The Russian Front in World War II | Dan Carlin and Lex Fridman

Lex Fridman Podcast full episode: • Dan Carlin: Hardcore H...
Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:
- Athletic Greens: athleticgreens... and use code LEX to get free vitamin D
- SimpliSafe: simplisafe.com... and use code LEX to get a free security camera
- Magic Spoon: magicspoon.com... and use code LEX to get free shipping
- Cash App: cash.app/ and use code LexPodcast to get $10
PODCAST INFO:
Podcast website: lexfridman.com...
Apple Podcasts: apple.co/2lwqZIr
Spotify: spoti.fi/2nEwCF8
RSS: lexfridman.com...
Full episodes playlist: • Lex Fridman Podcast
Clips playlist: • Lex Fridman Podcast Clips
CONNECT:
- Subscribe to this KZbin channel
- Twitter: / lexfridman
- LinkedIn: / lexfridman
- Facebook: / lexfridmanpage
- Instagram: / lexfridman
- Medium: / lexfridman
- Support on Patreon: / lexfridman

[@vitaly6312]

Just to make you think: there are years of birth (I believe 1921 - 1923) where more than 80% of males in the Soviet Union were killed. There was literally a generation of males which were killed off in sacrifice for their country. My grandpa, like yours, survived. I believe 93% of males that were born the same year he was born died. The sheer luck by which you and I are alive and in the US is a statistical unlikelihood.

[@abdullahbrum]

That is a crazy statistic, insane numbers.

[@schramalam]

I was reading somewhere that Russia is still recovering its male population due to the numbers lost to the war and then to Stalin after. Something like 20% fewer men than women some 75 years later. I could be wrong about those numbers.

[@theotherserge]

@@schramalam I read that for every Allied KIA, there were ~8 Axis (mostly Germans) killed, ~14 Japanese killed (sounds about right) and ~84 Russians, likely more thanks to “Stalinist statistics”…my god.

[@willr4849]

That statistic is almost unbelievable. Dear God

[@jezcorrigan651]

I believe it was males born in 1923 - it wasn’t just the war that killed them but also the poverty/ dysentery they grew up in prior to the war.

[@perro7183]

The movie "Come and See" is an eye opener on how brutal the eastern front of Nazi Germany - Russian conflict was in WWII. Highly recommend

[@MaximusDowns]

That’s one of those movies that is inarguably a masterpiece but I just can’t get myself to recommend it, it’s a nightmare of an experience much like the eastern front must have been

[@joshblanchard3719]

Hitler and Stalin were both on the same coin. When Hitler conquered France the war was essentially over. He could've sat back and forced Britain into an armistice. The support was there in Britain for THAT. Hitler went on the blitzkrieg and stirred up a lot of a hornets nest and the nazis were beaten back. Hitler was so crazy that he went after the Russians too and lost a lot of troops. Think of how close we were to having a different world than we do now. He was so close to having his own currency and the atomic bomb. Thank God evil did not prevail like that. Stalin was just as bad probably more.

[@svenlittlecross]

@@joshblanchard3719 this is the dumbest shit i've heard so far and i was listening to both lex and dan carlin

[@sakabula2357]

@@MaximusDowns I think that's what the director was going for...it is a hard movie to get through....that sound when he went deaf drove me nuts

[@shmegma4371]

And it’s free on KZbin

[@1vadim]

Dan Carlin's Ghosts of the Ostfront is my all time favorite podcast.

[@ygjjjgui]

I really liked his ww1 podcast

[@jackdallas6169]

Same its fucking unbelievable

[@scotthawke7828]

Hands down the best!

[@terryeaster1]

Thanks for the heads up, I’m gonna check it out

[@anothermouth7077]

Is it on youtube?

[@randenpederson4784]

As combat vet, I've thought that we should make real war memorials. These would be piles of mangled bodies made of bronze or stone with clever slots to hide rotten meat in so that the memorial would smell right and attract flies. A plus would be paths of mud and tangled undergrowth one would have to take to visit the memorial. We need reminders of what war really is.

[@jordansatepauhoodle7728]

Excellent t idea, might use that some day

[@CheckTheStatz]

Quiet the picture you painted and I gotta say I like the idea

[@PushupsNMushrooms]

Calm down Rambo.

[@Bowditch200]

Sicko! This is the way 😂!

[@thepianoroommusic]

This is a sobering idea for the public. But I don’t think vets would want to ever go see a memorial like that. Most vets I know try to forget those parts of combat 😢 but man what a sight for the public to understand what war really is. Love the idea about the smell. My grandfather fought in WW2, Korea, and Vietnam. He said the images weren’t the worse part, it was the smells.

[@diegoledezma4045]

The quote that Carlin said about the Marine named Eugene Sledge is crazy because I’m on that chapter in Sledges book right now.

[@clarkkane6021]

Watch the show the pacific his story is a main part

[@misterbeach8826]

I believe that Fridman was here onto something that Carlin dismissed since Carlin talks at length about the fear for your friends next to you, your fellow soldiers, and the front line. He might be missing what it's like to be part of a huge meat grinder. Guadalcanal was bad but nothing compared to Moscow, Stalingrad, or Kursk, right? I know from Wehrmacht documentations and soldiers, in my family, that they eventually simply did not care anymore. If 90 % of your unit is dead since you joined, say, after 1 year, what did those Wehrmacht soldiers say? They didn't care. And, in one docu, one soldier literally said that no war like WW2 was fought since 1945 -- not in Vietnam, not in Iraq or Korea, nowhere, because of the crazy casualties. Battle of Kursk + Citadel -- 625,000 killed in just 6 weeks. Unimaginable. That is more killed soldiers than in the whole Vietnam War, right? And it means that a lot of units were decimated. So, when you get newly assigned or promoted, why would you care for the soldiers next to you? Since most of them die in the next battle anyway. Because soon after Kursk there was the Second Battle of Smolensk -- another 525,000 dead, in 8 weeks.

[@axlefoxe]

A phrase I use somewhat flippantly when things get tough is "no one wins a medal with things are going well" but it's truly one of those harsh realities of "heroism"

[@pete_roszell]

Dan’s the man ! Awesome

[@markmccormack1796]

Something with Dan Carlin that isn't 3.5hrs long? How unusual.

[@charlesblithfield6182]

I remember hearing about young people digging in the forests where the lines were, recently, and finding all sorts of evidence of the brutality of the battles, the density of material so great. I think a buried plane and pilot were found.

[@bennyboy2023]

Numerous German helmets were found in a river bed when the Russians burst a damn in Ukraine last year. A Ukranian came across a Nazi skeleton and helmet and weapon when digging his trench in eastern ukraine.. they’re still fighting over the same land in the exact same areas too in some places.

[@brianvelasquez]

Get Dan Carlin back on!!!!

[@gtoor3798]

ghosts of the ostfront is a gem... listen to it if you haven’t yet folks!

[@BonnChnd]

All my respect to your grandfather Lex.

[@jamessimon3433]

I understand the logic here in regards to the grandfather but regardless of the motives of the state, it does not diminish the actions of the front line soldier, for there is no person more acutely aware of the insanity of war. And yet they go forth.

[@d4n4nable]

Cause they get shot by their own side otherwise.

[@tavish4699]

What else were they to do? Did you ever serve, let alone in an army under a regime like the nazis or soviets

[@radethegreat69]

Its pretty easy when Germans are literally hellbent on erasing your people, culture and statehood of your people. If im not mistaken by 1942, the nazis executed over 2 million soviet POWs.

[@bennyboy2023]

Lest we forget

[@ferndog1461]

There is so much value in this meeting between a young Russian-American & a master history orator. Wonderful.

[@thekeepinitrealpodcast4946]

Carlin the man!!! Love hardcore history, big respect

[@mshvidogio]

My country lost almost 40% of it’s Men Population in WWII but Enemies haven’t even reached our borders. For me they were all heroes, they fought the most brutal war in history, unfortunately the empire they fought for forgot their heroes very fast. Meliton Kantaria hoisted Soviet Flag over Reichstag on April 30 1945 and in 1992 same Empire made his family refugee and flee their home in 1992.

[@amcc666]

Which county

[@phunkracy]

soviet union dissolved in 1991. yoru timeline is wrong

[@nikabenashvili6837]

@@phunkracyyour confidence and ignorance surprising. 1992 started war in Georgia. Meliton Kantaria was from that region where war started, so he became refugee

[@phunkracy]

@@nikabenashvili6837 there was no soviet union in 1992. Your confidence in your ignorance is sadly not surprising

[@wheredidugo6739]

I swear this guy is really Martin freeman in disguise ;-)

[@zyrrhos]

The front wars in WWI and WWII were about throwing bodies at each other and ultimately about attrition. Those young men had no choice. On either side. Fight or die. Kubrick's Paths of Glory based loosely on real events shows what happens when those orders are challenged.

[@stevem2323]

Yeah, but WWI was a static war.

[@gs7828]

Difference between the strategic and tactical plane.

[@quanganhvu6791]

Eugene Sledge from The Pacific?

[@pttthhh]

Yes. I think much of the show is based off of his accounts and books.

[@localbod]

Eugene Sledge: With The Old Breed At Pelelui And Okinawa. It is a fantastic book and well worth a read.

[@localbod]

@austin M Robert Leckie: Helmet For My Pillow. Another really interesting account of combat in the Pacific theatre.

[@zavierorlos1948]

lex.. how many RedBull do you drink a day?

[@sillygoose4472]

Gotta balance out the vodka 😉

[@throwed210SATX]

Eugene Sledge is the mortar man from The Pacific series. God bless those men.

[@dmitriyosmantsev7603]

Как уже задолбало это невежественное либерально западное врсприятие того что происходило в ВОВ. Лекс, почитайте современные научные исторические работы. Хорошо бы разобраться в вопросе. Мы не в 80х живем.

[@thefightlovedream]

Copy

[@goatman9998]

My grandfather fought in the east aswell. In the Romanian 4th Army. He was able to escape the stalingrad encirclement.

[@goatman9998]

. Romanian was stuck between 2 powers. Poor country. Poorly equipped. And communists arnt people.

[@goatman9998]

@@ik1408 fighting against russia with germany doesnt make one a nazi. Also Romania switched sides in 1944 and fought and killed germans.

[@replynotificationsdisabled]

@@ik1408 shouldn't have been standing there.

[@justinthompson1757]

@@ik1408 they shouldve practiced their right to bare arms

[@samr131]

@@goatman9998 that’s even worse. So they brutally carried out attacks against soviet citizens and then switched sides and betrayed their allies once they were losing? Romania were power hungry that’s why the joined the Nazis they wanted to gain land in the southern USSR. They also exported their own Jewish population and other ‘undesirables’ to be killed by the Nazis.

[@mandarian87]

You never save the world until the guns stop firing, until then you’re just saving the lives of your fellow soldiers and yourself. That doesn’t make anyone more or less heroic for doing what every single one of those men did in that moment.

[@kicka11]

I love the empathy displayed by both interviewer and interviewee. Sometimes on this pod the arch capitalists show thinly veneered condescension for normal and poor people. That horrible guy 'Jason' for example.

[@BronzeBullBalls]

D-Day and the Ardennes were peanuts next to the massive battles on the Eastern front (and sheer brutality). Russian manpower and American money won WW2.

[@209Richsta]

Agreed. D Day was even peanuts compared to the War in the Pacific. My great grandfather fought in the Pacific and I wish the US would stop focusing so much time mentioning D Day. Hell I consider the Lend Lease the biggest contribution to the European theater

[@BronzeBullBalls]

@@209Richsta The arrival of the Western allies in France just stopped the Red Army from taking more of Europe on their way through Germany. It was a slog for the Soviets, but by late 1943 - 1944, the stream roller was on its way into the remnants of the Reich with or without the Western allies.

[@209Richsta]

@@BronzeBullBalls Yah the Western Front was opened to basically take some pressure off the Soviets and make Germany surrender quicker. After Stalingrad it was hopeless. Though imo after the failure to take Moscow was really the start of their failure. The gains Germany made in 42 weren't very significant in turning the tide of the war. Also lots of misinformation on the Eastern Front here in the West. Mainly because we only had information only from former German generals.

[@BronzeBullBalls]

@@209Richsta I do not see Moscow as really being an issue either way. Napoleon took Moscow and still lost. If the Germans took Moscow, so what? The government and major party authorities would've already evacuated. I do not see Germany beating Russia in any scenario. The USSR lost 20+ million people in that war and still finished in Berlin with more armored, artillery, mechanized, motorized, infantry divisions than all the Western Allies combined. Germany would've been devastated with the losses that the USSR took just in the first few months of the invasion. Russia is the real European super power and Germany invading just let the red Genie out of the bottle. Germany was a paper tiger... they gave their best punch and then ran out of steam in a face of unending manpower, determination and realization on the other side that the Germans were the real enemy. The German army could never out manufacture the Soviets in any vehicles or replace losses like they could either. The Germans also shot themselves in the foot by treating the local population like shit. They might've been able to take advantage of the anti-Soviet sentiment in some regions, but instead the Belorussians, Russians, Ukrainians and others quickly realized that the Nazis were worst than the Communists. I also think Stalin is the smarter dictator in comparison to Hitler. Hitler was only a Corporal in the German army when Stalin was already running the world's largest authoritarian state.

[@209Richsta]

@@BronzeBullBalls I agree. Germany would've had to win the war in like 6 weeks which wasn't gonna happen. What I meant was basically it was flawed from the start. Plus those 20M+ was more civilians than soldiers. The Nazis burned villages and something that doesn't get brought up is that Nazis raped lot of women too. Also the Blitzkrieg tactic that worked in Western Europe bit them in the ass in the Soviet Union. At first it was great, but the thing is after the planes bombed the targets, the tanks came in right after, and were followed up by the infintry foot soldiers on foot. Because of the size they divisions got further and further apart and left the flanks open. So if u were in the infintry Wehrmacht in Army Group Center u would've had to walk from Poland to Moscow lol. Also the Germans only had like 20 motorized Divisions in the Eastern Front out of the 150 Divisions

[@user-eu3tw7vp9k]

Lex man the Russians LITTERALY won at all costs. It's what happened

[@user-eu3tw7vp9k]

Mad respect to your grandpa

[@davidpetruic9557]

You do realize Lex comes from Russia I’m pretty sure he has his education on what the Russians did during WWII bud

[@user-eu3tw7vp9k]

@@davidpetruic9557 lol did u hear him u assume too much man

[@davidpetruic9557]

@@user-eu3tw7vp9k been watching him since he started his podcast as well as follow his seminars at MIT and have seen all his appearances on JRE

[@davidpetruic9557]

@@user-eu3tw7vp9k what’s your question then?

[@petrulutenco6600]

Man this guy dropped some truths

[@MrJbrew69]

That’s why we have each other’s backs to give ourselves the best chance possible

[@18pablo88]

My wee grandad fought in Italy, he never spoke of it and would never even when asked. He would always say, it was a long time ago.

[@ivantamayoromero1668]

I just want to point out that it was the Soviets who stopped the Nazis, not the Americans. The best troops and the greatest number of German soldiers fought and died in the Eastern front. Stalin plead to the Americans to open the Eastern front sooner, but they waited as long as possible to make the Soviets and the Nazis bater each other out before sweaping in to claim as much of the spoils as possible. It was the Soviets that march into Berlin, not the Americans or the British...

[@ivantamayoromero1668]

@Samuel Patton those fronts where playgrounds compared to the Eastern front. The Nazis send more troops, their best troops and their best commanders to the east. It was the Soviets that entered Berlin, not the Americans or the British. You been watching to many Hollywood movies if you think the fights in Africa where of pivotal importance. D day happen after the Soviets had all, but beaten the Nazis. I am Mexican. Only Americans believe they were of any significance to beating the Nazis. They beat the Japanese. That's it. American troops march over Japan before the Soviets could get there and fought more Japanese troops. That's USAs contribution to the war efforts. To attribute something else to them is dilusional.

[@chriscarlone527]

@Samuel Patton Fair enough. But to argue that the U.S. did the world a great service by deciding to jump in with a majority of force after four years of every other major nation taking on the brunt of things would also be ridiculous to assert. The propaganda is obnoxious. 80% of the casualties on the European front were sustained on the Eastern Front alone. We came in what, 1943 through Sicily and Italy and France in 1944? Idiotic. Lend Lease was crucial to the success of the USSR but let's not discount the depth of the struggle the Russian people endured.

[@leonardwei3914]

You are correct that it was the Soviets that stopped the Nazis. But you are incorrect about the second half of your statement. When Stalin *complained* to the western Allies about the slow opening of the Western Front at the Tehran Conference, FDR correctly pointed out they could try sooner, but they would have to cut off Lend and Lease and other supplies to the Soviets to make sure the Western Allies could gear up faster. Stalin agreed to the later timeline. Keep in mind, the U.S. and allies were also fighting in the Pacific theater and supplying China at the same time. As for the race to Berlin, there were multiple reasons why the Soviets ultimately got the "prize", although even up to March 7, 1945, Stalin was concerned about the quick pace of the Allied advances when Remagen Bridge was captured by U.S. Forces, even though Eisenhower had expressed his opinion Berlin was “no longer a particularly important objective”.

[@ivantamayoromero1668]

@@leonardwei3914 that's interesting to read. Still, That sounds to me like the diplomatic way to refuse him. It was for sure part of the British strategy to let the Soviets take the brunt of the damage and do the heavy lifting against Germany, since they had cracked the Germans secret codes and knew about Hitler's plan to attack the USSR early on and their plan was just to weather the storm until that happen. As for the Pacific front, that's neither here nor there. The Japanese army had the plan to invade the USSR before southeast Asia and expand the empire through land warfare, but Soviet troops on the eastern frontiers would regularly pummel the nippons in any of skirmishes that occurred before Japan 🇯🇵 entered the War so the army lost prestige and the Navy, that had keept its reputation put up the plan to invade instead Vitenam, The Philippines and the like. Also it wasn't like the USA opened the Pacific front. The Japanese attacked them so they were forcefully and reluctantly drag into The War. Had 🇯🇵 not attacked the 🇺🇸 who knows how long would have the 🇺🇸 waited to enter the war in earnest.

[@andreboy1]

Sounds like a great strategy by America. And remind me again how many German women were raped by the Red Army when they went into Berlin?

[@arredon2]

Anyone knows where I can know more about dan's Carlin amazing stuff? I've already eated all his hardcore history episodes .. I want more 🤨🍴

[@schramalam]

He's also got his Hardcore History: Adendum shows and the Common Sense shows.

[@juser-abuser]

Lex Friedman: my grandpa was a machinegunner. Dan: iN tHE rEd arMy? No Dan. In wermacht🤦

[@socaljusticewarrior558]

It is very sad to think about how many Russian men were used as cannon fodder. 😢

[@gs7828]

Nazism was the lesser of the two evils, if we consider Communism. No wonder the Western world, comprising Churchill, viewed Fascism as the antidote and good counterbalance to Communism. The product is human tragedy and suffering when these dictatorships clash, especially when most people on either side are not extremists.

[@aloha5527]

No. They fight for Country. Socialism

[@artcurious807]

saving the village IS patriotism. saving your land that your grandfathers died for IS patriotism. fighting alongside and for your fellow soldier IS patriotism. just because corrupt governments abuse this instinct doesn’t make it a bad thing. wave the flag. be proud.

[@d4n4nable]

I guess the same goes for the Wehrmacht. Does it also go for the soldiers of the Red Army when they raped and pillaged their way to Berlin? I'd rather do without patriotism from either side, then.

[@slambrew3849]

@@d4n4nable no, it isn’t the same for the Wehrmacht. They weren’t fighting for their country.

[@d4n4nable]

@@slambrew3849 How come?

[@jashandjash6990]

Patriotism is a malignant instinct

[@jashandjash6990]

I burn flags at my Thanksgiving dinner, its retard repellent.

[@JJs_playground]

Lex needs the extra large (sugar free) redbull for this talk.

[@ferndog1461]

" Bang " is also a good energy drink. The secret is to sip every 45 mins.

[@BS-nt9oc]

Highly Recommend Eugen Sledge audio book available here on YT… With the Old Breed.

[@kennymichaelalanya7134]

In America, we are taught that Americans won WW2. But looking back and reviewing WW2, Russians helped the most and should be given credit for ending WW2

[@Shellshock1918]

No quite so. Read Richard Overy’s _Why The Alies Won_ for more information.

[@BosnianBEAST-ky9xv]

Bit of an oversimplification for such a complex war, Soviets played a huge part but all the allies played a part

[@conzo2166]

We were taught about Russians part in my American class. Maybe you didn't pay attention?

[@Mikehowarth1988]

The brits played the biggest part in terms of Germany securing key territories. The Brit’s and the Russians were also fighting the nazis pretty much from when the war began. The us came in at the end of the war.

[@kyranblack5162]

Americans did also fight Japan.

[@mikemoore1687]

Eugene sledge! He was the redhead in the Pacific

[@chuckmartin935]

Lex is awesome - his story about his grandfather was inspirational

[@noaharita2293]

Actually watching Dan talk rather than listening h is so odd to me

[@attor90]

I cannot believe my grandfather and Lex's grandfather fought should to should in ww2

[@Sanchez981]

Dan is that man

[@raginald7mars408]

as a German Biologist and Pythagorean - my Father was a German Soldier in Ukraine from 1943 on - none of his regiment was any “NAZI” - none volunteer - All FORCED by the Draft. Most of the Waffen SS were FORCED to join and Never “Nazi” those You label “Nazi” were mostly those NOT fighting ever - they were the Cowards hiding and surviving . My father as Soldier was surprised to get well along with Ukranians - inspiring to adore their Culture and always telling about his Soldier Life in Taganrogg and the Sea of Asow... Singing traditional Russian Songs and Adoring their Culture. It was the War of Hitler and never of Germany, Even Nazis despised the War - which was evident from the beginning would destroy Germany forever...

[@tavish4699]

Bullshit!!!! Waffen ss soldiers were Handpicked volunteers The ss started drafting in 1944 when the end was near If you would have said those things about the Wehrmacht it would have been spot on but don't try to change facts!

[@jlowsass]

Lex is brutal..

[@DUTYcallsMRswift]

What does Lex recommend everyone do? Read more

[@nickpiludu6662]

Most definitely.

[@hottunes007]

dont sniff ya fingers while walking out of a bathroom

[@DUTYcallsMRswift]

@@hottunes007 lol what

[@virginianative847]

Another crazy statistic about that front is that the population of Poland Jews before Nazis invaded was in the millions after the war only about 8,000 remained. The eastern front and especially the battle we all know of Stalingrad had a statistical higher percentage that you would die, you had better survival rate fighting for the south in the battle of Gettysburg walking straight at each other than being on that front. That was taught to me when getting my masters in history. Concentrated in war conflicts I really enjoyed it VA tech was great.

[@virginianative847]

To really nail it home, you was thirteen more times likely to die in the civil war than you was in the Vietnam conflict.

[@smockingbard]

Read “Memories of the war” by Nikolai Nikolaevitch Nikulin if you want to know what they talking about from first hand. Gruesome book. Like “Come and See” but book and sometimes even heavier.

[@kalkisrevenge4841]

Come and see is a propaganda movie Terrible and ahistorical

[@arbiter8246]

2:00 Incompetence by Stalin? Stalin started World War 2 with Hitler.

[@defaultusername123]

Jesus Christ, Lex, 3 minutes before his guest spoke on this clip

[@Jegosque]

I will hear Dan Carlins voice as he explains death to me as I expire

[@seanosborn3272]

Wasn’t it Patton who said “let’s re-arm the Germans and head east”

[@Anomaly-uz9pr]

We should have supported the germans and hit the soviets from our side of the world destory communists once and for all.

[@conserve5805]

Recommended reading: Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust - by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen

[@goblinslayer7096]

5:56 damn straight. We weren’t just fighting “the Nazis” we were fighting a Nation.

[@gahty57]

Funny thing is that a lot of russians call themselves saviours and etc because of defeating the Germans, but they keep forgetting about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and the Holodomor (and other genocides) and Siberia. Lets not forget what the Germans did, and ,of course, lets not forget what the russians did as well.

[@markzobov6379]

Molotov pact was necessary to buy more time for the ussr. It is well documented that both sides knew it wasn’t going to last but the ussr needed the time badly. Holodomor wasn’t caused by Russians, the famine was Soviet widespread. Calling it a genocide (although popular in the west especially now since the war) is really just a controversial theory and nothing more. Many russians also died in the famine, but only Ukraine gets an entire name to it. The Siberian camps were definitely not exclusive to one nationality either, as many russians were taken to the work camps to die in the gulag as well. Don’t forget Stalin wasn’t even russian.

[@firingallcylinders2949]

It's interesting because had the Germans not been so brutal they probably could have found many allies in Ukraine and the Eastern Bloc countries at the outset of Barbarossa. Some of the people were glad to be rid of the Soviets but then learned the reality of the Nazis. That shows you how brutal the Soviets where that the initial Barbarossa invasion was people thinking they were free from the Communists.

[@firingallcylinders2949]

​@Mark Zobov Sounds like alot of excuses. Your comment is Communist apologist rhetoric.

[@markzobov6379]

@@firingallcylinders2949 you’re trolling. They did find Allies in Ukraine. Bandera and his followers being a great example. Why do you think the presence of neonazis is so strong in western Ukraine today?

[@markzobov6379]

@@firingallcylinders2949 sounds like excuses from your side to keep fueling your delusional version of history.

[@svenlittlecross]

very condescending from this guy thinking thinking that he can somehow bring to light what people experienced at the frontlines and none the less to the person whos grandfather experienced the frontline himself, in the most devastating war in human history, while also claiming that people can't really tell what goes on in the frontlines...

[@christiancrane5072]

Lmaooo this ur complaints ??? Hilarious never been on no front line, as it’s going on yeah very hard to tell 20 years later stepping back with that experience makes for a different picture..

[@montuckyman4982]

What? Not condescending in anyway! No one has perfect answers about what a person thinks about or fights for ,on the front line, 70 odd years later.

[@TheNoxmage]

Do people really think they could of done better in Stalin place? “Incompetence”. Stalin and Soviet people achieved unimaginable economic goals in short years before and after the war.

[@montuckyman4982]

And murdered thousands and thousands of returning soldiers/POWs. Their. Own. People. Who ruined their lives fighting for you.

[@PahaPoniesSpanishMustangs]

So you are suggesting in the ww2 American narrative that some might think the US jumped in when it was basically over?

[@jackdallas6169]

America didn't want any part in another European war. They were dragged into the war kicking and screaming by the Pearl Harbor attack

[@DimMakTen]

The Bush family perfected it

[@jesusnolasco6179]

On the Eastern Front, 84% of the German army fell, the most important and unique battles took place and the German army was among the most trained and hardened, so the reality is that the USSR won the war and saved the world.

[@mikemoore1687]

Man you should be a history teacher

[@Shapeguydude]

So some vague wehrabooy stuff from lex and then nothing really relevant from Dan and this was considered a decent clip about the eastern front?

[@tavish4699]

Wehraboo in what way? You do realize he's of Russian origin

[@strolch1977]

The Russian Front in World War 2 must have been really bad. Because all german grandpas didnt talk about it.

[@paulkolbergofficial]

The defeat of the Nazis in WWII was mostly thanks to the Russian army. The death toll suffered by the Russians (both military and civilian) is truly staggering and tragic: and far outweighs that of the UK and USA combined*. It is a sad reflection of the false propaganda in the West that the enormous contribution made by the Russian people is not fully and fairly recognised. For confirmation of this, Max Hastings book 'All Hell Let Loose" is a seminal work by probably the or at least one of the leading historians on the events leading up to, during and after WWII. [*I am not downplaying the contribution of anyone who participated - merely adding some otherwise overlooked perspective].

[@will9134]

You’re equating deaths to some moral/strategic victory. The fact was, the Russians were so Ill-prepared and terrible at war, they merely sacrificed its citizens/soldiers lives in lieu of an actual fighting/funded military. It was the utter incompetence of the USSR govt and military planners that led to the mass deaths and casualties.

[@tavish4699]

You can already see that by looking how the Germans placed their troops Over 80 percent were in the east....

[@susantwombly5632]

Russia did indeed help save the world.

[@ErichHiller44]

No? they just defeated one Evil and replaced it with another!

[@goodnplenty5677]

Give this guy a doctorate already.

[@BlackKunik]

That’s how it works

[@dulguuntsg8389]

POA?

[@2mohammad]

This is how liberals think of war. No abstraction, just a strict appreciation of individual sacrifice.

[@tonyabhishek4892]

you should see the video in which liberals in US sign petition to nuke russia...silly people and a disturbing video

[@yemuppet8102]

What a load of bs.

[@MrAhuraMazda]

We dont exist without Russia. Period.

[@strikeforce5331]

Lmao. Without America’s millions of tons of steel, hundreds of thousands lend-lease vehicles, USSR would not have done shit on the Eastern front. Add in the fact that Stalin was only able to move his Siberian Veterans after the possibility of a Japanese Invasion from the south was eliminated. USSR would’ve crumbled without America.

[@MrAhuraMazda]

@@strikeforce5331 America vs Hitler 1v1, Nazis crush us. No contest. We may have helped USSR, but had the Nazis not been preoccupied with the millions of deaths and cold of USSR, they would have crushed us. They almost did already. Now Nazis vs USSR on the other hand, there are plenty of historians who actually believe USSR would have beaten Nazis regardless of American intervention. And USSR engineered their own tanks and guns, according to Nazis they were the best in the world. In fact, if and when Nazis found Soviet rifles, they'd pick them up and use them. Their tanks matched the German Panzers too. So i dont know what you mean by needing our vehicles? Steel is probably correct and Hitler was dumbfounded by our manufacturing capabilities. That is definitely true. But 1v1, the Nazis whip us. And they almost whipped us with 5 million dead vs the Soviets at the same time. They would have chopped us up at full power.

[@MrAhuraMazda]

@@strikeforce5331 can we just agree that we should have let BLM and Antifa fight the Nazis? Cause apparently our country is a no good racist piece of shit

[@justinthompson1757]

Lmao. Super troll😂🤣

[@thimsile]

Both the US and the USSR were necessary to win the war. Let us not fall into an all too common mindset of tribalism.

[@MrChet407]

Red bull and water lmaooo

[@TehBliz]

@Blop RedBull dehydrates and water hydrates. The hells so funny?

[@dblake5193]

You are weird literally everyone drinks water with caffeine

[@jewellui]

What’s so weird? 🙄

[@jaykhan6524]

Yakkity yak ... if not for the brutal and vicious Russian fight back on the Eastern front, no amount of American presence would have saved Western and Eastern Europe from the German invasion. Forget all those WW2 Hollywood movies. Lol. 😬

[@binaryswinery5862]

There’s something very strange about Lex…

[@evanswinters5636]

Everybody was a victim on the Russian Fromt read "Blood Lands" by Snyder

[@erixoz8535]

But Russia did defeat Hitler.

[@BigKnecht]

This guy invites people on his podcast and monologues for five minutes straight lmao. How about you let your guests speak a little?

[@yebemvammajku1895]

CIA guy speaks nice .

[@josematamoros596]

Quit saying Ukraine, it didn’t exist then.

[@ILoveBluePeople]

Neither did Russia 😂

[@Deibi078]

the Ukrainian Soviet Republic existed which was country by itself

[@HastDuWasSuchen]

Yes, the majority of the Nazis were Germans and Germany started the war and ordered these war crimes but it isn't talked about very much that around half a million Waffen SS members were non-Germans. Just something to think about...

[@dominusnox8231]

People in the West believe WWII was freedom vs fascism, but it wasn’t, it was about fascism vs communism. The more I see of the fallout from that, the less convinced I am that helping communism win was the wisest move.

[@davida4687]

God Lex is so bad doing interviews.

[@yjeeeek]

Doesn't seems to that the man is qualified to answer such question.

[@benz500r]

Also, NKVD was directly behind them. If any of them wanted to go back, he would have been shot by NKVD. Soviets undeniably carried a lot of weight when it came to fighting Germans.

[@Ordzo88]

My new game is how long does it take for Lex to actually get to the f*cking question?! My God dude! Stfu and let the guest speak

[@theflyingguillotine3788]

"call them Germans" It wasn't just the Germans though. Half of Europe invaded the Soviet Union. The Germans may have been the main aggressor but still. It's just like when they speak of the SS. The SS was a multinational group.

[@theflyingguillotine3788]

@@ik1408 they wanted the natural resources as did their allies. They didn't evade Russia just to wipe out Slavs

[@theflyingguillotine3788]

@@ik1408 I don't need a history lesson pal. I have read plenty of the books on the Eastern front. My point is that the Germans wanted the land and resources that the Slavs sat on. That may or may not have required the murder of those people. The number one objective was not the liquidation of the Slavs as it was with the Jews.

[@theflyingguillotine3788]

Not to mention you probably copied and pasted that from Wikipedia.

[@Ulas_Aldag]

They're german back at home but suddenly become nazis when they're at the front. Seems like denial to me and that's exactly why so many people have a problem with it.

[@pawelolender3709]

Thank you Dan Carlin for pointing out that Germans were behind WW2. Lex should know better than to use that terrible PC version.

[@thomaspappas8946]

This guy does not answer the actuall questions.

[@OmegaSephiroth1988]

of course, he was a hero. the red army defeated the nazis in the first place and the head of that was Stalin . could it be done better? yeah. would anyone prefer alcoholic yelzin in place of Stalin? hell no. 100%, not me or lex were alive today if not the great leader stalin and the red army . but there are much more if you dig about what was happening behind the scenes in those years. there is a lot of interesting things that you will never learn in history lessons at school

[@barttaylor4082]

What? Stalin couldn’t have been more unprepared for that war. & that’s despite the constant warnings he had. Not to mention many of the high ranking members of the military were killed on stalins orders due to his paranoia.

[@OmegaSephiroth1988]

@@barttaylor4082 it's much more complicated then will be teached in history lessons in school. You need to dig very deep in to conspiracy of those times. If he would attack, the US and the whole world would declare him as an aggressor and help the nazis agienst USSR. Even after the we won the nazis there was a plan from united nations to attack USSR. There are lots of things that where complicated in those times. And there was a lots of rats and spys in USSR just like today in every country. No wonder he was paranoid becouse of the future of all humanity was on his shoulders. But he wasn't like Lenin or Trotsky or all other rats that where after him. I understand why there's demonization of him today, it's necessary with many things that going in our world today because he is an icon of communism. even after he died all the rats in USSR where demonizing him....it's complicated will take hours to write)) but dig all the conspiracy(deep history) from a little before 20 century til ww2 and place yourself in his shoes. I'm lazy writing a book in comments explaining)))

[@barttaylor4082]

@@OmegaSephiroth1988 I’ve done the research. I have a degree in Russian studies. Stalin was a terrible leader in regards to the 2nd world war. If the army had been prepared he could have defeated the Germans with much less casualties. He may have built the infrastructure (using Slave labor) but to suggest that he was a great leader is appalling.

[@OmegaSephiroth1988]

@@barttaylor4082 as i said. It's not the history that everyone knows or those degrees they give you. It's like if what alex jones digging where in teached in school 🤣. He is the greatest, who else defeted th biggest evil the world have seen. Could he done better? I bet even he would want to change things if he could, like everyone. But it is what it is and it is he the leader that won ww2.... Maybe soon will be ww3 and we have other great leaders)). Or maybe we all already lost... I have feelings the evil already won the global war 😂

[@barttaylor4082]

@@OmegaSephiroth1988 explain where your getting your history then. Who believes Stalin was anything but incompetent in regards to the war.

[@EyeOfThePhi]

1. explain this to a trump supporter 2. explain it again to a trump supporter bc they were busy playing with their block toys 3. laugh as they don't understand basic history 4. ????? 5. profit (its a reddit meme in case someone is confused)

[@Bahamut998]

Russians were just uneducated drunk army running into MG fire yelling HURRA CKYA BLYAT lmao.

[@NikeAureliusSnow]

People tend to forget that the first country the Nazis invaded was Germany. The harsh treaty of WWI essentially created the nazi movement, while blaming Germany for the war because a Hungarian gets assainated by a Serbian....Logic

[@milosjanjic1493]

Go back to school, please... 😂

[@tavish4699]

@@milosjanjic1493 why? He's right Ww2 only happened because Germany was blamed and left in utter shambles and unrest They were to pay huge reparations but with millions of men crippled or dead and the French literary dismantling entire factories to rebuilt them in France that's kinda hard The result is a famine and easy to manipulate population

[@milosjanjic1493]

@@tavish4699 Let me get this right - you're saying that it's not understandable for them to be punished so severely by the Treaty of Versailles. Still, it's completely understandable that they fight back by creating probably the worst ideology in the history of mankind?! And no, Nazis didn't 'invade' Germany as this guy says - they WERE Germans, accepting bullshit nazi nonsense just because they were not happy with how their first attempt of conquering Europe turned out. France, Russia, and Serbia didn't have crippled men and war damage..? Really..? Germans accepted Naziism because it rebuilt their pride and let them think they were better than everyone else.

[@aranos6269]

I am not sure what are you speculating about, or what your angle is? It's just sick fantasies to me. Real hero is for example my bavarian friend who escaped conscription by pretending to be blind. He was 17 towards the end of wwii. His older brother did not, escaped at Stalingrad walked all the way back to Germany. They did not indulge in your stupid fantasies of "heroism". And if you want to know about less savoury sides of combat, ask Vietnam veterán what fragging is

[@SPAZZYok]

Rule #221 "Not a step back" The Soviet secret police (NKVD) were sometimes behind the fighting men so if they retreated they would be shot.

[@TwilightInnocence86]

This was not nearly happening at the scale you expect, so it was not a determining factor.

[@SPAZZYok]

@@TwilightInnocence86 That's why I said "sometimes". Most of Russia we're appalled Hitler would invade them and happily went to defend Russia. The NKVD were against "defeatism". Since Stalin purged most good officers before the war men were not connected to officers and units and thus fell into retreat. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oKnXqnmNabJ1sJI

[@humdunkin328]

I love how people bring this up to make the soviets sound evil as if every nation on earth didnt do this in WW1. the eastern front on world war 2 was a completely existential war that needed to see the nazis wiped out completely. If they didnt so these measures then hundreds of millions would have been, in the nazis words "liquidated" and replaced with german colonists.

[@tavish4699]

@@TwilightInnocence86 it doesn't matter it was done and mouth to mouth propaganda will spread very quickly

[@epicwinguyz]

lex asks important questions on the nature of politics and war and dan just goes on a tirade of normie talking points 'but muh propaganda, the evil nahtzees!'

[@maxdoubled4800]

The nips but ya I agree. Always will look at my gpas generation like they had a set of bulls balls. They'll always be the greatest this country will ever produce. But like yall said they didn't ask for it, it was thrust upon them. They were just doing what they needed to do...!

[@kennethsalter9998]

The amount of people who died in Russia/USSR in that war....its just terrible!...People should study this in school more!...Crazy!....

[@AydarBMSTU]

In USSR. It was not just Russia

[@kennethsalter9998]

@@AydarBMSTU Fixed that! My Bad!

[@rc3151]

Enjoyed this interview thanks Lex and Dan.

[@ichtioman]

Russian front? That is so arrogant. It was Soviet front. Tel it on Belarus, Kazakhstan, Georgia.... You Russians will never change. Even for us in Poland it is offending as we also fought on eastern front. How you can call it Russian?

[@d4n4nable]

Because he was talking about the Russian front, not the entirety to the East of Germany. Does everything have to be about you?

[@sulphur77777]

@@d4n4nable but there was no Russian front maybe call it the eastern front but not the Russian front.

[@yourdadsotherfamily3530]

@@sulphur77777 it was still the Empire of Rossiyya in the 15th century lol they always called it ‘Russia’ just the soviets ruin everything kinda like all these comments sounding jaded af about lackkkkkkkk of representation in a SoViEt audible documentary or book. There’s better things to focus on come on xD cognitive dissonance aren’t even the words for it bruh..

[@momala3919]

how much racism is in this comment, it's terrible. In Russia, no one calls it the Russian front, we call it the eastern front or just the war, since we are not interested in the western front. You're disgusting.

[@momala3919]

Well, one more important thing, if race is so important to you, then the absolute majority of Soviet soldiers were Russians.

[@yemuppet8102]

I want my time back.

[@meridianshade]

I think you are confusing patriotism with nationalism, and in the case of Germany during World War II, there were manifestations of nationalism there, or more precisely, of Nazism. Patriotism is not aggressive. Patriotism is love for your country, traditions, values ​​and its diversity. Patriotism is not hatred of other nations, but pride in your own country! Cheers from Poland!

[@andrewmanduluru7870]

Beautifully put💪🏽🙏

[@palettetools6461]

Patriotism is no doubt used, as he said, to manipulate. The "Patriot Act" among many other instances in recent US history come to mind.

[@wikingagresor]

Great take, I would add to it that with patriotism you can be a pacifist also or believe in war only in self defense. When it comes to nationalism, then you start to think in geopolitical sense and then all is possible.

[@yourdadsotherfamily3530]

People conflate things to fit their narrative all the time even if their cognitive dissonance keeps them from living in a grounded and based reality they’d rather force us all to live their delusions about society an our culture as a whole in general

[@tomislavjelic7444]

I believe you are just missusing nationalism and patriotism. Effectively both are nationalisms, just of different kinds- patriotism is civic nationalism, where you love your nation and culture and don't group yourself based on your ethnic group. German/ethnic nationalism is where you put your ethnic group above the civic nation. There is also third type of nationalism which is religious nationalism (Isis)

[@2017Fed]

So he didn’t answer your question.