Operation Barbarossa: The Day By Day Account of German Invasion of the Soviet Union | Part One

'Brutal Reality of Eastern Front Exposed by Lost German Diaries'
On 22 June 1941, Hitler's Germany launched ‘Operation Barbarossa’, the attack of the Soviet Union, the largest invasion in military history. In June 2019, twelve dusty notebooks and a wealth of loose paperwork were discovered in Germany; the diaries of Oberleutnant Wilhelm Sander, a young officer in the 11th Panzer-Regiment who took part in the enormous campaign. On every single day Sander, in a brutally honest manner, elaborately recorded his experiences, impressions and the events he witnessed.
Now transcribed and translated for the first time, they offer a brutally honest, intimate and fascinating view into the murderous and unforgiving nature of war on the Eastern Front from the summer of 1941 to the eventual German retreat in the terrible winter of 1941/1942, while offering a unique glimpse into the world of thought of a highly politicised officer of the German Wehrmacht and member of the NSDAP.
Follow the path of Leutnant Friedrich Sander, a Panzer officer in the German Wehrmacht during Operation Barbarossa, the attack on the Soviet Union.
In the first part of a two-part film, we follow Leutnant Sander on the strenuous, and costly race towards Leningrad and learn about the murderous and terrifying goals of the German campaign in the east.
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#historyhit #barbarossa #worldwartwo

[@HistoryHit]

The wait is over... PART TWO of Barbarossa: The Lost Diaries has just been made available 👉kzbin.info/www/bejne/n5KUpKlpq6-Kj9U

[@cpurssey982]

Is there anywhere I can watch this without the censorship of the dead bodies? Morbid I know but I think to get the real feel of this horrid war one must see the true devastation.

[@davev.4364]

Why are images blurred?

[@jackblack-gn1cc]

Germans should pay for this, how much money costs 1 livie?

[@herbshore]

,0😊⁸😊😊

[@TheMormonPower]

I just watched it, well worth the wait. There are endless documentaries on You tube about the war, but very few first hand narrative accounts like this that really bring it to life, Sander, the diarist, give his narration such a humanist tone, teaching us all what he'll war can be 🧐

[@jantjedevoorste-rm5tb]

My granddad fought in Stalingrad with the 14th Panzer Division, he was captured and came home in 1953. Het died in 2015 at the age of 95. Before he died he told me that wanted to be cremated and not buried as he never wanted to feel the cold soil again.

[@michaelmelamed9103]

My grandfather was captured by the Lithuanian collaborators, confined in a ghetto, had most of his family murdered, eventually, liberated by the American army from Dachau. He died at the age of 97 in the USA. Buried according to the Jewish tradition. Cremation is what he had avoided in Dachau.

[@michellekrueger5122]

My husband's father also fought, for Germany, do not ever let anyone, be disrespectful too your Granddad, war, changes all men...many would say your Granddad, and my father in law, were heartless monster's...much respects, to your Granddad, and to my Father in law..there is so much I would enjoy telling you, about how the war started.

[@RoyalFizzbin]

@@michaelmelamed9103 Condolences to your granddad. I hope he lived a good life after the horrors of the war. My great uncle was an anti-aircraft gunner working a four-barrel .50cal. He had three confirmed kills on Luftwaffe aircraft, and one unconfirmed kill on a Nazi sniper on the ground. Despite fighting and killing Nazis, it still upset him to see dead ones, especially the one time they brought him out to one of the downed aircraft (to confirm). Though they were his enemy, he was disturbed by it.

[@kenhart8771]

⁠@@michaelmelamed9103Try with Lithuanian freedoms fighters. We all know the families of Schiff and Rothschild financed the communist revolution and got the Tzar Nikolai II and his family murdered in cold blood 🩸 Who is keep pushing for a war in Ukraine and Russia?

[@daveyork0]

That's 11 years as a POW, 8 of them after the end or hostilities

[@YouriCarma]

These personal diaries paint a far more detailed picture of what it was like to be in that war than some dry map movement accounts you often see in WWII documentaries. It also gives us an inside in what was going on in these soldier's minds in these campaigns.

[@djharto4917]

The narrator always adds in his propaganda against the German soldiers though

[@thomasneal9291]

@@djharto4917 where? because all of the german accented voiceover you hear is literally reading from german soldier diaries.

[@djharto4917]

Plenty was said off script. Our masters are always mentioned aren’t they?? Something that supposedly happened them.

[@TheBanjoShowOfficial]

I think both are quite useful actually

[@DawnOfTheDead991]

@@djharto4917 Sure, the German soldiers were such sweet people who only wanted to help the poor Soviet people especially the JEws, right? /s

[@Mutsky1953]

The diaries and footage paint an honest picture of the Eastern front. Sure there are extracts from the diaries which describe people and situations which in todays terms are unacceptable, but hey, this is a good thing as it is honest and a true historical reflection of that period in history. The last thing we should be doing is editing history to appease the sensitivities of today’s cultures. An excellent historical documentary - Bravo.

[@paulsp2k]

I can't imagine ever having this kind of pride and bravado in invading another country, killing those who dare defend that country and doing so with such righteous arrogance

[@user-rb2rm7lc3w]

There were no right or wrong sides. Very small minded

[@matthewosburn]

eh? where were you when the us invaded iraq? same exact circumstance.

[@Captain-ln3vh]

It’s crazy to me how people read about the death and destruction of war, and watch the movies yet never realize how difficult the loss of life is. Not just seeing it but the sounds and smells. Having someone begging you to help them and you know nothing you do can save them. Telling them anything you think can comfort them and knowing they are already dead. What haunts me is the look on someone’s face. As a medic they believe that you are going to save them and they have that hope when you are there. Only those who don’t know death want war.

[@trackrunner11]

Only thoes who want war don't understand death? That might tell you a lot about politicians! I once looked at memorial in front of a High School in Mobile, Alabama. It was dedicated to 7 classmates who were drafted to serve in Vietnam. Think about it. Your 18 or 19 child who had his whole life in front of him , was suddenly sent across the world to fight in a jungle and asked to give his life for our country.

[@aceclash]

Scale of war in eastern front was insane. Both largest armies going at it 100%.

[@ErickZ-mi3lb]

Pretty sure Hitler personally saw lots of death up front in the trenches and essentially masterminded this whole war.

[@feloniousfloyd2203]

Everyone knows death. It haunts everyone at every turn, and it will eventually conquer every living creature on this earth.

[@Britton_Thompson]

I don't think we can say that actually; I don't think "...only those who don't know death seek war" is a good qualifier. Look no further than the primary belligerents of WW2. Adolf Hitler himself survived 4 years of absolute carnage and human suffering during WW1. Same can be said for Herman Goering, an ace pilot war hero. Benito Mussolini also served as a sniper for Italy in WW1. Hideki Tojo in Japan also had previous combat experience. These leaders were the ones who were most aggressive at pursuing war in the 1930s. And we can't forget about French general Charles De Gaulle. Churchill and Roosevelt considered him a stubborn hawk determined to have his moment of glory, and he had extensive combat experience in the trenches in WW1. On the other hand, you have Neville Chamberlain, FDR, and Josef Stalin. They were trying to avoid war at all costs through appeasement policies, non-aggression pacts, and strict isolationism just to kick the can down the road long enough for someone else to eventually have to deal with it instead of them. We can also extrapolate this out to other wars. Many will argue that the Korean War was the most pointless and unnecessary war in US history. The president who gave the green light for that war was Harry S. Truman, an artillery commander in WW1. Vietnam festered under Eisenhower, and finally acted upon by Kennedy- a naval gunboat captain who fought in the Pacific theatre of WW2. So I don't agree with your statement that only the oblivious want war. The veterans seem pretty damn motivated to pursue conflict too.

[@NoXeB1995]

My great grandmother that died just 3 years ago, was in Leningrad during the siege and starvation. Life has brought us apart so I could not ask her in detail during my adult years, how was this time in person, but I have been told by my dad and grandmother about her time there. She suffered immensely as did people in the city, some even went as far as cannibalism, as the hunger sometimes makes people insane with it. Seeing dead bodies on the streets was just another normal day, people collapsed. To the last day she died she never allowed anyone or herself to waste a crop of bread. She miraculously survived and was captured by Germans and sent to Berlin for forced labour. It's insane, literally every Russian and Soviet family was affected by this war, EVERY single one.

[@nickhayley]

And yet, look at the horror the Russian people are now inflicting on Ukraine. They have learned ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the horrors of war or about compassion and respect of a sovereign nation. All the Russians involved are complicit in mass war crimes - if you're a Russian living in Russia, it is your obligation to NOT participate in this war and your duty to oppose Putin, a megalomaniacal, hateful war criminal. It saddens me to say this, but I never want to see Russia. Unless there is huge upheaval, but from most of what I've seen, all the people who disagree with the evil of the Kremlin have left. There is only evil, the spineless and the fearful left.

[@sammler100]

Was die Wehrmacht in Leningrad veranstaltet hat, ist ein Kriegsverbrechen und das sage ich als Deutscher.

[@waynrbunyea7059]

So was everyone else's 😢

[@chrislove1357]

Imagine what will happen when the next war starts, we won't be needed for forced labor because robots can do that. What value will we have then? This history into human nature should frighten even the stoic person when contemplating the technological revolution of today's age and what that implies when it comes to the darker world were barreling into. I'm glad your grandma got out to make a good impression. Let her RIP, it's our time to see some crazy things, beyond her wildest dreams.

[@charleslaing148]

horrorfying the germans were not human

[@neal.karn-jones]

I've been an amateur WWII history fanatic since the 1980's and have been watching the same information over and over, and still enjoy those documentaries, but the diaries are new to me and fascinating. Showing the film and reading the diaries like this is a great idea and I hope to see many more.

[@ortegaJfk]

Since 1980 dam u need to do better. Research

[@rsmetz88]

​@@ortegaJfk So you would call yourself a professional even if you've never made a dime and have zero recognition outside of your preferred hobby?

[@ortegaJfk]

@@rsmetz88 yes

[@nyccoyax3831]

This video is based on book Im sure of it, Ive listened to 3 books atleast that begin with invasion of russia, not sure the name tho

[@davidobriend8560]

​@@ortegaJfkit's tough to call yourself a professional at something if you don't do it as a profession.

[@billmichae]

It is amazing how softened and cultured has the narrative been made. The original diary text was more than savage.

[@pedromarques1920]

What do you mean ?!

[@etiennenobel5028]

If it wasn't history; one can hardly comprehend the stupidity of war that causes so much suffering for no gain at all but a descent into barbarism.

[@misteryummyearth1055]

Stupidity ? Evolution of man from monkey to human? Laughable. They're currently in Ukraine snorting yabba yabba doo

[@whysoserious7553]

World war 2 caused the end of colonies

[@JeanmarieRod]

Makes more sense than this Ukrainian conflict

[@HonorableBeniah-A]

Pray that Ukraine will stop sending untrained men into the grinder.

[@beargillium2369]

​@@HonorableBeniah-A prayer is the lazy man's way of not actually doing anything.

[@hoacha1]

The real German stories are far superior to the fictional Hollywood garbage . Part 1 is Fascinating.

[@sandwichninja]

Correct.

[@tomdavis3038]

Everything is far superior to Hollywood propaganda Cheers

[@paulmartin6419]

Fascism is fictional garbage.

[@sirvilhelmofyanderland1902]

Hollywood just depicts Germans as monsters. There were a lot of great German people who had to follow orders.

[@daddyjay6375]

A nazi would say!

[@derin111]

My Grandfather, born 1910 in Northern Germany near Hannover, was in the RAD too before volunteering for the Wehrmacht in 1938. He was eventually wounded out of the war in 1943 in Russia. It’s so apparent from these accounts and from what he told me how different and more difficult things were in the invasion of the Soviet Union. You can sense from this diary that even within a week things were going wrong and badly off schedule.

[@funnyman8691]

how many Poles or Russian granpa kill ?? Did he never mention it? Or, like every German, he was a "knight" and only the SS kills innocent poeple ?

[@bpet6990]

Luckily it went very bad for those Coward germans…..are you looking for pity here?

[@wbialy2695]

Evil bloodline. Tfu

[@spencer6094]

Must be good to have a nazi grandad? I'd love it

[@MrNiceGuyHistory]

@@wbialy2695 Your comment shows that you are capable of the same evils as the national socialists..

[@kingshorts593]

The logistics involved in Barbarossa were absolutely INSANE!!!!

[@Jay-Niner]

Watched this when it first came out and am glad to see it back. One of the best history documentaries on KZbin and I can’t wait for part 2!

[@HistoryHit]

Cheers Jan! Glad you enjoyed

[@Mustang1984]

@@HistoryHit Yeah, you guys do great work!

[@magnusarpi204]

Part two is already avaliable, link in the video description.

[@vishwajeetbhardwaz9576]

Massive mistake- The Nazi Symbol was Haken Cross, A European catholic Christian symbol, not Swastika. Kindly apologize immediately and rectify.

[@thomassch3952]

@@vishwajeetbhardwaz9576 And what kind of "catholic christian symbol" should that be?

[@Mildain2000]

It's insane to think that a soldier was upset that a population he was invading was upset he was there

[@markr.devereux3385]

There is a point when occupation necessitates the population be civil if they know what's good for them. It's that simple.

[@pomodorostudyclub]

My grandma lived in occupied Norway. She said that it became part of normal life. German Soldiers would share their rations with locals and play with kids in the snow in the winter. She said she threw snowballs at them and even spat on a soldier from a tree once, but they were never punished

[@markr.devereux3385]

@@pomodorostudyclub great illustration of an occupied country. No need to escalate things every second.

[@Mildain2000]

​@@pomodorostudyclub Right, I'd imagine life wasn't so bad in Nazi-occupied Norway considering the country is quintessentially Aryan (if not more so than Germany) and had the lowest Jewish population of the territories invaded. Still, 1/3 of its Jews were deported to the camps. I don't think Norway is the best example of the reality of Nazi-occupied territories.

[@pomodorostudyclub]

@@Mildain2000 you’re right, I probably should have added that context myself. Just wanted to share a personal memory that came to mind when I saw this video and comment.

[@allbriardup6451]

With the atrocities the soldiers were willingly committing, to hear them talk about beautiful countryside makes me feel ill. “Lucky me not to die in the tank following the cruise in the beautiful hills on my way to abuse and butcher Jews…I can’t wait to write home about how heroic I am.” Just sickening. I greatly appreciate this content and the Allies who stopped the twisted minds.

[@user-rb2rm7lc3w]

The British and USA were just as sick in the head if not worse. Notice how it's all tiny hat people talking about white Europeans being the biggest threat to democracy? The wrong side won the war.

[@kellywright540]

My Dad fought in Patton's Third Army, 4th Armored Division from the end of July, 1944 until the end of the war. He then stayed on as part of the American occupation forces until February of 1946. He saw it all, from the race across France to the Battle of the Bulge, into southern Germany with a quick stop to help liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp and then onto Czechoslovakia. We knew some of the horror that he had seen and been a part of. Buchenwald came back to haunt him in the early 1980's when some idiot was on a TV talk show and was telling the audience that the Holocaust never happened. I had been working nights and woke up to him yelling at the TV with tears in his eyes. He was yelling "No, NO! I WAS THERE!" When I came into the TV room to see what was going on, he looked at me and said, "Kelly, I was THERE! The bodies were stacked like logs Kelly! Kelly, THE OVENS WERE STILL WARM!!" That last sentence will stay with me until I die - "The ovens were still warm!" In the 25 years that I hung out with my Dad, I never saw him cry, and after that outburst, I never saw him cry again. War is a dirty, haunting business. Only the ones who never fought in one think it's somehow glorious...

[@francisschweitzer8431]

DO YOU HAVE any roster of Patton’s Staff? MY UNCLE ARTHUR was on Patton’s personal Staff … went to Bastogne with Gen Patton

[@cgee6867]

Wow.....isn't it so sad that too many want to wipe the Holocaust away and pretend it never happened. This is why so many survivors have come forward to tell their stories of what they went thru... I went to college with a Jewish gal whose father was in a concentration camp. He somehow escaped and was able to walk across Europe until he found the Allies. He was barely alive and weighed 70 lbs. My college friend said she was woke up nightly by his screams in the night. Soon they will all be dead but their stories will live on....

[@MikeWilliamson-dp6cp]

Yeah, the issue with this comment and a well-meaning one, at that... His outbursts after seeing the man on TV saying it never happened appears to be coming from a place of guilt. For something that is "true", one wouldn't have such outbursts at those who say it never happened but ignore the people who claim to have been a survivor (of which, many have been exposed for lying) and get caught lying about their victim status while benefiting financially from their lies in their books, documentaries, or speeches at schools. If it is illegal to question this event or deny it.. Should it not be equally illegal to lie about it? Should you return the money made from the lies? Not only do I make this observation based on that, I also make this observation because: 1) By the time FDR recognized the Soviet Union government in 1933, Stalin had nearly 20 million Russians and Ukrainians executed, sent to slave labor camps (millions died in the slave labor camps) and death camps (even more millions killed in these camps) scattered throughout Soviet Union Russia. Once FDR recognized and established relations with Stalin, he worked in overdrive to cover up their genocide in the Soviet Union and Ukraine purging any and all mentions of it. He appointed Stalin-linked agents as his advisors in the WH and appointed more to positions of influence in the US government. 2) You are told that before WWII, Hitler was rounding up Hebrews in Germany and having them killed. This is quite a bold lie meant to be smoke and mirror to divert attention away from Stalin's genocide in the Soviet Union and Ukraine and even his mass executions numbering 700,000 Of Russians in government, the military (the soldiers family were also executed if their child gets falsely accused of treason), and many civilians based on "lists of names" and quotas for the NKVD to meet in regards to the executions of Russians, prior to WWII in the '30s. In Germany, Hitler did NOT use violent means to force Hebrews out of Germany nor mass arrests and executions. He made it illegal for them to hold positions of power, education, media, financing, and such. 1933-39, 2/3s of German Hebrews left Germany with their wealth and possessions. This is known as the Transfer Agreement of which Hitler and Hebrew Germans negotiated and signed. The worldwide Hebrews screeched and yelled about this agreement and did everything to prevent this agreement from carrying out, calling for even more boycotts against Germany. The infamous "Crystal night" was a reaction by the Germans after news of the German diplomat in Paris being assassinated by a Hebrew communist. 3) "Tonight, you have the opportunity to go to the big city (Berlin) and to light a fire in the belly of the enemy and burn his black heart." - orders from Churchill on RAF terror bombings. "We owe the Germans no sympathy, no understanding, we owe them nothing. You ask what is our policy? I will say to you: We have nothing to offer the Germans, but blood, sweat, toil, and tears. It is to wage war by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us." From the launch of the RAF's night time terror bombings and shortly the American day time terror bombings of German civilians, the Allied powers dropped nearly two million tons of incendiaries and bombs on German civilians who had NOTHING to do with the war. Your father, under the impression he was “liberating” Buchenwald, absolutely did NOT liberate the camp. The allied powers bombed that camp and killed many. The UK dropped phosphorus bombs along with incendiary bombs with heavy bombs onto many Germans in cities throughout Germany. Many cities contained UK POWs and refugees that were fleeing from the Soviet Union. This did not stop the RAF from bombing these cities. Many of the refugee camps and POWs were connected to hospitals. The Uk bombed the hospitals and strafed the refugee camps. Killing many civilians and refugees. The Germans trapped in basements were literally in a “oven” because of the flames from the phosphorus bombs and incendiary bombs that burned them to ashes with human fat being turned into liquid. Bodies were stacked and still hot to the touch. The bodies belonged to the victims who were sucked into the mile(s) wide infernos. 4) Your father believed he was fighting evil but in reality, his nation allied with the very evil nation (soviet union) that was responsible for millions of Europeans being butchered and burned alive before WWII, before the Allied powers invaded Europe to “liberate” the Europeans from Hitler and Germany, they knew of the mass arrests and executions of Poles in Poland and the 1941 NKVD massacre that killed 10,000 to 40,000 (or more) Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Hebrews, and other nationalities. He knows that he was lied to and he feels guilt for his role (unbeknownst to him) in the millions killed by the Soviet Union that his leaders covered up and blamed Germans and Hitler. They were busy arming and sending 11.3 Billion (130 billion today) in funds and military equipment and supplies for the Red Army. Italy, Finland, Romania, Spain, Czech, Cossacks, tartars, French, British, Lithuanians, Ethiopians, Dutch, Ukrainians and Russians fought along side Germany for Europe and to defeat Bolshevism that sought their destruction. If I was your father, I wouldn’t want my children to know the truth and have them curse me as I lay in my grave. After finding out how the Allied powers helped evil and aided this evil in their mass murders and mass r**e of European women and girls. The mutilation of European men and boys. That your nation had policies in the war that ordered AF pilots to bomb and strafe any moving target, whether civilian or military, in the country side. Killing many children and women in trains fleeing from the Soviet Union as they began their advance towards Germany. The trains which carried wounded refugees and POWs to Germany because had they stayed behind, the Soviet NKVD would kill them. How America and the West turned over 5 million Russians, military and civilian, to the Soviet’s to appease Stalin. Which he promptly had them murdered along with their families. And turned a blind eye as Stalin’s NkVD that forcibly deported Germans citizens and soldiers to via death marches or cattle trains to Serbia where 5.8 million Germans were killed.

[@kellywright540]

@@MikeWilliamson-dp6cp yeah, then there is that... WTF dude! 🤦‍♀️

[@Alwisgm]

​@@MikeWilliamson-dp6cpDanke kzbin.info/www/bejne/mZ3JZZhjraxrsLM

[@HistoryHit]

Hey guys, due to popular demand we have reuploaded the first part of our Barbarossa: Lost Diaries series! Let us know in the comments if you enjoyed and would like to see more of these kinds of documentaries.

[@SamSamSamSamSam]

Bizarre that you deleted it in the first place! Whoever came up with that brainwave needs to have their decision making skills relegated to the coffee run.

[@Rex1987]

How come you had to re-upload the video? Due to a rights issue or what is the deal?

[@sentionaut6270]

So where is part two? I liked this video and I'd like to hear the rest.

[@adamcrookedsmile]

Firstly, I think the documentary shines an appropriate light on the atrocities of Nazi Germany, is a bit vague on the repression, murders and deportations of the Soviet Union in Eastern Europe. The Soviet Union did occupy the Baltic states and parts of Poland in 1940 plus attacked Finland, a tiny country on its northeastern border which managed to avoid complete defeat. The Soviets were no "heroic resistance fighters against nazism", they were a blood-soaked revoutoinary socialists who did not hesitate to mass murder, persecute and torture anyone who opposed them even if they opposed by peaceful and democratic means. Secondly, the Nazi intelligence service had done a very poor job at finding out just how industrialised and mobilised the Soviet Union was, nazi army commanders were surprised at encountering new restistance because their high command repeatedly kept telling them that the Red Army had been destroyed. The nazi fools had no idea what they were getting into.

[@mattbriody7575]

@@Rex1987 presumably to get all the people who enjoyed it to subscribe to their service.

[@MRJBS117]

I’m glad to see a German documentary about ww2 as you rarely see anyone talking about the axis or soviet sides of the war in-depth. Great video 👍🏻

[@josephfiore9233]

great question its not what we are taught here in U S A WE ARE TAUGHT WHAT THE MEDIA WANTS YOU TO BELIEVE just like HITLER KILLED HIMSELF which he didnt

[@t.j.payeur5331]

Axis and Soviet perspectives are all over the internet, all you have to do is look for them.

[@heinzjoachim7907]

Leider sehr einseitig und Geschichtsverfälschend.

[@MRJBS117]

@@heinzjoachim7907 Was meinst du?

[@MRJBS117]

@@t.j.payeur5331 not to this extent tho.

[@benitoharrycollmann132]

"Am I too much of a materialist if I claim that the upper levels of a population can bear their ideational loss better than the working class can bear the material loss? That's saying it carefully. I don't want to be classed as a Bolshevist..." What a crucial insight into the often ponderous mind of a front line soldier/officer.

[@kdr121279]

It's interesting to hear that Russian soldiers regarded German soldiers as "beasts" and murderers. Considering the Wehrmacht was complicit with actions conducted by the Einsatzgruppen and similar SS formations, as well as the fate which awaited almost three million Russian POWs, they were right to think this way.

[@confusedbadger6275]

The Germans were told the Soviets were subhuman, yhe Sovieta were told ghe Germans were beasts etc. It was done so that neither wwould want to surrender

[@ToMbA_La_BoMbA]

​@@confusedbadger6275Soviets raped 2 millions German women. From 6 to 97 yo.

[@TheArrowedKnee]

To be fair, while it was still propaganda, it wasn't entirely wrong considering how few Soviet PoWs actually survived.

[@BillSikes.]

My name is David Umbongo-Olyufemwe-Olyufemwe I am from Nigeria and I stand with Israel 🇮🇱

[@user-sp4pc8cs7u]

@@confusedbadger6275 The NKVD murdered 20,000 Poles, deported and murdered some thousand Baltic people and about 100,000 "political enemies" during the first 2 weeks of the German soviet war. Take this and all those mutilated German POW in the first days of German-Soviet war and you know why German soldiers did not NEED any propaganda to believe this war is going to be cruel. But its intersting to see how these inconvenient facts disappeared from history book (or never made it in there)....

[@fifthbusiness1678]

“Of the 5.5 million Soviet prisoners in captivity, 3.3 million did not survive the war.” That is stunning ...

[@fukuswii4370]

.. and you still have Germans talking as if they were the victims when the Red Army stepped in Berlin..

[@sandwichninja]

​@@fukuswii4370 People who starved in German camps died because of the aggressive use of siege tactics by the Allied forces in the final 2 years of the war. What's the Soviet excuse for the over 2 million accounts of rape of German Women? By all means though, keep parroting that mainstream kosher dogma like broken record...

[@JohnDoe-fj2vz]

Yeah, but it will be always Stalin bad, not the germans who exterminated 14 million Soviet civilians

[@sextempiric7137]

And narrator still thinks tah Soviet propaganda painted Germans too bad.

[@rodafowa1279]

He said 5.7, not 5.5.

[@jakethetool698]

Captivating. In my humble opinion, this Era is one of, if not the most monumental, of modern times. The insight these accounts allow, is priceless.

[@margaretfry7818]

Stop blurring images. Show it like it was and maybe we can prevent it from happening again.

[@nigeh5326]

It’s not the channel’s fault it’s KZbin if they don’t blur the images the video can be taken down or de monetised

[@TheMan-ud2wq]

I remember my Great Great grandfather talking about german soldiers he would get quite, grit his teeth, and say german soldiers are tough people. He survived d day but was shot in the hip sometime later he told me they would have to stay in foxholes freezing while artillery was going off he said they didnt know where it was coming from. He said a lot of the people that didnt have family or anything to go home to couldnt take it and they would run out of the fox hole and get killed. He talked about praying when he had to run out and get supplies. He had a good life after the war, he bought 100 acres of land and died at 85 we still have the land.

[@Maxrodon]

I have German relatives who fought in Stalingrad and one often recited the disgust in how decent Germans due to hunger and desperation, during the winter, if a comrade died from freezing/fatigue, everyone would quickly rush his body for any food/items they can salvage in a sort of every man for himself style. And how 1 minute that’s a friend and next minute he’s just a “body” and how impersonal it gets. Another relative developed severe PTSD from the Katyshas (Stalins Organs) and would wake up at high shouting take cover in full panic and on his deathbed relived that moment before passing.

[@20chocsaday]

Sudden death can be like that. You don't need to be freezing and starving or even cold or hungry. One evening we were planning what we would do in the coming months. Then within half an hour my lively outgoing wife turned from being in my plans to being a body in my arms.

[@admiralbenbow5083]

Sh-t like that doesnt tend to happen if you avoid invading other peoples countries.

[@prunepoo]

Glad our country hasn’t done that.

[@AwesomeDude272]

​@@20chocsaday I'm sorry for that. Terrible

[@20chocsaday]

@@AwesomeDude272 Thanks. It was a cold feeling, realising how much the world had lost in one person. The intentions, the care for others as well as part of my life left and I was left holding a husk that was once a person. Sorry if I have saddened you but this happened to many more people later on. A young woman later sent me the last photo of her mother alive as they tried to let her sip cold water.

[@malcolmledger176]

Excellent! The co-ordination between the diary extracts and the footage is outstanding.

[@Porkleaker]

Good to hear Artur! Look after yourself first and foremost, and never feel guilty for taking a day off if you need it. Nowdays people are far more understanding, plus just watching all those gory videos day in and day out can have an impact. Stay happy and safe! 😊

[@mikesummers6880]

Max Hastings interviewed a old German soldier once who said that when he was moved from the Eastern front to the western front he thought he was a holiday compared to what he had experience.

[@golic7123]

if anyone's interested, that amazing emotive music at <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="580">9:40</a> is "The Last march of Heroes" by Grant Newman

[@simonbanks3058]

I am obsessed with WW2 and this was an exceptional documentary, thank you.

[@Rasarel]

The reason why you are obsessed with WW2 is simply because your mind can't wrap itself around it. You are missing the central point. 🧬 Around 1900 the Zionists movement declared that they want to create a Jewish country. All the world leaders refused them. Eventually after the years of despair, Nazis needed help to power and they made a pact with the Zionists in the early 1920' Zionists instructed Hitler on blood science and he agreed to help them to create Israel. They were deporting Jews from Hamburg and Bremerhaven to Palestine. All the info is in the newspapers 1932-1939

[@dionpryor369]

Perhaps some of us were there in person in another life if you believe in reincarnation.

[@uldos3193]

I hope we don't make same mistakes again.those days there were no nukes.this time around it will affect everyone

[@simonbanks3058]

@@uldos3193 Yes, those people were in a form of hell, and we should learn from what happened then never forget.

[@uncledavys]

i am from India and obsessed too. This has been through all my teenage years. I loved Commando comics.

[@Doug333]

Such a brutal and heart aching experience from a single soldier in a war so incomprehensible in size. Lest we forget, I take gratitude in living a peaceful life. Listening to diaries like this can truly shift ones perspective.

[@aponygirl]

War is brutal for all involved.

[@dudebro3250]

I learned about this in the Europa the last battle documentary.

[@skepticalbadger]

Yeah, given the admissions of war crimes I don't feel too bad for this twat.

[@sodlayer5288]

Qa

[@tomdavis3038]

Not so peaceful if you’re in Ukraine Cheers

[@kapitanmuahaha6240]

Great documentary! Wished you didn't have to blur the images at some points! Keep up the good work.

[@pedrovision6987]

Is there a version of this documentary that doesn't have half of it "fuzzed" out??? Very annoying to have someone deciding what I can and cannot see. (Don't get all up in my face telling me it's for my own good...just point me in the direction of an uncensored version of this excellent documentary. Thank you.)

[@mitchsavini]

This was one of the best documentaries I have every seen on KZbin....the side from the German perspective was so revealing. Please do more of these!

[@ursulaba1]

Yes, I agree. I'm searching the faces of the soldiers to see if I can identify my father. He survived the war and died in 1973. My parents had divorced in 1943 and I had seen him only 3 times in my life. My mom who had gone to her parents home in East Prussia in 1943, fled from the Russians to Duesseldorf, the British Zone in 1945 and married an English soldier who took her to England. I, her daughter, was raised by foster parents and after searching for her for many years, found her through the German Red Cross living in England in 1975.

[@TheKing-nu4fk]

I don't know the circumstances but how did she leave you behind?

[@jameswells-green9476]

This is a gem. The system of 2 narrators works very well - it maintains the vital distinction between the textual and the supra textual thus providing greater depth to the work. The context to the experiential coverage of events, is thoroughgoing and mutually supportive.

[@HistoryHit]

Much appreciated!

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

Yeah they needed the second narrator for propaganda purposes, otherwise the Germans would look too good and not the monsters they have been portrayed to be.

[@UKCheeseFarmer]

@@huwhitecavebeast1972 Don't get Nazis and the SS mixed up with the Wehrmacht!! It shows your complete ignorance.

[@generaldilvry69]

judging from the prose and reoccuring keywords these are the words of the same solider...if so, he merc'ed mad bodycount

[@tonyjones1560]

A few years ago I watched a documentary about young Russians who had been exhuming German war dead and sending them back to be re-interred in Germany. In many cases, you could tell the guy was buried where he fell. Sometimes two or three men were buried together and they had to separate the bones. It was…somber.

[@Heopful]

theres heaps of russian youtube channels dedicated to metal detecting around the swamps of Russia. The amount of crap they find it seems the ground is fertilized by the dead . They'll find an 80 year old rifle in some mud and be disappointed because it's only a common mosin

[@haeuptlingaberja4927]

"His death will not go unpunished," says a guy who gleefully took part in an undeclared, illegal war of aggression, the largest and most brutal invasion in all of history.

[@andreasmack694]

You don't know anything what reality really was at that time. But writing a comment.

[@haeuptlingaberja4927]

@@andreasmack694 Na, und was genau war die damalige Realitaet? Koennen wir wirklich von "Helden und Gerechtigkeit" reden wenn wir die Taten von Wehrmacht Soldaten und SS Massenmoerder diskutieren?

[@prof_kaos9341]

I get it, his attitude to the Soviet troops having the gall to fight back is interesting. While his other comments show he's a thinker.

[@haeuptlingaberja4927]

@@andreasmack694 So, reading history for more than 50 years makes me uninformed, does it? What, pray tell, is your direct connection to "reality," mate? Have you ever interviewed Wehrmacht and SS soldiers? And their victims and those who fought against them? I have. But g'head, tell me how your experience and your brain is bigger.

[@andreasmack694]

@@haeuptlingaberja4927 come on, that's bullshit. You can't know why things happened. Please don't write anything which is therefore most likely not the truth, but your emotions.

[@chetfrench1756]

Excellent documentary. I've been a lifelong student of WWII history and I was quite pleased and surprised with how much I learned. Well done!!

[@wikiwikiwik4898]

This is amazing, never heard this detailed of a German perspective during Barbarossa. Absolutely brutal.

[@logycaa]

This is some of the best WW2 related content I have ever had the pleasure of watching.

[@danfield6030]

Right on brother! I'm gonna check it out, right nowwwwwww

[@johnlescault3737]

Agreed, Seems like we are rarely shown the German attitude and position, very humanizing, something that most documentaries fail to do, it’s usually just “the Germans where animals”.

[@johnthomaso4208]

With respect, I don't think the viewing of this documentary could be described as 'pleasurable''. Some bits were so harrowing I had to stop watching. The look of terror on those Lithuanian children's faces as they are herded, along with their mothers clutching pathetic bundles of ragged clothes, by those Nazi monsters, probably to some camp, will stay with me forever.

[@somniumisdreaming]

@@johnlescault3737 How can you humanize a Nazi when you see the terrified faces of the children and Jewish ppl being taken to slaughter.

[@johnlescault3737]

@@somniumisdreaming it’s easy if you understand that human nature is basically evil if left unchecked, I’m not saying they are human in a good way, I’m saying we should all be able to see that we are capable of the same if left to our own rationalization. It’s the people that don’t realize their condition, that are likely to repeat the mistakes of the past.

[@jeddkeech259]

Another awesome vid. Thanks for keeping the stories of these young men alive. May we learn from the mistakes of the past, Lest we forget, 🙏

[@reinholdschrader4125]

You need to make more documentaries like this. I am tired of seeing productions that revolve around the presenters. Excellent work and thanks a lot for sharing it with us. ❤

[@xjr13john]

I would like to see more of these kind of documentaries but without the blurred images, its all part of history!

[@JuniorJr1212]

I’d like to see a real well done high budget series covering the entirety of WW2 from all perspectives. With good actors and cinematography and CGI. Like Game of Thrones format but WW2

[@taglor]

I agree, surely people should be cautioned about the truth of war. The real horror. However, the powers that be will always need cannon fodder and can't let the lie of a 'boy's own adventure' die.

[@timothybarker3589]

KZbin guidelines won't allow.

[@jasonpip5417]

No need to see dead people...

[@thalesofmiletus2966]

@@jasonpip5417 I disagree. The brutality of war kills, maims and destroys people. It shouldn’t be akin to a computer game that is sanitised. Real war isn’t like that.

[@sirchromiumdowns2015]

This documentary is fascinating. I've read many firsthand accounts of war on the Eastern front, and this man's story brings out the true horror of war as well as any of them.

[@russiansarefilthyapes1660]

Germans was right! History show that. USA and England should not support and safe rusians and let the germans do what they have to do for goodness Germans ❤❤❤❤!

[@russiansarefilthyapes1660]

russians =🦧🦍🐒

[@russiansarefilthyapes1660]

Germans was right!

[@russiansarefilthyapes1660]

History show that. Germans ❤❤❤❤!

[@Pau_Pau9]

Really love seeing those tanks and troop carriers!

[@txbulldogboxing1462]

Just found this channel,great work on this story.

[@billharpster7968]

This is one of the best diary videos out there it’s followed with black-and-white pictures and film of the era. I watch a lot of these I haven’t seen a lot of the film that was in this video. Highly recommend.👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[@kelseylogas1580]

I am mesmerized by this fellow's lack of self-awareness. He has no idea why the common folk would be so kind and gracious to an invading army with a bunch of tanks and guns, and barely a breath later has no idea why enemy soldiers would be so cruel to an invading army with a bunch of tanks and guns. How dare people defend their homes and lives against invaders. Boggles the mind. "Ive never before seen so many corpses." Well, this is what happens when you want to exterminate people. Excellent documentary with very good footage. I do wish you wouldn't blur things out, but KZbin will be KZbin. Please upload part 2 soon.

[@stevejohnson6593]

Germans on the western front did surrender quite a few times, mainly because the allies weren't fired up with propaganda to destroy all and anything german. Also, in case it didn't come to mind.. people were conscripted, perhaps not automatically fond of the political ideas presented to them (imagine that old jewish WW1 veteran next door suddenly becoming part of a demonized religious group), perhaps there was propaganda that showed the jews were treated all right in the camps, I don't know.

[@peterwilson5528]

This is a historical gem. Very well-kept diary.

[@dalj4362]

Great documentary. It's interesting to hear the othersides' story and how they thought about things.

[@jamesharris184]

Exceptionally well done thank you

[@Love.life.ashigzoya]

This is a remarkable and gripping presentation of the diary bringing out not only battle effects but also the mental attitude that provided drive that led to clash between the two powers. The philoloshy and ideology that steeped the two opposing societies leaving no room for compromise. This made war in East most brutal. Very educative and valuable diary . Merits wide circulation. Mahj Gen IA

[@seniordavidmanderson9232]

D. Anderson, USMC, Hotel Company, 2dBn, 9th Marines, 3d MarDiv, 2/9/3, 68-69 Operation Dewey Canyon. In memory of 58,281 men including 8 women, all nurses, 16 clergy members and 160 Medal of Honor recipients who served in the Vietnam War and later died as a result of their service. We honor and remember their sacrifice. Many carry a sense of having been betrayed by civilian and military leaders and by society generally. Be-trayed by politicians who resorted to war under false pretenses and took advantage of their patriotism and youth (the average age of a soldier in Vietnam was 19) and who placed constraints on war strategy that set them up for failure. It's easy to forget that those who served in Vietnam grew up in a time when politicians were seen as statesmen focused on the common good. Most trusted their leaders when told that war was necessary to stop the spread of communism. Despite stereotypes to the contrary, most volunteered. They were part of a generation raised with stories about how their fathers and uncles had accepted the duties of citizenship and won the Great War. These soldiers realized quickly that their fathers war was very different than the one into which they had been led. Their fathers had typically fought as parts of large coordinated forces against a massed enemy, taking and holding territory and attaining measurable strategic objectives, each of which moved them closer to victory. This was not true in Vietnam. Due to geopolitical constraints there would be no invasion of North Vietnam. Rarely would they face a massed force fighting in conventional fashion. In Vietnam, the enemy was often invisible, attacking then slipping away. Though the Army of North Vietnam was a conventional guerilla force, the Viet Cong were often indistinguishable from civilians. A rotational system of deployment that constantly shuffled around the membership of units and which some believed undermined unit cohesion and morale, negative media stereotypes of American soldiers, exposure to conditions of intense privation, chronic feeling of being under threat with no safe place to go, and faulty equipment that broke down under fire. Others were stung by leadership claims that the war was necessary to liberate the people of South Vietnam only to find, as one veteran put it, "Those people just wanted us out and some wanted to cut my throat." I've known many who continued to resent what they saw as lies told by military and civilian leaders claiming progress was being made when the experience on the ground suggested they were stuck in a quagmire. Then there was the betrayal of the homecoming. Though the antiwar movement had broad roots composed of people who genuinely wanted to stop the war, there was a segment openly hostile not just to the war but to the troops who fought it. Returning veterans who had given everything they had and who simply wanted to return home were often met with hostility. Vets often say things such as, "We were spat on, called baby killers, treated like dirt when we arrived back home." Others remember subtle hostility: "I was afraid to wear my uniform in public because of the looks I'd get." Many contrast their experience with an earlier generation. "Those World War 2 guys got parades and ticker tape; we got stabbed in the back." D, Anderson USMC 2/9/3 68-69

[@lilblackduc7312]

@@seniordavidmanderson9232 And now, OBiden wants Americans to fight some half-assed European Civil War that's been going on for over 100yrs? Or, is it going to be in the Pacific, again? Some rich S.O.B.'s silicon factory? How is the U.S. going to fight a war when politicians have sold-off, or, depleted Strategic Fuel Reserves & most of the weapons?

[@libbyhobbs4637]

@Senior David M Anderson from my husband Vietnam Era Navy Corpsman.... Your words,ALL of them ring true,unfortunately our.youth don't give a flyin frog what happened THEN. See how many will show up on the next unavoidable DRAFT.!Better all have passports.... WTF was up with all the VETERAN TRAITORS ON J6?? KMA! THIS is what he fought for...Fascist republican morons in Megamall? NO!!

[@dolphingirl12885]

It amazes me how this soldier is doing such obvious evil deeds yet talks about it as if good, this is human kind

[@brandonhemphill5638]

This is war

[@terrieormonde2340]

​@@brandonhemphill5638NO excuse

[@dougrobbins5367]

No, it's perversion and sickness. The allies never spoke about doing evil as righteous, and they did very little evil.@@brandonhemphill5638

[@zaknoten7854]

beautiful video, well put in effort

[@southerncross86]

Great video, thanks for it again!

[@herbertvonsauerkrautunterh2513]

My grandfather was a truck driver with a panzer regiment. He went all the way to Moscow. Got shot through the shoulder in 1945, met my grandmother in Halle then fled home to the west and survived

[@stanleybroniszewsky8538]

My maternal great uncle served in the German Navy during WW2. I didn't learn much even though he survived the war. I just know in the early 50s, my mother went with her dad to visit relatives in Germany. Looking at the pictures taken, it seemed so surreal looking at people my mother knew but didn't say much.

[@fukuswii4370]

​@@stanleybroniszewsky8538 he should have been captured and sent to Siberia

[@skindianu]

@@fukuswii4370 you should be quiet and sent to your room. No more basement for you!

[@John-381]

What was he looking for there in the foreign country?

[@wolfthequarrelsome504]

May we have an end to war in our lifetimes.

[@jeffcool9769]

Fascinating study, and wonderful narration. Thanks for the rare moments of film and still photos.

[@hangin-in-thereawesome4245]

Can't wait for part two!

[@thebaron5206]

Just finishing ‘The Forgotten Soldier’ by Guy Sajer. A fascinating account of one German soldiers experiences on the Easter Front. Highly recommended to anyone interested in this subject.

[@metsaveikko]

Can't remember who wrote my book, but it was 2 part story. As it's translated from Germany to Finnish the name is "Unohdettu sotilas I ja II" a'ka forgotten soldier I and II. While reading you could smell, hear and feel horrors of war as it was so truthfully written what was actually going on.

[@TedJones-ye1ud]

It's nearly impossible to get an unbiased view on Ww2

[@frankgordon8829]

As a 2-war combat vet who was disabled in my tour of service, I can definitely relate to the miserable rain, mosquitoes, filth of not bathing & mud almost up to your knees!

[@asimian8500]

​@@stanleybroniszewsky8538 The part you forgot is that the Neocons who started all of these wars never sent their kids or if they did they made sure they had cushy jobs and got medals. They also made plenty of money and are laughing. There is nothing honorable in fighting for a country which starts wars and can't win them. The US hasn't won a war since Korea. The Neocons are pushing for your children to be drafted to fight Russia and China. The worst part of all this is the OP who was disabled in his tour of service and if it was a recent war he was a victim of an IED. Good luck with the VA Hospital. They have the worst and most incompetent doctors who graduated from third world medical schools. You're better off with a Witch Doctor than a VA doctor.

[@fukuswii4370]

Fighting goat headers is not being at war. Go to Bakhmut and maybe you can say that you have faught a real war

[@justlucky8254]

@@fukuswii4370 cool. Where did you survive combat?

[@entropy5431]

​@@justlucky8254 In his parents basement, Call of Duty.

[@frankgordon8829]

@@fukuswii4370 I was done with my fighting by the time those wars came around. Yea, just curious. Where DID you serve?

[@calebshuler1789]

Thanks fellas for these documentaries. Keep it up and doing a great job

[@StefanVerheij]

Just watched the whole vid, what an ammount of info ! Nicely done

[@HistoryHit]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@user-vr3pf6fi6t]

Exceptional. Best WW2 documentary I have seen in years

[@HistoryHit]

Thank you!

[@scottteams3361]

Absolutely love to hear the German and Soviet perspective that has mostly been lost to history. Understanding though the causes they were fighting for were vastly different, the horrors and trauma of war were the same. Cannot wait to see the second episode!

[@Ailasher]

Sorry. No Soviet perspective. Because Soviet/Russian archives, and Stalin and the Communists are baddies. And, you know: Mongols... Enjoy the magnificent and truthful historical narrative, carefully selected by Halder and his group, after being captured by the Allies, and footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau, where there practically are no horses and wagons at all.

[@agirlisnoone5953]

​@@Ailasher English must not be your first language. Your comment is so choppy and vague.

[@DmitryTihomirow]

​​​@@Ailasher, ​what are you writing? Are you crazy? Stalin and the Communists saved the world from destruction. Millions of communists died so that you could be born and live. They volunteered to go to the front and died for you. Their children were orphaned or were not born at all, but you were born and live happily. You are just an ungrateful stupid illiterate person, a victim of anti-communist propaganda or a scoundrel. You are spreading vile lies here. Communism is justice, humanity and freedom. Read the authentic works of Marx, Lenin, Stalin, and not false interpretations about them. Что вы пишите? Вы сумасшедший? Сталин и коммунисты спасли мир от гибели. Миллионы коммунистов погибли ради того, чтоб вы смогли родиться и жить. Они добровольцами шли на фронт и погибали ради вас. Их дети остались сиротами или вообще не родились, а вы родились и живёте счастливо. Вы просто неблагодарный тупой неграмотный человек, жертва антикоммунистическтй пропаганды или негодяй. Вы распространяете здесь гнусную ложь. Коммунизм - это справедливость, человеколюбие и свобода. Читайте подлинные труды Маркса, Ленина, Сталина, а не лживые интерпретации о них.

[@flexltu]

@@Ailasher both nazis and soviets are baddies. Both started ww2, slaughtered millions and caused suffering. Except one of them were tried and made some changes in their society, while the other's results can be seen even today.

[@Ailasher]

@@agirlisnoone5953 I'm trying to master the language of the Higher Race, thank you.

[@markcurrie9072]

Fantastic documentary, the narrative of the German tankers' diaries was superb. Can't wait for part 2.

[@RealCasperMan]

Really well done, immersive

[@ianhoyle8459]

This is a fascinating account, are these records all the diaries of one individual? Thank you

[@ButeSound]

I often note my grandfather being shot whilst up a tree deep in Russia somewhere seeing where the Russians were (and surviving) as a moment of how close we are to not being here in the first place. Got sent back east when recovered and almost blown up. Survived and we played golf. My grandmother's brother, 20 yr old kid, got a one way trip to Stalingrad. No winners eh.

[@westho7314]

Golfing Nazis. who knew?. we have a few of those Nazi's still playing golf and wanting to play president again..Pretty pathetic.

[@granatnyk]

I ve never seen such a great documentary in my life. Congratulations!

[@chris.asi_romeo]

Excellent documentary 👏👏💯💯

[@EBRoyJr]

"I need to stop thinking about ifs and whens. There's no use in that." Some powerful words right there.

[@nassermj7671]

What a discovery - well worth a sub. Great work this one. How could it get any less personal, moment by moment brimming with human emotions.

[@source1zero]

Came across this entirely by accident and my goodness.. I was absolutely riveted the entire time. Subscribed..

[@Keviin1977]

Brilliantly done.

[@John-mf6ky]

This whole documentary is phenomenal! This really helps bring the reality of the Eastern front to life theough Wilhelm's excellent writing.

[@ToddiusMaximus]

You guys need to do more of this! Eastern Front is so interesting!

[@DelDuio]

This is awesome, thank you. Question: Why are some scenes blurred out?

[@TomSwiftAustinActor]

Three days ago, I visited the WWII Museum in New Orleans. Like this post, their emphasis is not just on the battles, strategy, tactics, politics, thought there is a useful and appropriate amount of these. However, the aspect that resonated with me is their emphasis on the individual service personnel -- photos, uniforms, individual stories, where and how they paid the ultimate sacrifice. Incredibly moving. The perfect pairing of experiences -- this film and that museum. This was my parents generation -- Dad was a sailor and and mother was a nurse. It changed everything about our country.

[@leytonsmith-8981]

Great presentation - thanks!

[@Trevor-ps2oe]

This history is very important to remember and to understand. Thank you.

[@youme1414]

The problem is that we can remember history and never learnt from it. We keep repeating it all the time. Of what use is history to man in that regard?

[@North49191]

It's ironic that the writer of the diary considers himself to be both culturally and intellectually superior to everyone he encountered in the East yet he remains committed to a doomed ideology and was defeated by the very people he looked down upon.

[@sandwichninja]

Sounds like you drank an entire bowl of the establishment koolaid. The NSDAP worldview was far from a doomed ideology. It's still alive today in people you marginalize as the _fringe_ of society despite there being millions more of us than you realize. Not to worry though. The truth is that we don't believe even a fraction of what the Hollywood hucksters have accused us of. You'd know that if you switched off the _"History"_ Channel and read some actual NSDAP literature. Don't go in expecting anything crazy though or you'll be disappointed. It's mostly ideas about how to rebuild a manufacturing-based economy and end debt slavery (oooooo scary... lol). If you get offended hearing someone talk at length about how parliamentarians are morons though, don't ever read Hitler's personal writing, because he wasn't a fan of the _Justin Trudeaus_ of his day.

[@anotheryoutubeaccount5259]

No it wasn't

[@elvynjones2489]

Ll account yes yes it wad

[@Bahamut3525]

Doomed ideology in your modern eyes. For a German going from first world country to a country where people cannibalised themselves in gulags, there was a shock yeah.

[@tmpwow4282]

​@Bahamut3525 First world? The same place where the disabled were forcefully sterilized? The same place with severe restrictions on free speech and political affiliation? First world my ass

[@Philusteen]

Brilliant work.

[@thomask.8533]

Minor detail: when the Soviet Union attacked Poland, Great Britain and France forgot to declare war on Stalin...

[@prof_kaos9341]

Good point & GB+Fr declared war to protect Poland that in 1945 was left to one of its 1939 invaders. FYI they declared war on 2nd day while the Soviets attacked 2-3wks later. In May '40 GB was able to "support" Norway as 1st Sea Lord Churchill was about to invade it, to then invade Sweden, to then invade USSR. Crazy plan fighting over mountains in the Artic, Gallipoli V2.0?

[@davidhine6775]

Cannot wait for part 2, great documentary

[@fr.michaelknipe4839]

This was very well done in every way. The diary contrasted with the obvious crimes against humanity. Then, the footage so well matched to the text. Effective history in the best sense

[@happydeathtv150]

war is a real face of humanity - even tho we love to pretend innocent

[@MrReymoclif714]

Admittedly they are not very confidence inspiring? Well, I never? Viewpoint is noticeable!!

[@happydeathtv150]

@@MrReymoclif714 Why do we even look widely when it's so hard to notice even our surrounding? A crime is always happening under our noses

[@user-bi4he4ck6v]

What is a "crime against humanity", and Who is the one that decides that exactly? The American "war courts", "judges" from the side who won and hastily setup kangaroo courts? How convenient.

[@WormholeJim]

Weird, little inconsequential fact about the German build up to Barbarossa: None of the soldiers that had taken part in the campaign on Balkan in '41 and who made up the bulk of Armeegruppe Süd, had gasmasks in their gasmask cannisters, having ditched the gasmasks all around Greece and former Jugoslavia in the excessively hot summer of 1941. Instead they used the sturdy metal cannisters for storing food and booze supplies. This caused a minor meltdown in Armeegruppe Süd's military police attachment as when they first went out to reinforce army regulations of what was supposed to in a gasmask cannisters (a missing cannister by those regulations was punishable by death as sabotage of the war effort and usually would result in disciplinary housearrest and a hefty fine), they discovered they had close to 350.000 suspected saboteurs on their hands - and no army if they went ahead processing them all. So they had to let it slide and just hope the Russians wouldn't start using gas defending themselves.

[@shrimpanzee001]

This is fascinating

[@ossi4766]

Well done one off the best eastern documentary i have ever watched.

[@michaeldean1289]

Great piece of work guys, nice footage which really does give it justice in supporting the storyline ❤😊

[@WTEIncognito]

This is edited extremely well . Thank you for this.

[@lulamadlakwe7233]

This is a beautiful piece, surprisingly the soldier sounds so poetic

[@sigmachi5803]

Thank you for posting this well organized historical documentary! Yes, I would appreciate more films of this quality. !

[@mattmansell4238]

When I was growing up WWII vets were everywhere. I see them so rarely now its terrible. My 4yo son and I ran into a Army Ranger in a wheelchair last week in the store with a WWII hat. I knew we had to talk! I even took a pic of him with my boy. It's so sad my son will grow up without these heros in his life like I did. My sons will never really know how hard these guys were/are. Different Era. I cherish what little time I can create to listen to these old boys now.

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

I grew up with them, and my father and uncles were some of those great men. I’m glad you got that photo of the man and your little boy, and I hope that he cherishes it.

[@alanaadams7440]

The great generation

[@mynamedoesntmatter8652]

@@alanaadams7440 *The Greatest Generation. Yes indeed, they certainly were.

[@user-bi4he4ck6v]

Thank God for the Greatest Generation! Without them, America would not have become what it now is today! If not for them, we would have to live in some racist xenophobic white supremacist country snd speak German.

[@huwhitecavebeast1972]

My Godfather fought with Patton. Patton said we fought on the wrong side after having observed the situation in Europe, and I agree. We were duped into helping the enemy. Patton wanted to take out the Soviets but traitors Truman and Eisenhower wouldn't let him. We could have been spared the whole cold war and massive nuclear proliferation. I still respect the valor and sacrifice of those vets, even if we did fight on the wrong side and hurt ourselves in the long run. I had lunch with my godfather every 2 weeks until he passed, and heard many war stories. He had severe PTSD.

[@acaciablossom558]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="2410">40:10</a> poor guy. He’s hoping for a lack of mosquitos and horse flies, but has no idea the horror of the Arctic winter he is going to have to endure.

[@spencer6094]

Good work. Keep it up. Fascinating documentary. I wonder what he would think of today's men?

[@ludovicus-5oh]

Lend-Lease from the US was unbelievably huge. 400,000 jeeps & trucks 14,000 airplanes 8,000 tractors 13,000 tanks 1.5 million blankets 15 million pairs of army boots 107,000 tons of cotton 2.7 million tons of petrol products 4.5 million tons of food The UK sent around 3.000 Hurricane fighter planes, along with other major allied assistance. Espionage intelligence. Barbarossa could have prevailed, if allied aid hadn't immediately been sent.

[@MrReymoclif714]

Moving the Moscow factories behind the Ural Mountains was significant! The littlest corporal had no long range bomber! Just medium range Blitzkrieg bombers! Useless Stukkas!

[@majorlan5656]

You forgot thousands of locomotives. A huge and very valuable help! (15 million military boots...LOL) I have always thought that Germany's fate was sealed as soon as they entered the Soviet Union.

[@ludovicus-5oh]

@@majorlan5656 Most of the railroads were sabotaged by the partisans. The German retreat was heavily reliant on millions of Draught horses, for transporting equipment then as food. Horse transport is really downplayed for German transport. Around ⅔ of transport was by horse, not mechanised halftracks or even trucks. 80% of the Soviet transport were mechanised and both sides used cavalry. It wasn't just a Polish anachronism in '39.

[@chadclay1643]

All of that crap came after Barbarossa failed 😂 and was over the course of 4 years, plus it was wasn’t free, paid for with blood and of course $

[@ExValeFor]

Don't let the tankies see this, they'll froth at the mouth and possibly have a seizure. Who am I kidding, they'll just block it out and engage in their usual whataboutism

[@user-ed3ol1ij5i]

The people who survived all this horror were the most staunch supporters of peace. They could endure everything, their requirements for the comforts of life were simple: "If only there was no war".

[@abecadlo15]

Yeah, the most common slogan in post WW2 Poland was "No more war"

[@fukuswii4370]

​@@abecadlo15 Poland today wants war with Russia 😂😂😂

[@nartarlyiatremaynne1239]

I concur with your sentiment 100%♡ Australia.

[@nickhayley]

​@@fukuswii4370 No they DO NOT. They are pushing the evil away from Ukraine.

[@gabrielpamfile8395]

My God speak without neologism,If You are brave!

[@dustinpalaghe8233]

Excellent!!

[@brendandoll5667]

This was really well done Wish they didnt blur some footing/pictures though