians, a targeted oeople undef Generalplan Ost. This mean that the possibility os widespread Ukrainian support for Barbarossa was rejected. Brutal NAZI occupation policies convinced mot Okranians that they had no choie but rt fight the Germabs as part of the Red army. OUN-B established the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) (October 1942). They would have to fight both the NAZIs and Soviets.
Modern Belarus is acombination of the western Soviet Union and former Eastern Poland. The Belarusians primarily lived un the country, with the cities having substantil numbers of of minorities, often anout half of major ciies, incluing Rusians, Poles and Jews. Belarusian natianal identity was much weaker than in the surrounding countries (Lithunua, Poland, Russian, and Ukraine. In the Soviet-Polish War, many Belarussians identified more with the Russin than Poles (1919-20). Belarussians like others in the Soviet Union were targetted by Sovit secret polices forces, especially Stalin's NKVD. There is not exact cciunting, but estimates of victims range to 0.6-1.4 million pople, Some 0.2-0.3 million were deported as Kulaks during Stalin's collectivization program. The scale of Soviet terror in Belarus has been described as sespecially high in Bylorusia, more intense than in Russia and Ukraine, leading to a substantil levvel of Russification. Belarusian is one of the East Slavic languages and shares many grammatical and lexical features with other members of the group. Thus to some extent, Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian are mutually intelligible. This was a factor in the Russification proicess. The Germans occupoed all of Bylorussia within weeks of launching Barbarosa (June 1941). Thevlevel of repression was very high. There were ome military units formed fom nti-Soviet Nyorussians. There was also intense partisan activity. which led to horific pasification operations (1943-44). The western parts of the Soviet Byelorussian SSR initially became part of the Reichskommissariat Ostland. The Germans as theWar increasingly went against them attempt to make concessions. They allowed Bylorussian collaborators to create a client state-- the Belarusian Central Rada (1043). It lasted
only about a year until the Red Armynlaunched Operation Bagration tht smashed the German Army Group Central (July 1944).
The Cossacks, were the highly independent, some would say predatory horsemen of the Russian steppe and Causcasus Mountains. Their range extended east to Siberia. The fought the southern expansion of the Tsarist Empire and thn became firce Tsarist cavalry units, especially know for conducting bloody anti-Jewih pogroms in the Ukraine.
Cossocks were divided by the Russian Civil War that followed the October Revolution (1917). Cossack groups supported both sides of the conflict, but provided the core of the White Army Some Cossack units in Ukraininan conyinued the old tradition of anti-Jewush pogroms. As a result of their support of the Whites, the victorious Bolsheviks launched a major repression effort--Decossackization. It was before Stalin was in control a genocidal campaign. One historian reports 10,000 Cosocks slaughtered systematically in just a few weeks (January 1919). [O'Rourke] This was the beggining of the end for the Cossack people. Many more doed in Stalins Ukranian Famine (1932-33). Cossacks after the NAZI invasion of the Soviet Union fought on both sides of the desperate struggle conducted on the Eastern Front. Precise statistics are not available, but most historians believe that most Cossacks fought with the Red Army. There were, however, a substantial number that fought with the Germans. Many were employed in bloody German anti- partisan activities. Few had any particular ideological affinity with the NAZIS, but as a result of Stalinist policies (Collectivization and Decossackization), many were anti-Soviet. They dreamed of an independent or autonomous Cosakia. The British turned over Cossacks that fought with the Germans to the Soviets after the War. The Soviets killed them or committed to the Gulag. They also instituted reprisals against the Cossack population.
Anders, Wladyslaw and Antonio Munoz. "Russian Volunteers in the German Wehrmacht in WWII," Feldgrau.com.
O'Rourke, Shane. The Cossocks (2007).
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