Wehrmacht

Nesta tese de doutorado escrevo a respeito da revista Die Wehrmacht, órgão oficial de propaganda das forças armadas nazistas.

My doctor's degree about the Die Wehrmacht magazine, official propaganda organ of the German Armed forces.

Meine Dissertationschrift über die Zeitschrift Die Wehrmacht, der offizielle Propagandaorgan der deutschen Wehrmacht.

This article is devoted to Birth Anniversary of Kurt Knispel, the highest scoring tank ace of World War II with a total of 168 confirmed tank kills. He was born in Salisfeld (Salisov) near the town of Zuckmantel (Zlaté Hory) in Sudetenland (now Jesenicko District, Land of Silesia, Czech Republic).

An analysis of the plan of the German General Staff in the context of the military-political situation in Europe in the years before the outbreak of the Second World War and the aggression of Nazi Germany on the Soviet Union, shows that anti-Russian attacks today are based on a misreading of activities of military and political leadership of the USSR in the interwar period and the pre-war years.

The volume is in fact the last part of a trilogy that Evans has dedicated to Nazi Germany. As it approaches the most dramatic period in the history of Germany, the Second World War, it is also the most dramatic of them bearing witness of a time when the regime has shown the cloven hoof. In fact, many Germans have pretended after the downfall of the regime to have been unaware of Nazi crimes. That in case of many of them this was an empty pretence is amply demonstrated in the volume. The volume is structured in seven parts dealing with the period of amazing military victories by the Wehrmacht and the imposition of a new racial order in the conquered territories, the start of the Barbarossa Campaign, the infamous Wannsee Conference and the “Final Solution”, the new German order forced upon Europe, the changes in the fortunes of German war, the German moralities and the downfall of the empire.

W książce tej chciałbym przedstawić przebieg bitwy na południowym skrzydle frontu wschodniego w lutym-marcu 1943 r., toczącej się wokół Charkowa i w Donbasie. Rozwijająca się ofensywa zimowa Armii Czerwonej, rozpoczęta pod Stalingradem, osiągnęła wtedy etap, w którym los II wojny światowej mógł stać się zupełnie inny. Duża
część sił III Rzeszy na froncie wschodnim zagrożona została okrążeniem i zniszczeniem. Tematem tego opracowania jest sposób, w jaki Wehrmacht uniknął klęski na skalę znacznie większą niż Stalingrad.

Exhaustive tables of all German Army weapons and ammunition and their strengths/quantities in the Aegean islands of Rhodos and Karpathos (Scarpanto) in the beginning of September 1943, a few days before the Italian Armistice. From official documents, copied and edited.

This article explores the significance of computer games in shaping imaginations of the past. Focusing on Hearts of Iron IV,  I consider how the format can encourage revision of the Nazi past, going against the grain of efforts towards critical Vergangenheitsbewältigung, or working through the past. The article explores how gamers can take up positions perpetuating the myth of a clean Wehrmacht while perpetuating narratives of a barbarian Eastern Europe where the USSR poses the greatest threat to humanity. I show how reconstructions of historical narratives in digital spaces deserve more critical interrogation as a medium for the production of counterfactual history, especially given how popular and successful they are as depictions of the past, albeit a counterfactual one that draws on players’ affective urges and distorts historical reality.

ЖИВОТ ЈЕДНОГ НЕМАЧКОГ ОФИЦИРА-НАУЧНИКА ИЛИ
О КОРИСНОСТИ ПРЕВОДА НОВООБЈАВЉЕНЕ КЊИГЕ
(Andreas Roth, Johann Albrecht von Reiswitz (1899–1962). Vom unbequemen
Südosteuropaexperten zum Kunstschützer, Ares Verlag, Graz 2020, 496 Sei.
[Андреас Рот, Јохан Албрехт фон Рајсвиц. Од незгодног стручњака за
Југоисточну Европу до заштитника уметности, Грац 2020])
301–305

Jednou z najväčších kríz, ktoré Československá republika musela prekonať, boli udalosti v októbri 1938 resp. marci 1939. Pre návrat k predmnichovským pomerom bolo nutné odstrániť režim Slovenského štátu a neskôr aj Nemeckú okupačnú moc. Tento akt sa nedal uskutočniť nijak inak, než vojenskou silou. Veľký podiel na návrat území dnešného Slovenska späť do Československa mala Červená armáda. Tá sa podieľala aj na realizácii bratislavsko – brnianskej operácie, ktorej výsledkom bolo práve dobytie hlavného mesta Slovenského štátu a teda faktický zánik tohoto režimu. Predkladaná štúdia sleduje postup Červenej armády počas bitky o Bratislavu. Vychádza pri tom z rozsiahlej pramennej základne a prináša tak viacero nových poznatkov nie len k dejinám vojenstva.

Na de Duitse capitulatie moesten duizenden Duitse militairen in West Europa onder geallieerd gezag achtergebleven mijnenvelden en munitie ruimen. Uiteindelijk ruimen ze in Nederland circa 1.378.000 mijnen, vinden circa 227 Duitse militairen direct of indirect de dood door de werkzaamheden en moesten gemiddeld gezien 50 mannen per maand wegens medische redenen uit hun functie worden ontslagen. Deze Duitse mijnenruimers hebben hiermee op een bijzondere manier moeten boeten voor hun deelname aan de oorlog.

In 2012 en 2017/2018 werd een van de kampementen voor deze krijgsgevangenen opgegraven op de Frederik Hendrikkazerne in Blerick. Het kamp in Blerick was van eind 1945 tot eind 1946 in gebruik en stond niet op zichzelf. In Nederland lagen er behalve in Blerick, nog vele soortgelijke kampementen. De kampen zijn slechts sporadisch bekend en nooit op een archeologische manier onderzocht. De complexen vormen een beladen en bijzonder onderdeel van de Nederlandse wederopbouwperiode. Ze zijn verder niet alleen illustratief voor het dagelijkse leven en de werktaken die de mannen moesten uitvoeren, maar ook voor de naoorlogse politiek en de wijze waarop met de ‘bezetter’ werd omgegaan. Het huidige onderzoek hoopt hier een bijdrage aan te leveren en het begin te zijn van verder onderzoek naar
deze terreinen.

В публикации рассматривается комплекс пропагандистских мероприятий Вермахта против военнослужащих РККА в операции «Барбаросса». Описывается структура немецких военно-пропагандистских структур, основные пропагандистские акции немцев 1941 года, дается оценка их эффективности. Проанализирована динамика результативности немецкой пропаганды с начала войны до конца 1941 г., определен комплекс причин ее зимнего кризиса.

Translated by Katharina Straub (original German version available online: http://portal-militaergeschichte.de/toeppel_kurowski)
Franz Kurowski was one of the writers who shaped the popular image of the Wehrmacht. To this day, he is perceived as reliable "German historian," especially abroad. The fact is, however, that his works are not only biased but also partly based on falsified sources.

Настоящая книга - первое уникальное исследование на русском языке об отношениях кавказских эмиграционных организаций с руководством гитлеровского рейха, об особых диверсионных группах и о смешанном специальном формировании Абвера - Бергманн. Основываясь на архивных материалах и мемуарах участников событий, автор раскрывает тайные замыслы и планы гитлеровского руководства по отношению к Кавказу и населяющим его жителям. В книге затрагиваются актуальные для того времени нарративы, такие как военно-политическая и административно-территориальная организация Кавказа после ее оккупации Германией, преоритеты эмигрантских антибольшевистских организаций народов Кавказа и т.д. Книга основана на документах архивов ряда государств и на воспоминаниях участников тех событий, впервые публикуются уникальные фотографии.

Die deutsche Luftwaffe als Teilstreitkraft der Wehrmacht nimmt in der populärwissenschaftlichen Literatur zum Zweiten Weltkrieg ein überproportional großes Segment ein. Dabei steht vor allem die Gruppe der Jagdflieger im Fokus des Interesses. Ihre Darstellung knüpft an einen Heldenkult, der seine Wurzeln im Ersten Weltkrieg hat, in dem Jagdflieger wie der »Rote Baron« Manfred von Richthofen zu ritterlichen Heroen des modernen Krieges stilisiert wurden. Der NS-Staat griff in seiner Propaganda verstärkt dieses Heldenbild auf und präsentierte der deutschen Bevölkerung die sogenannten Asse als Vorbilder und allen Gegnern überlegende Kämpfer.

An order-of-battle of the German Assault Division 'Rhodes' (motorised) on the island of Rhodes, Greece, two weeks before its units disarmed the Italian garisson in the middle of September during the Italian Armistice. The Germans would remain in Rhodes until the end of the war, May 1945, because the Allies bypassed them, when the Germans evacuated some islands and all of mainland Greece in October 1944. Part five of, an occasional, series on the orders-of-battle and strengths of the various occupation forces (German, Italian and Bulgarian) in Greece during World War II, 1941-1944.

The city of Oulu – harbour and logistic centre for the German Wehrmacht in Northern Finland

During the war the expanding German Army needed garrison and supply bases all over Northern Finland including the town of Oulu. The Alppila and Isko neighborhoods and Toppila harbor in Oulu had large German supply garrisons during the World War II. German supply bases in Oulu were built up for German supply encampments because of the good wartime utilities, transportation, and communication connections. By late autumn 1941 the importance of the port of Oulu increased as the main supply port for German troops, especially for the Waffen-SS. Oulu was the most important garrison town, housing the largest Waffen SS encampments in Northern Finland. There were several military bases, hospitals, a leisure centre, and training areas also for troops of Wehrmacht in and around the town mainly constructed in 1942 and after. The influence of Germans on local economies and social structure was rather big and these material and social relationships between the Finns and the Germans were quite good during the war time.

Some of these German supply bases in Northern Finland were often referred to as Pikku-Berliini (“Little Berlin”) by the local Finnish population. The origin of this nickname is unknown, but the term was apparently already in use during the war.

Rostislav Vadimovich Zavadskii was born in St-Petersburg in 1908 to a noble family. After the revolution he had emigrated with his parents. He graduated from the First Russian Cadet Corps in Sarajevo (Serbia), and later on had been a member of the Russian Rifle Druzhina in the name of General Wrangel (Russkaia Strelkovaia Druzhina) in Belgium. With Germany’s aggression towards the USSR, he joined the ranks of the Walloon Legion (Legion Wallonie, 373rd infantry battalion) and departed to the front as an interpreter. This unique document provides a reader with an opportunity to see the world through the eyes of an emigre, who had decided to take part in a war of annihilation against the Soviet Union. The publication is supplemented with rare photographs and materials, which had never been published before.

Am 9./10. April 1945 eroberte die Rote Armee Königsberg, die Hauptstadt Ostpreußens. Wo sich die deutschen Streitkräfte in der Provinz noch halten konnten, wurden sie bis Anfang Mai von den sowjetischen Truppen gezwungen, die Waffen zu strecken. Die letzten Kriegstage und die unmittelbare Nachkriegszeit stellten die verbliebene Zivilbevölkerung vor ungeheure, oft tödliche Herausforderungen, die von
Kriegsgewalt, Hunger, Krankheit und Zwangsarbeit gekennzeichnet
waren. Lange Zeit hat man fast ausschließlich die Rote Armee und die sowjetische Militärverwaltung dafür verantwortlich gemacht, dass so viele Menschen 1945/46 ihr Eigentum, ihre Gesundheit oder sogar ihr Leben verloren. Bastiaan Willems widerspricht dieser Einschätzung – und präsentiert der Wehrmacht die Rechnung für den Totalen Krieg,
den sie 1944/45 auf deutschem Boden führte.

Die Wurzeln des militärische Luftbildwesens reichen bis in die Zeit vor dem Ersten Weltkrieg zurück. Die Entwicklungslinien in den deutschen Staaten bis 1945 nachzuverfolgen, ist Gegenstand dieses Buches. Im Mittelpunkt stehen Frage nach dem Zusammenwirken von Militär und dieser Technologie. Diese Veröffentlichung hat propädeutischen Charakter, indem sie diese Grundlagen für die deutschen Luftaufnahmen erläutert und auf Zugangs- und Verwendungsmöglichkeiten hinweist.

Of the up to eighteen million men who served in the Wehrmacht during the Second World War, ten million were deployed at one time or another between 1941 and 1944 in the conflict against the Soviet Union, a theatre of widespread and sustained mass violence. In order to determine how extensive complicity in Nazi crimes was among the mass of the regular German soldiers, it is necessary first of all to define what constitutes a criminal undertaking. The sheer brutality of the German conduct of war and occupation in the Soviet Union has overshadowed many activities that would otherwise be rightly held up as criminal acts.

The paper presents the main characteristics of the presence of the 1st Cossack division of Wehrmacht in the Independent State of Croatia (ISC), with the emphasis on its activities in Slavonia. This cavalry division, commanded by General Helmuth von Pannwitz, was filled with Cossacks who sided with the Germans after their invasion of Soviet Union, as well as with a sizeable number of Soviet prisoners of war. The
Division was formed in German occupied Poland and sent to ISC in September-October 1943 where it was deployed until the end of the war. The Division, deployed against the Yugoslav Partisans, also distinguished itself for various atrocities against the civilian population in ISC. The ISC, with its military weaknesses, depended on German support and presence of their units on its territory. At the same time ISC authorities were often critical of the conduct of German troops and of their reprisals against the civilian population, because they harmed not only Partisans and their supporters, but Croatian population in general. But the 1st Cossack division, because of the widespread indiscipline and
violence of its soldiers, became a particular problem for ISC authorities. In late 1943 and during early 1944 high Croatian officials planned to demand from Berlin to withdraw the Cossacks from ISC, but ultimately Hitler himself rejected these Croatian proposals and Cossacks remained on Croatian territory until the end of the war. ISC authorities attempted to solve the problems with the Cossacks by sending their representatives and liaison officers to 1st Cossack division, who would be able to intervene in order to prevent and stop Cossacks’ transgressions. Also, the 1st Cossack division admitted responsibility for a certain number of incidents committed by its soldiers. The Divisional command put a certain number of Cossacks before court martials, and they were sentenced to death and executed. The Division also compensated
some of the damage caused by its soldiers. Nevertheless, very often 1st Cossack division rejected complaints and accusations about the conduct of its soldiers coming from the ISC authorities as unfounded and exaggerated. It is also interesting to note that more than once there occurred smaller scale armed clashes between Cossacks and
Croatian soldiers andUstasha militiamen, but ISC authorities generally intervened to stop such incidents and called for its soldiers to establish correct and friendly relations with the Cossacks as members of the allied German army.

Gemeinhin gilt Generaloberst Heinz Guderian bis heute als "Schöpfer der deutschen Panzerwaffe". Guderian selbst hat sich in seinen "Erinnerungen eines Soldaten" so stilisiert: Er sei ein "Einäugiger unter Blinden" gewesen und habe sich als Visionär in hartem Ringen gegen die Widerstände einer "Mauer der Reaktion" durchsetzen müssen. Doch wie neue Forschungen zeigen, trifft dies nicht zu. In Wirklichkeit hatten sowohl die deutsche Panzerwaffe als auch ihre Doktrin mehrere Schöpfer, und Guderian war dabei keineswegs die entscheidende Persönlichkeit.

My forthcoming 'Soviet Partisan versus German Security Soldier' is based on a strong primary source base, principally archival sources both published and otherwise, along with memoirs. It examines the strengths and weaknesses of German anti-partisan measures and partisan activities between 1941 and 1943 through three case studies that look at these engagements from both sides. All these case studies take place on Soviet territory occupied by the German 281st Security Division in north-west Russia - in engagements with partisans of the 2nd Leningrad and 2nd Kalinin Partisan Brigades. It is due to be published by Osprey Publishing on 31 October 2019.

One of the features to distinguish the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945 from all other wars throughout recorded history was its immense scale. No conflict prior to, during, or since has rivaled the level of mobilization of men and materiel between two combatant nations nor, sadly, of its carnage and bloodshed. Despite this, many events that played a pivotal role in the war’s outcome have yet to be fully understood. Seeking to add greater clarity to this is Aleksei Isaev’s Dubno 1941: The Greatest Tank Battle of the Second World War. This work provides much-needed context necessary for a more comprehensive understanding of the battles that took place among the towns and cities situated within the Western environs of the Kiev Military District during the initial stages of Operation Barbarossa.