The Battle of Königsberg 1945 (RARE WW2 Film in Full HD)

This is a rare, never-before-seen silent film from the Battle for Königsberg in March of 1945.
The film offers an incredibly unique and rare perspective of the Battle of Königsberg by Volkssturm militiamen, and it gives us a idea of how desperate the situation really was for Germany during the final months of WW2. Since there was absolutely no filmographic information pertaining as to who captured this film, and where exactly it was taken within Königsberg, I decided to provide some commentary in order to contextualize the events that are depicted in the video.
I am really excited to share this invaluable document because this film has never been digitized in nearly 80 years. The winter of 2025 marks the 80th anniversary since the beginning of the East Prussian offensive by the Soviet Red Army and the total victory of the allied powers in May of 1945.
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[@volkerracho9481]

My grandparents and parents come from East Prussia. After the Second World War they were expelled from their farm, lost all their possessions and fled to West Germany. Thank you for uploading these unique pictures.

[@ChamaeleonMustermann]

We share a similar story. My family also had to leave their farm and flee. My great-grandfather was a Train driver for the Reichsbahn and the family fled to West Germany. First to NRW to unite and then to Bremen. Bad things happened back then, and they didn't tell us everything. Because it was too cruel.

[@roryobrien4401]

They should consider themselves lucky

[@volkerracho9481]

@@roryobrien4401 Yes, they had been very lucky. They were all happy to have escaped with their lives. However, my mother had not been able to cope with the flight and expulsion all her life and still talked about it in old age.

[@andresd3104]

Victims of ethnic cleansing by the Allies.

[@stironeceno]

@@volkerracho9481 No one to blame ,but to blame themself , they are the one who started the war .

[@Doctorwhoenjoyer]

It’s oddly sad seeing the final moments of Prussia and knowing that after this battle their oldest city would cease to exist (at least as Königsberg)

[@Garwfechan-ry5lk]

So what,, think of Leningrad and what the Nazi's did there. .

[@danielmorris3415]

@@Garwfechan-ry5lk Doesn´t change anything. Still sad.

[@Jpeg_azov]

@@Garwfechan-ry5lk youre saying that the germans deserved it? so you could say the same for the joos

[@mr.onbekend7959]

​@@Garwfechan-ry5lkLike the Russians were saints in the whole of europe

[@Westernman1415]

That’s what the Allies wanted all along the destruction of German cultural identity and Prussianism

[@sleepenjoyer-on2dr]

Such awesome footage, tysm!!

[@MaximusandHistory]

Glad you enjoyed it! I was so excited to share this rare footage!

[@CarlEvans-t6h]

@@MaximusandHistory I'm excited for more videos. Good work....

[@scarl1003]

Honestly, imagine being a 50-something year old guy in the Volkssturm in this battle who somehow survived Great War frontline combat in Verdun, Tannenberg, etc., and thanking God for seeing the end of it all... only to be handed a Panzerfaust one day and told to blow up that Soviet tank down the road or else. Crazy.

[@MaximusandHistory]

I can't imagine having to live through two of the largest wars in human history, it's unbelievable to think some people actually lived through that!

[@edwardbrophy9749]

Today's Russian Kaliningrad

[@PreußenGloria71]

​@@edwardbrophy9749it will never be Kaliningrad.

[@mortyr_II]

@@PreußenGloria71 cope

[@MoreFunization]

​@@PreußenGloria71oh, really? 🤔

[@fallschirmjagerfilms4167]

Huge variety of weapons and equipment on display the gun seen at 0:32 is a 8.8 Raketenwerfer 43. also known as the "Puppchen" 1:38 shows a steyr Mannlicher M1895 of WW1 vintage. 1:49 shows a MG 81, a German aircraft machine gun reconfigured into a infantry gun at the end of the war. 2:07 STG44 a rare sight amongst the Volkssturm 2:23 can't identify this off the top of my head 2:33 Finnish KP31 3:59 the award under the German cross is the hitler youth proficiency badge (going by his age, he was likely a unit leader) 4:29 mix of late war " kriegsmodell" k98 and a single rebuilt Gewehr 98M, I can't Identify the 20mm 4:49 WW1 vintage Austro-Hungarian Schwarzlose machine gun 5:35 appears to be a aircraft solenoid fired machine gun repurposed with a field made mount 6:54 PaK 40 75mm 7:35 ww1 vintage k98a 7:42 another interwar rebuilt Gewehr 98m

[@ProvidentiaeMemor]

"Püppchen"

[@LennyTheCat-9lives]

Thanks for pointing all those weapons out and including the time stamps. I find the reusing of older and other countries weapons very interesting in these films.

[@brianpanton71]

As someone who could give an adult like history of WW2 before adolescence and am now 65 its rare for me to come across film I have not seen before. Thanks for digging up the above. Good work.

[@CarlEvans-t6h]

Indeed.

[@emilioalcazar-su9vi]

Terrible fate of so many old historical cities of Germany and Europe.. awesome the images of old volksturm fighters waiting for the enemy.. jewel doku..!

[@alsm974]

This land was captured by Germans in 13th century as a result of "German onslaught to the East".

[@stironeceno]

Germany started this terrible war .

[@kodor1146]

@@stironeceno "Germany started this terrible war ." Britain and France declared war on Germany.

[@adamzieba8364]

@@kodor1146 Only after Germany invaded Poland as per treaty these two countries were obliged to help militarily.

[@kodor1146]

​@@adamzieba8364 " Only after Germany invaded Poland as per treaty these two countries were obliged to help militarily." Brits and French both were veritable imperialists possessing, subjugating, robbing and supressing colonies and the peoples living their all over the world for centuries. So what was this strange reaction regarding the GermanPolish border war about.

[@s.2652]

Incredible footage! Thank you for uploading this historic piece

[@RommelsAsparagus]

Great stuff, the more raw footage, the better. Please digitize and preserve as much as possible.

[@Al-iv3mb]

Thank you for posting this. Let me say too: by having only sparce narration, you succeed in letting the pictures speak for themselves. That's something too few exhibitors do and is to your credit.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thank you so much for the kind comment! I am happy that someone noticed my style of narration! 🙂

[@jeffreyhansen2806]

Gun shown at the beginning is an 8.8 Raketenwerfer 43. Looks like a gun but fires a rocket projectile. We also see aircraft machine guns on ground mounts. Truly last-ditch stuff.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thank so much! I had a trouble time identifying what kind of weapon that was.

[@PaulJakubiak-u2p]

some of the rifles also appear to be older models than the 98k, thoughts?

[@Bumper776]

@@PaulJakubiak-u2p Several Gew98 WW1 vintage rifles.

[@lucas82]

Yep, looks like an MG17.

[@Jsmith2024]

Thanks. I was wondering about that.

[@MrGbscott1954]

Thanks for posting this video. It shows the desperate straights the Germans were in by this time. I would just want to give one "constructive" criticism however. Try to give a more accurate title to your videos. This was not the battle of Konigsberg, but the preparation for it. That said, the info was good. I gave it a thumbs up and subscribed. I look forward to more good videos!

[@MaximusandHistory]

Interesting, I would like to point out that despite there being no filmographic information, the only source of information about this film was the title on the film canister which says the "Battle for Konigsberg 1945." This is technically the "siege of Konigsberg", but you're right about the dates. The city wasn't taken until April 9th. Thanks for watching!

[@JosephusAurelius]

Thank you ever so much for your service to humanity by uploading never seen before footage of WW2. Please include this in your video title

[@josephbingham1255]

Thank you for preserving this piece of history. 3:40 A highly decorated combat veteran. Close combat clasp likely silver (9,500 issued), German Cross. Below it is the Golden Hitler Youth Leader Badge. Too old for a youth member. So staff. Also this badge could not be worn beyond HJ membership unless given the direct permission of the Reichsjugendfuhrer. The Iron Cross 1st class and Close Combat Badge do not have service versions. This man was in the trenches. The ribbion bar indicates likely a WW1 veteran who fought in WW2 , now an instructor. 11:00 curious. No insignia.

[@adamzieba8364]

11:00 Looks like a Red Army POW doing slave labor.

[@josephbingham1255]

@@adamzieba8364 I would tend to agree.

[@JamesQuirk-g1k]

Excellent footage the German defenders and Volkstrum never had chance against the overwhelming Soviet Army 🪖

[@sherwoodforester4666]

Fantastic seeing this in high quality at last.Thankyou!

[@ruhr45]

my great grandfather was from konigsberg he was born there in 1923 he was also fighting in east prussia in 1945 he and his family fleed to west germany in 1945 thank you alot for this footage

[@MaximusandHistory]

You're welcome! Thank god this land is now completely peaceful and many Russians take pride in the history of this land. At first it was not easy for the newcomers to preserve German culture and many of them deliberately destroyed historical objects because of the pain that was inflicted upon them in 1941, but over time they learned to respect it and today there are massive restoration projections across the region!

[@holgerandersengrn3457]

The catastrophe was the loss of many millions of Soviet citizens, completely without reason. Hitler had lost the war, and Germany would have been forced to surrender in 1945. Thanks for posting this video.

[@ranulf8477]

And the question is for what? Would Stalin had taken half of east europe if Hitler hadnt attacked? Would England and germany became friends without Operation Barbarossa until 1942? Would the NSDAP survive the Hippie revolution from California in the 1960s? How would russia and europe look like today? These are all things that could had happened in another dimension from ours. And everything just seems to be possible. But in every possible scenario so many people would still live.

[@Occident.]

Stalin brought it onto the Soviet people. He planned to attack Western Europe in July 1941. German agents got the information, and Germany launched a pre-emptive strike on June 22nd 1941. 3 weeks before Stalin was about to launch his attack!

[@NandiCollector]

*I have watched hundreds of German/ Allied WW2 footage, but why this feels like I'm there in person? It's a very strange sensation. Maybe because the rawness of it?*

[@tschibasch]

This is incredible. Thank you very much for uploading it!

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thank you for the nice comment! Indeed, this film is beyond incredible!

[@TellySavalas-or5hf]

@@MaximusandHistory The Volksturm officer had also a HJ high leaders badge in gold.

[@Chris-ql9bu]

Really amazing, thx for sharing!! There are indeed a few scenes from this in the last Wochenschau

[@nordland4504]

This is real gold!! Thank you for your work and for uploading this incredibly stunning war film 🙏

[@MaximusandHistory]

I appreciate the supportive comment! Yes, this is indeed real gold, I am happy to share it!

[@KS51ABCAN]

Yes, I like seeing rare content like this. Thanks.

[@brianpanton71]

Nice work. Enjoyed. Thanks.

[@13Psycho13]

This footage is so incredibly crisp, it feels like a re-enactment.

[@MaximusandHistory]

It almost feels like you're there! 😅

[@dammad8584]

Incredible footage...true history. What a bleak and depressing situation. T y for sharing..keep them coming.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thank you! I am planning on uploading rare footage of Königsberg before the war in 4K!

[@daveanderson3805]

There was a joke going around in Germany at that time. The Volksturm is Germany's most valuable commodity. They have silver in their hair, gold in their mouth, and lead in their bones.

[@charlesburgoyne-probyn6044]

Dark war humour

[@nathancc99]

At 1:03, you can see the 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43 "Puppchen.” It’s basically a Panzerschreck on wheels with better sights, twice the accuracy, and double the range, but it was also more expensive, heavier, and took longer to produce.

[@ChamaeleonMustermann]

"Püppchen" means Doll in German. In case someone is interested....

[@pkl8811]

Danzel, Breslau und Stettin sind deutsche Städte wie Berlin. Königsberg ebenso.

[@Kaiser7068]

Genau so! Königsberg bleibt deutsch

[@adamzieba8364]

Es waren einst deutsche Städte. Jetzt nicht mehr. Und was ist Danzel?

[@rustycaddy]

Another Amazing production from Maximus! Keep ‘em coming my man....

[@basedgermanguy]

This is so sad to watch considering that this footage was one of the last footages of a german Königsberg, after this battle all remaining germans got either killed or deported from Königsberg and the surrounding Prussia. Now Prussia hasn't been german for 80 years. Königsberg had been german for like 1000 years, since the german crusaders made it their capital, and then later on it became the capital of the german kingdom of Prussia

[@MaximusandHistory]

Ironically, Germans can easily visit former East Prussia since there is no border between Poland and Germany, all thanks to the EU / Schengen area :)

[@TheJaskier666]

I feel sad for the city itself not much for the people though - they got what they asked for

[@adrienjulienfr2142]

Prince polonais konrad mazovieski à fait venir de templiers de Marien de Jérusalem en masovie en 1200 pour protéger des vieux prussien voisins payens et templiers ont massacres cette people entière. Ils ont occupé les terres après.

[@Wookienator]

@@TheJaskier666 That's heartless and cold.

[@kmnhypnotizeme480]

@@TheJaskier666 well you are incredibly ignorant

[@Berlin-Kladow]

What a meat grinder and massacre of these civilian soldiers. The film shows they barely knew how to use their weapons. It must have been terrifying , their guns jammed , ran out of ammo and they had no chance . If they were captured they perished in Siberia

[@Yuohani]

Either a civilian or a soldier, what does it mean for civilian soldier?

[@lucas82]

Captured Volkssturm and Hitlerjugend were usually sent home, not Siberia.

[@publichearing8536]

yeah no, civilians were far worse off in the soviet areas and sometimes even the west, only SS officers got a worse treatment by the Russians, the others simply war crimed them out of existence. I'd rather die defending a pocket of resistance than witness the "victors" go about their business of genocide and plunder.

[@huntingfishingcamping7179]

Civilian Volkssturms were not sent to Siberia. they are not soldiers of the Wehrmacht army. therefore, all those who survived were allowed to go home or to repair work to clear the rubble.

[@wrayjohnson1905]

Wow, thank you for uploading this footage. Unique unfiltered look at the end of the Third Reich.

[@SixBarrel]

Thanks for share this 🍻 Invaluable historial footage .

[@marck7270]

my ancestors were east-prussians and lost everything in '45 ... granddad came home as a broken old man around the beginning of the 1950s from russian POW camps if I remember correctly. what a fine guy this austrian amateur painter and feldherr was ... 🤮 the "factory" towards the end of the video looks like a coking plant to me. i do not know, however, if there was such kind of plant in koenigsberg at that time. TY for upping this, all the best to you and team

[@FroggyFrog9000]

Very good, BEST footage!!

[@Jsmith2024]

One of my German professors was, as a baby, carried out into the sea by her mother to get in a ship to escape the Soviets when they entered Koenigsberg. The German Navy evacuated them further west. I doubt that man with all the medals earned them in the Volkssturm. He almost certainly saw active service and ended up in the Volkssturm late in the war.

[@bruno-plisken]

Un excellent et très intéressant documentaire historique sur les derniers mois de la 2ème guerre mondiale 🌐. J'ai vraiment apprécié ! Merci beaucoup pour ce partage. Cordialement. 👍🏻 😉🙂

[@britpc1]

Very interesting. Thanks for sharing

[@admiralyisoonshin4995]

This rare film describes the last time of the Nazy Germany, One thousand year's Reich. Thank you very much for uploading it. 🎉🎉🎉

[@johngordonmeade361]

And as a result of Germany's defeat half of Europe and 120 millions of people found themselves enslaved behind an iron bolshevik curtain.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thank you! This is some super rare material and it's awesome to see how many people appreciate this video! :)

[@GermanWWIIArchive]

Very interesting upload. As you correctly mentioned in the intro, some of the footage was indeed shown in the last issue of the German Newsweek, No. 755 from March 22nd, 1945. German propaganda cameramen would usually take a lot of footage, but most of it was deemed unusable for the German Newsweek. Unfortunately, most of the footage was simply thrown away and is no longer available, so it is pretty rare to find longer, raw footage like this.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Finding raw footage from a PK is indeed very very rare! It almost hurts to know that they just discarded so much film material like that... And like you mentioned it was "deemed unusable for the German Newsweek" lines up with how they had so much freedom to film whatever they wanted, but when it came to editing studio in Berlin, they had no input on what or would be used in the final propaganda film! Thank you for the comment! 🤠

[@DerUfo]

my family owned a large parcel of land near this city.. and thanks to the war.. they became poor immigrants and fled Germany in 1952 and left for Canada.. Where their lives remained crappy and filled with racist hatred to Germans till the day that they died. Yes so many Germans suffered because of the actions of a immigrant who became the leader of our nation. Germans where shocked when he attacked Russia.. and as my family said.. we knew the end was coming on day 1 of this event.. but there was nothing that they could do.

[@Occident.]

He had over overwhelming support from the German masses. He was democratically elected into power. Austrians are Germans. So are 70% of the Swiss. War was declared on Germany on March 24th 1933.

[@austinmetro6317]

Excellent footage

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thank you! I hope to release more rare content in this format! :)

[@fabianllano9200]

Great images. Pure history

[@walsch80]

Great job! It's a rare video that's giving the german perspective! Thanks a lot.

[@walsch80]

It's really sad to imagine what's happened later. It was ethnic cleansing. The Reds killed all children and raped all women. Nowadays, it remains not a lot of the german period...

[@MaximusandHistory]

No problem! It was really awesome getting this film digitized for the first time! We are still unlocking new perspectives from WW2 every year!

[@walsch80]

@MaximusandHistory it's a precious job. Many people don't know anything about WWII. For this reason, we are near WWIII. My grandfather was fighting against Reds near the Don area. I was in Ukraine, too. -22 degrees. I realized in that moment that the nosense of that war was incredible.

[@Yuohani]

@@walsch80 problem is that those westerners never learn from history, they are so obsessed with destruction of Russia and enslaving the Russian people and plundering their rich resources , land, minerals and energy. The westerners are being so possessed by their evil greed that they always lost their mind whenever it comes to Russia.

[@Templeborough]

Nice to hear an obviously American commentary by a real human being, not a stilted AI zombie, and somebody moreover who pronounces German words well.

[@MaximusandHistory]

🤣

[@danielgreen3715]

Interesting footage Cheers. The Anti Tank Gun at the Beginning of the reel is a Mountain PAK and was originally issued to The Gebirgsjager's .

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thanks for watching! Someone else pointed out that it was apparently a 8.8 cm Raketenwerfer 43!

[@danielgreen3715]

@MaximusandHistory I think they're right!👍😆😆

[@doshutokeshi3877]

Thank you for posting the raw footage. Also thank you for your Great Grandfather's fight in the Great Patriotic War

[@duckduckov4362]

Even in modern times, the people in the shots are very adult. At that time, these were just grandfathers of soldiers of those times The author, and one of my great-grandfathers was a sapper and died in 1944 in Poland. And the second in the people’s militia caught saboteurs in the forests in the Stupinsky district of the Moscow region. He fell ill with pneumonia and died. And my grandfather already managed to fight with Japan in 1945. And he lived a long life, dying in 2007

[@MaximusandHistory]

The bravest generation in human history!

[@Sbiper]

That anti tank gun is a PAW type I think - a very late war high pressure-low pressure design that used modified mortar rounds. Also Konigsberg was very heavily damaged by RAF Bomber Command prior to the Soviet assault on the city, so that damage you are seeing looks more like Bomber Command damage than artillery damage. I also think I see a Mk 108 30mm cannon on a ground mount also. That factory looks like it is either a Coke or Town Gas installation.

[@Macsimski2]

can you write the location of the gate and residential building in the description. i am trying to find it on street view

[@MaximusandHistory]

Here is the link to the exact location on google maps: maps.app.goo.gl/SDr1xGGCVj3RB4od6

[@nateweter4012]

Incredible! The antitank gun they are practicing with at the beginning is an 8.8cm raketenwerfer 43 “püppchen”. It fires the Panzerschrek rocket but is a much more stable platform with greater effective range. The belt fed machine guns are Luftwaffe surplus MG81’s with ground role attatchements added. There’s also a WW1 era Schwarzloze, M95 Manlicjer rifles and even a Luftwaffe MG-151 cannon on a modified cradle and mount so it can be fired be infantry in the ground role. I have never seen this footage! Anyone interested in this should read Battleground Prussia by Pritt Buttar. It details the Kongisberg Battle very well.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Thanks for identifying the weapons! Everyone here has been super helpful!

[@friedrichExplorer]

Hello, I would like to see more of content like this, please.

[@jacquesleguen8122]

Excellent,great pictures and very few comments

[@MaximusandHistory]

I hope you enjoyed watching this video!

[@gerhard6105]

I was in Königsberg in sommer 2016. I also visited the General Lasch bunker under the university garden. My city guide, a student girl, did not even know it exists. Very interesting museum. Near dune Efa, we visited it and it was crowded and a 62 m climb over wooden walk ways, on the Kurische Nerung are still ww2 dragonteeth in the forest. I also visited thecity historical museum because it also has a ww2 section with a 1:1 diorama. And we visited the Dancing Forest, the Vigelwarte from 1901 and the Bernstein museum in one of such city fortresses. Thebuilding was well restored and the collection is outstanding. In the courtyard stood a real Königsberg big zinced waist bin. We were in a small hotel inCranz/Zelenogradsk. I am Dutch and went there with my own car,my son and his mother.

[@MaximusandHistory]

That's awesome! I also hope to visit Kaliningrad! In fact, a lot of Russian people are equally interested in the history of their city and there are huge restoration efforts there now!

[@carausiuscaesar5672]

Canadian troops defended Germany from the rampaging Soviets in the spring of 1945.

[@Yuohani]

Considering what happened recently in the Canadian parliament when those parliamentarians and their prime minister applauded the Waffen SS Nazi veteran, I’m not surprised that the Canadian or any western countries would naturally form alliance with the Nazis.

[@lodickasvlajeckou]

Are you ok?? I don’t know if you are for real, because Canadians weren’t known for their kindness in WW2 but neither were Soviets, but after the hat Germans did in the USSR

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

There is a plaque in Wismar located on the town hall commemorating the1st Canadian Parachute Battalion for that.

[@kodor1146]

"Canadian troops defended Germany from the rampaging Soviets in the spring of 1945." Canada was a close ally of the Bolcheviks.

[@moffke26]

Great footage. Grim scenes indeed

[@Makaan]

How contradicting: most of those civilians probably didnt even wanted to be recruited into the Volkstuurm and they got to train with all those toys despite the circunstances. On the other hand you see today all those reeneactors and weapon collectors who would had been very happy in this period I bet :D .

[@sgtmett6946]

That is some rally nice footage of the Püppchen and the vary rare MG 151 with ground mount.

[@MaximusandHistory]

This footage was so rare that even I was struggling to understand what kind of weapons these were! Thanks for the comment! 😃

[@paulrimmer391]

How methodical & disciplined the German people were right to the end. Speaks of real character.

[@sovpha]

It's a Golden HJ Leader’s Sports Proficiency Badge underneath the German Cross. Thank you for sharing this amazing footage. Wish you a great Friday.

[@KManXPressTheU]

The Volksturm had to Improvise with whatever Weapons were avaliable.

[@MaximusandHistory]

It definitely looks like it! They really were fighting a last ditch effort!

[@lookup49]

Seems like the old men fancied that little mustache that their leader wore.

[@victorpikkendorff9659]

Un autre MONDE.... MERCI.

[@CarlEvans-t6h]

Medals and badges. Left side of tunic is: top-to-bottom: Close Combat Clasp in Silver (his 2nd award of it first being bronze) His ribbon bar. Iron Cross 1st class (I can't tell if WW1 or WW2? War Merit Cross w/ Swords for combatant-means for distinguished actions in a war zone-not actually for actions in combat-that would be the E.K. 1. The WMC 1st was likely awarded in place for another E.K. 1, because it wasn't warranted for whatever actions. Infantry Assault Badge in Broze-which means that he was a Panzergrenadier (Armored Infantry) and not a Jager, (Light Infantry) or Gebirgejager (Mountain Infantry). He was in modern terms Armored Infantry. His "Hitler's Fried Egg on the right-is called The German Cross in Gold. They have a Silver version too-which is like being awarded the WMC-for some kind of non combat distinguished action. I can't accurately tell what his badge is under the German Cross in Gold? But it looks like one of those Commander of a German Airfield badges that is a Luftwaffe award for commanders of an air field. He wears a Volksturm Cuff title but he isn't a Volksturm member-He's the commander of that Volksturm unit. He's active Luftwaffe. Forgot to mention-the Luftwaffe also had Panzergrenadier units attached to the Herman Goring division and were in Luftwaffe Field Divisions. Hope this helps? I'm an active collector of this stuff. I don't have a Volksturm leaders cuff title in my collection as Peoples Home Guard items are of no interest to me; just military.

[@zlewicki7939]

Niemcy oto wasze dzieło.

[@ГеннадийСеднев-м3щ]

Да конечно. Это их дело забрать немецкие земли у Польши

[@lv8920]

All this started with the help from Stalin. Von Ribbentrop pact (Poland was divided between Germany and S.U.. =: Germany invaded Poland from the West, S.U. invaded Poland from the east, so Poland had to fight on two fronts). Also Stalin let the German army practice their Blitz Krieg tactics in Russia before the war. Without the pact between Hitler and Stalin it could hav turned out differently. That Hitler in '41 attacked the S.U. does not change this fact. Until 1941 Russia could be considered as part of the Axis powers.

[@giorgiomariani656]

Konigsberg, bellissima città, ora russa, perduta per una guerra insensata!

[@johnlomasney]

Who are they shooting at ?

[@MaximusandHistory]

Most likely doing training exercises. We will unfortunately never know!

[@larrydeckerhoff6521]

I thought Konigsberg was declared a Festung ?

[@sthrich635]

It was actually an effective strategy from German high command to occupy Red army forces and delay their advance to Berlin as long as possible using broken and weak German units. One deliberated effect front Red army constant assault regardless of losses meant Germans never could established a proper defensive fortification, and these cities like Konigsberg were already there and only need far less time to become makeshift fort, while the urban streets limited the amount of Red army tanks could enter and made for good bottlenecks. Each of these fortress cities required conaiderable Allied resources to defeat what understrength German formaton usually garrisoning it.

[@Osakana_is_oishi]

5:22 水冷式機関銃？　こんな骨董品を持ち出してまで戦うとは...

[@TommyLoutaif]

One of the bloodiest battles ever.....

[@johnhuttner9991]

My great grandfather was from there.

[@Kaiser7068]

my great granduncle fought there as a soldier of the Wehrmacht! he was then deported to Siberia and tortured by the soviets, he was realised well after the war ended and spent his last years first in Swabia and then in the Kanton of Luzern, Switzerland, where he had distant relatives

[@RevRMBWest]

I have met at least two Germans from Konigsberg, one from Allenstein, one from Dramberg-Pommern, and one from Danzig - all in the German East, now under Poland or Russia. They have their stories to tell. One of them thought that Konigsberg would have been returned to Germany at reunification, but it was not to be, and she died unable to return to her homeland.

[@Goldberg1234]

And?

[@jurgenhilger6981]

Weapons beside the usual stuff like the Mauser K98 etc. Puepchen (puppet) recoillesss anti tank gun, Mannlicher M95 Austrian WWI gun, Maxim 08/16 MG. Some Luftwaffe machine guns converted for ground use.

[@gerhard6105]

3:39, it might be the HJ Führersportabzeichen. It has/had a golden color.

[@JaNa-pw3sq]

Yes, and it looks like he's also wearing his leader Feldbinde. Possibly an reactivated wounded(scar on neck) combat veteran. Anyway, interesting footage... thanks.

[@jameslannon38]

East Prussia ,Germany there are consequences in life , Reap what you sow. Very sad .

[@kodor1146]

Yeah, Anglos and Bolcheviks are best allies and friends.

[@wstevenson4913]

That 1,000 year Reich thing didn't really end well, did it?

[@kodor1146]

Indeed. Anglos and their Bolchevik best friends were too strong. Now we all have Anglo-Saxonism, i.e. multirculturalism, multi-ethnicism, mass migration, feminism, faggotism, wokeism, individualism, urbanism and all the other blessings that are inherent of Anglo culture. Anglo-Saxonism and Bolchevism are indeed the biggest plagues ever coming over mankind.

[@MaximusandHistory]

1,000 years turned into 12

[@derbasierte4194]

@@kodor1146 Its not "Anglo-Saxonism" you are describing there.

[@kodor1146]

​@@derbasierte4194 "Its not "Anglo-Saxonism" you are describing there." Of course it is. This is what you have fought for, this is what you have declared war on Germany for, twice, in 1914 and in 1939 and this is what you got now: Anglo-Saxonism, pure and unfiltered. Okay granted, meanwhile you are pi$$ed by your own culture, but it´s to late, you are already dead. Also l@ughingstocks like Farrage, Trump Reece-Mogg and whatever their names are, can´t help you, because they are Anglos themselves. You are a dead body.

[@kodor1146]

@@derbasierte4194 Of course it is. This is what you have fought for, this is what you have declared war on Germany for, twice, in 1914 and in 1939 and this is what you got now: Anglo-Saxonism, pure and unfiltered. Okay granted, meanwhile you are pi$$ed by your own culture, but it´s to late, you are already dead. Also l@ughingstocks like Farrage, Trump Reece-Mogg and whatever their names are, can´t help you, because they are Anglos themselves. You are a dead body.

[@alanbrown9178]

I'd guess that the factory in the final scene may have been a gas works. An old map might locate it.

[@gregchijoff9959]

Not just any anti tank gun, but a recoiless anti tank gun, firing a shaped charge. Very effective and quite rare.

[@ranulf8477]

My great-uncle was put into the Waffen SS as a 16 year old boy to defend his hometown Königsberg. He survived the war, worked in the railroad and took part in a lot of napoleonic war reenactments later in his life.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Wow, that is crazy! It's a miracle he survived! Did he end up living in the GDR, or West Germany? The GDR was big on reenactments pertaining to the Napoleonic Wars!

[@ranulf8477]

@@MaximusandHistory He lived in the GDR. The whole family from east prussia (Königsberg, Insterburg) ended there. Life just goes on after every war. Only my grandmother visited Königsberg again in the 1990s but she said that her city that she knew so well had completely disappeared.

[@MaximusandHistory]

@ My great grandfather also took part in the offensive on Insterburg! Today, it is considered the most well preserved German city in the entire Kaliningrad Oblast, and also the most beautiful!

[@ranulf8477]

@@MaximusandHistory Wow what a coincidence. I would say the whole world sometimes is a little town. Everyone seem to be connected with each other.

[@ГеннадийСеднев-м3щ]

Действительно наши штурмовые подразделения видели что среди защитников города много детей и поэтому они выжидали когда у них закончатся патроны и не шли на штурм. Это были очень опытные солдаты и они сохранили жизнь многим

[@gerhard6105]

9:47, das ist auf ein Hochovengelände. Das sind Türe von ein Kokesfabrik. Da drinnen sind Kokes von 1400 Grad Celsius.

[@Hori_Ado]

Excellent footage. Never seen it before and I saw quite a lot of 3rd Reich video stuff.

[@avginkel]

I see exclusively Volkssturm troops! Elder men, veterans from WW1 most probably, with some lost younger ones in between. How tragic that even the once mighty Wehrmacht was not able to muster anymore regular combat troops. I guess some similiar scenes took place in the battles of Breslau, Leipzig and Berlin.

[@FamilyR-G]

At video time 6:54 is that gun super rare PAW 600 high-low pressure system gun?

[@gerhard6105]

Ifuou find out who the commander in the vid is, you will know what medal it is. Maybe as i said from the HJ because he could be a sport teacher ( could have been) but it can also be an older party Abzeichen thingy.

[@vonpfrentsch]

You made friends in Russia already, the city is called Kaliningrad, and they hate to let it called otherwise.

[@benjaminvandenberghe9726]

must have been terrifying

[@MaximusandHistory]

Absolutely!

[@serjiobazhan3918]

Concluding from your pronunciation you definitely have some east Slavic roots (Ukrainian, Russian or Belarusian), right? PS Yeap, you've made particular comment on that.

[@MaximusandHistory]

Yes, I am half Russian :) I also spent most of my childhood growing up with the Ukrainian diaspora here in the United States. Ate lots of Ukrainian Borscht and watched Soviet cartoons like Nu Pogodi since I was 2 years old! We had many family-friends who were Ukrainian, Belarusian and also Russian. In my city there were surprisingly more Ukrainians than Russians, none the less, everyone got along with each other. Sadly this is not the case anymore. My mom also spent a lot of her youth and summer vacations in Ukraine during Soviet times.

[@mustaa6312]

@@MaximusandHistoryOf cource what is happening now in Russia is very sad. But it would be so cool to hear more from the soviet side, no one is telling their story. Thanks for the video.

[@serjiobazhan3918]

@@MaximusandHistory Have my greetings from Kyiv. Had to relocate with my family from Kharkiv in 2022. Have a great channel, do not stop!

[@MaximusandHistory]

@ I am one of those few people who still remembers the "Slavic Unity" festival which took place every year on the tri-border of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia. Even though I have never been there, I always knew about it. Our 3 peoples were so connected in many ways. I hope one day we will all be able rejoin each other at the three sisters monument and resume this festival!

[@ltdike123]

Those guys shooting the rifles are shooting blanks

[@jimtrotman-p4w]

Much of the city centre was destroyed by RAF bombing in August 1945. The Red Army also destroyed much but many suburbs are mostly intact. There towns like Cranz and Rauschen were undamaged.

[@hansmoss7395]

The war was over on 8 May 45. No bombing that late.

[@ГеннадийСеднев-м3щ]

Нет англичане бомбили в 44 году

[@markshrimpton3138]

I don’t think the RAF were still bombing anywhere in Europe by August 1945. Perhaps you meant 1944.

[@BUF1932-p5r]

You fight for your home regardless, the status of the war is irrelevant to local defenders!

[@davidcunningham2074]

sad to think that most of these affable joking men died.

[@markshrimpton3138]

And very probably they had equally affable relatives who joked as they herded Jews into cattle trucks.

[@lv8920]

@@markshrimpton3138 Possible, like it is also possible that a lot of the SU soldiers had affable relatives who joked while participating in the Holodomor, when they attacked Poland from the east in '39 together with the Germans or as they participated in the murders in Katyn.

[@jefferycsm]

War is a young man’s game… And a lot of those German soldiers are just old men.

[@Bronislaavv]

Impressive

[@adamzieba8364]

9:09 Looks like old-type gasworks producing gas for the city from coal. 10:58 A Red Army POW ?

[@MaximusandHistory]

It looks like a POW, but its likely a worker.

[@loneranger5349]

They putting on a show for the camera but WHY? This shows a desperate defeated race of people.

[@gerhard6105]

3:07, i have such a car. A real one.

[@MaximusandHistory]

That's pretty cool! How long have you had it for? :)

[@daniyilsemi2941]

Is that BMW?

[@gerhard6105]

@daniyilsemi2941 it is an Opel

[@กาญจน์ชรินดํารงรัตนหิรัณย์]

Volksturm but no armband. Maybe they didnt manage to ship them to the pocket.