The following translation is taken from a rather lengthy interrogation of Prince Nikolay Mikhaylovich Gagarin, a former Wehrmacht officer and commander of the 3rd squadron of the 600th Cossack division, who went over to the Smolensk partisans on June 9, 1943. The uniqueness of the document is that, to date, it is the only knownContinueContinue reading “1943: Prince Nikolay Gagarin Returns Home from Fighting for the Nazis”
Category Archives: World War Two
December 1942: Admiral Isakov’s Life-Saving Amputation Nearly Kills Him After Luftwaffe Attack
Much has been written across the years about the much-decorated Chief of the Naval Staff, Ivan Stepanovich Isakov. Almost all of the biographies, papers, and mere anecdotes dedicated to the Hero of the Soviet Union’s World War Two exploits make glancing, even joking, references to the fact that Isakov had a leg amputated after heContinueContinue reading “December 1942: Admiral Isakov’s Life-Saving Amputation Nearly Kills Him After Luftwaffe Attack”
1942: Roosevelt Willing to Sacrifice 120,000 Troops in “Second Dunkirk” to Help Soviets, Churchill Outraged
In 1942, the situation for the Soviet Union in the war against Nazi Germany took a dramatic turn for the worse. Soviet troops suffered defeats in Crimea and near Kharkov. German forces began a rapid advance westward, moving toward the shores of the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus region. Given the situation, the USSR beganContinueContinue reading “1942: Roosevelt Willing to Sacrifice 120,000 Troops in “Second Dunkirk” to Help Soviets, Churchill Outraged”
1944 Romania Switches Alliances in WW2: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire
In late August 1944, World War II was clearly coming to a swift close for Romania. Having sided with Nazi Germany under the government of Ion Antonescu, Romania observed the Red Army’s August 1944 Jassy-Kishinev offensive crush the Axis front in northeastern Romania. With no realistic chance of survival, the Romanian Army declared a unilateralContinueContinue reading “1944 Romania Switches Alliances in WW2: Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire”
1942: Nazi Propaganda School in Wustrow for Soviet POWs With Promise of Ukrainian Independence
In recent days, the FSB archives for the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic have declassified excerpts of documents which shed light on the operations of Nazi propaganda schools for Soviet prisoners of war. Among the papers are interrogation transcripts from 1944–1947, in which former trainees describe in detail how they were taught to hate the SovietContinueContinue reading “1942: Nazi Propaganda School in Wustrow for Soviet POWs With Promise of Ukrainian Independence”
1952: Soviet Executed for Collaborating with the Nazis During WW2 and Executing Soviet Jews
There’ll likely never be a consensus on the exact tally of Soviets executed for treason during World War 2. However, there is no doubt about two things: the number is in the six-figure range, and as many as half of them were wrongfully executed. There is also no doubt that, as we crawl along inContinueContinue reading “1952: Soviet Executed for Collaborating with the Nazis During WW2 and Executing Soviet Jews”
July 1941: Hero of the Soviet Union Executed for “Allowing” Nazi Germany to Invade USSR
When discussing Nazi Germany’s opening volleys against the Soviet Union on 22 June 1941, and what Josef Stalin observed as a shameful withdrawal and defeat of Red Army forces in the Western Special Military District [ZapOVO], it is important to give pause and consider the tragic fate of ZapOVO Commander Dmitriy Grigoryevich Pavlov, at theContinueContinue reading “July 1941: Hero of the Soviet Union Executed for “Allowing” Nazi Germany to Invade USSR”
June 1945: The Soviet Interrogation of Hermann Göring
Immediately prior to or following Germany’s defeat in World War II, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring surrendered to the U.S. 36th Infantry Division on May 6–9, 1945, near Radstadt, Austria, seeking to avoid capture by Soviet forces. After being stripped of power by Hitler for perceived treason, Göring offered his surrender to the Western Allies, expecting toContinueContinue reading “June 1945: The Soviet Interrogation of Hermann Göring”
April 1945: Germans Admit to the Needless Execution of Soviet POWs and Civilians on the Eve of the Fall of Königsberg
In late 1944 and early 1945, the Red Army’s combat operations shifted into German territory. During the East Prussian Offensive, the Red Army advanced upon the fortress city of Königsberg (today known as Kaliningrad). To breach the Königsberg Fortified Region, troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front, under the command of Marshal of the Soviet UnionContinueContinue reading “April 1945: Germans Admit to the Needless Execution of Soviet POWs and Civilians on the Eve of the Fall of Königsberg”
Soviet Intelligence Report: Germans in Stalingrad on the Eve of the 1942 Red Army Counteroffensive
Knowledge of the morale and physical state of the enemy army has always been of significant interest in planning defensive and offensive operations. In this regard, intelligence services constantly focused on obtaining information of this kind. The defeat of the German-fascist troops at Stalingrad would have been impossible without the persistent, deadly work of SovietContinueContinue reading “Soviet Intelligence Report: Germans in Stalingrad on the Eve of the 1942 Red Army Counteroffensive”
Translating History 