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The Cossack Issue in the Plans of the German Command during the Second World War
Authors: Sergey I. Degtyarev, Vadim A. Nesterenko
Number of views: 384
The article discusses the role of the cossacks, acting on the part of the German army during the Second world war. The attention is paid to the pre-war development of the cossack organizations in emigration, the reasons that prompted the cossack leadership to act on the side of Germany. Among the materials there are used the numerous publications, published in the mid-1990s – early 2000s. Besides, the paper uses the archival documents of the state archive of the Krasnodar Krai. As an additional source there are also brought the materials of interviews with soviet military personnel and persons residing in the occupied territory. In conclusion, the authors note that the reasons for the involvement of immigrants in the war on Germany's side lie in the events of the civil war 1917-1922 years. The german invasion in the Soviet Union was an attempt of revenge – an attempt to return home for a significant number of representatives of emigration. The effective service of the cossacks on the Eastern front was already appreciated in 1942 by the German leadership and the cossacks, one of the first, were recognized by Germany as their allies.