French and Russian Nazis Defend the Reich - ϟϟ Foreign Fighters Part 3

As the war turns ever more against Germany, Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler keeps loosening the racial standards of his Waffen SS. More and more non-Germans fill the ranks of his forces. Some of these non-German fighters will be among the last defenders of the Third Reich.
Click here for parts one and two: • ϟϟ Foreign Fighters
Join us on Patreon: / timeghosthistory
Or join the TimeGhost Army directly at: timeghost.tv/signup/
Check out our TimeGhost History KZbin channel: / timeghost
Between 2 Wars: • Between 2 Wars
Follow WW2 Day by Day on Instagram: @ww2_day_by_day
Follow TimeGhost History on Instagram: @timeghosthistory
Like us on Facebook: / timeghosthistory
Hosted by: Spartacus Olsson
Director: Astrid Deinhard
Producers: Astrid Deinhard and Spartacus Olsson
Executive Producers: Astrid Deinhard, Indy Neidell, Spartacus Olsson
Creative Producer: Marek Kamiński
Community Management: Jake McCluskey
Written by: James Newman
Research by: James Newman
Map animations by: Daniel Weiss
Map research by: Sietse Kenter
Edited by: Karolina Dołęga
Artwork and color grading by: Mikołaj Uchman
Sound design by: Marek Kamiński
Colorizations by:
Mikołaj Uchman
Julius Jääskeläinen - / jjcolorization
Spartacus Olsson
Source literature list: bit.ly/SourcesWW2
Archive footage: Screenocean/Reuters - www.screenocean.com
Image sources:
Bundesarchiv
Narodowe Archiwum Cyfrowe
Archives familiales Boudet
Soundtracks from Epidemic Sound:
Dark Beginning - Johan Hynynen
Deviation In Time - Johannes Bornlof
Last Minute Reaction - Phoenix Tail
Last Point of Safe Return - Fabien Tell
Moving to Disturbia - Experia
Please Hear Me Out - Philip Ayers
Potential Redemption - Max Anson
Rememberance - Fabien Tell
ESecret Cargo - Craft Case
A TimeGhost chronological documentary produced by OnLion Entertainment GmbH.

[@WorldWarTwo]

We talked some more about Himmler’s racial theories and general fusion of paganism, German nationalism, and the occult in a an earlier video kzbin.info/www/bejne/lXuxeKh5rK2ceNU.

[@nickmacarius3012]

Thank you for all of this wonderful content, Spartacus! 😁👍

[@spartacus-olsson]

@@nickmacarius3012 Thank you for watching

[@nickdanger3802]

As I understand it Soviets who died in German service were counted as both enemy killed and Soviet losses, is that correct ?

[@ciprianflorin2615]

A power that invades,occupies, exploited, their own contries you mean Soviet Union, The British Empire. The French Dutch colonial empyres ???

[@spartacus-olsson]

@@nickdanger3802 the official Soviet casualty figures included all kinds of nonsense and double counting, that was one of them.

[@ternel]

The foreign fighters became some of the most fanatical of the fighters, especially late in the war when it became apparent that they had nothing left to lose.

[@GSXK4]

It's not like you're ever going back home again

[@yobama9880]

Yeah, they probably thought they would be severally punished if Germany lost the war. But except those who found themselves in Russian captivity, most actually got away without heavy punishment after the war

[@rickglorie]

@@yobama9880 it was a social mark, outside of Germany or Spain non ever rose to prominense again. Even a shadow of a doubt of collaboration was a social death sentence.

[@Talyrion]

@@yobama9880 There's at least one case of members of the Légion Charlemagne that got captured by Americans, given to the French, and shot dead the next day.

[@caryblack5985]

I believe that in the Netherlands some were imprisoned and some chose not to return to the Netherlands because of penalties they might have faced.

[@Jargolf86]

Kaminski... imagine beeing so brutal and evil that even the SS is disgusted and fed up with you.

[@cpj93070]

Oskar Dirlewanger and his Brigade were if you can believe it even worse, some of the, no exaggeration, evil and sadistic scum in human history, just reading on some of there crimes will make you sick.

[@reallyidrathernot.134]

You're giving Nazis way, way too much credit here. This wasn't the outcome of some rational calculation, this was just their clownshow business as usual.

[@Jargolf86]

@@reallyidrathernot.134 I dont give any Credit for Murderers, nor for Trolls like you.

[@heno02]

The Norwegian nazi goons that co-signed with Quisling and his ilk where many was tasked with guarding POW slave labor camps in Norway (mostly POW's from the balkans) where so brutal and sadistic, that the SS had to confiscate their weapons (even their knives) or the Germans would have been out of slave labor in the northern Norwegian tundra to build railways and roads. After the war, one of those surviving Yugoslavian POW's where hired as the prosecutor for the war crimes tribunal in Norway.

[@literallypochiyama]

Kaminski was viewed more as a bandit than an a actually ally for his attitude after Lokot Republic, Himmler was finding more and more useless the POHA/Russian SS. If you look at Kaminski's Lokot, there are few traces of actual "nazi ideology implementation" (they still were judeophobic ofc) and more a generic anti-communist regime, supported mainly by Rosenberg while Himmler hardly was recognizing the Russian People's Liberation Army as a foreign SS division (even if they were doing the same job as the others: cleaning certain areas from partisan activity). Honestly, actual russian nazis who fought together with the germans were people like Mikhail Oktan, with his regime in Oryol which was antagonistic to Kaminski's territory

[@IanBerg]

In Canada we were reminded in 2023 of this history when Parliament invited and gave a standing ovation to a Ukrainian WWII veteran for fighting the Russian invaders of his homeland. It was during President Zelensky’s visit. Everyone involved was embarrassed when it soon turned out Yaroslav Hunka had been fighting the Russians as a member of a Galician (Ukrainian) Waffen-SS division.

[@solarisengineering15]

Fucking idiots, every one of them who invited a Nazi into parliament. It was just free propaganda points for the Russians who constantly bitch about “Ukronazis” while committing atrocities against the Ukrainian people left and right.

[@MisterOcclusion]

That was a shame and a disgrace, and about what I'd expect from that moron Trudeau and his lackeys

[@davidw.2791]

I need to look up details, but while the Baltic Three were absolutely dragooned/annexed into being SSRs, and the likes of Azerbaijan was invaded at least a little and had pro-socialist coups that then make them part of the USSR, i *think* Ukraine had at least much support of Going Red as Russia did. But I could be wrong.

[@davidw.2791]

But yes, what a fucking farce. So many people pointed out online, that as unpopular as Stalin’s shitty Ukrainian policies were, there were NO actual Ukrainian uprisings until the Nazis came in; just the YEAR on the guy’s records should have raised red flags.

[@jeramysamarawickrama7633]

So what ? Just because hes SS dosent mean he personaly commited crimes. Foriegners were only allowed into the SS so that was the only way to fight russians

[@Lonovavir]

At least they showed up for the series finale, unlike Steiner and Wenck.

[@petergray2712]

Steiner was one of the most capable SS officers in existence. But the German Army was so low on manpower that he was relegated to a rear echelon command in February 1945 in the Hartz Mountains because there were no men left for him to command. When Hitler ordered him to take command of a Kampfgruppe he would personally gather from stragglers to lead his counterattack, the only men he could find was a rear echelon battalion of the 4th Panzergrenadier Division that possessed exactly zero weapons for combat. Thus, Steiner's counterattack ended in a farce of "much too little, much too late." Edit: Corrected the Panzergrenadier Division.

[@wildbikerbill6530]

For them, there was no going home. And the Germans weren't telling them about getting out to South America.

[@vh1775]

Where is Wenck!!!!!!!

[@deleted_215]

honestly, we gotta give Steiner some credit for not attacking tbh. He knew damn well his forces couldn't win atp and didnt send them to their meaningless slaughter

[@vh1775]

@@deleted_215 agreed. It shows they at least had some shred of humanity.

[@ONI_002]

ill never forget the picture of the charlemagne remnants defending the government district. i saw it a few years ago with a caption that had the division name, i had never heard of the french ss before, so i looked it up and slowly realised how fanatical the foreign ss really was and how ironic that last stand ended up being. great video as always and an amazing closing speech to such an overlooked topic

[@stevekaczynski3793]

How fanatical some of them were. As a general rule foreign Waffen-SS recruited from Western Europe fought better than the Easterners, though the Latvians and Estonians in the Waffen-SS were often considered impressive. Even so, the vast bulk of the French SS had either become casualties earlier or had deserted, and it was only a tiny remnant that made it to Berlin. Moreover, they were free of the impulse to try to escape westwards that gripped a lot of Germans. Going west for them meant being arrested for collaboration and possible lynching. That some ended up fighting in Berlin is not so surprising.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

I read a French graphic novel, possibly one of a series, about the last weeks of the Charlemagne "division" (closer to a company in size, when it got to Berlin). While it did not exactly heroize them, even describing them would have been a taboo subject decades ago.

[@Jeff-ub4lr]

​@@stevekaczynski3793 French books about Charlemagne division and the last days of it in Berlin were published long time ago, back in the sixties and seventies.

[@randomchannel-px6ho]

It's kind of hard to believe this series is fast approaching an end. Thank you so much

[@WorldWarTwo]

We've still got a lot to cover, but we are definitely approaching the end now.... Thanks for watching.

[@skiteufr]

There have been a few TV interviews here in France of some former French SS of the Charlemagne. The common pattern is that none of them expressed regrets. They never thought, even after many years, to have betrayed. I remember watching a documentary with Christian de la Maziere, who was captured by the soviets after being wounded. The journalist, at the end of the interview, asked him "do you have any regret now ?", hoping to hear a sorry or some remorse. He said "Yes, I do have one. To not have joined the Charlemagne earlier" 😅

[@fredyellowsnow7492]

I swear, by the end of this series, Spartacus's head will explode on his final 'Never Forget'.

[@TukozAki]

Let's hope not. This is *history telling at its finest* by Sparty and the @WorldWarTwo team. With such episodes, that one who "forgets" misses either their ears, eyes, or something in between (Hello Canada's government btw).

[@cassandrayorke583]

Sometimes I wonder how much Himmler believed his own bullshit. Sparty, you're a force of nature. You bring a dignity and hypnotic intensity to these horrible topics. You're a joy to watch, even with the darkest subject matter. ❤

[@EdMcF1]

How could he have believed in his own theories if he looked in a mirror?

[@dogukan127]

I think some of these prominent Nazis were mentally ill or were under a cultist mindset. Himmler was one of those on the psychotic end imo

[@stevekaczynski3793]

He was trying to seek contact with the Western Allies as early as 1943, though he may have been trying to make separate deals with them so as to be allowed to continue fighting the USSR. He definitely had his "pragmatic" side.

[@remenir97]

What about Leon Degrelle? The Rexist collaborator who was dubbed ‘Hitler’s son’ who managed to escape to Spain.

[@minirock000]

Oh do tell. Is that what this episode was about or was it about TCN's defending the Reich?

[@differentboy9697]

And who never had any regrets for his collaboration. In fact he was close to neo-nazi groups and holocaust denialism. One of the scum of the earth who, sadly, thanks to the protection of Franco, died peacefully.

[@connorm4145]

The man behind the worst talk I’ve ever witnessed, sent to me by a former friend who was convinced I had the SS “all wrong”

[@spartacus-olsson]

I've covered Degrelle somewhat in the regular episodes. The recruitment of the Wallonian SS was covered in part one of the foreign fighters videos. His escape might be covered in my episodes this summer... who knows.

[@LosRikos]

That'd be awesome. ​@@spartacus-olsson Love your content and the WAH series. No other channel goes into detail like you and Indy and the girls

[@danielnavarro537]

Interesting to note is during the Battle of Berlin, Hitler was deeply disappointed with the defenders of the Reichstag and the parliamentary building. He wanted German SS units to defend but upon hearing French and foreign SS units, he was disgusted by this. He wanted German units to defend a German building.

[@MM22966]

What an odd complaint for an Austrian.

[@antoniofernandesmarchetti1097]

Karma!

[@pezhetairosnikephoros931]

And where you get this info from?

[@Sierra026]

Wow, how narcissistic can he be? All the German SS men are either dead or stuck in a gulag, he should be thankful that ANY men, regardless of their "Aryan Purity" are even available to defend anything. World's sulkiest dictator.

[@johnye4433]

Foreign troops are only good for anti partisans, he is not mistaken because he originally intended to use them as disposable

[@OnionChoppingNinja]

you got a window open? I swear I can hear birds chirping in the background

[@spartacus-olsson]

It was a very beautiful and warm spring day, and here in the Bavarian countryside that means very loud bird song.

[@PumaTwoU]

@@spartacus-olsson Love it.

[@davesthrowawayacc1162]

Hearing birds singing in a video of this subject matter is like the sounds of the Flanders fields 100 years after ww1

[@hopfinatorischerkuchenkrieger]

@@PumaTwoU I live directly next to a big Bavarian forest and after enough time, you'll start to get sick of birds waking you up at 6 A.M. in the morning, but perhaps that's just me.

[@ramonribascasasayas7877]

So I am not the only one...

[@jamesbodnarchuk3322]

As always looking sharp Sparti and very well researched and complete explained!

[@huguesblondeau2849]

In the opposite side, "Tovaritch Kapitane Foch-Fournier", former french officer in the red army as tankist, was collecting a numerous number of prisonners of the Division Charlemagne, in his road to the final victory. He finished the War as "Podpolkovnik" (the highest rank as foreigner in the red army i think in the time). ✌️

[@obsidianjane4413]

The Game of Poor Life Choices; Epic edition.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

If Nazi Germany had won the war, which looked probable until 1942 and still possible until 1943, they would have been in a good position.

[@millipedic]

The father of a close friend was Latvian and fought against both the Soviets and the Germans, at various times during the war, as a partisan and as a member of the Wehrmacht. He ended up in a camp for displaced persons in Germany and managed to end up in Canada. An amazing story and I wish I had more details.

[@dusk6159]

The fate of many partisans in the east was to fight a great struggle with no help against both the soviets and the nazis sadly for those people and occupied nations

[@haha-ui3fp]

Yes, of course, a member of Wehrmacht who fought against Germans... This Nazi white washing is just... Sigh.

[@semkoops]

Just want to put a comment here giving a shout-out to Spartacus for reading and replying respectfully to people here, both when people agree or disagree with his words. On just only a few occasions I don't fully agree with something that is said in the conclusions of WAH episodes, but I learned so much from this series and this channel in general. I really appreciate you guys and your work! Greetings from Utrecht

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@Celtopia]

Thank you Spartacus.....brilliant information as per usual.

[@markmierzejewski9534]

As I am prepping and cooking French Onion soup. Perfect timing ( Chefs Kiss )

[@mrlodwick]

Hope you got a good bread with that bro ?

[@minirock000]

I can hear the can opener motor now.

[@dryalga4000]

are you going to feed that to your mother in law in her bed (hope you get the reference)

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

J'aime l'oignon

[@owenlindkvist5355]

His rhetoric at the end can and should be applied to the Soviet Union. Never forget.

[@WorldWarTwo]

The crimes of the USSR have been regularly discussed and denounced, including their industrial scale rape and murder of German civilians. There is no reason to "what about the USSR?" on an SS episode. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@owenlindkvist5355]

@@WorldWarTwo Incorrect, and it isn't a whataboutism, it's pointing out that it equally applies and should be so in order to avoid the widespread issue of trying to gloss over that the USSR was as equally horrible, and have their own evils beyond that. So, take your weak attempt at handwaving and shove it up your ass. Judging by how you handle yourself, this great channel really needs to reconsider hiring activists with a nasty habit of using fallacies and cliches.

[@owenlindkvist5355]

@@WorldWarTwo "The crimes of the USSR have been regularly discussed and denounced, including their industrial scale rape and murder of German civilians." And this somehow removes the validity of my statement? Fuck off. And in spite of all the efforts to point out the heinous body and the acts of the Soviet Union, you still have a vast array of idiots trying to glorify them. In addition, citing said Union is not an attempt to deride any mention of the SS (Which would be a whataboutism, you cuck), rather said body is mentioned in the context of the video, and this point deserves highlighting. Particularly reinforced when you look at your responses.

[@cammobunker]

'Never Forget"...that the vast majority of the Latvian and Estonian Waffen SS units were conscripts who were offered the choice of being forced laborers or soldiers fighting the Soviets. Having recently been occupied by the Soviets in 1939 and being severely mistreated by them, many having had family members deported never to be seen again, there was absolutely no love for the Soviets among these men and many eagerly volunteered for the armed services, and they had no idea they were joining the SS until they actually got to the training camps. The Nuremberg Tribunal even recognized this and declared them exempt from the blanket declaration of the SS being a Nazi organization and not valid POWs. Former Estonian SS soldiers even stood guard at Spandau prison. And yes, many of the Belgian, French and especially the Dutch SS fought to the bitter end.

[@evryatis9231]

boo-oh. its clear as hell, particularily looking at baltic rhetoric now, that they took up arms in support of hitler's ideals of exterminating the slavic population, that they were so gracely exempted out of. if you hate bolcheviks you fight them as partisans, as said above you don't need to join the SS. you have other ways.

[@miluntube]

Spectacular! Bravo. Great episode. Mr. Sparty would You be so kind to send me a link of Your glasses? They look great.

[@millipedic]

Good stuff, Sparty!

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thx

[@tomeknowakowski7051]

wow- absolutely amazing Spartacus ! Love your end speeches !

[@KMac329]

Academically precise research combined with moral compassion and outrage. The very complex ethnic and nationalistic and selfish motivations of these various leaders and groups to join the heinous SS are brilliantly boiled down to their frightful essence by Sparticus and his team. You do a great service to humanity by helping all of us to "never forget."

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@CARL_093]

thanks Spartacus and crew i love your works

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you very much!

[@Hindenburg521]

Great delivery Spartacus!

[@rancidblock5615]

Wow, the final words were something else, what a gripping narration by Spartacus!!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching.

[@HiekerMJ]

Yes, nowhere to hide emotionally, ethically or politically. It seemed Spartacus lifted every rock-of-excuse they were hiding under - and slammed it back down squashing whatever was there.

[@vanHeldring]

lol it was cringe as fuck.

[@annehersey9895]

Fantastic writing Sparta, especially your powerful ending. You never fail to portray the injustice done and the pure evil that permeates the Nazi regime! Often after I’ve watched a War Against Humanity episode, I have to take a shower because your delivery was so powerful, I feel the Nazi stench on myself! I promise you that since I first learned of this Evil, I’ve studied it intensely in a quest to discover the kinds of people drawn to their ideology and brutality but I promise that I have never forgotten all the victims!

[@RubberToeYT]

Really interesting video on an often overlooked subject

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for watching.

[@keithcooper6715]

Great Delivery Sparky !!!

[@tonyjones1560]

Outstanding, informative video and the coolest mustache on KZbin!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for your kind words! I envy that moustache as well... -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@JLAvey]

Really like to know how any of these non-Germans explain why they were captured in SS uniforms. Given what that organization did, I would be far less inclined to accept their surrender.

[@ahorsewithnoname773]

At times that did become an unofficial policy though it didn't distinguish between German and foreign-born members of the SS. The Canadians were less inclined to take SS men prisoner after a good number of their own PoWs were summarily executed by the SS in massacres during the Normandy campaign, and accounts by American veterans of the Battle of the Bulge often state that after the news of Malmedy broke, they stopped taking SS men prisoner and simply shot them even if their hands were raised. Aside from all the moral arguments against brutality to enemy PoWs, a practical one is that is counter-productive in that you stoke intense hatred in your enemies who are now far more inclined to treat your own captured men brutally as a form of eye-for-an-eye retaliation.

[@CytotoxinK]

Remember, the Nazis actively hid their crimes from the broader general public during WW2. (That's why most of the concentration camps and mass graves were in remote forested locations, and why the Gestapo kidnappings happened at night.) That way if anyone brought up Nazi brutality, people could just say, "Pfffft!!! _I never saw any of that!_ That's just a bunch of Allied propaganda!"

[@omahadreaming5432]

"He's telling me they're Polish"

[@stevekaczynski3793]

Those who could changed into army or at least non-SS uniforms. SPOILER Even Himmler will attempt this...

[@kleinweichkleinweich]

@@omahadreaming5432 exactly what I thought, Galicia was part of Poland before ww2

[@shlomomark2275]

Among the SS Frenchmen were also several Spanish soldiers, former members of the Blue division, sent by Franco to help the Germans in the Eastern front. In 1943, Franco recalled the unit back to Spain, but several hundreds remained in Germany and became part of the Charlemagne division

[@scottanos9981]

I assume they were falangist back in Spain? I know many of that faction were less than satisfied with Franco's style of nationalism.

[@zaxxxppe]

The Handschar part needs some revising. 1) The war crimes committed by the Division are generally low and not in comparison to anything happening in the Balkans at the time; the Division was quite literally preoccupied with constant anti-partisan warfare 2) The desertions, besides the reasons you mentioned, also largely occur due to the fact that the Germans insisted on collaborating with the Serbian Chetniks, the formation which was the very motivation to join the Waffen-SS for the Bosniaks, believing they would be in combat against them 3) The Division did not really become a Kampfgruppe with "little Bosniaks". The numbers dwindled, sure, although you fail to mention the 23rd Waffen-SS Division "Kama", also a Bosniak formation. It never saw deployment and its couple of thousand soldiers eventually went to the Handschar.

[@tysonmcconnell7112]

Should have mentioned at 17:20 that one of the people sent to Canada, Yaroslav Hunka, was given a standing ovation by the Canadian parliament for “fighting against Russia in WW2”… great job to whoever called up a Nazi soldier

[@Karl-nv5ok]

You're dumb.Bolshevism was a big threat for Europe.Ever heard of Holodomor,mass deportations to Siberia,executions,the invasion of Poland,Finland,the annexations of the Baltic states,Bessarabia,Northern Bucovina and Herța Region?

[@WorldWarTwo]

You don't fight one genocidal dictator by joining up with another genocidal dictator, swearing allegiance to him, and then helping with his own genocide. You may recall the Nazis and the SS did atrocities and mass murder as well. Many people managed to resist without working for Himmler and Hitler. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@owenlindkvist5355]

@@WorldWarTwo "You don't fight one genocidal dictator by joining up with another genocidal dictator," Shouldn't, you mean. You're also taking a removed stance as well as obviously never have been in a dire situation.

[@WorldWarTwo]

I said what I said and I meant what I meant. Applying logical fallacies to try and forgive wearing an SS uniform and swearing a loyalty oath to Hitler does not change the fact millions of people and many nations hated the Soviets and SS membership was an outlier situation with them, which further drives home the point. -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@Kevc00]

​@@WorldWarTwo I do absolutely agree with you there, but I would just note that in the Ukrainian case it was either Soviets who had commited a genocide against the Ukrainians, the Nazis currently committing a genocide, and the UPA who were also committing ethnic cleansing. So for a Galician the only way to fight both was to join the UPA. Again I still agree with your point, I sympathise with those Baltic conscripts but not with the Ukrainian men who joined up knowing what the Nazis were doing, but given that the only force between Soviet and Nazi for a Galician was the UPA its still not a great choice.

[@ericfuchs123]

Liked the little birdie singing in this episode.

[@NickRatnieks]

Ron Jeffery's book of his experiences as an escaped POW of the Germans in Poland and his time as an agent- "Red Runs the Vistula" recounts his close dealings with the Russians in the Vlasov Army who he maintains were going to switch sides and he states his efforts were destroyed by Kim Philby. It;s a fascinating book and there is a Wiki entry for him.

[@bomberfox5232]

Sparty really put on a great performance here. This series is much appreciated.

[@wyvernmorgan1717]

There is a stark contrast between the chirping of birds in the background and the story you tell, it's kind of poetic, like, maybe there is hope, even in the darkest times

[@differentboy9697]

Will you do a video about what happened to collaborators in the inmediate aftermath of the war and in the future? Can't believe how many of these scumbags managed to return to their countries without any major punishment or just lived peacefully in Spain or Argentina.

[@romsebrell710]

Different. Sempre pronto ad impugnare le armi per difendere Berlino da quelli come Te e per riportare quei quei Valori di allora.

[@petergray2712]

They escaped because the Allies had other priorities such as preventing famine in Germany and adjoining countries, and processing a million plus German POWs with limited resources.

[@extrahistory8956]

More Nazis would go on to live in the US than they did in countries like Spain or Argentina.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

You can't dispense Justice when 90% of your country is in ruins and everyone is hungry. Also, you can't dispense Justice when the number of accused run in the millions. No justice system can process all of them...

[@stevekaczynski3793]

@@petergray2712 The Cold War also gave them some cover.

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson. The impassioned ending is one of your best. Thank you for all you have done.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@89RealThe]

I agree, thanks @Spartacus

[@manuvanhaeskolo]

You said in your previous video on the SS that non-German SS men weren't allowed to wear the Sig-runes on their uniform. Yet in the same video you have a picture of SS-sturmbannführer handing out medals to the Latvians, with sig-runes on their right collar. Same is true for volunteers from Finland, which I'm more familiar with. Pictures of them allways include the runes on their collar.

[@tancreddehauteville764]

The truth is that non-Germanic SS men who had proved their worth in battle were allowed to wear the runes on their collars. Only raw recruits, guard units and below par fighting units were not granted that right.

[@vascotank2143]

Also the Germans were just lazy with it

[@manuvanhaeskolo]

@@tancreddehauteville764 Allright, I don't know could be. People shouldn't claim non-Germanics weren't allowed to wear the runes if some are allowed, some not. They should state that ones that proved themselves in battle were allowed, others not. If that is actually true. Yeah I was a little surprised Spartacus made that claim when literally 15 seconds later in the video there's a picture of latvians wearing runes on their collar. Also I'm Finnish and I've been intrested in the Finnish SS-men and in the pictures of them, you can allways see them sporting the same runes on their right collar.

[@johnbruce4004]

I really value the quality of journalism found in the WaH series but usually dip out of the last 5 mins as Spartacus gets more and more worked up. After 4 years of this we know they were unspeakable but honestly his summaries gets a bit much. Sorry. Cos the work is important but that message can be lost in froth.

[@spartacus-olsson]

That’s a reasonable choice since you’re a regular viewer, and somebody who clearly understands what all of this means… the conclusions are not written for you, they’re written to counter the narrative of those who still espouse the ideas I document the results of here. If you followed the comments that came in under this video alone (some of them are gone now) you’d see why it’s needed. An astonishing number of clowns came in and either said exactly the opposite of what I said, or attacked my closing statement as inaccurate in other words; they did it for good reasons. While we won’t change their mind, we have to make sure that those who have yet to understand the scope of all of this are provided with the clear message. To let stand without comment the rhetoric supporting, justifying, or explaining away the atrocities of this war would be highly irresponsible. Since not everyone watches this as a series, I have to do it again, and again, and again. Trust me when I say that I too wish it wasn’t so, if nothing else since it would mean that people have understood, but also for personal reasons. It’s not something I do with great pleasure, and if you think it’s tedious to listen to, imagine writing it for six years…

[@spartacus-olsson]

Or as I put it to Indy just yesterday when discussing future programming: “[sure, we should cover other genocides], but I’m also sick and [expletive] tired of being the moral outrage guy.”

[@johnbruce4004]

@@spartacus-olsson fair go, it must be hard work. But as we agree, important.

[@AntiActionFox]

I appreciate Sparty and the team for allowing comments that are loaded or dissenting from the information provided Rather than just ban or delete arguments that are problematic. For me, free speech is a make or break and i appreciate it. Trolls and blatent hate speech should be banned of course, but everyone else should be permitted to express thoughts regarding mankind's most significant event. We must remember that limiting free speech has no ending when it is allowed to begin.

[@marcneef795]

As a German, I takes some time to adjust to the runes in the video title. 😮 (We are of course allowed to show them within educational materials, but not in the title.)

[@spartacus-olsson]

Actually we are, if the title is for educational material...

[@phillip5245]

Those aren't runes, they are just Adidas jersey numbers.

[@spartacus-olsson]

@@phillip5245 I see what you did there...

[@marcneef795]

@@spartacus-olsson In principle it is allowed, but we just would not do it

[@marcneef795]

@@phillip5245 Now I can see it. It is just the logo of the 44th division 😅

[@joerussell9574]

I don't know if Spartie writes his own lines or what but he sure can deliver a powerful end speech. I love this series and all the presenters who make up this presentation. Thank You truly guys and gal!

[@spartacus-olsson]

I wrote most of my stuff myself, I always write the conclusions. In this case the script was written by James Newman, and the conclusion by me.

[@joerussell9574]

@@spartacus-olsson It was truly awesome Spartacus! It gave me the tingles when You were reciting it. Thanks again!

[@zico739]

Imagine being a Slav and fighting for the Nazis.

[@Shelbovsky]

*cough-cough* -raine=)))

[@Eterealgames]

The croats and slovaks be like

[@roo72]

Imagine being a Russian and supporting Putin.

[@Shelbovsky]

@@sonnyb7612 ЗА РОДИНУ! УРА!

[@manuvanhaeskolo]

​@@ShelbovskyYou are such a weirdo. I've seen Russians on the internet leaving behind comments that read like yours. You aren't a soldier, you are not at war and Soviet Union collapsed 33 years ago because socialism doesn't work. And yet here you are commenting some stupid battlecry's.

[@wadejustanamerican1201]

What a closing statement! Honestly, fantastic.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Thank you

[@owenlindkvist5355]

@@spartacus-olsson Passionate, but full of holes.

[@pvdoug]

And biased and wrong.

[@spartacus-olsson]

@@pvdoug well, since you seem to be the blessed owner of the truth, why don’t you be a chum and share it with us!

[@spartacus-olsson]

@@owenlindkvist5355 and since you seem to know a fuller story, be a good chap and plug those holes for us!

[@ikkyusojun7996]

I always like your closing reminders of why this war is fought Spartacus. Bird song at the end was a also a reminder, a beautiful spring day in Europe.

[@markalton2809]

The birdsong adds a certain counter to the tension.

[@davesthrowawayacc1162]

Its like the final shot of Blackadder's series finale

[@WorldWarTwo]

Ah yeah, Sparty replied to someone asking above, the lovely weather lead to some very loud birds!

[@overlord165]

I think it's fitting to hear the birds chipring in the background. It signals the end of storm that was the war. Hope and all that

[@klassehkhornate9636]

"As the Soviet Union preached increasingly Nationalistic Revanchist rhetoric as the war dragged on, National Socialism took on a decidely international tone."

[@antasosam8486]

True, so true!

[@ottovonbismarck1352]

Though not a perfect application, this fact demonstrates the meaning of the quote “war makes strange bed fellows of us all.”

[@Lonovavir]

The Third Reich had no choice, it was running out of Germans by 1942 and would've collapsed sooner absent Finnish/Romanian/Hungarian/Italian support. More attention needs to be paid to the non-Germans who fought on the Ostfront.

[@briceoka5623]

A very old former member of the ukranian galicia division was honoured by the canadian parliament a few months ago. This episode makes it look even worse than it already did.

[@AlexC-ou4ju]

you should check out Dmitry Utkin's (cofounder of wagner-incidentally a group named after AH's favourite composer) tattoos. Also Rogozin another notsee was leader of Roskosmos until very recently, I don't know why there's so much admiration in the former soviet empire for ideologies that called for terrible things to happen to them

[@petergray2712]

​@@AlexC-ou4juRussia has always had a fatal fixation with Utopian fantasies. It's a mix of survivors guilt (which can give people the mistaken belief that their divinely chosen to survive according to the Almighty's plan) following major wars and other mass casualty calamities, combined with a tendency for the Russian elite to proactively turn the immense suffering of they inflicted on the enslaved lower ranking Russians into a messianic project of attaining the New Jerusalem (trading suffering in this life in return for promised divine emancipation in the next life).

[@apilolomi4354]

Wow, as if that hasn't been mentioned in this comments section a dozen times already.

[@JoeSmith-sl9bq]

So? You dont like it?

[@hilariousname6826]

Not really.

[@kiowhatta1]

The irony is truly staggering when one imagines if the Wehrmacht and SS had undertaken such recruitment drives in the East in 1941 and ‘42 when they still had a chance to achieve a war winning position. They could have had enough manpower for an entire Army Group equipped with captured Russian equipment if they had been not so short sighted and full of hubris. Given the manpower shortages in 1942 in Southern Russia, they might have made a difference in the outcome in those campaigns had they been treated better. If the Red Army could utilise Poles, Romanians, and others then what might have been? Vlasov’s 2nd shock army was surrounded south of Leningrad in mid to late ‘42. It could have been refitted, retrained in time for spring ‘43. An estimated 1.5 million ostlegion were recruited but largely sidelined, treated with suspicion or sent to theates away from where they wanted to fight…like the XV Cossack Corps posted to Northern Italy. Their own race policies cost them a possible victory or pro longing of the war in the East.

[@thilgu]

Excellent episode. For my taste the ending was a bit dramatic if you actually have studied the topic. Enlisting as a foreignerer had as many reasons as there were volunteers. Some evil, some noble and some grey in between. I knew a man when I was younger who was a Dutch volunteer in the Waffen-SS. He was 18 and his parents basically forced him to join.

[@spartacus-olsson]

My point remains - whatever reasons they had, they fought for Naziism and thus for their wars of aggression and genocide. Individual fates are complicated and nuanced, collective fates not as much. By choice, misfortune, or chance they joined a collective that led them down a dark path where there are no longer and nuances of grey.

[@jackcade68]

Great closing Spartacus!

[@jefffoutz4024]

Best summary of the last days I've ever heard. 😮

[@george217]

I didn't hear you mention the 101st SS Spanish Volunteer Company that served with the Walloon Legion who were some of the last defenders of the Führerbunker.

[@sokratesz]

Dear Spartacus. Would it be possible to dedicate a future episode to the meaning if the words 'never forget', that you utter at the end of every WaH video, especially in the context of current sociopolitical developments? I have a feeling that the message is lost on many people who watch the WW2 IRT and WaH series mainly due to a fascination with history and armed conflict, but fail to understand how the modern world reflects many of the developments from close to a century ago that gave rise to the events that your videos cover.

[@spartacus-olsson]

A good idea. I’ll see what we can do

[@dragosstanciu9866]

There were also two Romanian regiments in Germany under the command of general Platon Chirnoaga. They fought on the Oder Front. Those regiments were formed by volunteers recruited from Romanian POWs in Germany.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

By this time there were large numbers of Romanians fighting the Germans in Hungary and Slovakia. WW2 was confusing...

[@XH13]

Having both my grand fathers being Alsatian and incorporated against their will in the Wehrmacht, I cannot despise enough the traitors that joined the Charlemagne division. For years there was confusion in part of France between the two groups which pretty unjust.

[@spartacus-olsson]

Amen

[@lahire4943]

Had the American GIs known what Europe and their own country would become as a result of the allied victory in 1945, they would have never landed in Normandy.

[@spartacus-olsson]

@@lahire4943 care to elaborate on what it is that "we have become" Monsieur fleur-de-lys...

[@AlexC-ou4ju]

@@lahire4943 oh t'as pas honte?

[@lahire4943]

@@spartacus-olsson A morally degenerate society, disfigured by mass immigration, that any pre-1945 sane person would have despised with all his soul. Tell a 1944 GI that same-sex marriage is legal in the US and that the American white people will soon be a minority, among other things, and see his reaction, LOL.

[@florinivan6907]

Hitler:What kind of proper aryans have been brought to defend the last government buildings in Berlin? General:French. Hitler:Oh.

[@Lonovavir]

Terms and conditions apply my failure.

[@M26E4SuperPershing]

The father of my uncle was one of the duce guards that was captured when mussolini was caugth. He survived and give to my uncle a Charlemagne patch and he gifted to me whe dont know how he got it

[@pathutchison7688]

Great series

[@WorldWarTwo]

Much appreciated!

[@RoboticDragon]

You guys and gals do amazing with pronunciation of names of people, places, things.

[@shaider1982]

Himmler becoming more "diverse" in his hiring practicrs definitley wrecks his so called "master race" belief.

[@NothusDeusVagus]

I find it rather amusing that the SS's strict entry or admittance criteria as dictated by Himmler himself would've denied Himmler membership to his own organisation.

[@lucem.glorifico]

You're wrong about Wlassow's role in Prague uprising - he was strictly against it, it was a pure initiative of the 1st KONR's ID (600 ID in the Wehrmacht's list) Maj. Gen. Sergei Bunjachenko. Bunjachenko issued the order for his troops to take part in the uprising, while Lt. Gen. Wlassow wanted them to reunite with his personal staff as soon as possible. Btw. did you know, that Andrei Wlassow (and his staff's members) received his salary from the SS-Hauptamt as SS-Gruppenfueher? One Russian historian found in German archives and published a payroll sheet of March'45, where Wlassow was named "SS-Gruppenfuehrer" and other officers as SS-leaders according to their army ranks as well. I probably have pdf of this book in my computer.

[@nev707]

There were men from the Baltic area who fought for either Germany or the USSR. A friends dad who was Lithuanian served in the Luftwaffe and was stationed in Germany at the end. He never returned home but emigrated to Australia.

[@rdleahey]

Superb history lesson and great presentation. Thank you!

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thank you for watching!

[@italyball2166]

I know this is unrelated to the video, but there's a channel on yt called Escape to Rural France which shows the undertaking of a single man rebuilding Château du Chaumont, which during the Vichy regime was home to many Jewish children who were in hiding in there until their location was revealed by nearby residents. I'd love to see you guys have a talk with Dan, the guy who's rebuilding the château, as it is an immense pleasure to watch him research the past life of the building and even talk with some of the surviving children.

[@etemenanki2190]

Were the birds near the end accidental or added? Either way it kind of plays like a Spring time for humanity coming after a long winter ending.

[@adammanning8882]

A great first hand account of this is Twilight of the Gods, written by a Swedish soldier who joined the SS. He fought against the Russians on the Eastern front all the way to the Battle of Berlin. Truly one of the most fascinating books about the war I’ve read

[@ahorsewithnoname773]

I have not read the book but considering he was a citizen of a neutral nation, and yet voluntarily joined the SS, it's probably safe to assume he was an ideologue that probably omitted some details from his account.

[@adammanning8882]

@@ahorsewithnoname773 then read it before you form an opinion

[@ahorsewithnoname773]

@@adammanning8882 I'm just saying people should take the account with a grain of salt. A lot of SS men put pen to paper in the post war claiming to have only fought "honorably" against the Soviets or what have you, despite belonging to an organization that had an atrocious record of brutality against both civilians and enemy PoWs.

[@theotherohlourdespadua1131]

​​@@adammanning8882What do you think about Halder's memoirs of the war that led to the Clean Wehrmacht Myth? He put his version of that part of history, people read it and then believe the Wehrmacht is innocent of war crimes for over 50 years. Just because you told people to read it first before judging doesn't negate the fact that what he wrote isn't the whole truth and people are incapable of knowing where the truth ends and the lie begins...

[@adammanning8882]

@@theotherohlourdespadua1131 I said to read a book written by a combat veteran, I’ve never read Halder’s memoirs. You’re going way out on a limb making a lot of assumptions. Read the book or don’t, I’m not making any money off of it

[@wildcolonialman]

Excellent.

[@WorldWarTwo]

Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching.

[@Falkriim]

I’ve always found the foreign SS divisions interesting, ironic how diverse the SS was

[@linders2000]

Q: Will the Dutch SS-Landstorm division also be covered?

[@El_Presidente_5337]

My German ancestors and the ghosts of the SS watching me base and eat Pide while watching this episode:

[@anlemeinthegame1637]

Spartacus' "Never forget" at the episode end brings me to tears every time. Keep up the great work.

[@Jarod-vg9wq]

19:37 woah 😮 you can feel the rage 😡 disgust 🤢🤮 and sadness 😢 in sparty voice, couldn’t have said it better myself sir NEVER FORGET!

[@paulklee5790]

What a fine and beautiful piece of rhetoric Spartacus; that closing speech is worth thinking through carefully… in days to come there will be many self serving fools who need their lies and self deception called out…

[@konstancemakjaveli]

I think it is important to distinguish between those that did indeed volunteer, and those that were coerced and forced to join, if not the SS, than the many auxiliary units.

[@NothusDeusVagus]

Indeed. It seems, or so I've read, that some of those Baltic people who served in SS units were after investigation, officially exonerated by the Allies, particularly by the U.S. and ended up serving as Guard Companies for the Allies during the Nuremburg war crimes trials.

[@matthewarsenault463]

I absolutely love your last words

[@FrazzP]

@spartacus-olsson There were even Swedish Waffen-SS volunteers defending Berlin. Very few that can be counted with your fingers. I remember reading about an encounter where a Swedish SS-officer went to get grenades from the Tempelhof airport, and was surprised to find another one still alive distributing them.

[@alainpichon4395]

Well commented, sir.

[@Rocdog]

In July of 44, my Grandfather was promoted to 1st Lieutenant and transferred to the 87th Infantry Division from the 29th after landing at Omaha Beach. He commanded a company and liberated Buchenwald.

[@ristobenjie]

Thank you Spartacus!!!!!

[@dragospeta3812]

No Roumainians but Ethnic Germans / Folksdeutshe from Roumania in the SS (Saxons from Ardeal, Brasov / Koenigsberg and Swabians from the Danube, Banat Swabians, Satu Mare Swabians). Roumanians have been second large invasion group in USSR under their own flag, around 500k large.

[@garyfasso6223]

The notion of a German/Ukranian population is not farfetched. In the US, the region from the Great Lakes to Washington State was settled largely by "Volga Germans" in the later 1800's. German being the "official" language of many towns. My maternal grandmother, Wilhemina Bolger, was one, born near Odessa in about 1885 and raised in Butte, MT.

[@spartacus-olsson]

The notion of racial distinction is indeed scientific nonsense. The divisions along language, customs, religion, and social order are however very real and documentable. The Volga Germans were in that respect very different from the Ukrainians, who carried forward a distinct language and culture.

[@garyfasso6223]

@spartacus-olsson Thank you for the response, I enjoy your work very much.

[@Rendell001]

Is that a Ralph Lauren "Skull and Bones" tie Sparty...?

[@karoltakisobie6638]

Some French SS units were fighting Polish units in Pomerania . Polish command decided to keep captured Frenchman and not hand them over to Soviet NKVD. After the war those POWs created a bit of diplomatic problem but in the end they were sent to France for trials. Also if I can recall correctly Gen Anders refused to have anything with Ukrainian SS POWs. He had more than enough Polish survivors and witnesses of SS Galitzen and OUN atrocities.

[@luffegasen7711]

I recall seeing a recruitment poster for the Waffen SS in Denmark from January , 1945? Here we have Death dressed as an Soviet soldier, sitting on the caboose of a train (heading for Siberia?). looking at the viewer and just one word across the poster's top "ALDRIG!" ("NEVER!"). I saw it in the book, "Under Hagekors Og Dannebrog" ("Under the Swastika and Dannebrog") about the Danish volunteers to the Waffen SS!

[@Damorann]

7:14 The "Iberation" Army is out to turn you into Spanish people ! Must be the same guy who created the 5th Shark Army.

[@AleRees]

I guess we will learn about the incident between some Charlemagne's prisoners and general Leclerc at the end of the war.

[@CrimsonTemplar2]

Powerful closing Sparty. It’s important to speak to what those men actually did rather than the excuses & prevarications.

[@iwantcrawfish6110]

that ending was THE MIC DROP of all times in history.....along with many others the team created. this entire series ought to be used in high schools across the board. there is still far too many young people that aren't truly being taught the details and uter destruction inhumanity and genocide this war created all because of the manifestations of a few truly evil individuals and the control and grip they had on the people and land with means to make war. never forget and NEVER cede to evil

[@whtghst8105]

Ww2 was truly a World War all the miner wars that every part of the earth it is fascinating. How cruel humans can be. Thank you for bringing most of these wars in-between the major wars to our attention. Never forget!

[@n00bswillruleall]

As always, fantastic, and thematic tie Sparty.

[@saltzkruber732]

Around 90 of my countrymen would be fighting in the SS in the upcoming battle of Berlin. Wonder what went through their heads dying for a country that invaded you

[@dusk6159]

Having it happen right before already, by the soviets. The tragic magic of having to deal with two dictatorial monsters cohabiting the same continents

[@lory1734]

Where did you find the ss font you put in the title?

[@WorldWarTwo]

I believe it's the greek letter "Koppa" (I did right-click -> google search.) -TimeGhost Ambassador

[@lory1734]

@@WorldWarTwo ϟϟ