From Prussian Might to Soviet Ruin: Kaliningrad and Königsberg
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Prussian Might to Soviet Ruin: Kaliningrad and Königsberg and why history might end up repeating itself?
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Every piece of land Russia conquers decays over time sadly and not just this. When Vyborg for instance belonged to Finland it was a cultural treasure but it got the same fate as Königsberg. Russia is not known for their high standards.
Königsberg was firebombed by the British though and in the Soviet Union they didn't really want anything German right after WW2.
@@flopunkt3665 Except for Deutsche Demokratische Republik; they really did want and did have that under their malign influence.
Honestly as a russian, I believe that Königsberg and Vyborg/Viipurrii would be better off with Germany and Finnland (in respective order of course). The Sovietization of these cities did too much damage to historical and cultural sites.
@@pavlokozhevnikov6067 А с чего Выборг земля Новгородского княжества оккупированная шведами во время великой смуты в России должна достаться финам, а Калининград (Кёнигсберг) город репарация немцам? Ты кто такой, чтобы раздавать земли на право и на лево? Ты за них воевал и кровь проливал? Нет. Тогда ротик свой замотай в тряпочку и не балоболь лишнего.
@@user-yp6tn9ew1s Are you a silly goofsta?
My grandfather, who is from Labiau in east prussia, once visited the region some time after the iron curtain fell.
According to him, the polish part was well-maintained (give or take) and to some degree reminded him of his childhood.
The russian part, however, was demolished, he could not recognize anything. Especially the rural areas were run-down which is very uncommon in germany where cities tend to be a little dirty but the countryside well-maintained by the folks.
He was born in 1928 so he's well over 90. Before the russian attack on Ukraine we asked him if we should organize for him to visit the region once again because he may not be able to later.
He only said "no, this would only depress me."
I can only say that i hold my best regards for this man, i can say the same for my family, with ties to Viporii (Swedish: Viborg), and the way they were forcefully thrown out of their homes.
It would only depress him because of the war crimes he committed there during the war?
@@lordjim3109 So quick to make people out to be evil despite knowing nothing about them. Surely that's a miserable way of living.
@@lordjim3109 I don't think he was a Russian who allied with Hitler to start WW2 It is depressing because it has become a typical RuSSian dump
Ask him to describe the city as he remembered it and take notes.
That might be the difference between being able to rebuild Königsberg or having it be lost to time
Reality hits you hard when you understand that there literally are just 8 houses, 1 canal lighthouse and 1 cathedral in the whole mass of Kaliningrad that are worth looking at even today. It's 10 structures.
…actually there’s a whole intact Prussian suburb outside Kaliningrad proper that’s survived virtually unscathed. Saw it here on YT recently….but yeah, with regard to the once beautiful city of Königsberg, that, unfortunately, is forever lost to the annals of time. What has replaced it is a very pale replacement.
ooh thats hits bad
@Semper Fidelis grrr Bri'ish 😡😡😡
@Semper Fidelis Britts didnt renovated old city after war? Why poles, germans, french, hungarians or any other european nation can renovate destroyed buildings after WWII, but russia cant? Becuase they don't care, they wanted to destroy german culture heritage in Prussia and did it well. Don't need to make excuses for them, they msission was pretty simple.
@Semper Fidelis You mean Dresden?
Kalinin was the guy behind the Katyn massacre. Stalin did a little trolling, naming a town on the border with Poland after him
I think he took the whole region just to flex on Germans.
Think of that, Kaisers were from there, and now it's a soviet province
That's what the poles get for trusting shameless brits
Friend of mine tell me a story, when on some buildings in Konigsberg, the old soviet paint deteriorated and original German signs and texts started to be visible again.
See, even the city itself wants the Germans to come back. Typical Russian inefficiency lmao. Russia is only able to maintain its control over it because the rest of Europe is pacifist.
@@franciscopeter9904 the Germans are so against their own history and anti-patriotic that this likely will never happen... but giving it to Poland or Lithuania would be nice
The author of this video is an ordinary liar. Kaliningrad is a charming city populated by friendly people. And the Kaliningrad region itself, a wonderful region, with the Baltic coast, the sandy Curonian spit, where there is a natural park and good hotels. Everyone who has been to Kaliningrad and the region will confirm my words.
it is nothing like it was before. you know it, and I know it. For russian eyes it may be beautiful, but it is a shadow of what it was truly.@@Krym_rus
@@andriyshepard3095 How to understand "for Russian eyes it can be beautiful"? Have you got anything wrong, is gompodin good? Russian eyes and taste can be radically different from English, or American taste, in your opinion? No, of course you have your own personal opinion, but it is for such views that we Russians killed the German Fuhrer. We don't like being looked at as white Negroes and people with such views, we can be very upset. And now, we are bringing the Ukrainian people to their senses. Estonians and Latvians will follow him. Russophobia leads to trouble, bear this in mind.
I was in USSR navy service in 1976 in Kaliningrad. I was impressed by Goth architecture what was still remaining after war.
What was the general sentiment towards Americans during the time? I love history and I’d like to know
@@alexortiz1515 same as American sentiment towards soviets
@@reinerbraun1116 That doesn't say much. His question was more along the lines of: "What exactly was the sentiment of average Americans towards the USSR at that time, and how does that compare with what average people in the USSR thought of the Americans?"
Well...the laws of the war says that the looser lost their territories...cause ussr at that time defeated german n**is they acquired once former german territory konigsberg and change it to kaliningrad...
@@pasonline7266 And Russia is due to become the next major loser on the international stage. So we'll see how much longer this whole thing lasts...
Native Prussians were one of the baltic tribes, so not slavic but baltic.
Russia has always pushed this lie that we (Baltic people) are somehow slavic. It is their fabricated justification of oppressing us.
no thats not true, it was mixture of slavs and germans using kashubian language that is mixture of german and polish.
@@matuszavarsky5818 Just google baltic tribes and go to images to get a better understanding.
@@matuszavarsky5818 You're mixing up Pomerelia with Prussia.
@@matuszavarsky5818 No, Prussians were Baltic. The Teutonic Knights conquered them, and germanization took place. However, to the south was also an influx of migrants from Mazovia (Poland, Slavic) and a limited Lithuanian (Baltic) to the norh-east. Prussian became extinct centuries ago. So eventually until 1944/1945, East Prussia was mostly German-speaking, with admix of non-standard Polish (the Polish-speaking populaton mostly did not consider themselves Poles, however) and Lithuanian.
Königsberg was a very important cultural hub of the Teutonic Knights but not a capital, what you are referencing is probably the duchy of Prussia
It’s now part of Russia and it’s doing great
@@MrPeterPan its irrelevant to the main conclusion of the video, its factually incorrect as the organzation of thw teutonic knights is something very interesting
@@SithStayer97 Cool but Kaliningrad is part of Russia and it's doing great.
The capital of the State of the Teutonic Order, the Duchy of Prussia.
From 1466 to 1525, Königsberg was the capital of the State of the Teutonic Order.
I was in Kaliningrad in 1989, back in the USSR.
The local architecture left over from Prussia was impressive, as was the cathedral with the organ, as well as Kant's tomb.
One could feel the "breath" of Germany.
Remaing 5 %?
Maybe it can be preserved as an open air museum or theme park of a vanished Germany? The fact the Kaliningrad is cut off from ‘modern’ Germany may work in its favor to maintain a semblance of German culture, as the rest of Germany fades into oblivion
@@damonmelendez856 Don't worry .... we don't need some houses in Russia. 😉We rebuild all the old towns... we have somehow the newest old towns. Watch Frankfurt, watch Dresden... . 😉
@@AltIng9154 I’ve seen the ‘new’ Frankfurt altstadt. And Dresden. Very nice, and impressive work. However the German people themselves are disappearing, so whats the point of having the Frankfurt altstadt populated by people from the Congo. Do you think they will maintain it? Kaliningrad at least is not flooded with them, so if Russia was smart they’d invite German people to re-settle there, to preserve the German nation. Russia would get a ‘friendly’ Germany, and German people in Kaliningrad would have a safe haven from the population replacement taking place in the BRD. Kaliningrad would be a DDR 2.0, this time capitalist, and it would be focused solely on the wellbeing of the German nation.
@@damonmelendez856 Congo?😉 Ha, ha, ... at the moment we take in millions of blue eyed, fair haired Ukranians.... LOL, ROFL ... make Germany blonde again! What a nonsense.... . Inbreeding is bad. Germany is a very competitive area. Germany never was inbreeding. Look at our family names. French, Polish, Scandinavian, Dutch, Iberian,
... Italian.... etc. . Have a look at the names of our famous warriors.... not very popular... because of recent history. 🤗It can happen that you meet a group of 100% German looking Germans and they got French, Italian, Spanish and Polish names. And I am the guy with the most German name looks less Germanic.😊 All living in Germany for several centuries! And not to forget, our East Asians perfectly fit in to our culture. Nobody complains except some loosers maybe.
Post WW1 period wasn't the first time East Prussia was an enclave. It was also one before the 1st partition of Poland - Lithuania.
In that time prussia was its own country, not an enclave
The Kingdom of Prussia used to be a puppet for the PLC.
@@CapCody The counywas called Prussia, but the heartland was not in Prussia at all. It was functionally an enclave
@@CapCody It had been a part of Brandenburg-Prussia since the 17th century.
königsberg is truly one of the most interesting cities in the Europe
of course, paris and London have always been more important and so is Berlin, but Königsberg has lots of interesting history to it, and later on Kaliningrad
Was.
Not anymore.
Kaliningrad is still important. They are considered the amber capital of the world. They produce most of the worlds amber.
kaliningrad currently is a dead city lol
Königsberg was a small and insignificant town compared to London and Paris
As a German this kinda hurts...
I would’ve liked it if they kept more of the cities memory alive by not demolishing the buildings that were left. Although I wonder if it was really just ideological or them thinking that renovating the structures was to expensive.
@@jaeger5060 More ideological. They wanted to destroy symbols of "mUh pRuSsIaN mIlItArIsM" (Prussia was so much more than its military lmao), which would pave the way to destroy all remnants of the old world as part of their plans to build communism on its ruins.
Well then, to hell with the Nazis. It was their fault! Actually the fault of ANY AND ALL Germans who voted them in!
Königsberg ist Deutsch.
As a Polish, it hurts me too, Konigsberg was so beautiful
The narration was pleasantly poetic about the sad history of this once beautiful city
But there is still hope brother; with Russia weakened, we can take back Koenigsberg but just taking it back won't be enough. We must also rebuild many of the buildings the city has lost to time including Koenigsberg castle.
The same goes for cities currently in Germany including the capital Berlin but we are trying, we rebuilt the Berlin city palace (although not that precisely) and some other important buildings but a lot more needs to be done.
@@sharjiljafric-3184 who is WE?
After the war, the United States, loaned western countries, huge sums of money, so they could rebuild. What you have today are France, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Italy, all completely restored and free, whereas where are the Russian army went, those countries were not rebuilt and free. That’s the difference between democracy and authoritarianism, particularly with respect to the former Soviet union and now, Russia. Proof of that can be seen in the Ukraine. Russia wants to possess the Ukraine and have therefore made war against the country murdering thousands of innocent women and children, and tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers attempting to protect Ukrainian sovereignty. Russia is a pariah state. It should be ejected from the United Nations. Russia disgusts me. I’m so glad I don’t live in that horrible country.
@@conveyor2Probably Germans
3:37 When talking about Teutonics power you show "Prussian Homage" painting which show prussian price becoming a vassal of polish king after lost war...
Greetings from Rēzekne, your videos are just as awesome as they could be, thank you for well done work
Make Kaliningrad Konigsberg again!
Make Germany split into two again !
@@cov.teo.8131 Bolshevism!
@@cov.teo.8131 We better just wait what happens to Mother RuZZia.
@@cov.teo.8131make you return to a sperm again!
Make Konigsberg Twangste again!
I discovered this channel a few days ago and love it especially the +15 min vids. Atm on a binge
nice
My great grandmother and her family were from königsberg, they had to seek refuge in germany itself after the invasion
*INVASION - it was GERMAN - on the Republic of Poland in September 01st, 1939 !!!!*
*It triggered and brutally initiated the whole World War the Second, where millions of innocent European souls have lost their lives !!!!*
Good lesson for Germany not to be rouge state again WW1 lost shit tons of land didn't learn the lesson , WW2 lost shitload more and finally learn the lesson 😭
@@jerryle379and Russia hasn’t learned there lessons yet.. ( for an obvious reason )
@@jerryle379 * HONESTLY .... I don't think so !!!! Germany is working underground with its never ending "principles" - to DOMINATE the Europe, then the whole World, because of their genes of their "higher race" on the planet Earth !!!!*
That is why Mr. Churchill once said, that: "Germany should be periodically bombed all the way, once in a 50 years, just to prevent another World War !!!!"
ENDE !!
@@SlavicCoffee yup all the greedy country that start war will be hit by karma , either it German - Japan - Russia or america - china. For america and china , Russia it just matter of time karma hit them , My bet in the next 100 year america won't exist anymore but fragment into a few nation after a bloody war , same shit to china and Russia .
Konigsberg was NOT the Capital of the Teutonic Knights. That honor goes to Malbork where the knights built the largest brick castle in the world, Malbork Castle, a castle that still exists.
Capital of Teutonic Order "Marienburg (1308-1454) Königsberg (1454-1525)" what are you talking about, are you one of those ruZZian that gonna try defend why they did it?
Malbork in German Marienburg
*Actually, the Konigsberg it WAS a capital city of the Teutonic Knights later on, when Malbork (Marienburg) was taken over by the Polish Crown.*
It's called Marienburg not 'Malbork'... 'Malbork' is the polinization of the actual german name 'Marienburg' and 'Malbork' only came into use after Poland started occupying those territories after ww2.
@@OogaBooga-tq7jc *Actually ..... Marienburg fortress (Malbork) was built on the former Polish territories, but occupied by the Teutonic Order after massacre of the Polish knights in the Gdansk City in the year of 1309 !!!!*
Wonderful and insightful video, Geo Perspective. Thank you for sharing it with us.
I live in St. Petersburg and last month I went to Kaliningrad for 4 days. I experienced strange sensations in this city, but I was pleased that work is underway in this city to restore the sights, German houses, new transport and new embankments. It's still interesting that most of the new buildings for people there are built in the German style, although this is Russia, I think the Germans would hardly build Russian architecture, but it shows that no matter what we love Germany. But despite the fact that the city is a bit run down there is a lot of fun, a lot of clubs, restaurants, bars and so on. And there are very cool cities on the coast such as Zelenogradsk, Svetlogorsk and there the cities are very well licked both for tourists and for rich people from all over Russia on the coast
When I was there I got surprised that the Russian people there are slowly developing their own local culture and start to embrace the lands long history.
im surprised you can even write as a russian.
@@worldstar907 What
It's so sad now that the war is going on, the whole world is antagonizing Russia for invading Ukraine. At the same time understandable, but on the other side it made for the average Russian life a lot more difficult. The average human being just want to enjoy life in peace. I hope solution will come so that both parties will leave each other alone, and live in peace.
Yeah wars makes for Strange borders. If they Are repected afterwards.😢
It's quite important to note that the Soviets invaded Poland alongside the Nazis. They contributed to the outbreak of war.
You forgot to mention an important thing. Two Soviet republics received pieces of Polish pie. Ukrainian SSR and Belorussian SSR.
I remember that Britain tried to invade Crimea and failed. And now they are trying again!
Always brings a tear to my eye
Great video! Great insight and editing!
I think it’s a shame konigsberg is dead and gone it was a gem of architecture and to see what Kaliningrad is today is just tragic.
A beautiful chocolate box city with colour style and character been replaced by a drab soleless soviet dead and alive hole
One day I’m going to do a journey from Strasbourg to Klaipeda as these were outposts of the former kaiserreich and see many territories that were once a part of Germany at least the areas in todays Poland and Lithuania look pretty and a beauty of there own
Yea it’s a shit hole now
It was the Allies (The British mainly) who had laid waste to the city of Königsberg (like they did in Dresden & Magdeburg) as a result of their bombing raids, long before the Soviets arrived.
Sad story... Thank you for bringing it up!
I wish you nothing but success mr Geo perspective, i really think your videos should be on the 7 digit views category for the quality, so i started recommending your channel to my friends, turns out i only have two so i started helping strangers see the light, then i got a restriction order against me, but i will keep trying, i will make them see it, shit i will force them if i have to..
haha, thanks for watching
Sorry, but there are just so many inaccuracies in this video, that I just had to write a comment:
1. The cities' name is Königsberg and not Kunigsberg.
2. The center of the Teutonic Order was not Königsberg but Marienburg. Königsberg only became the capital after the Polish annexed then Royal Prussia in 1457.
3. The image chosen at 3:37 is particularly ironic when talking about the Order's power, since it depicts the final submission of the last ruler of the order under the Polish king in 1525.
4. German was the dominant language spoken in the city from the very beginning, since they literally founded and settled it in the first place. This video implies at several points, that Königsberg was some sort of multi-ethnic melting pot, which is however historically inaccurate. While Polish and Lithuanian minorities existed within the city, they were never so numerous to even get close to challenge the German character of the city.
5. Königsberg never "passed into Russian hands" after the fall of the Teutonic Order. The city was briefly occupied by Russian forces in the Seven Years' War, but was never part of Russian territory. Even the statement of the city "passing into Polish hands" is questionable, as Ducal Prussia, which contained Königsberg was never part of Poland (unlike Royal Prussia) but only a dependent, but autonomously governed fief of the Polish king.
6. No, Polish and Lithuanian weren't the dominant languages outside of city limits. Lithuanian wasn't even the native Baltic dialect of the region before German colonization, Old Prussian was. The Western part of the province, where Königsberg is located in, was always inhabited by German colonists, while the Eastern periphery, formerly known as the "Great Wilderness", was inhabited by Lithuanians, who settled in the region in the early 16th century, prior to which the region was almost uninhabited. With the Great Plague of 1709/10 however, most of the population was killed (the region was then resettled by German colonists) so that by the time of Kant, the Lithuanian settlement area had shrunk to what was then known as the Memelland. And even there, the local population had by 1910 assimilated to the point, that the Memelland was by then majority German. It should also be noted, that German was still the predominant language of the cities, even in these frontier regions, which is consistent with the pattern in most of Central Europe, such as in West Prussia, Upper Silesia, Bohemia, Hungary and Transylvania. The Polish element on the other hand only existed in the South of the Province, in a region known as Masuria, which was also a language (Masurian), that began to decline once industrialization started.
7. The borders at 5:56 are wrong, Northern Schleswig belonged to Germany at that time.
8. The statement that it was necessarily the existence of the German nation, which brought Britain, France and Russia closer together "to contain the German might" is a huge simplification and glosses over so many historical events and the influence of other powers (like Austria-Hungary for instance), that I just had to mention it.
9. Again, the borders are wrong. Most of Upper Silesia still belonged to Germany.
10. How was it the first time, that East Prussia was an enclave surrounded by foreign powers? That was literally the situation from 1525 to the First Partition in 1772.
11. No, the communists didn't gain support in East Prussia. East Prussia was a deeply conservative, protestant and agrarian society, which had absolutely no interest in communism whatsoever, which is, why the support for the communists always hovered around 10 %, while the conservative DNVP (conservative, anti-democratic monarchists) regularly got 30-40 % of the vote, with most of the vote for them then later going over to the NSDAP, which gained almost 50 % of the vote in 1932.
12. Again a huge oversimplification of the matter at 7:30, which completely ignores the very difficult economic situation East Prussia in particular faced after its seperation from Germany, the constant conflict with Poland over the transit between the mainland through the Polish corridor as well as the fact, that Poland and Lithuania were literally trying to expand their states into East Prussia, and Lithuania literally did illegally annex a part of East Prussia (the Memelland) against the will of its population and Germany couldn't do anything but sit there and watch. The problems and fears the people of East Prussia had were real, they weren't just paranoid and egged on by Nazi propaganda. Under the conditions set forth by the Treaty of Versailles, the people of East Prussia were probably the biggest losers and Hitler vowed to abandon that treaty, so it only made sense for the people to vote for him.
13. The renaming of Lithuanian and Masurian place names in East Prussia already started in the Weimar Republic and was not just a Nazi policy. The image at 8:17 is NOT from East Prussia by the way, but from Czechoslovakia after the German takeover, as you can clearly see by the Czech writing at the top and the name of the town "Mährisch Schönberg" (MORAVIAN Schönberg).
14. The sentence at 8:44 is again completely historically inaccurate, implying, that the Nazis somehow forced the poor native Polish and Lithuanian population to speak German, which was not the case. As mentioned before, the Lithuanian and Masurian languages had been on the decline since the beginning of the 19th century, with most of the people voluntarily switching over to German in the period from 1800 to 1933, meaning that by the time of the election of the NSDAP, the non-German population of East Prussia was already atleast bilingual, meaning that the ban on the Mazurian language by the Nazis by official institutions was little more than a formality. The statement, that East Prussia in the 1930s was "one of the most ethnically diverse regions of Germany" is therefore absolutely nonsensical. And again, the policy of assimilation was already pushed under the German Empire. And also, the implication that the Masurians were somehow "forced to be Germans" is again a complete inversion of the truth. The Masurians already felt German (and Prussian in particular), way before the Nazis ever came to power. In the time of the Empire, the region was the most vocal supporter of the Prussian Conservative Party, which was basically a Prussian nationalist and absolute monarchist party. In the plebescite of 1920, 98 % of the Masurians voted to stay with Germany over joining Poland. The region was also maybe the most Nazi-friendly region in all of Germany with the NSDAP gaining upwards of 70 % of the vote in some districts.
15. 12:25: This is not what "scorched earth" means. The Germans didn't deliberately destroy Königsberg and then retreated to a more defensible position, they hoped, that they would win in a war of attrition by wearing the Soviet Army down with all ressources left. It was Soviet artillery, that destroyed what was left of Königsberg, but even this is not really accurate, since the British air raids already reduced the historic center and most parts of the rest of the city to rubble dehousing 200.000 people and destroying 80 % of the city total, meaning that the Soviet impact was only marginal.
16. The remaining population of Königsberg after the Battle was more like 100.000 and not 150.000 to 200.000.
17. The section at 13:00 mentions bloody revenge, but the connects it in the next sentence with high military casualties, which makes no sense. What should've been mentioned were civilian massacres, torture and mass rapes of primarily German women and children.
18. I would generally like to see a source for the entire section between 16:00 and 20:00.
19. Here is another quote, which is completely misses the point at 23:35. East Prussia is not a region, which served any function to Germany, it was a vital historic region of the German nation with a culture going back 700 years. They don't have to legitimize themselves by serving some sort of geopolitical function, their existence is legitimacy enough. To compare this to the rootless purely pragmatic Soviet settler colony and equate it as one and the same is completely absurd. That would be like saying that Kent serves an important function for England by projecting power in the English Channel, which is why it is indespensible to its government.
20. And of course you can't finish off such a video without some good old victim blaming. No, fascism didn't destroy the city, democracy/liberalism and communism did. It was the British, who completely annihilated every landmark, every church, and every historic building in the old city center as well as 80 % of the city in total, as they did in all of Germany, and it was Britain, the US and the USSR, who planned and executed the ethnic cleansing of the 12-14 million Germans from their historic homelands. None of that needed to happen and all it is only making apparent, that morals and human rights are null and void, when it comes to the expression of geopolitical power. Germany wanted "Lebensraum" and wanted to ethnically cleanse and resettle Eastern Europe -> bad, the Soviets wanted "Lebensraum" and wanted to ethnically cleanse Central Europe -> good, or atleast morally acceptable, so much so, that every atrocity, that was committed by the aformentioned powers is then shifted back to Germany, because they supposedly did it first.
I mostly agree with you on this however you went of track in the end. Saying democracy/liberalism destroyed Königsberg while referring to the British bombardment of the city is weird to say the least, since state ideology played no part in these military actions. Also saying that US and Britain schemed together with the Soviets to resettle the Germans is untrue, also they had nothing to gain, but a lot to lose from doing so. Another thing is who’s saying that the expulsion of germans was good? It wasn’t as criticised initially because it all lied in the Soviet sphere of influence, who weren’t open to criticism. Another reason for it was that the germans did it first and every nation hated them for it so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the initial reaction from the masses was positive. Funnily enough the critique of the forced resettlement would’ve come from the west (intelectuales in particular) .Furthermore, it’s important to keep in mind that that millions of other nationalities(Poles,Ukrainians,Hungarians, Slovaks etc.)were “repatriated”and this horror isn’t limited to just Germans, so calling it even morally acceptable is nonsense . I sense a lot of emotions in the last few sentences and personally ,I think a lot has been lost and it is arguably the greatest tragedy of post war Europe, but it doesn’t justify any of these digressions.
@@cheesypoofs9161
To address your points:
Firstly, the aspect of the wording regarding the destruction was only brought up in that way because the video made the statement that "fascism destroyed the city". You are correct in saying, that it wasn't really ideology, which destroyed the city but rather actions of states. In that sense, fascism obviously didn't have the objective to destroy Königsberg, but the video's author would claim, that it was the actions of the fascist government, which lead directly to the destruction of the city, which is the main I point I would like to reject here, since the destruction of the city via aerial bombardment was not necessary or morally defensible in civilized warfare. Therefore, in that same vein, it was liberalism/democracy acting via Britain, that destroyed the city.
Secondly, I am not saying, that the ethnic cleansing of the Germans is generally recognized as good (although there are many people (especially in Poland), who would disagree with you here, claiming that the cleansed territories were actually ancient Polish lands) , but it is, by almost all modern commentators, regarded as morally ambivalent, maybe unfortunate or tragic and very often in some sort of way acceptable as retribution for the crimes of the German government, so much so, that every crime committed against Germans is always put in relation to the crimes committed against other groups by the German state and thereby nullified or even blamed on the Germans themselves, which is exactly, what a quote like "it was fascism, that destroyed this city" expresses and which is the main point, I was trying to attack and I find it very unfortunate, that you expressing this view here as well.
The thing is, that you really can't maintain a position, which depicts the Nazis and Nazism (such as Lebensraum, conquest and cleansing of peoples as well as the destruction of entire nations) as the ultimate evil, which is basically the standard today, and then go and defend the act, which was nothing less than what the Nazis planned to do in Eastern Europe, by saying, that they did it first. First of all, because the 12-14 million Germans didn't collectively plan to launch a war of extermination against the people of Eastern Europe and furthermore also because a crime doesn't validate another one. I wasn't denying the crimes against other nations btw., the position I am aspousing applies to those people as well. If we're really going to stand here and hold up the Nazis, their ideology and especially their crimes as maybe the most harrowing and disgusting people, thoughts and acts in all of human history, then we should be able to hold every Allied nation accountable to those same crimes, when they were being committed. The US and Britain willingly aided a regime, that killed in the most disgusting way possible up to 20 million people, many of which for ethnic reasons, and launched aggressive campaigns against Poland, the Baltic states and Finland before Germany launched their invasion in 1941, thereby legitimizing this regime and supporting her actions. It should be mentioned here, that none of the most of the most serious German crimes like the Holocaust or the actions on the Eastern Front occurred yet, so the Allies were very explicitly supporting the largest humanitarian criminal in the entire world as well as maybe the most genocidal regime in all of history at that point against a German invasion, which could possibly bring an end to that regime. And then, when the war was coming to a close and the Soviet Army was murdering and raping their way through Poland and Eastern Germany, forcing the local population to start fleeing in droves, and when the Soviet Union was redrawing the borders in Eastern Europe in their favour, destroying via ethnic cleansing not only the homelands of millions of Germans but also Poles and other ethnic groups, as they did and tried to do before and after in different regions of the USSR, the Western Allies stood by and did nothing, accepting the new borders, they decided upon and the cultural genocide that came along with it with a shrug, just as the Nazis would have done in their destruction of the peoples of Eastern Europe, either because of an ambivalent pragmatism or exactly because of that exact same retribution "argument" mentioned before, continuing to proclaim the USSR as a good friend of Western Civilization up until they started to become a geopolitical rival to the US, after which the USSR and communism in general was of course evil and an existential threat to Western Civilization again. And we know, that plans on the scale as the actions of our own timeline weren't particularly foreign ideas to the Western political leaders, as we can see by the Morgenthau-Plan, which had atleast in its overall intention the support of FDR, who wanted to see the German people collectively punished for their supposed crimes. The total cultural destruction of the German people in newly created Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary via ethnic cleansing was also decided upon between the Allied powers in Section 12 of the Potsdam Agreement, without any resistence from the UK or the US (because the destruction of a 700-year-old culture is apparently acceptable if the ethnic removal occurs "orderly").
If we really want to uphold the narrative of the Nazis and their actions as the ultimate evil in our society, then we have to recognize the crimes against the German people by the Allies, such as the complete and utter destruction of her historic heritage through the aerial bombardment of her cities as well as the destruction of her people through the ethnic cleansing of the Germans beyond the Oder and Neisse as equal to those committed by the Germans against the Jews, Slavs and other peoples. We have to offer the Germans an equal amount of sympathy and recognition and we have to denounce the crimes committed against them in the same way, we would denounce their crimes.
I am so sick of having to encounter messages like "but they did it first" or "it serves them right" every time I am engaging in a discussion about WW2, as if this excuses anything. I personally find the absolute lack of sympathy and the prevalence of the view, that the innocent German civilians, most often women and children, who had absolutely nothing to do with any crimes, were basically "fair game" for any amount of cruelty expressed against them, not only disturbing, but absolutely revolting. In almost every comment section on a video about the British bombing campaigns or the ethnic cleansing of the Germans in Eastern Europe, there will always be several comments (often with a lot of upvotes), which will smugly proclaim something like "play stupid games, win stupid prizes", with many of them being evidently delighted about the destruction of 1000 years of European cultural heritage and the murder, torture and rape of millions, as if this was some sort of movie and the villian was now getting a taste of his own medicine and while it gives me hope, that this view evidently isn't shared by many of the commenters under this video (I suspect it to be because of the fact that Russophobia seems to be in vogue since the start of the invasion), the view is still omnipresent in large sections of the population, even if just in such small comments like yours.
You seem to know your stuff so I suggest making a video with the actual truth if you want more publicity and linking your sources.
Just reading what you wrote is interesting on it's own but the problem is most people have short attention spans and also wouldn't believe it without proper sources.
Impressive
Beside the politics, even if only half of your points were true this video would deserve a dislike, which it gets and which doesn't matter as dislikes don't exist anymore... every time I read comments like this I am sadly reminded of this fact.
This is an example how a city, history and culture can be destroyed. The city is like cursed. The culture and inhabitants were several times destroyed and substitued. It is a memento how our legacy can be erased if we let the gauners take over.
What are gauners?
6:50 no, it only became connected to the rest of Germany after the polish partition.
Actually, it was a German exclave for a long, long time.
Contrary to this Brandenburg was THE Enklave because Prussia was centered in Königsberg
This land belonged to Baltic people germans just killed them an stole the land
@@robertrobski1013 yeah well Russians aren't baltic people so it's the same thing
@@CapCody
I said Baltic tribes like prussian not Russians
@@robertrobski1013 germans did not kill them. russians did.
The biggest shame is, that neither soviets nor russia have respect for the historical and cultural value for not only the germans who were forcefully displaced, but also germany as nation. No German is angry that Klaipeda or Olsztyn is in others hand, becuase Poland and Lithuania respect the heritage....
What respect?
They don’t respect their own cultural and historical value, so let alone the German one, a huge number of historical architectural monuments were destroyed throughout Russia to please the interests of corrupt officials. The only value they respect is the value of money...
All of it was West-Slavic/Baltic land originally though. The Germans moved east after the Teutonic Order, and began settling the land more and more, while the Russians moved west. But both the Russians and Germans don't truly belong in the region originally. The Poles and Lithuanians do however.
@@TheBobVova The Respect not to demolish all historical buildings and blame the decay of the city on the germans as a reason to deport the + also dont allow german who lives there to visit their former homes even in nowdays russia
@@AWaBfantasy it wasn't west slavic, it was baltic, thats a difference! and it doesn't give the Udssr the right to destroy 800 years of heritage
At 9:15 Germany launched an invasion of Poland? How about the Soviet Union and Germany signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939. Stalin's Russia attacked Poland at the same time as Hitler did.
It is called revenge.
@@TheBobVova Seems hard being a Russian. Whatever you do, you cannot hide your primitiveness.
Poor Poland, always a victim. The fact that it was first country who signed a pact with Hitler, and together attacked and distroyed Czechoslovakia, could be just ignored. And the Soviet Union only 7 days later crossed the border, when Poland allready didn't exist. Polish nazi government trying to convince Hitler to attack soviet union together as a coalition, polish minister offered to raise a monument of Hitler in every polish town, if he manage to get rid of all the Jews in Europe. And lots and lots of other similar things. All of this can be ignored....
@@TheBobVova Wdym? You could argue both sides did it out of "revenge", as they saw it.
@@tylerbozinovski427 1920
Poland had occupied Western Ukraine and Belarus.
A city built on genocide and put to ruins and disrepair by genocide. Poetic.
"Russians will be able to continue to live in Kaliningrad in peace and prosperity as they once did" is the most ahistoric sentence on the internet.
10:59 although authors talk about German civil population losses they remain unfortunatelly silent about the fate of forced labour workers and concentration camps prisoners, POWs that Germans brought to the city and nearby suburbs. No, Koenisgberg ( Królewiec in Polish) was not place of idillic life during the second world war. It was - as most of German occupied or possessed territory land of death and suffering for non-G erman people. If East Prussia had the biggest level of support for Hitler imagine how German Herren volk (the master race) treated Poles and other victims of German idea of organizing other nations life.
It is sad that authors choosed to give false, one sided narrative about poor Germans suffering in that respect.
Germ invader peasants came to Poland December 1939 as part of their Lebensraum / Ostsiedlung Plan. They all ran away fast 1944 - 45
Yapping unrelated shit
I'm from Russia and i think we need to return name Königsberg instead Kaliningrad. And make a restoration of old Königsberg like Poland did it with its cities after WWII.
I agree!
Konigsberg would actually be a great capital for the European Union now that the east and scandinavia is part of the EU. It could be governed by the EU directly as a province rather than an independent state to ensure that the EU has its own international capital similar to washington DC
@@BrutusAlbionsounds a bit too idealistic to me. Now with tensions rising between the EU and Russia, moving its “capital” from save Brussels towards the East (especially a former Russian governed territory) won’t be a thing for a looooong time. Also the EU isn’t a nation state, thus I don’t believe it needs a capital.
Frankfurt has the ECB
Strasbourg has the parliament
…
@@janssen18 We could put the EU military branch there once it's been denazified of russians and the EU builds its own federal army to safeguard against aggressive and expansionist nations from the east. It's actually a great location for that.
@@BrutusAlbion How about Berlin? Try it for a size.
It pains me to see what Königsberg once looked like and that fact that most of it is lost forever. If Russia was to lose the Oblast and it was given to any other European country, it would be looked after much better. Thanks for the video.
@@cehaem2 Telling the truth is not racism.
As a Polish citizen, I think that Czech Republic should own that region. (Královec je Česky!)
Would that require people's consent? Or would you just want to forcefully transfer it to some other country?
@@K5Ziom If you think the historical lands should be given back to respective nations, then the world map would completely change
@@reinerbraun1116 I think only that Russia goes too far with its own imperialism/fascism. They can't or maybe even don't want solve their internal economical and social problems peacefully... instead of that, they want to live in cost of their neighbours. Probably it would be more safe for world if their all republics, internal states and oblasts will just be independent countries, so everyone of them will be able to solve their own problems without neocolonial treatment from Moscow.
A proper title should read, "From Prussian ruin to Soviet Might."
Lol
Elegant city……to Soviet shit hole
@@Wolf-hh4rvYou did it to yourselves Kraut
@@Slicky165 no the Soviets did it. They had lots of practice in the 1920. and 1930s destroying thousands of beautiful churches. Vandals of European civilisation. At least Germany tried to end communism.
@@Wolf-hh4rv You did it to yourselves, germans started the war and lost deal with it, you didnt try to end communism you tried to enslave and genocide these eastern people
Great informative video.
Very interesting video!
Discovered your channel recently, Loved your video on the derussification of the Baltics, and loved this video as well! Keep up the good work! Just subscribed~
thanks for watching
@@GeoPerspective It is a pity the Soviets didn’t restore the city
I regret to see that you failed to find in your research for this video, that Kalinin was one of six Politburo members who signed the order to execute more than 21,000 Polish prisoners of war at Katyn and elsewhere in 1940.
1:33 ...they should remember that it used to go by the name of KRÓLEWIEC...
Nicely done.
I've always wanted to see this city rebuilt in a form as close as possible to its original image and, from what I've read, most of Europe including Russians living in Kaliningrad do as well, but recently, after reading a bit of Paulina Sięgień's Fairytale City I came to the conclusion that it is perhaps the fact that it wasn't rebuilt might make it even more significant. As things stand both the East and West see it as an unquiet grave, the monument to the folly of totalitarian regimes past and present. Dictators and media do their best to scream into our ears but somehow the silence of the ruins speaks loudest and perhaps if we are able to feel compassion for the lost homes and monuments we might also feel the same towards the victims of war and violence whoever they be, in whatever time or place. We may yet come to view life as fragile and worth our protection, so that our generation can pass on something beautiful to our descendants.
There is plenty of “monuments “ showing the evils of totalitarian regimes. Krolewiec should be rebuilt to it’s condition from before WW2. So should be rebuilt all castles and palaces on former territories of the Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth- these glorious monuments of European history are deteriorating every day neglected or willfully destroyed by Russians.
Het wordt niet meer herbouwd. Ook Duitsland heeft na de oorlog oude steden herbouwd maar dan met ongelooflijke lelijke na-oorlogse gebouwen want "ze vonden het neer meer passen met de tijd". Nu staan er in veel steden lelijke betonblokken die geen sfeer of geen verhaal uitstralen. Of het was gewoon te duur.
Alleen Polen heeft steden herbouwd naar (bijna) oorspronkelijke staat herbouwd.
It will not be forgotten, we have a dish with meat balls in Germany called "Königsberger Klopse".
Liked and subscribed🎉
Everyone wants to talk about how Konigsberg was destroyed, but nobody wants to talk about why it happened. Call it retribution for all the horrors the Nazis committed, and would have committed if they had won and tried to form Lebensraum.
Similar stories to many old cities in the Baltics.
That a German elite is in control of the land and workforce, yeah i suppose lol
Exclave, actually. Where Königsberg was a historical city, Kaliningrad feels like a cheap horror movie set by comparison.
Königsberg had such beautiful architecture and what happened to it after WWI and WWII is such a tragedy. It's also a pity that it's essentially a Russian enclave today.
For you, a pity; for Russians, an important resort region.
Soviet Union indeed seemed to not know with the city, in many ways turning into barracks. But it's making a comeback now.
Devastating for Königsberg was the terrorist act of two night air raids by British aircraft. On the night of August 26-27, 1944, about 200 aircraft bombed the northern part of the city; two nights later, 600 aircraft destroyed the entire city center. Residential streets, shops, warehouses formed a continuous sea of , in which about 4,200 people died.
I think you'll find that the real terrorist act happened in Berlin on 30 January 1933.
In old English maps this city was called Kingston
It's lithuanian counterpart is Karaliaučius, which has the lithuanian word for King as a root, so I'm guessing it's a similar case to german, as it used to be the capital, so it would only make sense. Sorry for this jumbled mess of words.
6:57 it is factually wrong. The so-called "corridor" was a Polish province of Pomerania, inhabited by Polish and Kashubian majority that had become Prussian only in the result of the second and third partition of Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (in 1793 and 1795 respectively). So not, it wasn't the first time East Prussia was an exclave of Prussia, but rather a return to normal. I it is a shame the misconception created by the interwar German propaganda is still alive.
@@sebe2255 I am very realistic, 1772/1795 - 1920 is not "centuries". Au contraire, it was for centuries a part of the Kingdom of Poland
@@sebe2255 Pomerelia is just another name for Eastern Pomerania/Gdańsk Pomerania/Polish Pomerania.
@@sebe2255 In German it is 'Pommern', derived from 'Pomorze'. In Poland by "Pomerania" we mean either entire Pomerania or historically only the Polish Pomerania/Pomerelie/Eastern Pomerania, I thought the context was clear here, because it started from the "corridor" => Pomerelia/Polish Pomerania. Check your math. Prussia gained Polish Pomerania in two phases: most of it during the first partition in 1772 and the remaining part (Gdańsk/Danzig) in 1793 (the second partition), that's ~150 years. Not enough to Germanize it despite the efforts, Poles and Kashubias were still > 50%, Gdańsk/Danzig was indeed mostly German in 1918 and it did not become a part of Poland but was made a "free" city (-state). Before 1772 the region belonged to Poland, with the major exception between 1343 (Teutonic Order conquered it from Poland) and 1466 (Poland fought it back during the 13-year War). Now, regarding to the remaining part of Pomerania, saying it was 'German' since the 13th century or so is not exactly accurate. There was the Duchy of Pomerania which was a part of the (German) Holy Roman Empire (but so were Northern Italy or Czechia), it was ruled by the local house of Griffin, a dynasty of Slavic origin. Only when its last ruler Bogusław XIV died, did it become a contested area between Brandenburg, Sweden and (to a much lesser degree) the Polish-Lithuanian Comonwealth.
The region was first of all inhabbited by germanics, only after the big migration period slavic people settled there.
The Rugier for example never left there territory, Lombards, Vandals and Burgundians did. So to say the Region of Pommern was predominantly slavic is a misconception, it is true that the house of Griffin was of slavic origin, but it had to play by the rules of the germanics and had to marry into the danish crown and saxon crown.
Since the 12th century, when many germanics moved back to pommerania, the population got very much german again and later germans ruled this land again (later also the swedish)
Also Danzig was since the early middle ages mostly inhabbited by germans, only the countryside remained somewhat polish, but not many people lived there (especially in the 20th centruy) afterall.
And no prussia was firstly inhabbited by baltic Prussians and after that they got conquered by the knights of the teutonic order. They lost war to Poland, but wothin Poland, it was still "royal prussia", ruled by germans and mostly inhabbited by germans.
24:35 a very beautiful set of words
After British bombardments on August 26-27 and 29-30, 1944, 90% of the buildings in the city center were destroyed. The rest was destroyed during the Russian siege.
In fact, only the central cathedral, the ruins of the bastions and a number of houses in the north-eastern part of the city remained from the old buildings in the city.
How could he know anything there? Of course, there is almost nothing left of the old city. (konstantinbush)
Geo Perspective, I also watched the video on Latvia. It wasn't nearly long enough, so please consider a longer version. I knew about the Memel problem, and I knew that Latvia had been fought over by Denmark, Sweden Poland Russia and Germany. I knew that Latvia consists of former states like Courland, Semigallia and Southern Livonia. That Courland had a Caribbean colony is as amazing as Sweden having colonized Delaware with Finns. I would really like to know more about the Baltic States. Thanks for your very interesting work.
Delaware is the only US state that had hundreds, although they're defunct today. Sweden was divided into hundreds from the Middle Age up til and including the 31st of December 1970.
@@francisdec1615 Yes, it's complicated. The Vasa area of Finland is associated with the Vasa Dynasty that ruled both Sweden and Poland. People in that area have Swedish heritage. I met someone from that area in college. She was trilingual, Swedish, Finnish and English.
And a colony in Gambia:
"Between 1651 and 1661, some parts of the Gambia - St. Andrew's Island in the Gambia River including Fort Jakob, and St. Mary Island (modern day Banjul) and Fort Jillifree - came under the rule of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (now in modern-day Latvia), having been bought by Prince Jacob Kettler.The colonies were formally ceded to England in 1664. "
And a colony in Gambia:
"Between 1651 and 1661, some parts of the Gambia - St. Andrew's Island in the Gambia River including Fort Jakob, and St. Mary Island (modern day Banjul) and Fort Jillifree - came under the rule of the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia (now in modern-day Latvia), having been bought by Prince Jacob Kettler.The colonies were formally ceded to England in 1664."
Who else misses Königsberg and Prussia?
Én - és hamarosan megint megyek. Csak hosszú az út.
From Prussian Might to Soviet Ruin to Czech Seaside resort
Had West German politicians not been so limp in 1991, when the Soviet Union collapsed, they might have reclaimed Konigsberg back from Russia in return for the economic support they gave Russia.
Also famous for Euler's "seven bridges of Königsberg" problem
it is interesting he mentioned when the bridges were bombed and destroyed, but never mentioned why they were famous. Fells like this part was cut out from the story
@@seraphimaanderson2069 the bridges have actually been restored
What a pity thea Konigsberg castle was destroyed.
Kaliningrad has to be Königsberg again, a European region with Baltic identity, not ashamed of its German past and living in friendship with its Baltic and Polish neighbors.
Tell me what country you are from?
@@moisha0909 Probably some liberal, turned right-wing German. Or American.
Germany does not want it back. Geopolitics are not a damn Europa universalis game.
The Russians need to be sent packing. We should not repeat the mistake we made with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania where we forced those countries to let their Russian occupiers stay.
The problem is that Stalin ethnically cleansed Germans and Balts from the city and surrounding area and packed it with drunken, corrupt Russians. This is why nobody who traditionally owned the area wanted it back after the fall of the Soviet-Russian Empire. Too many Russians on your land and the country finds an excuse to invade. Plus they generally (#notall) make terrible citizens. Refusing to learn the main language, watching only Russian propaganda TV. Just ask the Baltic states.
We in the civilised world don’t generally conduct ethnic cleansing, so it’s not easy to get rid of the Vatniks in Kaliningrad without ignoring our principles. Of course, the Vatniks know this and use it against us but there’s little we can do if we don’t want to be like them.
I make an exception for Crimea, BTW. Anyone who’s lived there since 2014 from Russia needs to be deported. Russians who have been there longer can make a choice, Shithole Russia or help rebuild Ukraine, but anyone who moved there after the most recent invasion has no excuse to be there. Pop them on a coach and dump them at the nearest Russian border.
I live in Warmia, Poland where we still see and appreciate beautiful Prussian architecture. German was spoken in some remote areas until the end of 90s.
I`m glad we can still watch and learn ...
How interesting. Which places exactly had German speakers? I have a passion for ethnic minority remnants.
@@troelspeterroland6998 All towns in the Northern half of OstpruBen had majority German invaders. The countryside had majority Polish and Lithuanians.
Southern half was a late addition to German greed and retained a Polish population. Here a few towns were up 10% and up to 20% Germ verm.
Polish landlords and farmers were evicted and landless and homeless German ''nobles'' were given these stolen lands. So these crazy Ubermensche insisted on that ugly Germ lingo.
as a german it is great to see that you like the prussian architecture. please take care on it further.
Many of the pictures have nothing to do with Königsberg/Kaliningrad, but are from Tchechoslovakia or US occupied Germany.
Да ,,еще под видом немецких беженцев показаны жители блокадного Ленинграда, например девочка на санках.
6:57 map is a bit incorrect. Areas of eastern Lithuania (Vilnius, Gardinas) were a part of II Polish Republic (Wilno, Grodno).
9:28 Hitler didn't dislike Eastern Prussia for mosquitoes (at least not only for that). He regarded Prussian Junekrs (land nobility) with great disdain.
But good video overall ;)
The map is not incorrect, its from early after WW1 when the borders were still uncertain. Note how Memel is marked as League of Nations territory.
Disdain! Haha!
Russia insists that Ukraine has not historical claim to Crimea...then what about Russian claims to Kaliningrad?
Easily. It's a part of German reparations for WW2. Russia got it for millions lives for millions Russians that was killed by nazis.
I am ''just a little bit'' thrilled to find your earnest, entertaining and accurate historical videos (that are also visually stunning, a ''cut above''). Congratulations on such achievements, for there is nothing 'little bit..." about them. As a North American with deep transatlantic familial roots and who has lived on the continent, I know from direct experience something about each of the meta-cultures (N. America and EU), and believe that Europe has become democracy's strongest bastion, where transparency, tolerance and the peaceful transfer of power is cherished by dedicated and earnest people. People who dedicate themselves to the plight of the Belo-Russians, of Konigsberg, and who do not attempt to brush aside complex histories and delicate realities with either the idealogue's ''hand-wave'' or pseudo-intellectual's reactionary diatribe. Truly, the path for every democrat is crazed, incredible, and awe-inspiring. As such we must take care to walk it together, invest in each other's strengths and success, and give aid when requested. These principles mean that, ultimately, a democrat never walks alone. Not in victory, nor in defeat - for by our creed neither is final. To meet this predictable but unknowable change coming 4-6 years hence, we organize, self-support until it becomes second nature. We can do this only because all who arrive have come by choice and remain by credo. Such are the benefits of freedom.
Congratulations. This piece was beautiful in all aspects, and you have my sincerest admiration.
PS, Is there anything in the world that makes your skin crawl more than the screeching credulity of Hesse saluting the Fuhrer, seemingly from beyond the grave? He reminds me a great deal of Michael Flynn, formerly of US general staff and notable ''holder'' of the briefest tenure as Nat'l Security Advisor in US history. I can feel my skin nearly breaking into hives when I hear Hesse click his heels, clear his throat and exclaim, "Sig Heil!" (Lock her Up! Lock her...). Imagine how a Scottish farmer and the local constabulary felt when he ''dropped in'' to imperiously demand parlay with the PM, Winston Churchill. Miscalculation! I bet they really did break into hives, those poor devils. As a consolation, no doubt they never paid for a tumbler of whiskey or sleeve of ale again, their whole long lives. lol. Best regards.
Funny how stalin claimed that Prussia is historical Slavic land but Ancient Roman historian Tacitus (1st century ad) mention that Estonians used to live there... lol. Also the very name "Prussia" is of Balto-Finnic origin.
It has Russia in it P Russia, how dumb are you huns (duch)...
Good comparison! Like your bottom line!
Auf das der alte Glanz wieder Strahlen mag, ein hoch auf die Stadt Königsberg
That map of that showed the Eldership of Samogitia was very false. Samogitia was never so big. And if we want to separate Lithuania and Samogitia (this is insisting that the map is of the time when Lithuania took over Samogitia) then the border would move way West.
Thanks for the history of the SAWviet Union in Kaliningrad.
Yantar’ in Kaliningrad
Yantra’ is a presidential residence in Kaliningrad, it was built in the same place where the first Chancellor of the German Empire, Otto von Bismarck, had his palace.
During the War, the place hosted the Luftwaffe barracks. The current state residence was only completed in 2011 and opened by then-President Dmitri Medvedev.
Although the residence officially belongs to the Office of the President, it has only hosted Medvedev and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergei Lavrov.
Medvedev the insane war mongering clown and Lavrovrov the -liar-in-chief.
it's an exclave, not an enclave...
Although, Despite it all being nearly all lost and destroyed. Most of those Soviet flats ( and yes even the 10 story ones and especially the House of Soviets. ) were all used out of the vary same original bricks from the former city. Of course it’s gonna take a huge amounts of time and efforts to rebuild it of how it once was or near of how it was. Nothings going to be exactly the same unfortunately. ( that’s if someone was willing enough to do so but it depends on many different factors. ) but in my opinion it is still possible to rebuild though I will say one thing right now. A lot of people do also want it rebuilt but with the authorities of Ruzzia they seem to care less about the history.
( this is just a reminder of that it is still possible to rebuild regardless of who says what, ) Dresden cathedral was a big example. It was nothing but a pile of rubble and yet it’s all rebuilt and is completed. ( all Soviet flats and buildings contains parts the bricks of the city )
it is possible. They are waiting for your money. Send now
Немцы разрушили Петергоф, Зимний дворец, Павловский дворец, Россия утратила 30% национального достояния, сохранение обломков , которые остались после Английской бомбардировки не входило в планы советского руководства, причина этого я думаю ясна.
@@user-ns3rm8vj8d и читая комментарии этих тупых лицемерных хамов хочется снести там все что осталось от немцев.ибо нефиг.
Demolition work of the soviet palace began on May 18 , 2023 ...
@@edwardcicco7406 are you referring to the house of Soviets?
My maternal side of my family were from Königsberg. I have an etching of the Stadt Schloss hanging in my home.
Please educate was this city the site of the final meeting place ot the three emperor s comprising the Drakaiserbumd
Was born and raised in Kalinigrad and i love this city with my heart. Its unique and unbelievebly cozy. But very small for living and growing so llike a lot of my peers I moved to Peterburg (and Moscow for a bit). You can ask anything i will gladly answer u
Why Russia produced a Nazi monsters like Putin and his cronies?
I just dont get why they didnt try to rebuild the old city really much, like in Danzig, or Gdansk, sure would have been a lot better for the view of the city, sure, as an german im happy there are some buildings still from the past, but its a shame they didnt even try to rebuild a majestic castle and instead just built an unfinished "House of Soviets" there. Do you think the same, or not? would love to hear
I think it should go back to Germany, Poland or Lithuania. Russia should not own that land.
Funny thing is that Germany, Poland, and Lithuania have all been offered Kaliningrad but turned it down for the same reason. Nobody wants an entire province of unreconstructed Russians in their country! Just look at Georgia, Chechnya, Ukraine, and Moldova and you can understand why.
I think it's none of your business what russians do with their own lands.
@@korbell1089 do what Stalin did. Ship ‘em tf out!
NOBODY WANTS KRÓLEWIEC. They can became 4th baltic country
@@josephtrahan8045 OUTTA OR IM BOUTTA as they say 😼
"A place that does not deserve to be forgotten."
I'd say it did not deserve any of this to begin with.
Love the bias already in the title
Just revert to the original Native Prussian names of Tuvangste. Sambia.
Königsberg is a fact since 1255
Kaliningrad since 1946 .
Perhaps it will change sometimes to the famous name again , were the great
philosoph Immanuel Kant , 1724 - 1804 , was born
Leningrad changed already back to the historical name " St Petersburg " .
Also the town of Sovjetsk , 1288 , back to the famous historical name of " Tilsit "
where once peace talks took place 7. - 9. 1807 between Prussia / Russia ( ! )
and the French Empire , Napoleon .
The exchanged russian population know about the german history of
East Prussia so do the polish and lituanian ,
The contact with Germany , home - sickness - tourists , former inhabitants ,is exelent .
Kaliningradskaja oblast could have been a bridge between Russia and the West
but it is still not wanted I suppose by different sides ( PL , GB , )
From a military perspective Putin would never consider giving it up
Wow! 😮
A couple of weeks after this video came out, the demolition of the House of Soviets has actually started:)
finally, its so ugly, why didnt they just rebuild the old castle
@@Timm2912точно не знаю, но как я слышал, замок не восстановили потому, что советская власть ненавидела все немецкое и им не нужен был символ германии.
хотя также возможно, что они не хотели тратить деньги на восстановление.
в принципе мне, как жителю россии очень стыдно за те решения, принятые советской властью в сторону калининграда, сноса большенства истлрических зданий. это все печально, хотелось бы видеть восстановленныц город
@@Timm2912пусть стоит, вам какое дело
@@user-ne9ko1ew3q Здравствуйте, во-первых, я отвечу вам через переводчика, потому что я не говорю по-русски.
Я думаю то, что Советы сделали с Калининградом или Кенигсбергом, это очень ужасно, потому что советский дом выглядит просто некрасиво, а до этого там была красивая ратуша.
А вот РФ же уже пытается восстановить дома, что я считаю удовлетворительным
@@Timm2912 разбомбили британцы пусть они и восстанавливают, у них денег много
Karaliauchus- Minor Lithuania… Germans occupants vanished Prussia- Baltic Tribes, than Russia came and destroyed everything… Karaliauchus - historical legacy of Lithuania and must be returned back.
Lithuania has stolen enough history already
@@romanromanchuk7718are you from Belarus?
Ну тогда Дерп верните, это бывший Юрьев основанный Ярославом Мудрым, когда вы прибалты еще по деревьям прыгали.
I studied in "Kaliningrad" 1978-1984..., it was an example how russians can turn any place into a shit hole..., towns outside Koningsberg were even worst....
А ты нерусский? Ехал бы к своим учиться, неблагодарный
Thank you for creating a video about my ancestral land.
Otoh, how come in English speaking countries it is always that the german Invasion of Poland is the begin of WW2, while the simultaneous Invasion and Occupation of Poland by the Russians in 1939 is kept unmentioned?
Is it because technically Britain and France should have declared War on Russia as well, but did not, and Poland was left battling both Invasions by itself?
Heck, the Soviets did not even wanted to return Polish Territory to Poland in 1945, and pushed the whole Country westward onto german Territory, expelling millions of Poles from Easter Poland and expelling Germans from eastern Germany.
Россия забрала свои территории, которые Польша забрала в ходе оккупации по итогам Советско-Польской войны, Польша развязала войну и перешла линию Керзона захватив западную Белоруссию и Украину, так что с Польшей поступили так как она это сделала с Советской Россией в 1920 году и с Чехословакией в 1938 году, в этом нет не чего странного.
if your ¨friendly¨ ancestors had not attacked and destroyed the Sovjet Union, Konigsberg would still be standing in its ancient splendor. End of any discussion about the present state of that city.
The Russian/Soviet propaganda machine has a really long and macabre history of dealing in death.
Germany doesn't want this territory back anymore. It's just too late. Those germans who used to live there are either dead now or extremely old. And to incorporate the region into the federal republic of Germany, that would mean to invest a bunch of money.
Germany will be African country within a few decades.
5:00
Balts: are we a joke to you!?
I blame the destruction of Königsberg mainly on high glycemic index carbohydrates, specifically the overconsumption thereof. Manny Kant would agree.
It will be a very good day if and when Germany / EU are able to purchase Kaliningrad back from a Russia which may soon need the money. The old castle should be rebuilt along with dozens of beautiful, traditional buildings. At this stage in history a German return would be good thing.
But most Germans dont want it
Why? Germans don’t live there. It would just be a hassle and money sink. I don’t think a few castles are worth it
@@sebe2255 And? Not like people use money for the right things anyway. The cost of something should not be of concern when restoring something that was destroyed by Marxist ideologues.
Besides, the main obstacle to taking it back has more to do with Putin himself than the current nature of the territory.
@@sebe2255 And with it would come hundreds of thousands of mendicant Russians.
@@sebe2255 You don't think people would want to move to Prussia and rebuild it?
This city was built mainly by the German Teutonic Order, but on somebody else's land - they invaded the Baltic people Old Prussians, living there much earlier, a tribe that had nothing to do with Germany (or Russia). The Teutonic Knights were saying they had the right to invade anybody who was not Christian (sick European mentality of the medieval period). This does not make this land German, according to any civilized legal system rules.
Лол "цивилизационной правовой системы" во времена тевтонских рыцарей не было еще сформированных наций, были феодалы и холопы, последним было порой абсолютно без разницы кто у них феодал, если это не отражалось в отношении их подати. Да и сейчас все то же самое, все всегда сводится к одному правилу, кто сильнее, тот и прав, закон пишет победитель, принцип который огласил еще один из германских вождей войдя в Рим гласил "горе побежденным".
Then sent the hungarians back to the steppe and completely disintegrate the United States and many other countries or what are you suggesting. Land being conquered by someone else is kinda a fundamental ingredient of what we call History. There was no Geneva Convention in the 12th century.
What a nonsense. The Teutonic Knights let build the Marienburg and the Cathedral ... . 95 % was built in 700 years or so. 😊
@@user-ns3rm8vj8dPeasants were peasants all time and everywhere. Even in Hesse the" serftoom" was abolished after 182x ! Leibeigenschaft.
A zillion years ago
Within the German population of East Prussia was also a considerable part of Austrians, the offspring of the Salzburg Protestants who had to leave Salzburg during the Recatholisation periode and settle in Northeastern East Prussia. They brought the Alpine cheese culture to the Baltics and created the famous Tilsiter cheese. The town of Tilsit on the Lithuanian border is now called "Sovietsk" (what a horrible name fur such a historic place).
"Sovietsk" is a beautiful name. Much better then old one.
@@anvold5152 as beautiful as Komsomolsk, Krasnoarmiisk, Engels, Toliatti, Ulyanovsk, Leninsk, Partisansk, Stalino, Sverdlovsk, Kaliningrad ... all fake names. Normal countries don't rewrite history whenever the government changes, normal countries don't rename cities.
@@ekesandras1481 Ironically, Engels is German himself. And Tolyatti is Italian (Togliatti). Sverdlov is also a Jew.
@@__Man__ Bolshevism is a disease that is not exclusive to ethnic Russians.
Even Scots and Dutch lived there!
Wouldnt it be nice if faberge made an enameled, jewelled and precious metals version of the Matryoshka. Christ they would cost a bomb and look beautiful in a glass cabinet. Could sell it as a set or break it up and sell them individually.
This is extremely interesting to me because a maternal great grandfather immigrated from there in the 1870's. I can't prove it, but I am convinced by evidence and family tradition, that he was a victim of the Kulturkampf [Germanization] program. The name was Slavic or Lithuanian depending on how spelled [I've seen three different spellings in official documents]. His passport said he was a Lutheran, born in Königsberg, but he never entered a church, never spoke German [and refused to let his children learn it], and never talked about or wanted to visit either Prussia or Germany. The truth needs to be known, as alluded to in this video, that whether Germanization, Sovietization or Russification the fascist abuse of human rights is the same. Thanks for the background and detail that I lacked.
> never spoke German
That's probably not true. My grand parents from Sønderjylland (Slesvig) where born during WW1 and maintained all their lives that they didn't know German -- but they actually watched German TV quite often.
@@peterfireflylund If he was originally Polish and Catholic or Russian and Orthodox or Jewish, and was forced to comply with Germanization, that would explain the behavior, i.e. dislike of everything German.
In Ukraine, ethnic Russians are spurning their ethnicity and language because of the subhuman behavior of the Russian regime and army. This is not a unique or improbable situation.
If mein Urgroßvater, disliked the language, religion and culture that was forced on him, rejecting it would be normal. I was the first member of the family, that I know of, to study German and German history, and to visit Germany [but never the former DDR or Ostpreußen [Kaliningrad Oblast].
I do not maintain, against evidence, that the conclusions I reached are true, only that they are possible. All of the evidence is circumstantial, and records in Koenigsberg, if they exist, are unavailable.
The Kulturkampf had nothing to do with Germanisation. It was the struggle against the Catholic Church and their influence. Eastern Prussia had a widely uniform German and Lutheran population with the exception of the area around Allenstein/Olszytyn, which had a large proportion of Polish speaking population.
@@cehaem2 Your reply is odd, it would be like maintaining that slavery in the US was not racist. In case you haven't heard of the Thirty Years War, that was all about the Lutherans and Catholics forcing people to change their religion to the official religion of the state that they lived in, or had conquered the state that they lived in.
Your statement contradicts the information that I studied in history class. It is possible that the information was biased or that I misremembered it. It would be nice if you could identify or quote your source.
@@JMM33RanMA Basically in any book on German history in the 19th century, like Nipperdey, Wehler etc. Catholicism was consider "unnational" and backwards-oriented. It contributed immensly to the splits witin the conservative and liberal parties in Prussia.
The moral of the story, don’t start world wars.
Germany didn't start WWI.
@@tylerbozinovski427 It literally did, the first declarations of war between any major powers was Germany against Russia on August 1st, and against France on August 3rd. The country was not facing any impending attack, refused British proposals at calling a conference, and made the conscious choice to attack.
@Cotswolds1913 You're forgetting that the Russians began a general mobilisation about 2 days before the Germans did, and the French began full mobilisation as well before Germany declared war on them. You can clearly see here how Germany feared the very real possibility of being attacked on two fronts. The British only joined later on as a means of crushing their main rival, using Belgium as a convenient excuse. More importantly, if any state deserves to be blamed for the war, it is Serbia, since a member of a secret society tied to Serbian military intelligence figures like Dragutin Dimitrijević assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand.
Besides, blaming an entire group of people for a war is completely unjustifiable, even in cases where their government was clearly responsible for starting it.
@@tylerbozinovski427 Germany mobilized before France and declared war, France didn’t start mobilization until Germany had begun the war with its declaration on Russia.
You can say Germany feared this, Germany feared that, and certainly there is plenty of blame to pass around here. But none of what you are describing justifies what Germany did, nor the fact that they were the ones who begun the war.
@Cotswolds1913 Well my aim is not so much to pass the blame onto someone else, but to disprove the notion that Germany was mostly (if not completely) responsible for the war. And yes, while France only began general mobilisation after Germany declared war on Russia, the Germans weren't even at war with the French yet. Not to mention that the Germans began general mobilisation on the same day (1st August 1914).
If I was incharge, I'd tear down the building and rebuild the castle.
его уже начали сносить, но замок восстановят на вряд ли(
Similarly, since 2014, Russia has used Crimea as a military base. A lot of weapons were brought there, part of the protected areas was destroyed. The indigenous population - the Crimean Tatars - was systematically squeezed out of the region.
There has been a Russian military base in Crimea since 1784. Just during the Soviet era, Crimea was transferred to Ukraine in 1954. This led to the need, after the collapse of the USSR, to buy from Ukraine the ability to keep the Russian fleet in Crimea. Oh, I wish Khrushchev hadn't handed over Crimea to Ukraine. Then we wouldn't have to fight for our fleet :(
@@Fillipok Crimea was handed over not by Khrushchev, but by Malenkov. It was he who then was a key figure in the USSR. Also, at that time, Russia did not have the opportunity to maintain and develop Crimea without Ukraine.
As for the fleet, it could simply be withdrawn. But Putin did not. Most likely, the location of the fleet was part of the preparations for war and imperialist plans. Positive side. As a result of the war, Russia is likely to lose the Black Sea Fleet. So the question of its placement in the Crimea will disappear by itself.
The Crimean Tatars were deported in 1944 after the Soviets recaptured it. Although yes, Russia has been trying to clamp down on those that still live there.
@@Fillipok Russia is not consistent with the rules. Parts of Latvia and Estonia were incorporated into the USSR after 1945. In 1991 Russia kept these parts saying they were given to Russia. How is Crimea's transfer different?
@@tylerbozinovski427 All ~200,000 Crimean Tatars were deported in 1944. Only after 1990 were some able to return.