Changes

==Fall of France, Denmark, and Norway==

==Fall of France, Denmark, and Norway==

{{See also|Anti-Comintern Pact}}

{{See also|Anti-Comintern Pact}}

[[File:Lille June 1, 1940.jpg|right|300px|thumb|German officers salute French soldiers who were allowed to carry arms in a surrender ceremony.]]

[[File:Euro workers.png|right|300px|thumb|[[Nazi]] [[propaganda]] meant to contrast the comfortable conditions of [[French]] and other "[[Euro]] workers" with the "Semite-led [[Untermensch]]"<ref>[https://archive.is/O8S43#selection-1709.0-1741.24 Ukraine crisis: the neo-Nazi brigade fighting pro-Russian separatists], By Tom Parfitt, ''[[The Telegraph]]'', 11 August 2014. </ref><ref>[https://time.com/5926750/azov-far-right-movement-facebook/ Like, Share, Recruit: How a White-Supremacist Militia Uses Facebook to Radicalize and Train New Members], ''[[Time magazine]]'', Jan 7, 2021. time.com</ref> and "[[Eurasian]] hordes".<ref>[http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/holoprelude/deruntermensch.html ''Der Untermensch'' "The subhuman".] The Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team has faithfully translated this infamous [[Nazi]] text from the original versions printed in both the [[German]] and [[Russian]] language. The purpose of this translation is for readers to understand the methods in which the [[Nazi]] [[propaganda]] machine would seek to dehumanize the victims of its [[genocidal]] actions. Editor: [[The Reichsführer-SS]], SS Office, Berlin, 1942. DHM, Berlin. Do 56/685. Revised: SS Office - Training Office. SS Hauptsturmführer King, SS-Obersturmführer Ludwig Pröscholdt. </ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/SSHauptamtDerUntermensch194252S.Scan/mode/2up Original German version, SS Headquarters, The Subhuman (1942)]</ref> ]]

Before, during, and after the [[war]] the [[French]] [[public]] was divided three ways: the French Communist Party, [[antisemitic]] collaborators, and French nationalists. While Gaullists or the "Free French" are celebrated in [[Hollywood]] movies and [[Western alliance|Western]] [[propaganda]], by far few "Free French" portrayed as the "[[French Resistance]]" did not have the [[money]] or resources to flee to [[France]] to [[London]] or [[North Africa]]. The so-called "Free French" was an [[American]] [[proxy force]] supported entirely by [[Lend Lease]] funds outside of [[France]], while the French [[government]], [[taxpayer]], [[industrial]] output, and men of [[draft]] age, albeit not always willingly, supported the [[Nazi]] war effort. The French Communist Party did most of the actual [[sabotage]] and resistance work in [[Western Europe]], a fact denied or suppressed in virtually all Western history texts and contemporaneous [[propaganda]].

 

In the [[Cold War]] period, [[Operation Gladio]] was a [[US]]/[[UK]] effort to [[demonize]] and sideline these [[Nazi]] Resistors. Even today, it is said people in France do not recognize or can make sense of the [[American]] version of [[France]]'s role in World War II.

 

 

Once the invasion of Poland was complete, German forces regrouped while French and British forces remained on the defensive, leading US commentators to dub it the [[Sitzkrieg|Phoney War]]. May 10, 1940 made clear that the war was real, as Germany invaded France, occupying neutral countries such as the [[Netherlands]], [[Luxembourg]] and [[Belgium]] in the process. Resistance by the British and French armies proved ineffective, and France was soon surrendered. British and French troops were routed and evacuated mainland Europe at [[Dunkirk]]. France was divided into the northern Occupied France and the collaborationist [[Vichy regime]] in the south of France, including [[Corsica]].  The United States granted full diplomatic recognition to the Vichy regime, whereas the United Kingdom granted recognition to the [[French National Committee]] led by Gen. [[Charles De Gaulle]].

Once the invasion of Poland was complete, German forces regrouped while French and British forces remained on the defensive, leading US commentators to dub it the [[Sitzkrieg|Phoney War]]. May 10, 1940 made clear that the war was real, as Germany invaded France, occupying neutral countries such as the [[Netherlands]], [[Luxembourg]] and [[Belgium]] in the process. Resistance by the British and French armies proved ineffective, and France was soon surrendered. British and French troops were routed and evacuated mainland Europe at [[Dunkirk]]. France was divided into the northern Occupied France and the collaborationist [[Vichy regime]] in the south of France, including [[Corsica]].  The United States granted full diplomatic recognition to the Vichy regime, whereas the United Kingdom granted recognition to the [[French National Committee]] led by Gen. [[Charles De Gaulle]].

 

The collapse and occupation of France, together with Germany's non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union,<ref>[http://nobsopus.blogspot.com/2007/01/celebrations-marking-60-years-since-end.html Celebrations Marking 60 Years Since the End of World War II], Pavel Vitek, ''Russkii vopros - Studies'', No. 1 2005. Translation from Russian.</ref> Germany's alliance with fascist Italy and an expansionist Japan, the benevolent neutrality of fascist Spain, and the fact that little of Europe was outside Axis control, led many to assume that Britain had been defeated. Indeed, it would appear that the seemingly foolish decision of the relatively weak Britain to continue the war took the Axis powers off guard. This decision ensured the remaining British Empire was still involved in the war, with Japan threatening many British possessions in Asia.

The collapse and occupation of France, together with Germany's non-aggression pact with the Soviet Union,<ref>[http://nobsopus.blogspot.com/2007/01/celebrations-marking-60-years-since-end.html Celebrations Marking 60 Years Since the End of World War II], Pavel Vitek, ''Russkii vopros - Studies'', No. 1 2005. Translation from Russian.</ref> Germany's alliance with fascist Italy and an expansionist Japan, the benevolent neutrality of fascist Spain, and the fact that little of Europe was outside Axis control, led many to assume that Britain had been defeated. Indeed, it would appear that the seemingly foolish decision of the relatively weak Britain to continue the war took the Axis powers off guard. This decision ensured the remaining British Empire was still involved in the war, with Japan threatening many British possessions in Asia.

[[File:Axis Allies.PNG|left|300px|thumb|Axis Allies that fought with [[Nazi Germany]] against the [[Soviet Union]]. Not included in the list: [[Finland]], [[Hungary]], and [[Romania]] which also sent troops.]]

[[File:Axis Allies.PNG|left|300px|thumb|Axis Allies that fought with [[Nazi Germany]] against the [[Soviet Union]]. Not included in the list: [[Finland]], [[Hungary]], and [[Romania]] which also sent troops.]]

In June—behind schedule because of diversions in the Balkans—the Germans and their [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] allies launched a massive war against the Soviet Union (known as the "Great Patriotic War" in Russia). It was by far the largest, bloodiest, and most decisive phase of World War II. The German-led [[Western]] alliance regarded the [[Soviet Union]] - which was not a member of [[Geneva Convention]] - and the peoples of [[Eurasia]] as uncivilized [[Asiatic]] hordes. Outside observers in the first few months figured that Germany would win easily. But the Nazi armies were split three ways, [[logistics]] became worse and worse as distances grew, and none met their objective by the time the extreme Russian winter of 1941-42 set in. Blitzkrieg had failed against the Soviets, and the Germans lacked the resources to fight a long war against a country with such vast areas and so many more people.  The Luftwaffe, which promised to overcome the slowness of ground travel, failed to provide adequate support and was soon matched and outnumbered by the Soviet air force.<ref>The best studies of this theater are by [https://books.google.com/books?as_q=&num=30&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES&lr=&as_vt=&as_auth=glantz+david&as_pub=&as_sub=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_isbn=&as_issn= David Glantz]</ref>

In June—behind schedule because of diversions in the Balkans—the Germans and their [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] allies launched a massive war against the Soviet Union (known as the "Great Patriotic War" in Russia). It was by far the largest, bloodiest, and most decisive phase of World War II. The German-led [[Western]] alliance regarded the [[Soviet Union]] - which was not a member of [[Geneva Convention]] - and the peoples of [[Eurasia]] as uncivilized [[Asiatic]] hordes. Outside observers in the first few months figured that Germany would win easily. But the Nazi armies were split three ways, [[logistics]] became worse and worse as distances grew, and none met their objective by the time the extreme Russian winter of 1941-42 set in. Blitzkrieg had failed against the Soviets, and the Germans lacked the resources to fight a long war against a country with such vast areas and so many more people.  The Luftwaffe, which promised to overcome the slowness of ground travel, failed to provide adequate support and was soon matched and outnumbered by the Soviet air force.<ref>The best studies of this theater are by [https://books.google.com/books?as_q=&num=30&btnG=Google+Search&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_brr=0&as_pt=ALLTYPES&lr=&as_vt=&as_auth=glantz+david&as_pub=&as_sub=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_isbn=&as_issn= David Glantz]</ref>

===Holocaust by bullet===

===Holocaust by bullet===

Einsatzgruppen squads began to carry out mass shootings during the last week of June 1941.<ref>[https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1939-1941/operation-barbarossa Operation Barbarossa | Holocaust Encyclopedia]</ref>  

[[Einsatzgruppen]] squads began to carry out mass shootings immediately following the June 22, 1941 invasion of the [[Soviet Union]] in the last week of June 1941.<ref>[https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/timeline-event/holocaust/1939-1941/operation-barbarossa Operation Barbarossa | Holocaust Encyclopedia]</ref>  

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division (1st Galician)<ref>German: 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (galizische Nr. 1)) Ukrainian: 14а Гренадерська Дивізія СС (1а галицька)), prior to 1944 titled the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia" Ukrainian: 14а Добровільна Дивізія "Галичина"</ref> was a German military formation made up predominantly of military volunteers with a [[Ukrainian]] ethnic background from the area of [[Polish Galicia]], later also with some [[Slovak]]s and [[Czech]]s. Formed in 1943, it was largely destroyed in the battle of Brody, reformed, and saw action in [[Slovakia]], [[Yugoslavia]] and [[Austria]] before being renamed the first division of the Ukrainian National Army and surrendering to the Western Allies by 10 May 1945.  Volodymyr Kubiyovych (Ukrainian Father Jewish Mother) founded this Division in order for Ukrainians to aid the Ukrainian Insurgent Army with weapons.  

The 14th Waffen Grenadier Division (1st Galician)<ref>German: 14. Waffen-Grenadier-Division der SS (galizische Nr. 1)) Ukrainian: 14а Гренадерська Дивізія СС (1а галицька)), prior to 1944 titled the 14th SS-Volunteer Division "Galicia" Ukrainian: 14а Добровільна Дивізія "Галичина"</ref> was a German military formation made up predominantly of military volunteers with a [[Ukrainian]] ethnic background from the area of [[Polish Galicia]], later also with some [[Slovak]]s and [[Czech]]s. Formed in 1943, it was largely destroyed in the battle of Brody, reformed, and saw action in [[Slovakia]], [[Yugoslavia]] and [[Austria]] before being renamed the first division of the Ukrainian National Army and surrendering to the [[Angelo-American]]s by 10 May 1945, ten days after [[Hitler]]'s suicide.  Volodymyr Kubiyovych (Ukrainian Father Jewish Mother) founded this Division in order for Ukrainians to aid the Ukrainian Insurgent Army with weapons.  

{{Anchor|Abwehr}}

{{Anchor|Abwehr}}

{{Anchor|Nachtigall Battalion}}

{{Anchor|Nachtigall Battalion}}

 

The '''Nachtigall Battalion''' under [[Roman Shukhevych]], also known as the Ukrainian Nightingale Battalion Group, or officially as Special Group Nachtigall,<ref name="Abbott">Abbot, Peter. ''Ukrainian Armies 1914-55'', p.47. Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN|1-84176-668-2</ref> was the subunit under command of the German Abwehr (Military Intelligence) special operations unit "Brandenburg".  Along with the Roland Battalion it was one of two military units formed February 25, 1941 by head of the Abwehr Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, which sanctioned the creation of the "Ukrainian Legion" under German command. It was composed of volunteer "Ukrainian nationalists," Ukrainians operating under [[Stephan Bandera]]'s OUN orders.<ref>[http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Patr/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BA.pdf  І.К. Патриляк. Військова діяльність ОУН(Б) у 1940—1942 роках.]<br>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161104141147/http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Patr/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BA.pdf Університет імені Шевченко \Ін-т історії України НАН України Київ], 2004 (No ISBN) p.271-278</ref>

The '''Nachtigall Battalion''' under [[Roman Shukhevych]], also known as the Ukrainian Nightingale Battalion Group, or officially as Special Group Nachtigall,<ref name="Abbott">Abbot, Peter. ''Ukrainian Armies 1914-55'', p.47. Osprey Publishing, 2004. ISBN|1-84176-668-2</ref> was the subunit under command of the German Abwehr (Military Intelligence) special operations unit "Brandenburg".  Along with the Roland Battalion it was one of two military units formed February 25, 1941 by head of the Abwehr Adm. Wilhelm Canaris, which sanctioned the creation of the "Ukrainian Legion" under German command. It was composed of volunteer "Ukrainian nationalists," Ukrainians operating under [[Stephan Bandera]]'s OUN orders.<ref>[http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Patr/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BA.pdf  І.К. Патриляк. Військова діяльність ОУН(Б) у 1940—1942 роках.]<br>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161104141147/http://history.org.ua/LiberUA/Book/Patr/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B8%D0%BB%D1%8F%D0%BA.pdf Університет імені Шевченко \Ін-т історії України НАН України Київ], 2004 (No ISBN) p.271-278</ref>

At three villages of the Vinnytsia region "all [[Jew]]s which were met" were shot.<ref>"... скрепив нашу ненависть нашу до жидів, що в двох селах ми постріляли всіх стрічних  жидів.  Під час нашого перемаршу перед одним селом... ми постріляли всіх стрічних там жидів"  from Nachtigal third company activity report  Центральний державний архів вищих органів влади та управління України (ЦДАВО). — Ф. 3833 . — Оп. 1. — Спр. 157-  Л.7</ref>

At three villages of the [[Vinnytsia]] region "all [[Jew]]s which were met" were shot.<ref>"... скрепив нашу ненависть нашу до жидів, що в двох селах ми постріляли всіх стрічних  жидів.  Під час нашого перемаршу перед одним селом... ми постріляли всіх стрічних там жидів"  from Nachtigal third company activity report  Центральний державний архів вищих органів влади та управління України (ЦДАВО). — Ф. 3833 . — Оп. 1. — Спр. 157-  Л.7</ref>

The [[Simon Wiesenthal|Simon Wiesenthal Center]] contends that between June 30 and July 3, 1941, in the days that the Battalion was in [[Lviv]] the Nachtigall soldiers together with the German army and the local Ukrainians participated in the killings of Jews in the city. The pretext for the [[pogrom]] was a rumor that the Jews were responsible for the execution of prisoners by the Soviets before the 1941 Soviet withdrawal from Lviv. The ''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust'' states that some 4,000 Jews were kidnapped and killed at that time.<ref>Gutman, Israel. "[http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/text/x16/xm1688.html Nachtigall Battalion]". ''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust''. Macmillan Publishing Company: New York, 1990.</ref> It further states that the unit was removed from Lviv on July 7 and sent to the Eastern Front.

The [[Simon Wiesenthal|Simon Wiesenthal Center]] contends that between June 30 and July 3, 1941, in the days that the Battalion was in [[Lviv]] the Nachtigall soldiers together with the German army and the local Ukrainians participated in the killings of Jews in the city. The pretext for the [[pogrom]] was a rumor that the Jews were responsible for the execution of prisoners by the Soviets before the 1941 Soviet withdrawal from Lviv. The ''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust'' states that some 4,000 Jews were kidnapped and killed at that time.<ref>Gutman, Israel. "[http://motlc.learningcenter.wiesenthal.org/text/x16/xm1688.html Nachtigall Battalion]". ''Encyclopedia of the Holocaust''. Macmillan Publishing Company: New York, 1990.</ref> It further states that the unit was removed from Lviv on July 7 and sent to the Eastern Front.

[[Stepan Bandera]] was the leader of the [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]] (UPA), which collaborated with the Nazis and fought against the [[Armia Krajowa]] of [[Poland]] and the [[Red Army]] in [[Western Ukraine]]. UPA is responsible for the deaths of 76,000 and 106,000 Poles, mainly [[women]] and [[children]], in Volhynia and [[Eastern Galicia]] during the merciless campaign of [[ethnic cleansing]]. Bandera fled Ukraine after his cause failed and eventually settled in [[Munich]], where he was assassinated in 1959 while working with the [[Gehlen Organization]].

[[Stepan Bandera]] was the leader of the [[Ukrainian Insurgent Army]] (UPA), which collaborated with the Nazis and fought against the [[Armia Krajowa]] of [[Poland]] and the [[Red Army]] in [[Western Ukraine]]. UPA is responsible for the deaths of 76,000 and 106,000 Poles, mainly [[women]] and [[children]], in Volhynia and [[Eastern Galicia]] during the merciless campaign of [[ethnic cleansing]]. Bandera fled Ukraine after his cause failed and eventually settled in [[Munich]], where he was assassinated in 1959 while working with the [[Gehlen Organization]].

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===Battle of Kharkov===

===Battle of Kharkov===

{{See also|Hitler-Mannerheim conversation, June 4, 1942}}

{{See also|Hitler-Mannerheim conversation, June 4, 1942}}

==Situation in the East==

==Situation in the East==

[[File:The Eastern flank.PNG|300px|right|thumb|The Eastern flank.]]

[[File:The Eastern flank.PNG|300px|right|thumb|The Eastern flank.]]

It is fairly common to describe the Nazi-Soviet War as a three-phase affair, with the phases largely determined by the degree of strategic initiative. In the first phase (call it June 1941 to November 1942) Germany had dominant strategic initiative and launched major offensive operations in Barbarossa and Case Blue. In this period, virtually all of the Red Army’s attempts to go on the strategic offensive collapsed with heavy casualties, as at Kharkov and Rzhev. In the second phase (roughly from December 1942 to November 1943) the Red Army was able to attack with great success, but the Germans still retained the ability to organize operations of their own (most notably the Battle of Kursk). In the third and final phase (December 1943 to the end of the war), the Red Army held full-spectrum dominance and the Wehrmacht could do little more than desperately try and fail to hold its positions.  

It is fairly common to describe the Nazi-Soviet War as a three-phase affair, with the phases largely determined by the degree of strategic initiative. In the first phase (call it June 1941 to November 1942) Germany had dominant strategic initiative and launched major offensive operations in Barbarossa and Case Blue. In this period, virtually all of the Red Army’s attempts to go on the strategic offensive collapsed with heavy casualties, as at Kharkov and Rzhev. In the second phase (roughly from December 1942 to November 1943) the Red Army was able to attack with great success, but the Germans still retained the ability to organize operations of their own (most notably the Battle of Kursk). In the third and final phase (December 1943 to the end of the war), the Red Army held full-spectrum dominance and the Wehrmacht could do little more than desperately try and fail to hold its positions.