Russian Liberation Movement
Encyclopedia
Russian Liberation Movement (Русское Освободительное Движение) is a term used to describe Russians during World War II
who tried to create an anti-communist armed force which would topple the regime of Joseph Stalin
. Such a movement included not only Russians but peoples of other nationalities living within the Soviet Union, in which case it is referred to as the Liberation Movement of the Peoples of Russia (Освободительное Движение Народов России).
organizations such as the Russian All-Military Union
, the Brotherhood of Russian Truth
, and NTS
had demonstrated the futility of waging direct war against the Soviet secret police (the OGPU, and NKVD
). Consequently, armed conflict with Nazi Germany
was viewed as an opportunity to start a civil war against the communist government, alluding to Lenin's strategy of using the First World War in order to create the October Revolution
.
Skeptics of this approach argued that Adolf Hitler
intended to destroy Russia as a nation, indicating his ideas of racial
conquest and subjection were made clear in Mein Kampf
. They did not believe that Hitler distinguished Russians from Bolshevism, and that it would be better to either remain neutral (a position adopted by White General Anton Denikin) or even support the Soviets during the war (a position very popular amidst many February revolutionaries
, such as Alexander Kerensky
).
, began seeking sympathetic ears in the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht
) and trying to find a means of creating armed units that would be used on the Eastern Front
(such as the Russian Corps
).
Meanwhile, captured Soviet officers who were frustrated with the Stalinist regime also found several sympathetic ears in the German army and propaganda departments. The most notable was General Andrey Vlasov
, who began emerging as the potential head of a yet to be united and defined Russian Liberation Movement.
The German propaganda department began exploiting the idea of a Russian Liberation Army (which did not exist) in order to encourage defections, printing up propaganda leaflets encouraging surrender and dropping them in Soviet zones. Most defectors, however, were immediately sent to a labor camp.
Volunteer Units
German commanders begun forming units made of Russian volunteers (so called "HiWi's
"). These units were under German command and given the patch of the nonexistent "Russian Liberation Army".
By 1942 several armed Russian units were created that had a fairly high degree of independence.
These were:
It is estimated that nearly one million former Soviet citizens took up arms against the Red Army
in the Wehrmacht
, Waffen SS, and various Axis sponsored units (this includes other national groups such as the Ukrainians
, Belarusians
, Latvians
, Lithuanians
, Estonians
, Chechens, Kazakhs
, Georgians
, Armenians
, and other non Russian groups).
All of these units were under German supervision, kept to a restricted size (often without being fully outfitted with heavy artillery), and two of them were disarmed out of fear they would not be loyal.
Evading German sponsorship
The Russian anti-communist organization NTS
was the only significant organized Russian group that tried to act outside of all German sponsorship. This principle was declared in 1938 by chairman Sergei Baidalakov who said in the wake of the impending military conflict: "With whom do we go? The Russian conscience can have only one answer. Not with Stalin, not with foreign conquerors, but with the entire Russian people." The hope was to create an entirely independent, self-sufficient "third force" that would be anti-Communist and at the same time anti-Nazi, based on a grass roots partisan resistance movement.
Shortly before the attack on the Soviet Union, NTS decided to close its offices on Axis occupied territories and go underground in order to avoid Axis infiltration. It also forbade its members to join any German sponsored units, such as the Russian Corps
in Serbia.
NTS members begun arriving to Soviet occupied Russia, often volunteering themselves as translators in the Wehrmacht, in order to make contacts with the local population (as they had attempted earlier in the pre-war years). However, due to the high presence of NKVD
agents in the partisan movement, as well as the activity of Nazi security agents, the idea of a "third force" became impossible to implement. NTS's independent approach led to an all out arrest campaign by the Gestapo
at the end of 1944, many members ended up in the Dachau concentration camp).
Optimism reached a peak when the Germans lost the battle of Stalingrad, around the time General Andrey Vlasov
emerged. However, despite the difficulties at the front, Hitler adamantly refused to consider any sponsorship of a Russian liberation force and permitted the idea to be circulated only for propaganda purposes.
Russian skepticism increased when Hitler issued a directive to transfer all eastern volunteer units away from the Eastern Front. The failed assassination attempt against Hitler
was yet another blow to morale, since many Germans sympathetic to the Russian liberation idea were arrested and executed for their involvement in the July 20th plot. Despite good reasons for despondency the movement kept gaining inner momentum throughout 1944. Hope remained that the collapsing front would make Hitler increasingly desperate and less obstinate.
was founded in November, 1944, officially announcing its existence with the Prague Manifesto
. This movement, led by General Vlasov, received a surprising groundswell of support amidst white emigres, Soviet Eastern workers, and POW's, despite the apparent futility of the situation (Nazi Germany was already fighting on its own soil when the first Russian liberation units were ready for deployment). The committee received the blessing of Metropolitan Anastasy of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
as well as the Paris Exarchate
.
Several armed groups who had been fighting already, such as the Russian Corps
of General Boris Shteifon
, the "Battle Group" of white General Tourkoul, and the Cossacks of Ataman Helmuth von Pannwitz
submitted themselves to the committee's command, although the turn of events prevented them from ever being de facto
incorporated into the Russian Liberation Army
. Others, such as General Pyotr Krasnov
and several Ukrainian armed groups refused to submit to Vlasov and denounced him publicly.
While the Committee was formed with a considerable amount of gusto and enthusiasm, the end of the war was imminent and the Allies were now the movement's only hope for salvation.
and Great Britain
. The reasoning was twofold: one, that these countries were much closer ideologically to the Russian Liberation Movement than the racist Nazi regime, and two, that these countries were already at odds with Joseph Stalin and did not want communism to spread throughout Europe. Vlasov desired to make a radio address to the Allies during the last month of the war, but this was barred by the Germans. Delegations sent by Vlasov to the allies began negotiating a surrender, and expressed a hope that they would not be betrayed to the hands of the Soviet SMERSH
.
The high command of the Allies was in a difficult position, on one hand many officers and generals found sympathy with the idea of the Russian Liberation Movement (including George Patton). On the other hand, they did not want to upset relations with Stalin, to whom they had promised at the Yalta conference
that they would deliver all former Soviet citizens for repatriation
regardless of their wishes. Consequently, several acts of forced repatriation occurred, such as the Betrayal of Cossacks at Lienz.
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
who tried to create an anti-communist armed force which would topple the regime of Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
. Such a movement included not only Russians but peoples of other nationalities living within the Soviet Union, in which case it is referred to as the Liberation Movement of the Peoples of Russia (Освободительное Движение Народов России).
Ideology
The main idea behind the movement was that Bolshevism could not be ovethrown from within the USSR. Numerous previous attempts by white emigreWhite Emigre
A white émigré was a Russian who emigrated from Russia in the wake of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, and who was in opposition to the contemporary Russian political climate....
organizations such as the Russian All-Military Union
Russian All-Military Union
The Russian All-Military Union was founded by White Army General Pyotr Wrangel in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes on September 1, 1924...
, the Brotherhood of Russian Truth
Brotherhood of Russian Truth
The Brotherhood of Russian Truth was a Russian patriotic organization established by Pyotr Krasnov and other former members of the White movement, including Prince Anatoly Lieven, to overthrowBolshevism in Soviet Russia. The term "Russian Truth" is the word used to describe the Russian code of...
, and NTS
National Alliance of Russian Solidarists
The National Alliance of Russian Solidarists ), known by its Russian abbreviation "NTS" is a Russian far-right anticommunist organization founded in 1930 by a group of young Russian anticommunist White emigres in Belgrade, Serbia .The organization was formed in response to the older generation of...
had demonstrated the futility of waging direct war against the Soviet secret police (the OGPU, and NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
). Consequently, armed conflict with Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
was viewed as an opportunity to start a civil war against the communist government, alluding to Lenin's strategy of using the First World War in order to create the October Revolution
October Revolution
The October Revolution , also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution , Red October, the October Uprising or the Bolshevik Revolution, was a political revolution and a part of the Russian Revolution of 1917...
.
Skeptics of this approach argued that Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
intended to destroy Russia as a nation, indicating his ideas of racial
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
conquest and subjection were made clear in Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
. They did not believe that Hitler distinguished Russians from Bolshevism, and that it would be better to either remain neutral (a position adopted by White General Anton Denikin) or even support the Soviets during the war (a position very popular amidst many February revolutionaries
February Revolution
The February Revolution of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. Centered around the then capital Petrograd in March . Its immediate result was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire...
, such as Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
).
The development stage
The movement began spontaneously at the outbreak of the Soviet-German war in June 1941. White Russian emigres, veterans of the White movementWhite movement
The White movement and its military arm the White Army - known as the White Guard or the Whites - was a loose confederation of Anti-Communist forces.The movement comprised one of the politico-military Russian forces who fought...
, began seeking sympathetic ears in the German Armed Forces (Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
) and trying to find a means of creating armed units that would be used on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
(such as the Russian Corps
Russian Corps
The Russian Corps was an armed force composed of anti-communist Russian emigres that existed during the Second World War in German-occupied Serbia...
).
Meanwhile, captured Soviet officers who were frustrated with the Stalinist regime also found several sympathetic ears in the German army and propaganda departments. The most notable was General Andrey Vlasov
Andrey Vlasov
Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov or Wlassow was a Russian Red Army general who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early career:...
, who began emerging as the potential head of a yet to be united and defined Russian Liberation Movement.
The German propaganda department began exploiting the idea of a Russian Liberation Army (which did not exist) in order to encourage defections, printing up propaganda leaflets encouraging surrender and dropping them in Soviet zones. Most defectors, however, were immediately sent to a labor camp.
Volunteer Units
German commanders begun forming units made of Russian volunteers (so called "HiWi's
Hiwi (volunteer)
Hiwi is a German abbreviation. It has two meanings, "voluntary assistant" and "assistant scientist" .- :...
"). These units were under German command and given the patch of the nonexistent "Russian Liberation Army".
By 1942 several armed Russian units were created that had a fairly high degree of independence.
These were:
- The Russian National Liberation ArmyS.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A.S.S. Sturmbrigade R.O.N.A. was an anti-partisan formation composed of people from the so-called Lokot Autonomy territory in the Nazi Germany-occupied areas of Russia during World War II....
of Bronislaw Kaminsky, the only force that had a region entirely under its own control (called the Lokot RepublicLokot RepublicThe Lokot Autonomy was a semi-autonomous region in Nazi German-occupied Central Russia led by Bronislav Kaminski's administration from July 1942 to August 1943. The name is derived from the region's administrative center, the urban-type settlement of Lokot in Oryol Oblast...
) and probably enjoyed the most independence of action. It numbered up to 20,000 enlisted men.
- The Russian CorpsRussian CorpsThe Russian Corps was an armed force composed of anti-communist Russian emigres that existed during the Second World War in German-occupied Serbia...
in Serbia, a unit that reached up to 11,000 men formed of White Russian emigresWhite EmigreA white émigré was a Russian who emigrated from Russia in the wake of the Russian Revolution and Russian Civil War, and who was in opposition to the contemporary Russian political climate....
and also Soviet POW's, fighting partisans in Yugoslavia in hopes of being transferred to the Eastern Front.
- The Russian National People's Army, formed in occupied BelarusBelarusBelarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
which was under the command of two White emigres, S.V. Ivanov and Constantine KromiadiConstantine KromiadiConstantine Gregorievich Kromiadi was a Greek born military officer and anti-communist who served in the Imperial Russian Army, the White Army, and the Russian Liberation Army....
and also had a considerable amount of emigres in its officer core. Later the emigres were replaced by former Soviet commanders B.I. Boyarsky and Georgii Zhilenkov, since Nazi officials dreaded emigre influence on Soviet citizens. The unit, 8,000 men strong, managed to negotiate with Soviet partisansSoviet partisansThe Soviet partisans were members of a resistance movement which fought a guerrilla war against the Axis occupation of the Soviet Union during World War II....
to reduce hostility, displeasing the SSSchutzstaffelThe Schutzstaffel |Sig runes]]) was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Built upon the Nazi ideology, the SS under Heinrich Himmler's command was responsible for many of the crimes against humanity during World War II...
which eventually disarmed the unit.
- The Druzhina Brigade, led by former Soviet commander Gil Rodionov formed in occupied Belarus, reaching up to 8,000 men in strength. The unit was one of the most indisciplined and defections to the Soviet side were common.
- Various Cossack units under the command of several former White officers such as Pyotr KrasnovPyotr KrasnovPyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov , 1869 – January 17, 1947), sometimes referred to in English as Peter Krasnov, was Lieutenant General of the Russian army when the revolution broke out in 1917, and one of the leaders of the counterrevolutionary White movement afterward.- Russian Army :Pyotr Krasnov...
and Andrei ShkuroAndrei ShkuroAndrei Grigoriyevich Shkuro was a Lieutenant General of the White Army.-Biography:...
, former Soviet commander I. Kononov, and German commander Helmuth von PannwitzHelmuth von PannwitzHelmuth von Pannwitz was a German general who distinguished himself as a cavalry officer during the First and the Second World Wars. Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht and Supreme Ataman of the XV...
. The Cossacks were not permitted by the Nazis to associate themselves with Russians (keeping in line with Alfred RosenbergAlfred Rosenberg' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
's separatist policy), even though many enlisted Cossacks considered themselves of a Russian identity.
It is estimated that nearly one million former Soviet citizens took up arms against the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
in the Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
, Waffen SS, and various Axis sponsored units (this includes other national groups such as the Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, Belarusians
Belarusians
Belarusians ; are an East Slavic ethnic group who populate the majority of the Republic of Belarus. Introduced to the world as a new state in the early 1990s, the Republic of Belarus brought with it the notion of a re-emerging Belarusian ethnicity, drawn upon the lines of the Old Belarusian...
, Latvians
Latvians
Latvians or Letts are the indigenous Baltic people of Latvia.-History:Latvians occasionally refer to themselves by the ancient name of Latvji, which may have originated from the word Latve which is a name of the river that presumably flowed through what is now eastern Latvia...
, Lithuanians
Lithuanians
Lithuanians are the Baltic ethnic group native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,765,600 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in countries such as the United States, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom and Ireland. Their native language...
, Estonians
Estonians
Estonians are a Finnic people closely related to the Finns and inhabiting, primarily, the country of Estonia. They speak a Finnic language known as Estonian...
, Chechens, Kazakhs
Kazakhs
The Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
, Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
, Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, and other non Russian groups).
All of these units were under German supervision, kept to a restricted size (often without being fully outfitted with heavy artillery), and two of them were disarmed out of fear they would not be loyal.
Evading German sponsorship
The Russian anti-communist organization NTS
National Alliance of Russian Solidarists
The National Alliance of Russian Solidarists ), known by its Russian abbreviation "NTS" is a Russian far-right anticommunist organization founded in 1930 by a group of young Russian anticommunist White emigres in Belgrade, Serbia .The organization was formed in response to the older generation of...
was the only significant organized Russian group that tried to act outside of all German sponsorship. This principle was declared in 1938 by chairman Sergei Baidalakov who said in the wake of the impending military conflict: "With whom do we go? The Russian conscience can have only one answer. Not with Stalin, not with foreign conquerors, but with the entire Russian people." The hope was to create an entirely independent, self-sufficient "third force" that would be anti-Communist and at the same time anti-Nazi, based on a grass roots partisan resistance movement.
Shortly before the attack on the Soviet Union, NTS decided to close its offices on Axis occupied territories and go underground in order to avoid Axis infiltration. It also forbade its members to join any German sponsored units, such as the Russian Corps
Russian Corps
The Russian Corps was an armed force composed of anti-communist Russian emigres that existed during the Second World War in German-occupied Serbia...
in Serbia.
NTS members begun arriving to Soviet occupied Russia, often volunteering themselves as translators in the Wehrmacht, in order to make contacts with the local population (as they had attempted earlier in the pre-war years). However, due to the high presence of NKVD
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs was the public and secret police organization of the Soviet Union that directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin....
agents in the partisan movement, as well as the activity of Nazi security agents, the idea of a "third force" became impossible to implement. NTS's independent approach led to an all out arrest campaign by the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
at the end of 1944, many members ended up in the Dachau concentration camp).
Obstacles
The movement encountered several obstacles, which lasted to the very end of the war:- The RussophobiaRussophobiaRussophobia refers to a diverse spectrum of prejudices, dislikes or fears of Russia, Russians, or Russian culture. Its opposite is Russophilia....
of the Nazis. Adolf HitlerAdolf HitlerAdolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
and some of his closest men were avid Slavophobes, as were many adherents of Nazi party ideology. Hitler was enraged when he learned of how many German generals and officers were supportive of forming a Russian based army and forbade even the mention of the idea in his presence. Russian patriotism was suppressed, and Russian white emigres were kept as far from Nazi occupied Russia as possible in order to prevent the emergence of Russian nationalism. In contrast, many generals and officers of the Wehrmacht found themselves tempted by the idea of un-burderning the German army from the Eastern Front.
- The "Eastern Policy". The conduct of the Nazis towards the Soviet population was so inhumane that it tremendously impeded the credibility of Russians who were working in alliance with the Wehrmacht.
- Collaborationists. People who were willing to serve the GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
(often for money or food) were sent to inform on Russians in the liberation movement in order to weed out anti-Nazi sentiment. Such informants helped procure the arrest of General Malishkin and the sequestering of General Vlasov. The behavior of these collaborationists towards their own countrymen caused a general anger and mistrust of anyone who was working in alliance with the Germans.
- Separatism. Nazi policy was aimed at sponsoring nationalist separatism amidst those peoples who lived in the USSR. Armed forces made of Cossacks, UkrainiansUkrainiansUkrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
, GeorgiansGeorgiansThe Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
, ArmeniansArmeniansArmenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
, KazakhsKazakhsThe Kazakhs are a Turkic people of the northern parts of Central Asia ....
, Chechens, Crimean TatarsCrimean TatarsCrimean Tatars or Crimeans are a Turkic ethnic group that originally resided in Crimea. They speak the Crimean Tatar language...
and other non-Russian peoples were headed by those who refused to work with anyone who didn't guarantee their independent statehood from the outset.
- Political clash. White Russian emigres and Soviet citizens had a mutual distrust of each other, largely because both sides were fighting against each other during the Russian Civil WarRussian Civil WarThe Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
. White Russians saw Soviet citizens as 'pro-socialist', if not outright communist, while Soviet citizens viewed white Russians as 'monarchists' and desiring to restore the old Tsarist order.
Optimism reached a peak when the Germans lost the battle of Stalingrad, around the time General Andrey Vlasov
Andrey Vlasov
Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov or Wlassow was a Russian Red Army general who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early career:...
emerged. However, despite the difficulties at the front, Hitler adamantly refused to consider any sponsorship of a Russian liberation force and permitted the idea to be circulated only for propaganda purposes.
Russian skepticism increased when Hitler issued a directive to transfer all eastern volunteer units away from the Eastern Front. The failed assassination attempt against Hitler
July 20 Plot
On 20 July 1944, an attempt was made to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Führer of the Third Reich, inside his Wolf's Lair field headquarters near Rastenburg, East Prussia. The plot was the culmination of the efforts of several groups in the German Resistance to overthrow the Nazi-led German government...
was yet another blow to morale, since many Germans sympathetic to the Russian liberation idea were arrested and executed for their involvement in the July 20th plot. Despite good reasons for despondency the movement kept gaining inner momentum throughout 1944. Hope remained that the collapsing front would make Hitler increasingly desperate and less obstinate.
The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia
There was no united center for the movement until the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of RussiaCommittee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia
The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia was a committee composed of military and civilian anticommunists from territories of the Soviet Union...
was founded in November, 1944, officially announcing its existence with the Prague Manifesto
Prague Manifesto
The Prague Manifesto is a document that was created by several members of the Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia, an anti-communist coalition of former Soviet military and citizens who aimed to overthrow Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and establish a non-communist government in...
. This movement, led by General Vlasov, received a surprising groundswell of support amidst white emigres, Soviet Eastern workers, and POW's, despite the apparent futility of the situation (Nazi Germany was already fighting on its own soil when the first Russian liberation units were ready for deployment). The committee received the blessing of Metropolitan Anastasy of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia
The Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia , also called the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad, ROCA, or ROCOR) is a semi-autonomous part of the Russian Orthodox Church....
as well as the Paris Exarchate
Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe
The Patriarchal Exarchate for Orthodox Parishes of Russian Tradition in Western Europe is an exarchate of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Russian Orthodox tradition, based in Paris, and having parishes throughout Europe, mainly in France. The Exarchate is sometimes known as Rue Daru from the street...
.
Several armed groups who had been fighting already, such as the Russian Corps
Russian Corps
The Russian Corps was an armed force composed of anti-communist Russian emigres that existed during the Second World War in German-occupied Serbia...
of General Boris Shteifon
Boris Shteifon
Boris Aleksandrovich Shteifon was a general in the Imperial Russian Army, who subsequently served as a general in the Russian anti-communist White army, and as the leader of the Nazi-allied Russian Corps in Serbia during World War II.-Biography:Shteifon was born on December 6, 1881 in the city of...
, the "Battle Group" of white General Tourkoul, and the Cossacks of Ataman Helmuth von Pannwitz
Helmuth von Pannwitz
Helmuth von Pannwitz was a German general who distinguished himself as a cavalry officer during the First and the Second World Wars. Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht and Supreme Ataman of the XV...
submitted themselves to the committee's command, although the turn of events prevented them from ever being de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
incorporated into the Russian Liberation Army
Russian Liberation Army
Russian Liberation Army was a group of predominantly Russian forces subordinated to the Nazi German high command during World War II....
. Others, such as General Pyotr Krasnov
Pyotr Krasnov
Pyotr Nikolayevich Krasnov , 1869 – January 17, 1947), sometimes referred to in English as Peter Krasnov, was Lieutenant General of the Russian army when the revolution broke out in 1917, and one of the leaders of the counterrevolutionary White movement afterward.- Russian Army :Pyotr Krasnov...
and several Ukrainian armed groups refused to submit to Vlasov and denounced him publicly.
While the Committee was formed with a considerable amount of gusto and enthusiasm, the end of the war was imminent and the Allies were now the movement's only hope for salvation.
The Allies
Even before Nazi Germany capitulated on May 9, 1945, the supporters of the Russian Liberation Movement began focusing their hopes on Western Democracies, namely the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. The reasoning was twofold: one, that these countries were much closer ideologically to the Russian Liberation Movement than the racist Nazi regime, and two, that these countries were already at odds with Joseph Stalin and did not want communism to spread throughout Europe. Vlasov desired to make a radio address to the Allies during the last month of the war, but this was barred by the Germans. Delegations sent by Vlasov to the allies began negotiating a surrender, and expressed a hope that they would not be betrayed to the hands of the Soviet SMERSH
SMERSH
SMERSH was the counter-intelligence agency in the Red Army formed in late 1942 or even earlier, but officially founded on April 14, 1943. The name SMERSH was coined by Joseph Stalin...
.
The high command of the Allies was in a difficult position, on one hand many officers and generals found sympathy with the idea of the Russian Liberation Movement (including George Patton). On the other hand, they did not want to upset relations with Stalin, to whom they had promised at the Yalta conference
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
that they would deliver all former Soviet citizens for repatriation
Repatriation
Repatriation is the process of returning a person back to one's place of origin or citizenship. This includes the process of returning refugees or soldiers to their place of origin following a war...
regardless of their wishes. Consequently, several acts of forced repatriation occurred, such as the Betrayal of Cossacks at Lienz.
See also
- Anti-Soviet partisansAnti-Soviet partisansAnti-Soviet partisans may refer to:*Chetniks*Čorny Kot*Forest Brothers*Forest Brothers *Green Army of Nikifor Grigoriev*Grey Wolves*Latvian national partisans*Lithuanian Activist Front*Lithuanian partisans...
- Russian Liberation ArmyRussian Liberation ArmyRussian Liberation Army was a group of predominantly Russian forces subordinated to the Nazi German high command during World War II....
- Andrey VlasovAndrey VlasovAndrey Andreyevich Vlasov or Wlassow was a Russian Red Army general who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II.-Early career:...
- Russian CorpsRussian CorpsThe Russian Corps was an armed force composed of anti-communist Russian emigres that existed during the Second World War in German-occupied Serbia...
- RONA