I wish my old Polish in laws were still alive. They lived through the entire event and it was interesting to hear their perspective of it.
The war in Europe was far from being as "black and white" as history portrays it.
I’ll bet they hated Russians a lot more than the Germans.
My mother in law *was* a Russian. Neither of them were fond of Germans as a group. But they had no hard feelings for the couple who owned the work farm where they met.
My mother in law refused to go back to Russia after the war. Both of them figured out some way to live in England until they could make their way to Canada. My brother in law was born in England.
I wish my old Polish in laws were still alive. They lived through the entire event and it was interesting to hear their perspective of it.
The war in Europe was far from being as "black and white" as history portrays it.
I’ll bet they hated Russians a lot more than the Germans.
My mother in law *was* a Russian. Neither of them were fond of Germans as a group. But they had no hard feelings for the couple who owned the work farm where they met.
My mother in law refused to go back to Russia after the war. Both of them figured out some way to live in England until they could make their way to Canada. My brother in law was born in England.
If she had gone back, she would have been sent to Siberia and/or killed. Stalin had every POW who was returned shot or sent to the gulags.
Many Americans don't realize that there were thousands of Russians who were were aligned with the Germans. There were also Frenchmen aligned with Germany. Some were even in the Waffen SS.
I wish my old Polish in laws were still alive. They lived through the entire event and it was interesting to hear their perspective of it.
The war in Europe was far from being as "black and white" as history portrays it.
I’ll bet they hated Russians a lot more than the Germans.
My mother in law *was* a Russian. Neither of them were fond of Germans as a group. But they had no hard feelings for the couple who owned the work farm where they met.
My mother in law refused to go back to Russia after the war. Both of them figured out some way to live in England until they could make their way to Canada. My brother in law was born in England.
If she had gone back, she would have been sent to Siberia and/or killed. Stalin had every POW who was returned shot or sent to the gulags.
That was what she was afraid of, although she wasn't a POW proper.
I’ll bet they hated Russians a lot more than the Germans.
My father and his parents were Polish , they were in Europe all through the war, my Grandpa was a POW. my mother and her parents were also in Europe all through the war ,(but not from Poland.) As a boy I would go with my parents to visit the welcoming family home of a German veteran from the Eastern front. we didn't associate with any Soviets. ..
My Polish Grandpa served in the German Imperial navy prior to WW1, and during WW1.
however he served for Poland during WW2....maybe he and his family got some preferential treatment because of his past military service to Germany...To the best of my knowledge, there was no hate expressed by my surving widowed grandmother or my own father, toward Germany after WW2.
Add:::post war,....my Polish aunty even married a German blondie Aryan appearance veteran pilot and they settled in West Germany....she nursed him and his combat injuries till his premature death. I never met the man but , I did see his photo in uniform she still had on the wall of her flat, when I visited her in the later half of the 70s....she still had that photo hanging up even through she had remarried.
-Bulletproof and Waterproof don't mean Idiotproof.
I wish my old Polish in laws were still alive. They lived through the entire event and it was interesting to hear their perspective of it.
The war in Europe was far from being as "black and white" as history portrays it.
Unfortunately, 25 years from now no one will be alive to have these discussions.
kwg
For liberals and anarchists, power and control is opium, selling envy is the fastest and easiest way to get it. TRR. American conservative. Never trust a white liberal. Malcom X Current NRA member.
Many Americans don't realize that there were thousands of Russians who were were aligned with the Germans. There were also Frenchmen aligned with Germany. Some were even in the Waffen SS.
There is not a great deal written about the men from defeated countries who then fought for the Germans.
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
Many Americans don't realize that there were thousands of Russians who were were aligned with the Germans. There were also Frenchmen aligned with Germany. Some were even in the Waffen SS.
Some 50,000 Russians IIRC, fought for the Germans on the eastern front.
When things were really dire and the Germans were packing out , German NCOs would ask their commanders; 'what shalll we do with these Russians?...shall we just shoot them?
...I don't know how many they did shoot, but a number were released to fend for themselves and try and make their way back through to behind the Soviet lines.... how many successfully blended back into soviet territory and how many were discovered and punished by the Soviets is anyones guess.
AS far foreign SS servicemen, it may interest some to know that Middle East recruits into the SS actually fought for the last stand defence of BERLIN....post war some of those Arabs got involved in the western ntelligence services for the Cold War... some actually became advisers to Yasser Arafat.. .. and also provided intelligence to Mossad.
It was x-SS servicemen still in network- contact and trained by German intel chief Reinhard Gehlen and working together with Otto Skorzeny (who was once Hitlers close right hand man SS Commando.-Obersturmbannführer ) that Helped Israel will intel to find and destroy stashes of equipment that Egypt had prepared for the 1967 Six Day War. such assistance was instrumental in giving Israel a substantial advantage in achieving victory. That post war Nazi network of henchmen and intelligence providers, also did other vitally important things for Israel-Mossad, as well as number of other countries that required their highly valuable clandestine services.
-Bulletproof and Waterproof don't mean Idiotproof.
By the end of 1941 German Generals were already complaining about the lower quality of replacements it was receiving from Germany. Non the less German was already desperate for bodies the replace the fallen. They recruited throughout the conquered nations for additional replacements and visited POW camps for more.
Germans considered non-German replacements as inferior and placed them in behind the lines units to free more Germans to front line service though some replacements were formed into units to fight partizans, especially in the Balkans.
Aside: When Italy surrendered in 1943, Germans did shot many of their Italian "allies".
Aside: When Italy surrendered in 1943, Germans did shot many of their Italian "allies".
Italian Communists were a much larger problem for the Italians who had followed Mussolini. In fact it was Italian Communists who killed Mussolini and his mistress and hung them up to be viewed.
Many Americans don't realize that there were thousands of Russians who were were aligned with the Germans. There were also Frenchmen aligned with Germany. Some were even in the Waffen SS.
There is not a great deal written about the men from defeated countries who then fought for the Germans.
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
About 500,000 men from countries around Europe served in the Waffen SS during the war and some like the. Joint Division were among the best troops the Germans had.
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
Woody - thanks for that. I have read that before, along with a few other things. What I have never seen covered in depth was what became of these men after the war. Best, John
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
Thanks for the film, Jorge. The common thread in all of the foreign legions of the SS was “to combat Bolshevism”.
Whether propaganda or not? Seemed to work.
Funny that after the "tactical retrograde" of the British 8th army from the gazala line ( Libya) back toward Egypt that they left the First Free French brigade on their far right flank to cover their retreat. The FFL brigade was a hodgepodge of colonial forces ( Tahitian, Senegalese, Ubangi-Shari, etc) and one foreign legion demi-brigade. The 13eme. They actually stopped Rommel in his tracks and destroyed several Italian reenforced armored units at Bir Hachiem. Ok I digress, a number of the legionnaires were captured after the pull out. The official report to Berlin was the 13eme was basically composed of “Jews and Red Spaniards”. Which was pretty much spot on.
There were more misplaced German and Polish Jewish university professors and staff in the 13eme that any other allied combat unit. They were jokingly refered to as the academic brigade. And a large number of those former Republican soldiers from Spain seeking asylum in France found a home in La Legion Étrangere.
Last edited by kaywoodie; 03/21/19.
Founder Ancient Order of the 1895 Winchester
"Come, shall we go and kill us venison? And yet it irks me the poor dappled fools, Being native burghers of this desert city, Should in their own confines with forked heads Have their round haunches gored."
