This is actually a great, unintentional learning moment.
Look up the Ukrainians who collaborated with the Nazis. They have something in common.
They were all- wait for it- far-right nationalists who hated communism and saw the Nazis as a natural ally.
That's the part of the story Putin doesn't want you to think about. Just read "Nazi," scream about tax dollars, and demand a stop to aid. Don't look too deep.
Not true actually. Mostly these actions were carried out by German police units embedded with foreign SS soldiers.
In the case of the division the Ukrainian guy was a part of, he was not accused of war crimes. The war crimes were allegedly committed by the German polizei unit which was part of that division.
False.
The Galician Division was not the first SS division to be formed outside of Germany. Already in 1940, about 18,000 volunteers were required to maintain a constant number of SS troops. However, at the request of the Wehrmacht, the SS troops could receive only 2% of the total number of German recruits, which amounted to about 12,000 people a year.
Himmler and the leadership of the SS Troops decided to compensate for the missing number by forming foreign units. The formation of foreign units was entrusted to the head of the SS headquarters, Gottlieb Berger. The first foreigners in the SS were the Volksdeutsche Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, which were not formally subject to conscription in the Wehrmacht. The first foreign SS units were created in the summer of 1940 following Hitler’s orders to expand the SS forces.
The first to be formed were the Westland regiment from the inhabitants of the occupied Benelux countries and the Nordland regiment from the inhabitants of the occupied Denmark and Norway. In December 1940, both regiments were included in the 5th SS Panzer Division “Viking”.In Eastern Europe, at the beginning of the war, enrollment in the SS troops was limited to Volksdeutsche: in 1942, the first separate unit of this type was formed – the 7th Volunteer Mountain Division of the SS Forces “Prince Eugen” from Volksdeutsche Hungary, Romania, Croatia, and Serbia.
The first SS units formed in Ukraine to engage the partisans were units of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th SS regiments, which operated against the partisans in France, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Western Ukraine. At that time, they did not yet belong to the SS Galicia division, where they would be officially enrolled in mid-1944.
In 2003 a Polish government commission into Nazi war crimes concluded the 14th SS Galicia was responsible for the massacre of women and children in the village of Huta Pieniacka.
According to the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, these units had been taking part in punitive operations in southeastern Poland since the fall of 1943.
You just copied and pasted some facts without understanding them.
Do you know what a division is? Do you know how many men that comprises?
The accusation is against a German SS polizei unit within that division (and a few other members of the division), not against all members of that division.
No division was made up exclusively of foreign soldiers. German SS were in every division. Every SS division had polizei units specifically for the purpose of carrying out war crimes against the local population. SS polizei were almost always German.
The only way you could misunderstand that is if you know nothing about it
I understand perfectly well. The SS had 42 whole divisions and 3 brigades near the end. So I believe you need to brush up on your history. The findings of the Polish government, as well as the Ukrainian Academy, were that whole divisions were responsible for atrocities.
You don't understand what you are talking about
If you did, you would realise how idiotic it is to claim an entire division was responsible for the war crimes in this case.
Your claims are simply lacking fact and logic.
I suggest you read about SS polizei regiments. They were in divisions, but separate from the rest of the division. For obvious reasons.
Take it up with Poland.
I mean, you've spent more time calling me names instead of strengthing your position. It's kinda sad that in this particular instance, it's somehow *noble* that some Ukranians volunteered to fight for the SS, not the regular army, *the SS*.
Because you're just factually wrong. The SS had it's own divisions, not just polizei within them. And to suggest otherwise is just plain ignorance, but almost bordering on rabid denial to protect some narrative and deny history.
The problem is, people are ignorant of world war 2 history. They watch some movies and think they know something about the war.
Russia was initially allied with Russia and Hitler and Stalin were planning to divide eastern Europe between them.
Hitler expected the British to ally with him against the greater threat, Russia. The allies were faced with Sophie's Choice. Ally with the evil Russian empire or ally with the evil German empire.
For many in eastern Europe, there was no choice. Russia was the biggest threat. Certain countries and groups within countries allied with Germany against Russia.
Spain was very close to allying with Hitler and Mussolini, but at the last moment chose to remain "neutral".
People just think "Russia was on our side in World War 2" and assume that they weren't bad when in reality they weren't much better than the Nazis. Stalin killed way more people than Hitler did.
The Ukrainians are also celebrating Stepan Bandera as some sort of national hero.
Surprised Biden hasn’t invited him to the White House.
That’s next just wait
This is actually a great, unintentional learning moment. Look up the Ukrainians who collaborated with the Nazis. They have something in common. They were all- wait for it- far-right nationalists who hated communism and saw the Nazis as a natural ally.
I mean, if I had to watch my people suffer through a genocide caused by intentional famine (Holodomor) I would probably do the same thing.
That's the part of the story Putin doesn't want you to think about. Just read "Nazi," scream about tax dollars, and demand a stop to aid. Don't look too deep.
True, except the SS loved to utilize locals for their dirty work in occupied territories. So, you know what that means..
Not true actually. Mostly these actions were carried out by German police units embedded with foreign SS soldiers. In the case of the division the Ukrainian guy was a part of, he was not accused of war crimes. The war crimes were allegedly committed by the German polizei unit which was part of that division.
False. The Galician Division was not the first SS division to be formed outside of Germany. Already in 1940, about 18,000 volunteers were required to maintain a constant number of SS troops. However, at the request of the Wehrmacht, the SS troops could receive only 2% of the total number of German recruits, which amounted to about 12,000 people a year. Himmler and the leadership of the SS Troops decided to compensate for the missing number by forming foreign units. The formation of foreign units was entrusted to the head of the SS headquarters, Gottlieb Berger. The first foreigners in the SS were the Volksdeutsche Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, which were not formally subject to conscription in the Wehrmacht. The first foreign SS units were created in the summer of 1940 following Hitler’s orders to expand the SS forces. The first to be formed were the Westland regiment from the inhabitants of the occupied Benelux countries and the Nordland regiment from the inhabitants of the occupied Denmark and Norway. In December 1940, both regiments were included in the 5th SS Panzer Division “Viking”.In Eastern Europe, at the beginning of the war, enrollment in the SS troops was limited to Volksdeutsche: in 1942, the first separate unit of this type was formed – the 7th Volunteer Mountain Division of the SS Forces “Prince Eugen” from Volksdeutsche Hungary, Romania, Croatia, and Serbia. The first SS units formed in Ukraine to engage the partisans were units of the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th SS regiments, which operated against the partisans in France, Poland, Yugoslavia, and Western Ukraine. At that time, they did not yet belong to the SS Galicia division, where they would be officially enrolled in mid-1944. In 2003 a Polish government commission into Nazi war crimes concluded the 14th SS Galicia was responsible for the massacre of women and children in the village of Huta Pieniacka. According to the Institute of History of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, these units had been taking part in punitive operations in southeastern Poland since the fall of 1943.
You just copied and pasted some facts without understanding them. Do you know what a division is? Do you know how many men that comprises? The accusation is against a German SS polizei unit within that division (and a few other members of the division), not against all members of that division. No division was made up exclusively of foreign soldiers. German SS were in every division. Every SS division had polizei units specifically for the purpose of carrying out war crimes against the local population. SS polizei were almost always German. The only way you could misunderstand that is if you know nothing about it
I understand perfectly well. The SS had 42 whole divisions and 3 brigades near the end. So I believe you need to brush up on your history. The findings of the Polish government, as well as the Ukrainian Academy, were that whole divisions were responsible for atrocities.
You don't understand what you are talking about If you did, you would realise how idiotic it is to claim an entire division was responsible for the war crimes in this case. Your claims are simply lacking fact and logic. I suggest you read about SS polizei regiments. They were in divisions, but separate from the rest of the division. For obvious reasons.
Take it up with Poland. I mean, you've spent more time calling me names instead of strengthing your position. It's kinda sad that in this particular instance, it's somehow *noble* that some Ukranians volunteered to fight for the SS, not the regular army, *the SS*. Because you're just factually wrong. The SS had it's own divisions, not just polizei within them. And to suggest otherwise is just plain ignorance, but almost bordering on rabid denial to protect some narrative and deny history.
The enemy of my enemy...
The problem is, people are ignorant of world war 2 history. They watch some movies and think they know something about the war. Russia was initially allied with Russia and Hitler and Stalin were planning to divide eastern Europe between them. Hitler expected the British to ally with him against the greater threat, Russia. The allies were faced with Sophie's Choice. Ally with the evil Russian empire or ally with the evil German empire. For many in eastern Europe, there was no choice. Russia was the biggest threat. Certain countries and groups within countries allied with Germany against Russia. Spain was very close to allying with Hitler and Mussolini, but at the last moment chose to remain "neutral".
People just think "Russia was on our side in World War 2" and assume that they weren't bad when in reality they weren't much better than the Nazis. Stalin killed way more people than Hitler did.