LENINGRAD

The German “Wehrmacht” capitulated unconditionally in may 1945, ending the European part of World War 2. In August Japan followed after the two atomic bombs thrown on Hirosjima and Nagasaki (9 august 1945). Italy, the third member of the “Axis”, had surrendered in 1944. After this move, Germany occupied Italy, and fought a retreating, defensive war until the end.

When the horrors, the genocide and war crimes of the “Third Reich” became known, the Allies started bringing the responsible people to justice. From the beginning a difference was made between the “Wehrmacht” and Nazi-soldiers (SS). The last were responsible for the cruelty of the death-camps, massacres of civilians and prisoners of war. The “Wehrmacht” was mislead by the Nazi-leaders, but was a professional army; who did their job, without atrocities and warcrimes.

This may have been true when the German forces fought the war in the West, for the Polish and Russian campaign, the soldiers were being prepared for a war of destruction. A completely different war, that aimed in the destruction of a superpower (the Soviet Union), a satanic ideology (communism) and its people (Jews and Slaves). The “Wehrmacht”-soldier would have to fight without mercy and local problems should be solved with arms, civilians included. The “Wehrmacht” assisted the “SS-Einsatzgrueppen”, who started killing Jews, partisans and civilians in the occupied territories. In the first year of the Russian War more than 3.000.000 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner. They were starved to death. The survivors were transported to the “Reich”, to be worked to death.

This was completely the responsibility of the “Wehrmacht”, who had taken no precautions, to house and feed these enormous numbers. But basically almost all of the German soldiers agreed, that Jews and Slaves were subhuman and “not worth living”. “Wehrmacht”-soldiers willingly participated in the pogroms, the hangings and the mass-executions.

The “Wehrmacht” is responsible for one of the worst war-crimes in Russia. In August 1941 Adolf Hitler informed the generals about his plans for Leningrad. This city had to be encircled and cut off from the Soviet-Union. The plan succeeds and for a period of 900 days, the bombers and guns terrorize the defenders and the civilians. Food is getting scarce and people are starting to die like flies. In the end, more than a million civilians (one third of the population), died during the biggest mass-murder of the Second World War.