ϟϟ Foreign Fighters Part 1 - The Non-German Germanics Fighting for Hitler - WW2 Special

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  • čas přidán 4. 06. 2020
  • The SS are the elite force of the Third Reich, representing everything good about the German race. But half of them will one day be foreign-born non-Germans. How did this happen?
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    Between 2 Wars: • Between 2 Wars
    Source list: bit.ly/WW2sources
    Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
    Written by: Francis van Berkel
    Director: Astrid Deinhard
    Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
    Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson, Bodo Rittenauer
    Creative Producer: Joram Appel
    Post-Production Director: Wieke Kapteijns
    Research by: Francis van Berkel
    Edited by: Mikołaj Cackowski
    Sound design: Marek Kamiński
    Map animations: Eastory ( / eastory )
    Colorizations by:
    Dememorabilia - / dememorabilia
    Sources:
    Bundesarchiv
    Riksarkivet, image no. Fo30141711140064, Fo30141711140100_67, Fo30141711140102, Fo30141711140092
    National Museum of Denmark
    National Archives of Denmark
    National Library of Norway
    Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
    USHMM
    from the Noun Project: Glasses by Yeong Rong Kim, Smile by The Icon Z, family tree by Kid Kitaro
    Soundtracks from the Epidemic Sound:
    Johannes Bornlof - The Inspector 4
    Philip Ayers - Trapped in a Maze
    Reynard Seidel - Deflection
    Johannes Bornlof - Deviation In Time
    Fabien Tell - Last Point of Safe Return
    Rannar Sillard - March Of The Brave 10
    Gunnar Johnsen - Not Safe Yet
    Archive by Screenocean/Reuters www.screenocean.com.
    A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

Komentáře • 1,4K

  • @WorldWarTwo
    @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +853

    If you came for the glory of the SS you will be disappointed by this video, there is nothing cool about the SS, truly nothing. They represent the most terrible part of humanity and perpetrated the worst crimes against humanity that you can imagine, things a short video like this cannot do justice on its own. To understand the depths of these horrors we recommend that you follow our War Against Humanity series, also hosted by Spartacus here: czcams.com/play/PLsIk0qF0R1j4cwI-ZuDoBLxVEV3egWKoM.html
    Before commenting, please read our rules:
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    • @pastlife960
      @pastlife960 Před 3 lety +54

      Do people really think the SS were glorious?!

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +112

      @@pastlife960 some people on the far right fringe do.

    • @Max-is4qu
      @Max-is4qu Před 3 lety +105

      Those uniforms where stylish as hell though

    • @gretellmontiel4364
      @gretellmontiel4364 Před 3 lety +3

      Lol what kinda font did you use for the ss?

    • @PalleRasmussen
      @PalleRasmussen Před 3 lety +87

      @@pastlife960 not just the extreme right wing. I admit to admire the soldierly qualities of the senior divisions. However, those were linked to an inhumanity that abhors, so...
      But, studying the SS, is time for reflection; can you really say that if you were born in 1920-ish Germany, grew up with the chaos and uncertainty of the great depression in Germany, saw Hitler come to power to "Make Germany Great Again", you would not have joined? Can you say that, experiencing the horrors of the Eastern Front, while your mother, sisters and sweetheart are being bombed back home, you would not commit war crimes?
      I believe it is important to ask yourself that question, honestly. And to understand that they were just humans- not some kind of monsters- if we are to avoid those horrors repeated; especially in the world we live in right now, where it seems a lot of tendencies are repeating from the 20-ies...

  • @sparrow7625
    @sparrow7625 Před 3 lety +1241

    A joke I saw.
    "My grandpa fought in WW2"
    "Really,what rank?"
    "Had a couple of bolts on his uniform,electrician i guess."

    • @Max-is4qu
      @Max-is4qu Před 3 lety +275

      Mine had a skull on his cap, I think he was a grave digger

    • @mikhail-yug-9581
      @mikhail-yug-9581 Před 3 lety +55

      @@Max-is4qu It was an old symbol, used in the 18th century too, but the Schutzstaffel infected it, and it got banned.

    • @tiihtu2507
      @tiihtu2507 Před 3 lety +51

      It took me way long to realize you weren't talking about hex bolts. 😂

    • @insaneclownponies9599
      @insaneclownponies9599 Před 3 lety +144

      Mine had this weird Eurasian peace symbol on his armband. Must have been a foreign peacekeeping dignitary.

    • @Max-is4qu
      @Max-is4qu Před 3 lety +109

      @@insaneclownponies9599 Mine also had alot of these hindu symbols in his house, he must have been a very spiritual person.

  • @vlada17544
    @vlada17544 Před 3 lety +472

    There was a common joke in Germany in those times. The perfect German recruit should have following qualities: blond like Hitler, athletic like Göring and sharp sighted like Himmler.

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +39

      It was a widespread enough joke to be told among Germans in exile, and featured in at least one propaganda leaflet, I think a Soviet one in German.

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 Před 3 lety +22

      You left out..."Tall and blonde, like Goebbels, And above all...HANDSOME, like Hitler".

    • @3gunslingers
      @3gunslingers Před 3 lety +36

      @@scottleft3672
      _"HANDSOME, like Hitler"_ would not work in this joke. During his rise to power many women in Germany admired Hitler for his "handsomeness".

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 Před 3 lety +5

      @@3gunslingers I quoted the joke verbatum., minus the additional 2 lines the other fellah wrote, the"handsome as Hitler' line was exactly as i heard it in the 80's and saw reference to it from earlier...the men were the ones who said this, women were too much into "pop stars', and Hitler was one of the first...but the joke was coined at THE END of the war, no-one would have DARED try it on in 41...if i can find the original quote, i'll let you know....the book, "We will not be silent" has a quote like yours, i'm sure there were many versions.

    • @3gunslingers
      @3gunslingers Před 3 lety +2

      @@scottleft3672
      Thanks!

  • @yourstruly4817
    @yourstruly4817 Před 3 lety +927

    Interesting fact: former Estonian SS soldiers guarded the Nuremberg trials. They even had a Swastika on their uniform. Mark Felton made a video about this.

    • @JoeGatz1
      @JoeGatz1 Před 3 lety +67

      Wasn't the swastika on their uniform "symbolic". As in weighing the Nazi regime on the scales of justice?

    • @titanuranus3095
      @titanuranus3095 Před 3 lety +103

      @@JoeGatz1 How is a swastica ever not symbolic? It is a bleeding symbol for cripes sake!

    • @yourstruly4817
      @yourstruly4817 Před 3 lety +30

      @@JoeGatz1 Yes, but it's weird to have a swastika on an Allied uniform.

    • @michaelpaz8226
      @michaelpaz8226 Před 3 lety +12

      The 4221 guards company right?

    • @yourstruly4817
      @yourstruly4817 Před 3 lety +2

      @@michaelpaz8226 Yes

  • @hannahskipper2764
    @hannahskipper2764 Před 3 lety +288

    Himmler: no glasses in the SS!
    Foreign recruit: Okay...buddy, what ever you say, Four Eyes!

    • @hannahskipper2764
      @hannahskipper2764 Před 3 lety +5

      @Barry Baz yeah, I've heard that. What an inferiority complex. 🤦‍♀️🙄

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 Před 3 lety +8

      And..'." what made you join the nazis?...
      Oh the cool nordic sounding fellah on the radio, he seems tall and sure footed, ja?!.

    • @hannahskipper2764
      @hannahskipper2764 Před 3 lety +4

      @@scottleft3672 very well, it's all about hypocritical appearances here. Oh, and victory. We demand victory. Cost be damned. Got that?

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 Před 3 lety +2

      @Barry Baz No, that was Eichman.

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 Před 3 lety +2

      @@hannahskipper2764 JA!

  • @JagerLange
    @JagerLange Před 3 lety +196

    9:18 - "I'm not a Nazi, I was just bored!"

    • @johanliebert6734
      @johanliebert6734 Před 3 lety +25

      Aren't we all?

    • @Otokichi786
      @Otokichi786 Před 3 lety

      Not so long ago: czcams.com/video/dmhgcC5dYkE/video.html

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 Před 3 lety

      @@Otokichi786 czcams.com/video/sTSA_sWGM44/video.html ...also not long ago.

    • @arudegesture
      @arudegesture Před 3 lety +3

      It's also factually incorrect. That guy who joined was a high-ranking member of the Swedish Nazi Youth movement.

  • @gianniverschueren870
    @gianniverschueren870 Před 3 lety +364

    Spartacus, you look like you're about ready to rule Wall Street in the 90s. Simple tie, but great contrast with the rest of the suit. Love it. 4/5

    • @edward9674
      @edward9674 Před 3 lety +17

      You like Huey Lewis and the News?

    • @DoraFauszt
      @DoraFauszt Před 3 lety +9

      I love your outfit comments each time Gianni!

    • @victorbruant389
      @victorbruant389 Před 3 lety +3

      Hipsters didn't exist until the early 2000s.

    • @gianniverschueren870
      @gianniverschueren870 Před 3 lety

      @@DoraFauszt Appreciate it Dora

    • @markcantemail8018
      @markcantemail8018 Před 3 lety +3

      Victor . In a Sienfeld Episode some body got in Kramers face . They called hum a Hipster Dufus .

  • @avanticurecanti9998
    @avanticurecanti9998 Před 3 lety +152

    >can't have vision problems
    What are those things in front of Himmler's eyes?

    • @filipsebest2170
      @filipsebest2170 Před 3 lety +27

      Well, Himmler was Director.
      He didn't need good eyesight. He was a manager type of person.
      Not soldier.....

    • @TheGodEmperorOfMankind_
      @TheGodEmperorOfMankind_ Před 3 lety +6

      It's called fashion honey, look it up

    • @lavrentivs9891
      @lavrentivs9891 Před 3 lety +13

      Half-blind former chicken farmer who was notorious for fainting at the sight of blood. Not exactly what you think of when you hear the term "übermensch" ^^

    • @kiiik8801
      @kiiik8801 Před 3 lety

      head up displays ?

    • @jliller
      @jliller Před 3 lety +5

      Hypocrisy in Hitler's regime? Who did Nazi that coming?

  • @Dev_Six
    @Dev_Six Před 3 lety +135

    The last Finnish SS officer died few months ago (Most of them joined because Finland and Germany were allies and the link I posted earlier was an article about the man, Brynolf Palmgren from the magazine "Suomen Sotilas" that covers everything about Finnish army and soldiers.)

    • @derekstynes9631
      @derekstynes9631 Před 3 lety +37

      The Brave Finns who stood up to Stalin and His Terror , The Best Winter Fighters bar none !

    • @lavrentivs9891
      @lavrentivs9891 Před 3 lety

      Finnish study on the topic: arkisto.fi/uploads/Julkaisut/sarjajulkaisut/SS-VOLUNTEERS_verkkoon.pdf

    • @MissRetThreatisBack
      @MissRetThreatisBack Před 3 lety

      so finally the white finnish are finished!!! fly the finish flag!

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 Před 3 lety +2

      Is THAT what they claimed, Finland...lol..see The Milici and the French Popular Party.

    • @arudegesture
      @arudegesture Před 3 lety +6

      They didn't join the SS because they were allied with Germany but because they were Nazis and fascists. Finland has a long fascist history. Svinhufvud and the Lapua movement comes to mind.

  • @CkjmediaNo2410
    @CkjmediaNo2410 Před 3 lety +100

    I am from Norway and my grandfather was in the SS. We think he was corporal based on a picture of him in uniform and info from Wikipedia, but we're not sure. We have found the following awards (again, info from Wikipedia): Iron Cross 2nd Grade, Eastern Front Medal (we know he was stationed at Leningrad in 1943), Infantry Assault Badge (silver) and the Wound Badge (he got shot in the shoulder).
    We also have diaries that he wrote during that period and a bunch of letters. The problem is that my grandfather's handwriting is very poor and in the diaries he tends to switch between German and Norwegian. The letters have also been censored by the German authorities.
    We do not know why they signed up, but the general excuse was that they wanted to protect Norway from the Soviet Union. After the war, he was sentenced to three years of hard labor, which according to him was like being in a summer camp. I don't think he enjoyed it, but apparently it wasn't as bad as the authorities intended it to be.
    Anyway, he was always good to the family, he even taught me to play golf. There was some noise around the dinner table when my father joined the Norwegian Communist Party (AKP) in the 70s, but it wasn't really a problem. He was also very positive that my father married my mother who is from the Philippines and he had no problems with my father hiring a Jew (my dad owns an eyewear shop).
    We may find some answers in the diaries and letters, or maybe not. It is quite possible he was a different person at the front line than he was with the family. I doubt we will ever get any definitive answers. Reality tends to defy simplicity.
    When it comes to things from that period, we will probably donate it to the Norwegian Holocaust Museum after we have gone through it.

    • @keesvandenbroek331
      @keesvandenbroek331 Před 2 lety +12

      brings the war close to you. difficult to tell it. thanks for sharing

    • @thepolarbear8449
      @thepolarbear8449 Před 2 lety +10

      Thanks for sharing your story

    • @TheLordNovo
      @TheLordNovo Před 2 lety +2

      If you would ever consider selling that which you have mentioned, I would be more than willing to discuss that prospect

    • @sonnyblc7287
      @sonnyblc7287 Před rokem +5

      My great-grandfather was in the Bosnian Waffen-SS. He also wrote diaries and letters. My Grandmother said the last letter he wrote was that he was sent to Romania, they never heard of him again so we assume he died there. When the communists took over they burned all documents and letters in fear of our family getting executed.

    • @Richard_Lush
      @Richard_Lush Před rokem

      How was he treated after the war? I’m researching foreign fighters who were in the German forces in WW2 and how they were treated by their respective countries when returning after the war. In some cases like the Soviet Union it’s pretty clear but in others not so much. Thanks for sharing this.

  • @olegdzyuba2489
    @olegdzyuba2489 Před 3 lety +425

    Really hope you guys do an episode on the Russian Liberation Army once the time comes.

    • @Mytholuspng
      @Mytholuspng Před 3 lety +26

      Maybe connected to a biography special about general vlasov? This would be great

    • @combain
      @combain Před 3 lety +17

      If they will I really hope that they will at least consult Russian historian Kirill Alexandrov, he is a well-known specialist on ROA. If they won't I personally would be very disappointed.

    • @wyattpeterson6286
      @wyattpeterson6286 Před 3 lety +3

      @@combainis there a book about the Russian liberation army?

    • @Artur_M.
      @Artur_M. Před 3 lety +11

      Not to be confused with the Russian National/People's Liberation Army (RONA) or Kaminski brigade.

    • @combain
      @combain Před 3 lety +8

      @@Artur_M. All these forces were later (in October 1944) merged into KONR (Committee for Liberation of Peoples of Russia). Before that they were quite different and had a various insignia and uniforms.

  • @colko64
    @colko64 Před 3 lety +95

    My father volunteered the Waffen-SS as a 17 year old boy. He was born as son of a polish immigrant to Germany. In early 1930 the family was granted german citizenship, but faces some discriminations all the time (partly because they were catholics in a protestant environnent).
    My father served in the signal company of the 10. SS-Panzerdivision Frundsberg. In November 1944 he was injured an lost both legs. He was then 19 years old.
    I asked my father, why he joined the Waffen-SS. He had several answers to that question. One was, he wanted to be a police officer after the war. Because the police force was under Himmlers control, it was expected for future police men, that they volunteered the Waffen-SS.
    Another reason was the indoctrination. As born in 1925, he spend all of his school years and youth under the Nazis. Was of course in the Hitlerjugend, where the Waffen SS was glorified.
    Last but not least he wanted to prove his "german-ness" to his environment.
    "Fun" fact, one of his uncles served in the French army and was PoW in Germany. This uncle was allowed to visit his brother, my grandfather during his time in Germany.
    After the war my father joined the HIAG, a special veterans group for SS-Members. A very complicated organisations, least to say. As a child, I was participating some of the events, mistly harmless. A hiking on "Fathers day", a visit to a cemetry on "Volkstrauertag", a bus tour with families once a year.
    Most members had joined the HIAG just for being together with old comrades, not in politics. Some of them were even members of the SPD, the social democrats after the war. But they were some "Unverbesserliche", old Nazis of the worst kind.
    I rembember one of them, the reason why my father left the HIAG. He was Danish, an early volunteer of 1940. He brought Nazi- symbols from Denmark to the gatherings, tried to convince the others, that the fight was not over yet.
    My father was befriended with a swiss volunteer, the opposite of the Dane. He was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment after the war for treason in Switzerland. He told he felt betrayed by the Nazis. He joined the WaffenSS to fight the bolshewiks, but had to participate in partisan warfare in the Balkans. Said, he was cured of Nazism there.

    • @quincyileh1578
      @quincyileh1578 Před 3 lety +3

      I am sure your father didn’t tell you so many other things , so don’t assume your father was a saint , and losing his leg is a small price to pay

    • @colko64
      @colko64 Před 3 lety +19

      @@quincyileh1578 Never said my father was a saint, imho, no soldier could be a saint.
      But assuming he had to have commited (war) crimes, just because he was in the Waffen-SS, is as wrong as saying 'all green eyed people are thiefs'.
      Yes, the Waffen-SS as a whole was infamous. Many of their soldiers were guilty of horrible acts against other soldiers and civilians, no doubt.
      But not all of the more than 900,000 men who served in the Waffen-SS had taken part in war crimes. After studying the history of my fathers unit, I have no doubt, he has told me the truth being one of these many 'ordinary' soldiers.

    • @axelpatrickb.pingol3228
      @axelpatrickb.pingol3228 Před 3 lety +5

      Reminds me of a line from Robert Harris' Fatherland about those who are barely passable racially are the ones who support the Volksgemmeinschaft more fervently...

    • @colko64
      @colko64 Před 3 lety +6

      @Dark Vadertrauebrein Catholics were kind of discriminated in protestant regions of Germany and vice versa, long before Nazism. So in Bavaria Protestants were the outsiders. Had nothing to do with Nazism.
      On the contrary, the NSDAP fought such discriminations as they kind of fought the old class system, which survived the Weimar Republic. For them, there were only just the german people, "Volkskörper", all equal to each other, officially. In practice they created a new system with their functionaries, "Goldfasane" as they were ridiculed, or the "Übermenschentum", which was promoted in the SS.

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +1

      @@colko64 Franconia which includes Nuremberg had an especially Nazi reputation - some connect it to the area having a strong concentration of Lutherans though located in predominantly Catholic Bavaria.
      In theory Nazis thought all Germans were the same, as opposed to non-Germans. In reality north Germans were often somewhat suspicious of south Germans and Austrians, and vice versa. Volksdeutsche from the east and the Balkans often had doubt cast on the claim to be genuine Germans - in some cases the doubt was justified.

  • @brainyskeletonofdoom7824
    @brainyskeletonofdoom7824 Před 3 lety +350

    Himmler: the CEO of racism

  • @fortis3686
    @fortis3686 Před 3 lety +185

    I suppose that when in war, practicality can outweigh even the most hardcore of ideology

    • @creatoruser736
      @creatoruser736 Před 3 lety +15

      Wait until they start recruiting Arabs.
      "Semites? Eh, we need bodies, we'll deal with it."

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +2

      A combination of the Germans' desperate search for troops, which caused them to find recruits in some surprising places, and Himmler engaging in empire-building.

    • @jamestheotherone742
      @jamestheotherone742 Před 3 lety +21

      Nazi ideology was always more of a gimmick anyway. An excuse to go take other people's stuff.

    • @danielmota1095
      @danielmota1095 Před 3 lety +4

      self preservation

    • @jamestheotherone742
      @jamestheotherone742 Před 3 lety +1

      @@alexbon4768 Kinda hard to have a civilization, much less an "empire", without it.

  • @giulioaprati338
    @giulioaprati338 Před 3 lety +117

    the ss-division were only elite on papar, yet their quality varied from unit to unit, from police force to actual elite units

    • @Aged669
      @Aged669 Před 3 lety +3

      The German, Skandinavian and baltic Divisions where elite bosniak and Ukrainian Divisions not so much

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +19

      There were a total of 38 Waffen-SS divisions by war's end, although a great many of them were never anywhere near the average division size of 10,000-15,000. Less than half were Germans or even ethnic Germans by war's end, perhaps 15 out of the 38. Even among the German recruits, they were not necessarily better soldiers than Wehrmacht ones, especially after conscription was introduced. West European Waffen-SS who were not German were often impressive soldiers, sometimes in fact better soldiers than the German Waffen-SS. East European units were generally unimpressive, with the exception of the Latvians and Estonians. Some actually mutinied, and others were more like bandits than soldiers.
      The quality of the original German Waffen-SS divisions was often diluted by removing many of their experienced officers and NCOs and sending them to form the cadre of new Waffen-SS divisions.

    • @calebpark7147
      @calebpark7147 Před 3 lety +7

      They weren't really elite, more like ideological fanatics

    • @Aged669
      @Aged669 Před 3 lety +3

      @@calebpark7147 go inform yourself about the battle of karkov

    • @Ivanexecutive
      @Ivanexecutive Před 3 lety +6

      @@calebpark7147 you could consider some elite. But in the end the Eastern Front was such a meat grinder that even the Elite Divisions were destroyed and reformed repeatedly. I believe the Der Fuhrer regiment of the 2nd SS Div. at normal strength would number 2000 men, by the end of the Soviet winter offensive in 41, 42 they were down to 35 men.

  • @CivilWarWeekByWeek
    @CivilWarWeekByWeek Před 3 lety +107

    I’m so glad you’re covering these often forgotten about parts of this conflict.

    • @thestrangah9690
      @thestrangah9690 Před 3 lety +1

      Right Lmao so much of this is overlooked. I wish other CZcams channels wouldn’t forget their history when doing WW2 videos

    • @hannahskipper2764
      @hannahskipper2764 Před 3 lety

      Right! A World War 2 channel wouldn't be right without this stuff. Never forget!

    • @rodafowa1279
      @rodafowa1279 Před 3 lety +3

      Foreign recruits in the German armed forces (not just the SS) are only forgotten because schools intentionally don't talk about it.

    • @hannahskipper2764
      @hannahskipper2764 Před 3 lety

      @@rodafowa1279 that's why Indy and crew are the awesomest history teachers around!! 💖💕💗💘💓💞

    • @Unknown1355
      @Unknown1355 Před 3 lety

      @@rodafowa1279 They do talk about it (Finland). But if you happen to be from a nation where such info is irrelevant (UK, for example), then it's not worth the limited time available. These guys don't really play a significant role on the grand scale.
      If you're in uni and specializing in WWII, then it's different story.

  • @heimdallwg2112
    @heimdallwg2112 Před 3 lety +41

    I love how the guy looks like someone from that era. One of my favourite channels!!

  • @darkhorse989
    @darkhorse989 Před 3 lety +15

    My grandmother grew up in Nuremberg. When she was about 20 her older brother was approached to join the SS. He refused and was later conscripted and was sent to Army Group North. He disappeared some time in 1943 presumed dead. His body was never found. My grandmother is still heart broken over it. My cousin is trying to organize a trip to Russia to possibly find my great-uncles remains. My only tangential relation to the SS.

  • @broefkip
    @broefkip Před 3 lety +35

    To me it's so interesting how the English word of "German" can be confusing on this topic of race in the SS. Because in English German and Germanic is almost the same word, but for example in my language or the German language there is a distinctive difference between being (in German) "Deutsch" and "Germanisch" or in my language (Dutch/Netherlands) "Duits" and "Germaans". As for example, I am from the Netherlands, so not a German, but I am a German in the sense that I am Germanic. Sometimes English get's so confusing :P

    • @juliuscaesar8513
      @juliuscaesar8513 Před 3 lety +6

      It’s like English and Anglo-Saxon I Suppose, an English man is an Anglo-Saxon and so are the WASPs in America, Aussies and Canadians. It’s not the best analogy but Anglo-Saxon is a large family of similar people from a common ancestry spread out through different countries. The Germans,Nord and Dutch are Germanic in that they share a similar ancestry I suppose. Not a perfect comparison but I suppose the idea is there.

    • @broefkip
      @broefkip Před 3 lety +3

      @@juliuscaesar8513 I wasn't talking about the ancestry, I meant that the English are weird for using the same word for Germanic people and Germans whereas in for example the German language there is a distinctive difference between being Deutsch and Germanisch.

    • @juliuscaesar8513
      @juliuscaesar8513 Před 3 lety +3

      broefkip ahh sorry mate misread your comment

    • @broefkip
      @broefkip Před 3 lety +2

      @@juliuscaesar8513 that's all good, it was still interesting to read your comment!

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +4

      The many many (many) failings of the German language. At least it makes for a fun title!

  • @Jokakutihut1
    @Jokakutihut1 Před 3 lety +35

    As a Finn i would like to see biography special
    about Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim

    • @Jokakutihut1
      @Jokakutihut1 Před 3 lety +6

      @wargent99 also the man who saved his nation from the communists oh and its his birthday today. Greatest Finn ever to live

    • @Jokakutihut1
      @Jokakutihut1 Před 3 lety +3

      @@Mitaka.Kotsuka Mannerheim did not appriciate Hitler or Nazis in general.

    • @mikefay5698
      @mikefay5698 Před 3 lety +2

      @@Jokakutihut1 Except he was German and couldn't speak Finnish Ex Tsarist Officer.

  • @paradoxicalpotato8927
    @paradoxicalpotato8927 Před 2 lety +8

    "People with glasses cannot join the SS"
    -The leader of the SS, a guy with glasses

  • @razorbird789
    @razorbird789 Před 3 lety +58

    The work done by this channel to use facts and no spin is incredible. I have maximum respect for all of you at the WW2 and Time ghost channels. I wish governments would use your videos for education in schools.

  • @ethancharles9739
    @ethancharles9739 Před 3 lety +2

    This is an interesting topic. I'm glad you're covering it and I look forward to see the future videos.

  • @photoshopschool9205
    @photoshopschool9205 Před 3 lety +92

    Because diversity is our strength.

    • @conveyor2
      @conveyor2 Před 3 lety +5

      @Zachary Durocher You mean Euro Americans EXPLOITED first nations Americans for their own ends!

    • @brucetucker4847
      @brucetucker4847 Před 3 lety +10

      @@conveyor2 First nations is a Canadian term.

    • @burtonkephart6239
      @burtonkephart6239 Před 3 lety +6

      999YORK “WAS”?? they still are one race , ethnicity and nationality etc! Only culture has changed a bit . Just saying.

    • @DeepseaSteve
      @DeepseaSteve Před 3 lety +5

      999YORK pretty hard to be dumbed down when you never got out of the basement

    • @dr.vikyll7466
      @dr.vikyll7466 Před 3 lety +1

      @999YORK When Japan was at it's zenith their empire had more than one "race" in the 20th century japanese sense of the word

  • @johnnyfives5416
    @johnnyfives5416 Před 3 lety +46

    Could you do a video on how himmler was obsessed with the occult and supernatural?

    • @TheLocalLt
      @TheLocalLt Před 3 lety

      Blah b I don’t necessarily think k it’s totally misunderstood, do people really believe Germany was a pagan country in wwii? They were a corrupted Christian country. And not the only one. Croatia and Slovakia were catholic and Slovakia was even led by a catholic priest. The Vatican tried to protest against atrocities early on, including with the Germans, who had control of millions of Catholics in southern Germany and “Ostmark”, but later adopted a don’t ask don’t tell policy about atrocities, including the holocaust. This effectively marketed the end of any political power by the pope as his influence was meaningless. It didn’t stop the papacy from continuing to engage in the geopolitics of catholic countries, but the multi-part occupation of Rome and the eventual Lateran treaty being at Italy’s behest robbed the pope of any remaining immediacy in global or regional affairs. The papacy can occasionally still indirectly influence affairs in or between catholic countries, such as border disputes, or in another example the Polish solidarity party.

    • @TheLocalLt
      @TheLocalLt Před 3 lety

      Blah b I actually find that direction to be far less dangerous, because it actually keeps them pacified, than the alternative of radicalizing them to believe that racism, violence, genocide, etc are all Christian virtues. That is what happened in Germany and that is what is truly dangerous

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +9

      We will cover Himmler in future episodes!

    • @SI-ln6tc
      @SI-ln6tc Před 3 lety +1

      There were some. Thule Society

    • @johnnyfives5416
      @johnnyfives5416 Před 3 lety

      @@TheLocalLt whatever you say edgelord.🙄

  • @alcaulique8358
    @alcaulique8358 Před 3 lety +9

    You speak briefly about swiss in the SS. When I first read the story of the swiss in the SS in a local newspaper, I found it unbelievable. At school, I was thought that Switzerland somewhat lived under a bubble throughout the war attacking both Allied and Axis powers to protect itself (to simplify what was told). Learning a handful of swiss joined the SS triggered me to do some research, read books and learn more about Switzerland during and arround WW2. I found it to be a very interesting and complex topic where nothing is all white or black and I would love your look on that question sometimes.
    Thank you all for the amazing work. Greetings from Switzerland

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +3

      Thank you!

    • @arti8719
      @arti8719 Před 3 lety

      I would be great if Team told us some details about German invasion plans towards Switzerland. I was not aware of that and heard about it fairly recently from someone. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Tannenbaum for reference.

    • @ComissarYarrick
      @ComissarYarrick Před 3 lety

      Switzerland, while thankfully avoided land invasion and direct involvemnt in war, lived quite a tense peace, especialy early when german invasion seemed inevitable. Even later country was hub of spy activity of all sides, and on multiple times, navigation errors cause alied boomers to drop their payloads on swiss cities. Switzerland was ceartainly spared the worst, but definietly didn't lived in a perfect safety.

  • @ralfonso888
    @ralfonso888 Před 3 lety +1

    Whenever I think these episodes can't get any better and more informative, my expectations are exceeded. Really well done, Spartacus! Keep up the great work!

  • @MrFantocan
    @MrFantocan Před 3 lety +1

    This is a great episode, looking forward to the next one.

  • @carljohnson4473
    @carljohnson4473 Před 3 lety +124

    I hope Indy does fine and gets well soon.

    • @insaneclownponies9599
      @insaneclownponies9599 Před 3 lety +20

      They recently did a vid on the main TimeGhost channel welcoming Indy back. He's officially recovered :D

    • @kstreet7438
      @kstreet7438 Před 3 lety +3

      Here it is also CJ
      czcams.com/video/H86pu1jg9K0/video.html

    • @Itspapacritz
      @Itspapacritz Před 3 lety +6

      All you had to do was follow the DAMN TRAIN CJ

    • @davidp.7620
      @davidp.7620 Před 3 lety +1

      He probably volunteered

    • @Cjnw
      @Cjnw Před 3 lety

      #CoViD19 infection

  • @inspectorpouzo
    @inspectorpouzo Před 3 lety +70

    I never really got the whole aryan thing....I mean look at their top leaders: Himmler, Hitler, Goebbels. They look like extras from the lord of the rings if anything.

    • @erikaitsumi2633
      @erikaitsumi2633 Před 3 lety +10

      @Vetekornet thank you for summarising every national socialist leader ever.

    • @basedkaiser5352
      @basedkaiser5352 Před 3 lety +1

      Heydrich could fit Hitler’s description of an Aryan. He was tall, had blonde hair, blue eyes and was ruthless.

    • @ericfischer4458
      @ericfischer4458 Před 3 lety

      It’s called “Aging”... It’s interesting that a very large number of Nazi leaders like Hitler, Goering, Hess, Rohm, Doenitz, etc... were highly decorated combat vets of WW1

    • @inspectorpouzo
      @inspectorpouzo Před 3 lety

      @@ericfischer4458 Really? Being a short, specky, spastic little dwarf like goebbels and himmler is called aging? Are you a doctor?

    • @inspectorpouzo
      @inspectorpouzo Před 3 lety +2

      @Jasta 2 hmmm yeah, but he his morphine addiction and the gaining of 50 kilos by eating more than he breathed did not help his aryan qualities to prevail.

  • @danielnavarro537
    @danielnavarro537 Před 3 lety +2

    Very cool and informative video. I really enjoyed this video. Keep up the good work.

  • @Glass_Caskets
    @Glass_Caskets Před 3 lety +1

    I can never get enough of WW2 content and footage. Very fascinating

  • @casmd2131
    @casmd2131 Před 3 lety +10

    An episode about the Dirlewanger brigade would be pretty interesting

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +2

      @Mars Attacks Basically a brigade-sized German version of the "The Dirty Dozen", without the good guys.

  • @troy9477
    @troy9477 Před 3 lety +3

    I didn't hear a mention of the Charlemagne Legion of French volunteers. I assume it is coming in a future episode? Great content as always. You speak eloquently at the end. We must never forget.

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +2

      Yes the regiment is formed a bit later than when this episode is set.

  • @wyattpeterson6286
    @wyattpeterson6286 Před 3 lety

    Great video. Keep them coming.

  • @cykablyat6773
    @cykablyat6773 Před 3 lety +1

    Can’t wait for part 2, it’s been too long :D

  • @VanquishMediaDE
    @VanquishMediaDE Před 3 lety +59

    My grandfather was in Bosnian Mountain Division (Islamic faction of the 3rd Reich).
    I still have his Fez (with swastika).

  • @j.m.f5451
    @j.m.f5451 Před 3 lety +11

    Wonderful episode, great job on it Spartacus.
    Though one nitpick is with the gunshot noises added on some photos. The timing on them while trying to listen to Spartacus felt... a little odd? Usually the images do a fine job conveying that someone is being shot (for me, anyways) so I don't think an audio cue is quite necessary.

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety

      Thanks for the feedback. We're always looking to improve so its something we'll pay attention to in the future.
      Glad you liked the video regardless.

  • @blackmantis3130
    @blackmantis3130 Před 3 lety

    thanks i was searching for the content

  • @PortlandLife
    @PortlandLife Před 3 lety

    Thank you SO MUCH for covering this topic in depth. Its so important for people to know this. You guys are the greatest thank you!!!

  • @keithehredt753
    @keithehredt753 Před 3 lety +17

    Himmler also said, I shall only make one exception to SS standards. I myself shall be the one exemption to the rule.

    • @tacklengrapple6891
      @tacklengrapple6891 Před 3 lety +14

      It’s like communist leaders, “standards for the, but not for me.”

    • @keithehredt753
      @keithehredt753 Před 3 lety +3

      @Joakim von Anka great points

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +5

      Well, we have seen hypocrisy among the influential more recently, like senior officials setting out lockdown rules and not following them themselves.

    • @keithehredt753
      @keithehredt753 Před 3 lety +1

      @@stevekaczynski3793 that's a fact

  • @Aeyekay0
    @Aeyekay0 Před 3 lety +39

    Interesting video.
    Mark Felton has a treasure trove about this stuff on his channel

    • @langeheinrich9619
      @langeheinrich9619 Před 3 lety +2

      and he is not lying about the war

    • @ludaMerlin69
      @ludaMerlin69 Před 3 lety +1

      Mark Felton is much better historian. This channel is embarrassing.

    • @Betrix5060
      @Betrix5060 Před 3 lety +4

      @@langeheinrich9619 Mind actually giving specifics?

    • @Aeyekay0
      @Aeyekay0 Před 3 lety +1

      Settle down boys geez

  • @jasonabbott5546
    @jasonabbott5546 Před 3 lety

    This show gets better every week. Thank you very much

  • @frankwhite3406
    @frankwhite3406 Před 3 lety

    Excellent Episode Indeed Keep up The Good Work!

  • @PalleRasmussen
    @PalleRasmussen Před 3 lety +12

    You want to read "Under Hagekors og Dannebrog" Spartacus. It is the definite work on Danish volunteers.

    • @michaelmorrismorris6113
      @michaelmorrismorris6113 Před 3 lety

      writer Sven Hassel claimed tohave joined the wehrmacht but he may have been lying

    • @PalleRasmussen
      @PalleRasmussen Před 3 lety

      @@michaelmorrismorris6113 I am certain he was lying the descriptions in his first book,and those generally that feels most first-hand, were all from places where the Frikorps Danmark were deployed.

    • @michaelmorrismorris6113
      @michaelmorrismorris6113 Před 3 lety

      @@PalleRasmussen i did not know that

    • @PalleRasmussen
      @PalleRasmussen Před 3 lety

      @@michaelmorrismorris6113 you have to be a nerdy local to know and notice 😉

  • @alexcc8664
    @alexcc8664 Před 3 lety +4

    An ss gentleman lived near me in the UK. One of the nicest men you could meet. He was conscripted in 42. They came to his farm... He said you just couldn't refuse.

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +1

      Conscription was introduced in 1943 for the Waffen-SS. Prior to that they were supposed to be volunteers.

    • @alexcc8664
      @alexcc8664 Před 3 lety +1

      @@stevekaczynski3793 I meant 43 it was a misclick

    • @tavish4699
      @tavish4699 Před 9 měsíci

      @@stevekaczynski3793 volunteeriing is another thing
      in a documentary about the ss there was actually evidence that many recruits were forced to sighn by not lettiing them leave the room
      or by telling them they were sighning up for the police not the ss

  • @weltvonalex
    @weltvonalex Před 3 lety

    As always great job!

  • @zalkaz
    @zalkaz Před 3 lety

    You have explained and expanded a complex issue in a very simple and tangible language. Please carry on.
    Thank you

  • @keithehredt753
    @keithehredt753 Před 3 lety +4

    Thank you for sharing. Great coverage. Conquest by division, hey I know a little about that. I live in the U.S

  • @teslawizardvvv3
    @teslawizardvvv3 Před 3 lety +5

    The soilder of three armies a song by Sabaton showed me this part of World War two histroy.

  • @oreradivojevic837
    @oreradivojevic837 Před 3 lety

    Wow ending is so powerful. Well done, guys! Can't wait for second part.

  • @JanineWeatherby
    @JanineWeatherby Před 3 lety

    Great stuff … great channel. Thanks to the whole team.

  • @elmergoering2443
    @elmergoering2443 Před 3 lety +7

    My grandfather served in the 1st Albanian division and fought in Yugoslavia.

  • @dentoncrimescene
    @dentoncrimescene Před 3 lety +9

    You are the best at these Sparty.

  • @cosminmahalu9594
    @cosminmahalu9594 Před 3 lety

    Amazing episode and amazing delivery by Sparty!
    And to everyone, please support the channel :D

  • @turgaysgc
    @turgaysgc Před 3 lety +1

    Thanks for the video. Good work...

  • @dbudelsky
    @dbudelsky Před 3 lety +3

    There were two additional branches, which were forgotten after the war for several reasons: The OrPo (Ordnungspolizei, Order Police) and the Branch under the Reichssicherheitshauptamt, combining the SiPo (Sicherheitspolizei, Security police including the GeStaPo) and the civilian intelligence service SD (Sicherheitsdienst). The Skulltroups (Totenkopfverbände) officially were no branch on their own. Original they were part of the Allgemeine SS, later of the Waffen-SS.

    • @dawidlijewski5105
      @dawidlijewski5105 Před 3 lety +1

      OrPo, SiPo, Schuma nominally were not branches of SS, they were leaded by SS-man, just like for example many factories or firefighter service.

  • @frankpolly
    @frankpolly Před 3 lety +10

    What's interesting is that Dutch SS troops were send to the Dutch East Indies after ww2 during what we call the 'politionele acties' and later to Korea. Many Dutch soldiers weren't happy with this in the beginning, but later found that these ex-SS soldiers were of great value because they had so much combat experience already. Many of these ex-SS troops were able to rehabilitate into Dutch society knowing that we were in an effort to stop communism, just like they were during World War 2.

  • @MaciejBogdanStepien
    @MaciejBogdanStepien Před 3 lety

    As always, great stuff. Thank you.

  • @jpvigotty
    @jpvigotty Před 3 lety +2

    Thanks Spartacus and Astrid for including the picture of Sophie Scholl and some of the other members of the White Rose. Would love a video on them when the series progresses to them.

  • @incursus1401
    @incursus1401 Před 3 lety +17

    I really appreciate that you guys were honest about the "germanic" concept. I watched many videos about this topic cus i might write a paper about it and many historytubers cannot fathom the fact that some danes (and other germanics) could ally with nazi germany because they are utterly unaware about ethnic histories. I remember TIK made a video about this and called the "germanic migrations" a myth lmao.
    Great video as always guys

    • @TheSeanoops
      @TheSeanoops Před 3 lety +1

      Yeah, it’s really interesting how wide spread Germanic blood is in Europe.

    • @incursus1401
      @incursus1401 Před 3 lety

      @brmbly wanna debate me on my views?

    • @incursus1401
      @incursus1401 Před 3 lety

      @brmbly Liberalism is prob the least logical system out there.
      I just hope one day you'll look back at your time as a liberal and cringe, if you wanna change that you can post ur discord and ill add you :)

    • @incursus1401
      @incursus1401 Před 3 lety

      @brmbly not a liberal in trump vs Hillary but i mean liberal in the 17th century sense that you believe in democracy, human rights and all that stuff

    • @incursus1401
      @incursus1401 Před 3 lety

      @brmbly Not even marx advocated for equality bro, youre a radlib.
      So i will always be it? seems pretty irrational bro...

  • @thecourier231
    @thecourier231 Před 3 lety +6

    Will you guys do a video about Läuri Torni who served in the Winter War, WW2 in the SS, and in Vietnam with the United States; all because he was just anti-communist?

    • @KettyFey
      @KettyFey Před 3 lety +3

      Sabaton History have a three parter on him, so they may spend the time covering someone else.

    • @MrFaorry
      @MrFaorry Před 3 lety +3

      They already did 3 videos on him over on the Sabaton History channel.
      czcams.com/video/iTnAqE5tp-U/video.html
      czcams.com/video/vkfPUKsOvbY/video.html
      czcams.com/video/n2I4LIc-n7M/video.html

    • @michaelmorrismorris6113
      @michaelmorrismorris6113 Před 3 lety

      the channel Simple History did one on him

    • @TheSunderingSea
      @TheSunderingSea Před 3 lety

      He probably just liked fighting to be honest. Some guys just relish the fight.

    • @TheSuspectOnFoot
      @TheSuspectOnFoot Před 3 lety

      The anti-communism as a motive is a common guess but simply untrue. Being a soldier and fighting was all that he knew and could do in his life and he wasn't interested in politics and probably didn't even know what communism even meant as a simple peasant. The only time you can even argue that he made a conscious decision to fight commies was joining the Waffen-SS. In the Finnish army he simply carried out his duty to defend his home like all the Finns did despite their political backrounds and the US military he joined in the 1950's long before Vietnam. He probably hated the Russians like most people did at the time which is also a more believable reason for the W-SS connection along with the common German sympathies many Finns had that traced back to WW1.

  • @cainsy8124
    @cainsy8124 Před 3 lety

    @11:32 And you do a great job at conveying an understanding of this period to us. Thank you.

  • @joostvandervelde
    @joostvandervelde Před 3 lety

    Firstly I want to thank the whole team of Time Ghost! I follow you since the beginning of the first world war one.
    This is again a very fine view on all the horrors we're capable of inflicting on each other because of some conceived difference.
    I applaud the fine line of humanism you strive for with all the content you deliver.
    I've got two suggestions for you,
    1 - De Russen Oorlog, a short battle between Ukrainian SS and German (SS) units on the island of Texel, it happens at the end of the war so maybe you already know of it's existence but wait for a more appropriate time to make that video.
    2- an autobiographic episode, not as a Q&A, but really coming from you as an organization, what are your values why are they important to you. How do they reflect on the work you make. Why do you want to create the content that you make? I ask this because it gives the viewer a firm take on the reason why this is important.
    With love, and great appreciation of your work all of you.

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety

      Thanks for your kind comment and for your suggestions. I don't know if there will ever be a separate episode about our values. They're reflected in our content, comments and community videos pretty well I think.

  • @nedzadramovic5151
    @nedzadramovic5151 Před 3 lety +5

    French SS division is been last defenders of Raihstag in Berlin in may 1945.

    • @Sturminfantrist
      @Sturminfantrist Před 3 lety

      Asalamaleikum
      Yep "Charlemagne" Div.
      and
      few Men of 13. SS Geb. Div. "Handschar" made from 90% Bosnian Muslims were also 45 in Berlin.
      most went home to their familys when Tito offered them an amnesty or were disbanded by their german Officiers when it became clear that the war in Jugoslavia was lost because most bosnian Volunteers refused to fight on foreign soil.
      There was a mutiny in France with parts of Handschar Div. involved in the Village/City of Villefranche de Rouergue because the Bosnian Volunteers were angry that the Germans send them to France instead fightin in Bosnia to protect their Homeland and Familys like promised when they volunteered, in the end German Army units fought versus SS Handschar units to supress the mutiny.
      my algerian born Father served as a conscript in French Colonial army during the Tunesian war of Independence fighting his own people.
      I would never fight for a foreign countrys racist regime that would send me to the KZ when the war is over because in their eyes iam a "Bastard" with "bad blood".

  • @poiuyt975
    @poiuyt975 Před 3 lety +4

    It might be fair to mention that there had never been an SS unit with Polish volunteers.

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +2

      Nor was there a Czech one - people of both ethnicities did find their way or were conscripted into the German armed forces, but officially as ethnic Germans or Volksdeutsch, a somewhat elastic label.

    • @poiuyt975
      @poiuyt975 Před 3 lety +1

      @@stevekaczynski3793 That's why it is so important to state those facts. I wasn't aware that Czechs didn't participate in SS either.

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +4

      That’s not quite correct. Technically it is correct; there were no Polish or Czechoslovakian citizens in the SS. There were however many, many both volunteer and a later on in the war conscripted members of the SS that had been Polish and Czechoslovakian citizens until Germany annexed. They were considered Volksdeutsch and given German citizenship. Not all of them voluntarily. When the Germans offered citizenship, not enough of the ‘Volksdeutsche’ volunteered (in the Nazi’s opinion). But the Wehrmacht and later the SS needed bodies, so eventually they were faced with the choice of concentration camp or accepting citizenship. Note that not all made the easy choice either.

    • @poiuyt975
      @poiuyt975 Před 3 lety

      @@WorldWarTwo Thank you for the information. You might consider including them in the next episode.

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety

      @@WorldWarTwo Actual German attitudes to classifying people as Volksdeutsch varied in occupied or annexed Poland. Forster had a different attitude in his Gau to Greiser. The latter was more restrictive, the former classified nearly everybody as Volksdeutsch, with some major exceptions like Jews. Rejecting the Volksdeutsch label, especially in Forster's Gau, could get you killed or sent to a concentration camp.
      One way or another, it is estimated that about 375,000 Poles served in the German armed forces, for the most part in the Wehrmacht. They ranged from genuine ethnic Germans left in Poland as a result of Versailles, to Poles with little or no knowledge of German who were only ethnic German on paper. The last category were often referred to as "Group III". One reference work I read mentioned some of them being sent to a corporal, a Rhinelander, for training. He ridiculed their Polish accents and bad German. Unexpectedly the corporal was sent to command the draft of Group III recruits when they were transported to fight the advancing Red Army in Hungary in the latter part of 1944. The moment they reached the front and the first Soviet bullets came flying towards them, the recruits fragged their NCO. They did not go over to the Red Army, they merely had a score to settle with this particular member of the master race.

  • @Cellblock1138
    @Cellblock1138 Před 3 lety

    Love the video(as always). Highly informative. Please don't clip the mic onto your vest. The scratchy audio is distracting from the quality content.

  • @garebear1712
    @garebear1712 Před 3 lety

    Your voice and your tone when talking are great! Plus the mustache!! Gold! Lol

  • @soviet_yoda8820
    @soviet_yoda8820 Před 3 lety +5

    Denmark sent around 8 thousand Danes to The germans who were given to ss division Wiking, the king gave his approval in 1941 80% of the danes joined because they wanted to fight for Findland and were very dissapointed when they were sent to Ukraine. The danes later on defended Estonia fiercly around Narva holding against 5 to 1 ratios. After the war they were declared criminals by their own king when they wanted to fight for findland and were given approval

    • @arudegesture
      @arudegesture Před 3 lety

      Might have been that the king was under a bit of pressure to approve it though, don't you think? Also, it's not like anyone should feel sorry for 'em. If they wanted to fight for Finland, then why didn't they go to Finland and enlist in the Finnish army? Why the SS?

    • @soviet_yoda8820
      @soviet_yoda8820 Před 3 lety

      @@arudegesture It's kinda difficult to enlist in the Finnish army at that moment. The army was almost entirely Fins. Whereass the Danish in occupied Denmark could choose to fight for Germany. Or in a German Unit. Only around 20% of the Soldiers were actual enlisted for idelogical reasons

    • @arudegesture
      @arudegesture Před 3 lety +1

      @@soviet_yoda8820
      So rather than fight the people who occupied their country an killed their fellow citizens, they would enlist in that very army to fight for another country's freedom? Sure...

    • @tavish4699
      @tavish4699 Před 9 měsíci

      @@arudegesture ahahah
      why didnt they go to fiinnland?
      you think there was a regular cruise flight to finnland or what?
      it was war time
      there is no direct land connection to finnland there was no connection to finnland at all,even if you got there how would you talk to them? how would you even get there in the first place?
      the north sea was full of subs
      joining an actual organisationo that was told they would go there was the only way they could try

  • @kajus1402
    @kajus1402 Před 3 lety +3

    Since information about the Lithuanian SS is fairly uncommon, I'll use the chance and post a bit here.
    "Every Lithuanian, who joins the Lithuanian Legion, will at the same time announce his unbreakable will to defend their fatherland and with weapon in hand fight against bolshevism for Europe and its future"
    - Quote from a Lithuanian SS recruitment poster.
    The concept of European unity(as seen in this quote) had been discussed and expanded among the leadership of the Waffen SS as the war went on. Many considered the Waffen SS as an order, which has to cement the coming European empire. She apparently would have looked like a confederation of nationalist states Germany and the NSDAP had to be simply part of the system. Aswell as in Alexander Dolezalek "S Section" there was a open European socialist charter. Here is a quote from it:
    "Considering that today enemy forces have shown their war plans, which have only the purpose of destruction, the Reich leadership along with the leaderships of friendly nations - Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Denmark, Bohemia, Moravia, Italy, France, Hungary, Romania and Croatia - have declared common principles to improve Europe after the victories of their army."
    Despite this Hitler in 1942 responded skeptically regarding the question of foreign volunteers, however on January 23rd 1943 Hitler approved Himmlers offer to form a Lithuanian and Latvian SS divisions. Himmler offered them limited autonomy for signing up for the SS(which never came). Hitler further approved an offer to increase the Baltic divisions later on, but only if they will be SS and further more controlled. And thus many resources were poured into propaganda to get the Lithuanians to join "The Crusade Against Bolshevism".
    Men were pulled away from police battalions and sent to SS recruitment areas, for example 2 thousand Latvians and Lithuanians were taken out of auxiliary police battalions and sent off around ten German SS police battalion companies on december 21st, 1942. Germans left the task of mobilizing the Lithuanians to Lithuanians in the German bureaucratic machine. On february 24th Lohse made this statement to the inhabitants of Lithuania:
    "Lithuanians! When in 1941 after the order from the fuhrer Adolf Hitler, German soldiers liberated your fatherland from the Bolsheviks, and they also saved you from the destruction of your nationality. From that time your work in the towns and villages, aswell as in the service in the lands police battalions, and active participation on the front, you carried your weight in the fight against bolshevism.
    That fight has reached its highest climax at this moment. Bolshevism threatens to destroy Europe. Your fatherland is near danger... Join your regional legion to fight with weapon in hand against threatening bolshevism. Join, as fighters, and as aids to the German military... As victory shall save you, your and your children's land. Your possessions, your culture, the survival of your people, your own land, and shall earn you a place in cooperation in the European community.
    With weapons! To work! With Adolf Hitler to victory!"
    There were recruitment centers formed and posters released with information on who can join. I won't translate all of it, but since recruitment requirements were a large part of the video I will translate it:
    "Who can join the Lithuanian Volunteer Legion.
    To the Lithuanian SS volunteer legion any Lithuanian between the ages 17-45 may join.
    The volunteer has to be:
    a) of aryan ancestry
    b) Unpunished by the court or police
    c) Fit for military service physically and spiritually.
    What height does the candidate need to be.
    Candidates to the Lithuanian SS legion, from 17 to 20 year olds, have to be no smaller than 166 cm(5.4 feet) in height. If you are above the age of 20, you need to be no smaller than 168 cm(5.5 feet)."
    There was some, but limited resistance in the collaborational government, and response to this the highest ranking Lithuanian Petras Kubiliūnas responded: "Who is healthy and able, join to our Lithuanian legion and wermacht units The sooner and better we organize our Lithuanian legion, we shall appear in the fight against bolshevism more actively the more we shall win in political and other matters."
    Despite the massive propaganda effort to recruit Lithuanians, it had failed to give the results the Germans wished. A special commision to pick out men in the auxiliary police fitting to join the Lithuanian Waffen SS was formed. Out of the 5010 men checked, only 1093 were seen as fit enough, 286 of the voluntarily offered to join. 3917 were declared unfit. In total to the Lithuanian SS volunteer lists there were 3050 names, including three women.
    The Germans had planed to appoint Stasys Čenkus, a rich Lithuanian and soldier as leader of the unit, and had promised good food and a pretty uniform(Feldgray uniform, on their left sleeve a Lithuanian coat of arms), equality with German SS members and land post war. Among former soldiers the reaction of it wasn't all negatively, and many higher ranking men ended up signing up. One interesting bit in which it is hard to find information, is regarding the son of Kubiliūnas, who we know was part of the Waffen SS.
    Dissapointed by the results, they were reformed into the tenth Lithuanian Auxilliary Police battalion.
    Another attempt to form a Lithuanian legion was soon formed. Similiar to the last one in its start:
    "Culture destroying Bolshevism is pushing all its force to destroy us. We fight with her with all the will of europe.
    We won't let them to send our women and children to middle asia, for them to close our churches, to force farmers out of their farms and force the worker to slave!
    Its not the first time in history that the Lithuanian nation has to bravely defend from the eastern hordes. Prove yourselves worthy of this duty!...
    The fuhrer Adolf Hitler has given you a chance to actively take part in Europe's war with bolshevism.... So join the the newly formed Lithuanian Legion and fight with other european nations for your nation.
    It is time to give bolshevism the decisive blow!
    After the victory the Lithuanian nation shall be grateful that you didn't hesitate!
    To the weapons!
    Fatherland calls!
    We can either fall or become slaves!"
    Similiar posters with even more information and privledges were put out.
    After even this failed Himmler raged and stated that the Lithuanians aren't worthy of a SS legion. He blamed it on a few intellectuals heavily resisting the formation. There were more attempts.
    Many men who wished to join the SS ended up simply joining the Latvian SS.
    After this affair, the Germans formed another unit, the Lithuanian Territorial Defense Force with even more privledges. Whose success in getting soldiers suprised the Germans greatly, so they decided to attempt to mobillize the Lithuanians. They planned to conscript 100.000 Lithuanians, to send 50 000 Lithuanians to the northern front, to form a new SS division with 18 000, 30 000 as asistants and another 10 000 into anti air units. But this too failed due to the LTDF refusing to take German orders and was disbanded.
    If the Germans listened to Lithuanian demands even slightly they would have likely formed it.
    I apologise for any grammatical mistakes.
    the only source used was the great book Lithuanian Police during the second world war by Petras Stankeras.

  • @doomerboomer9402
    @doomerboomer9402 Před 3 lety

    wow the last intense part of narration perfectly summarized all the video. that felt awesome to watcj

  • @beachboy0505
    @beachboy0505 Před 3 lety

    Wait for part 2, excellent

  • @davidk6269
    @davidk6269 Před 3 lety +29

    For any viewers interested in reading the diary of a member of the 5th Waffen-SS Wiking, you may want to read "Black March" by Peter Neumann.

    • @notsosilentmajority1
      @notsosilentmajority1 Před 3 lety +1

      David K
      Thank you.

    • @mr.vinegaroon3132
      @mr.vinegaroon3132 Před 3 lety +2

      @@notsosilentmajority1 Another very good book is Guy Sajer's "The Forgotten Soldier," the story of a young Frenchman (Sajer) who ended up in the Gross Deutschland Division. One of the three best war books I have ever read.

    • @notsosilentmajority1
      @notsosilentmajority1 Před 3 lety +1

      @@mr.vinegaroon3132
      Thank you very much. I'm looking for some interesting reading material. Best wishes.

    • @MrCarpelan
      @MrCarpelan Před 3 lety +2

      If he sets out to defend himself, then I'd like to pass on that recommendation.

    • @TheSunderingSea
      @TheSunderingSea Před 3 lety +8

      @@MrCarpelan I'm sorry that the past isn't as clean and nice as you would like, or that people sometimes do immoral things especially when they're young and have been raised in a society which has very different values. I might be a fairly balanced and tolerant person today as are you, but who's to say that you wouldn't have been sieg hieling and with all the rest of Germany if you grew up in that time? Who's to say you wouldn't have executed German POW's after seeing your village on fire as a Soviet soldier, or as a more recent example lynching African Americans in the deep south. We are products of our time, most people are molded by the time and place they live in and are not automatically enlightened free thinkers. To judge these people as if we were all born on equal societal ground is ridiculous, naive and frankly insulting to anyone who had to live through this war. The NKVD agent sending dissidents to the gulag is a victim of circumstance. What choice does that NKVD agent have, really? He can either do his job and live another day,or he can determine that what he is doing is wrong, protest the inhumanity of it all and immediately be shot in the head. In his own way, he is just as much a prisoner as the man he sending off to die in Siberia. Obviously someone who volunteers for this position knowing what it entails is a different beast, but most people in this war were being pulled along the current of history by circumstances far out of their control.

  • @tryndemisha6719
    @tryndemisha6719 Před 3 lety +16

    uhm there was 1400 finnish soldiers in wiking division

    • @lilldavid6903
      @lilldavid6903 Před 3 lety +10

      He’s talking pre-Barbarossa in this episode

    • @tritonewt3344
      @tritonewt3344 Před 3 lety +1

      Finns are not Germanic, which this video is about

    • @arnoldhau1
      @arnoldhau1 Před 3 lety

      @@tritonewt3344 So what is "Germanic" then? It has litte meaning beyond the language. And many finns do speak swedish as their mother tonge. But of course the whole idea was completely crazy and had no actual background.

  • @danielgreen3715
    @danielgreen3715 Před 2 lety

    You do it with feeling and Balance! Thankyou

  • @lhpoetry
    @lhpoetry Před 3 lety +1

    Speaking of Foreign fighters, one of the most interesting eyewitness testimonies/stories of World War II I've heard was of a Belgium guy on a video in the basement at the Warsaw Uprising museum (I imagine they would be open to collaboration too). He joined the German army (don't recall if it was the SS) after his brother was arrested for being part of the resistance, in part to take pressure off his family as I recall. One job he was given was hunting down Jews in Warsaw. There were times he was able to convince his German colleagues "Nothing to see here" when there was something to see, but there were other times he was responsible for finding people who were then hung.

  • @MegaM1garand
    @MegaM1garand Před 3 lety +7

    Thank you for being a beacon for us to ground ourselves for the coming storm of political change! It is channels like this one and historians such as Indy and yourself Sparticus that keep us all accountable so that we never slip back into the dark age of world war and Militarized Eugenics! Please continue this valuable and much appreciated work.

  • @eradius
    @eradius Před 3 lety +3

    are you going to be covering the islamic divisions within the SS?

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +1

      Like the title says, this video is only part 1. So yes.

  • @rustnok12
    @rustnok12 Před 3 lety

    Great video. Can you recommend any literature on this subject? I'm thinking literature on Germany and the SS recruiting from foreign countries?

  • @josedavidgarcesceballos7
    @josedavidgarcesceballos7 Před 3 lety +1

    I love how your lasts words about atrocities apply to any foreign legion I can think about (excluding the blue helmets, though).

  • @paulbenedict1289
    @paulbenedict1289 Před 3 lety +11

    2:40
    There were no Waffen SS during the invasion of Poland. There were only 3 SS regiments at that time out of roughly 150 that participated in invasion of Poland. Those atrocities in 1939 were committed by regular army.

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety +4

      They were called SS-Verfügungstruppen (SS Disposal Troops). There was some institutional conflict with the Wehrmacht who saw them as rivals.

    • @QuizmasterLaw
      @QuizmasterLaw Před 3 lety

      @@stevekaczynski3793 Disposition Troops would be a better translation. Otherwise basically correct SK.

  • @filamanflashy-versacecliqu5028

    Albanian Waffen Mountain division of the SS were fighting until the end .

    • @williamtyson9503
      @williamtyson9503 Před 3 lety

      Skanderbeg was a failed unit and the Albanians were all replaced with Volksdeutche by 1944

    • @filamanflashy-versacecliqu5028
      @filamanflashy-versacecliqu5028 Před 3 lety

      Horvat Lovren Don't think I forgot about the Croation Naval Legion apart of German Kreigmarine .
      German Navy , Croation Naval Legion had a field regiment trained as infantry and had seen combat in Eastern Ukraine .

    • @filamanflashy-versacecliqu5028
      @filamanflashy-versacecliqu5028 Před 3 lety

      Horvat Lovren Also the Croation Legions of the Wehrmacht .

    • @filamanflashy-versacecliqu5028
      @filamanflashy-versacecliqu5028 Před 3 lety

      Horvat Lovren My grandpa served in Bulgarian Cavalry Regiment of the Waffen SS.

  • @kuroazrem5376
    @kuroazrem5376 Před 3 lety

    Finally! A video which addresses this! Thanks!

  • @spectreshadow
    @spectreshadow Před 3 lety

    I love these specials so much!

  • @sebastianelytron8450
    @sebastianelytron8450 Před 3 lety +7

    What did Himmler tell Hitler when they had too many metal ores to use?
    Mine fewer.

  • @Herkermer_Homolka
    @Herkermer_Homolka Před 3 lety +3

    10:37 why are you sure this is a civilian? There is an ammo can for Russian Maxim gun at his feet, yet we are to believe this is a civilian?

    • @QuizmasterLaw
      @QuizmasterLaw Před 3 lety

      combat boots too.

    • @Unknown1355
      @Unknown1355 Před 3 lety

      There's 2 more images prior to this event, showing the man in civilian clothes unarmed. No uniform. Can't find the Bundesarchiv numbers, but googling "German Soldiers, Immediately After Executing a Russian Sniper. Eastern Front, 1941" (OP noted that title is false) should give you a Reddit thread with the other images.

    • @stevekaczynski3793
      @stevekaczynski3793 Před 3 lety

      @@QuizmasterLaw Especially in the countryside, Soviet civilians wore boots like that, although they could be military.

    • @tavish4699
      @tavish4699 Před 9 měsíci

      @@Unknown1355 no uniform or not it doesnt matter
      he carried an amunition case
      that makes him a combatant
      he probably tried to run away from the germans since he was a partisan

  • @harrymunson4945
    @harrymunson4945 Před 3 lety +1

    Hi WW2 team , I was wondering if you could do a video of what was like for axis and allie POW’s :)

  • @cat637d
    @cat637d Před 3 lety

    Outstanding history commentary.

  • @oneofthetwobucksfansonyout2717

    The biggest takeaway from this is knowing that there was someone so bored that be joined the SS

  • @mogaman28
    @mogaman28 Před 3 lety +6

    LOL! Captions change Waffen to buffon!!

  • @davidscott3820
    @davidscott3820 Před 3 lety

    Outstanding info thanx

  • @videsnelson
    @videsnelson Před 3 lety

    Spartacus is so damn good at dramatic story-telling, Anna as a kid had a hard time asking daddy to tell her stories xD
    Thanks for yet another impressive, moving, well-informative, and important chapter of this dramatic time of our history. Wholeheartedly thank you.

    • @spartacus-olsson
      @spartacus-olsson Před 3 lety +3

      Thank you! Anna never hesitated to ask me anything as I told her I would always try to answer as best I could - in her 'Why?' phase we'd play a game, she would ask me why and I would tie causality back, and back, and back until the Big Bang - here the short version (without the history of mankind intertwined - this would usually go on for half an hour):
      Anna, give me my cap.
      Why?
      Because my head will get cold.
      Why?
      Because of the heat difference between my body and the environment.
      Why?
      Because of entropy
      Why?
      Because by the second law of thermodynamics in any given system, the parts will seek to even out their energy by transferring heat to the cooler parts.
      Why?
      Because that is entropy and without entropy there is no life
      Why?
      Because life requires energy and and energy can not be created without entropy. So we must eat, drink, and stay warm, which is adding energy to our system.
      Why?
      Because of e=mc2 - anything with a mass, like you and me have an equivalent amount of energy, so we need to add more mass to create energy so that we can sustain metabolic processes, which make us able to move, think, speak and so on.
      Why?
      Because of the way the universe was created.
      Why?
      Because before there was a universe there was state of absolute zero, as defined in the third thermodynamic law, nothing moved. But that state changed.
      Why?
      (together) Because of the Big Bang.
      When the "why?" got too annoying I'd just look at her sternly and raise my finger, and she'd say "OK, Big Bang"
      We were both quite annoying, and probably still are...

    • @videsnelson
      @videsnelson Před 3 lety +1

      @@spartacus-olsson Holy s*** I'm gonna try my best be like you when I have kids :D

    • @pagodebregaeforro2803
      @pagodebregaeforro2803 Před 2 lety

      @@spartacus-olsson Lol.
      I just found right now that you guys are family, Beautiful family btw(You, Anna and Astrid).
      Thanks for your amazing work.

  • @Sarm4k
    @Sarm4k Před 3 lety +6

    I hope you guys inform us of the volunteers of these ethnicities or people from these regions
    -Georgian, Azeri, Armenian SS Volunteers
    &
    -North Caucasian Volunteers
    -Idel Ural Volunteers

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +1

      As the title says this is only Part 1.
      The story of SS Foreign Fighers isn't over yet.

  • @justanotherbrickinthewall2843

    "If it ain't Dutch;
    It ain't much" 🇳🇱 😋

  • @ivanmartinez-jd8gi
    @ivanmartinez-jd8gi Před 3 lety +2

    It would be really interesting if you did a video on the blue division.

  • @alexandrosnaoum1318
    @alexandrosnaoum1318 Před 3 lety

    I just saw the episode in a big TV and I notice some sound issues (something like background noise and the microphone "scratching" in the shirt) and also some repeating focus issues in Spartacus. In any case a hit in like button is sure because of the content and the presenter.

  • @jamiemcf1
    @jamiemcf1 Před 3 lety +3

    I’m kind of disappointed that you didn’t delve into Western Europe’s fear/hatred of Bolshevism. Many of the Waffesn-SS’ foreign recruitment posters prey on the threat of the Soviet Union having a second round of invading the west. With the Baltic nations falling to Stalin and Finland’s stand, it must have been a very real threat to the Nordic nations

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety

      We will cover this in a separate special

  • @mikaellacas7528
    @mikaellacas7528 Před 3 lety +2

    Wheres Indy?

    • @carljohnson4473
      @carljohnson4473 Před 3 lety

      Indy has Corona 😢

    • @martinsvelentinovics9618
      @martinsvelentinovics9618 Před 3 lety +1

      Recovering from covid

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety +11

      He's recovered and filming again, this episode would probably have been recorded by Sparty anyway, as it's very much about Nazi ideology, and that is more Sparty's area of expertise.

    • @WorldWarTwo
      @WorldWarTwo  Před 3 lety

      This is a War Against Humanity episode which Spartacus presents. Indy does the regular series.

  • @Steakout12GA_Primary_when

    Love the video but any chance you can get a better microphone? It gets really hard to hear at times

  • @muffinman2490
    @muffinman2490 Před 3 lety

    Great video