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”
Tag Archives: history
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”
Top Secret 1962 Document: KGB Warns of “Hipsters” Poisoning the Morals of Soviet Youth
On 24 February 1962, Chairman of the KGB in the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic Ivan Savchenko dashed off a five-page announcement regarding concerns over the rapidly declining state of Soviet youth. Alien (Western) influences were seeping into the impressionable minds of the young people across the Soviet Union and their culture, and actions were neededContinueContinue reading “Top Secret 1962 Document: KGB Warns of “Hipsters” Poisoning the Morals of Soviet Youth”
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”
Stalin’s 1941 Scorched Earth Order: Separating Myth from Fact
Every year or so, additional questions and claims appear on the Internet regarding the so-called ‘Scorched Earth Order’ signed by Josef Stalin and Boris Shaposhnikov, on behalf of the Headquarters (Stavka / Ставка) of the Supreme High Command. Would-be historians take the contents of the basic document and add their own ingredients, either made upContinueContinue reading “Stalin’s 1941 Scorched Earth Order: Separating Myth from Fact”
1966: Soviets Detonate 30-Kiloton Nuclear Charge to Extinguish Out-of-Control Gas Fire
On December 1, 1963, Well No. 11 at the Urtabulak Gas Field in the Bukhara Oblast of the Uzbek SSR hit a high-pressure (300 atmospheres) gas formation, destroying the wellhead and igniting a massive, seemingly unquenchable fire. Unquenchable, that is, using traditional methods. The fire would go on to burn for nearly three years, afterContinueContinue reading “1966: Soviets Detonate 30-Kiloton Nuclear Charge to Extinguish Out-of-Control Gas Fire”
1935: USSR and US Negotiate the Sale of the US Naval Ordnance Factory in West Virginia to the Soviets
Throughout the 1930s, the Soviet Union expressed tremendous interest in procuring advanced weapons (and the means to produce the same) from a number of countries, not least of which was the United States. We’ve uncovered a small stack of documents that outline one specific line of inquiry: the attempted purchase of the US Naval OrdnanceContinueContinue reading “1935: USSR and US Negotiate the Sale of the US Naval Ordnance Factory in West Virginia to the Soviets”
Translating History 