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Azeri SS Volunteer Formations
Azerbaijani SS volunteer formations were recruited from prisoners of war, mainly from the Soviet Union and the countries annexed by it after 1939. Nazi Germany organised them to fight against the Soviet Union. Origins In November 1943, Meyer-Mader offered his services to Himmler to help raise and command a Turkic SS unit. Himmler approved the broad plan and then transferred him into the ranks of the Waffen-SS and promoted him to the rank of SS-Obersturmbannführer. Then, on 14 December, a meeting was held in Berlin in the presence of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, Amin al-Husseini. The Grand Mufti approved the plan to raise a Turkic-Muslim SS division and to give his "spiritual leadership" to influence the Muslim volunteers. Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment Between November 1943 and January 1944, there was a series of meetings between Meyer-Mader and Muslim volunteers. As a result of these meetings, on January 4, 1944, it was decided to form the Ostmuselmanisches SS-Regiment. At the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Prisoners Of War
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of war for a range of legitimate and illegitimate reasons. These may include isolating them from enemy combatants still in the field (releasing and repatriating them in an orderly manner after hostilities), demonstrating military victory, punishment, prosecution of war crimes, labour exploitation, recruiting or even conscripting them as combatants, extracting collecting military and political intelligence, and political or religious indoctrination. Ancient times For much of history, prisoners of war would often be slaughtered or enslaved. Early Roman gladiators could be prisoners of war, categorised according to their ethnic roots as Samnites, Thracians, and Gauls (''Galli''). Homer's ''Iliad'' describes Trojan and Greek soldiers offering rewards o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Volga Tatars
The Volga Tatars or simply Tatars (; ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to the Volga-Ural region of western Russia. They are subdivided into various subgroups. Volga Tatars are the second-largest ethnic group in Russia after ethnic Russians. Most of them live in the republics of Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. Their native language is Tatar, a language of the Turkic language family. The predominant religion is Sunni Islam, followed by Orthodox Christianity. "Tatar" as an ethnonym owns a very long and complicated history and in the past was often used as an umbrella term for different Turkic and Mongolic tribes. Nowadays it mostly refers exclusively to Volga Tatars (known simply as "Tatars"; ''Tatarlar''), who became its "ultimate bearers" after the founding of Tatar ASSR (1920–1990; now ''Tatarstan''). The ethnogenesis of Volga-Ural Tatars is still debated, but their history is usually connected to the Kipchak-Tatars of Golden Horde (1242–1502), and also to its predec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Bergmann Battalion
The Special Group Bergmann or the Bergmann Battalion () was a military unit of the Nazi Germany, German Abwehr during World War II, composed of five German-officered companies of the Caucasus, Caucasian volunteers. History The Bergmann battalion was formed of the émigrés and Soviet Union, Soviet POWs from the Caucasian republics at Świętoszów, Neuhammer in October 1941. Subordinated to the German commando battalion Brandenburgers, Bau-Lehr-Bataillons z.b.V. 800 and placed under the command of Oberleutnant Theodor Oberländer, the unit received training at Neuhammer and Mittenwald. Later a special 130-men-strong Georgia (country), Georgian contingent of Abwehr codenamed "Tamara-II" was incorporated into Bergmann. By March 1942, there were five companies of some 300 Germans and 900 Caucasians: #Georgian and German cadre personnel #North Caucasus, North Caucasians #Azerbaijanis #Georgians and Armenians #Staff company, composed of 130 Georgian émigrés In August 1942, Bergman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Wola Massacre
The Wola massacre () was the systematic killing of between 40,000 and 50,000 Poles in the Wola neighbourhood of the Polish capital city, Warsaw, by the German Waffen-SS, Ordnungpolizei, Sicherheitdienst and the SS-Sonderregiment Dirlewanger, which took place from 5 to 12 August 1944. The massacre was ordered by Heinrich Himmler, who directed to kill "anything that moves" to stop the Warsaw Uprising soon after it began. Tens of thousands of Polish civilians along with captured Home Army resistance fighters were murdered by the Germans in organised mass executions throughout Wola. Whole families, including babies, children and the elderly, were often shot on the spot, but some were killed after torture and sexual assault. Soldiers murdered patients in hospitals, killing them in their beds, as well as the doctors and nurses caring for them. Dogs were let loose to find survivors to be killed. The operation was led by Erich von dem Bach-Zelewski, though its main perpetrators wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Oskar Dirlewanger
Oskar Paul Dirlewanger (26 September 1895 – ) was a German SS commander known for committing numerous war crimes and atrocities in German-occupied territories during World War II. Dirlewanger was the commander of the SS penal unit known as the Dirlewanger Brigade, considered to be the most brutal and notorious Waffen-SS unit. His unit epitomized the expansion of the war of terror in its most brutal form within the SS, and with Dirlewanger himself regarded as perhaps the Nazi regime's "most extreme executioner," indulging himself in sadistic acts of violence, rape and murder. He reportedly died after the war while in the custody of the Western Allies. Dirlewanger had an impressive career as a junior officer during World War I. He further fought in the post-World War I conflicts in Germany as a minor commander in the ''Freikorps'' militia movement, with the troops he led then also characterized by excessive violence, and participated in the Spanish Civil War. He was also ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Wola
Wola () is a district in western Warsaw, Poland. An industrial area with traditions reaching back to the early 19th century, it underwent a transformation into a major financial district, featuring various landmarks and some of the tallest office buildings in the city. History Village Wielka Wola was first mentioned in the 14th century. It became the site of the elections, from 1573 to 1764, of Polish kings by the szlachta (nobility) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Wola district later became famous for the Polish Army's defence of Warsaw in 1794 during the Kościuszko Uprising and in 1831 during the November Uprising, when Józef Sowiński and Józef Bem defended the city against Tsarist forces. In the 17th century, the jurydyki of Wielopole, Leszno, Nowolipie and Grzybów were established, which were incorporated into Warsaw in 1791, and today are wholly or partly within the boundaries of the Wola district. In the 19th century, Wola developed as a factory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Erich Von Dem Bach-Zelewski
The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, Eirik, or Eiríkur is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* aina(z)'', meaning "one, alone, unique", ''as in the form'' ''Æ∆inrikr'' explicitly, but it could also be from ''* aiwa(z)'' "everlasting, eternity", as in the Gothic form '' Euric''. The second element ''- ríkr'' stems either from Proto-Germanic ''* ríks'' "king, ruler" (cf. Gothic '' reiks'') or the therefrom derived ''* ríkijaz'' "kingly, powerful, rich, prince"; from the common Proto-Indo-European root * h₃rḗǵs. The name is thus usually taken to mean "sole ruler, autocrat" or "eternal ruler, ever powerful". ''Eric'' used in the sense of a proper noun meaning "one ruler" may be the origin of '' Eriksgata'', and if so it would have meant "one ruler's journey". The tour was the medieval Swedish king's journey, when new ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at 1.86 million residents within a Warsaw metropolitan area, greater metropolitan area of 3.27 million residents, which makes Warsaw the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 6th most-populous city in the European Union. The city area measures and comprises List of districts and neighbourhoods of Warsaw, 18 districts, while the metropolitan area covers . Warsaw is classified as an Globalization and World Cities Research Network#Alpha 2, alpha global city, a major political, economic and cultural hub, and the country's seat of government. It is also the capital of the Masovian Voivodeship. Warsaw traces its origins to a small fishing town in Masovia. The city rose to prominence in the late 16th cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Warsaw Uprising
The Warsaw Uprising (; ), sometimes referred to as the August Uprising (), or the Battle of Warsaw, was a major World War II operation by the Polish resistance movement in World War II, Polish underground resistance to liberate Warsaw from German occupation. It occurred in the summer of 1944, and it was led by the Polish resistance Home Army (). The uprising was timed to coincide with the retreat of the German forces from Poland ahead of the Soviet advance. While approaching the eastern suburbs of the city, the Red Army halted combat operations, enabling the Germans to regroup and defeat the Polish resistance and to Planned destruction of Warsaw, destroy the city in retaliation. The Uprising was fought for 63 days with little outside support. It was the single largest military effort taken by any European Resistance during World War II, resistance movement during World War II. The defeat of the uprising and suppression of the Home Army enabled the pro-Soviet Polish administra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Greater Poland Voivodeship
Greater Poland Voivodeship ( ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in west-central Poland. The province is named after the region called Greater Poland (''Wielkopolska'' ). The modern province includes most of this historic region, except for some western and northern parts. Greater Poland Voivodeship is second in area and third in population among Poland's sixteen voivodeships, with an area of and a population of close to 3.5 million. Its capital city is Poznań; other important cities include Kalisz, Konin, Piła, Ostrów Wielkopolski, Gniezno (an early capital of Poland) and Leszno. It is bordered by seven other voivodeships: West Pomeranian Voivodeship, West Pomeranian to the northwest, Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomeranian to the north, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, Kuyavian-Pomeranian to the north-east, Łódź Voivodeship, Łódź to the south-east, Opole Voivodeship, Opole to the south, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Lower Silesian to the southwest a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Reichsgau Wartheland
The Reichsgau Wartheland (initially Reichsgau Posen, also Warthegau) was a Nazi Germany, Nazi German ''Reichsgau'' formed from parts of Second Polish Republic, Polish territory Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, annexed in 1939 during World War II. It comprised the region of Greater Poland and adjacent areas. Parts of ''Warthegau'' matched the similarly named Treaty of Versailles, pre-Versailles Prussian province of Posen. The name was initially derived from the capital city, Poznań, Posen (Poznań), and later from the main river, Warta River, Warthe (Warta). During the Partitions of Poland from 1793, the bulk of the area had been annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia until 1807 as South Prussia. From 1815 to 1849, the territory was within the autonomous Grand Duchy of Posen, which was the Province of Posen until Second Polish Republic, Poland was re-established in 1918–1919 following World War I. The area is currently the Greater Poland Voivodeship. Establishment and administra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
SS And Police Leader
The title of SS and Police Leader (') designated a senior Nazi Party official who commanded various components of the SS and the German uniformed police (''Ordnungspolizei''), before and during World War II in the German Reich proper and in the occupied territories. Levels Three levels of subordination were established for holders of this title: * SS and Police Leader (''SS- und Polizeiführer'', SSPF) * Higher SS and Police Leader (''Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer'', HSSPF) * Supreme SS and Police Leader (''Höchster SS- und Polizeiführer'', HöSSPF) Establishment The office of ''Höherer SS- und Polizeiführer'' (Higher SS and Police Leader, HSSPF) was authorized by a decree of 13 November 1937, signed by Reich Interior Minister Wilhelm Frick. This decree authorized the creation of HSSPF in each of the 13 German armed forces ''Wehrkreise'' (Military Districts) in the German Reich, but only in the event of mobilization. At that time, the HSSPF would serve as deputies un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
