1941-1945 - Opposition to Stalin

• There was no organise opposition to the regime within the USSR during the war which disappointed Hitler.
• Millions of Soviet citizens welcomed the invading German armies as liberators from the harsh nature of Stalinist rule.

  • Many of these came from the national minorities in the west of the USSR such as the Baltic States, Ukraine and Belarus.
• Some became enthusiastic volunteers for the German Army.

  • Cossacks provided 250,000 troops to the Germans.
  • The "Russian Liberation Movement" formed in Ukraine had up to 50,000 men fighting for the Germans as part of the Waffen SS.
• Some prisoners and deserters joined the German forces.

  • As Slavs, they were considered inferior to Aryan German soldiers and were not often given combat duties.
  • Labelled as Hilfwillige ("those willing to help"), they were given jobs such as drivers, cooks, hospital attendants and messengers.
• Russian prisoners who were forced to carry out menial tasks to support the German Army such as cleaning kitchens and toilets or looking after the stables.
• Anyone suspected of collaborating with the enemy suffered the harshest of treatments if captured by the Red Army or if identified and arrested in the post-war years.
• The Cossacks were virtually wiped out for supporting the German Army.