Informator.lg.ua is continuing the educational program, filling “empty pages” of history. One of such hushed up topics is the participation of Don Cossacks in the World War II on the side of Nazis. Here the second part of our research.
Occupation administrations and cossack police units
The swift occupation of Ukraine and South regions of Russia in 1941 made a number of problems for Nazis. It was connected with the necessity to control extensive territories, settled by hostile element. This problems were solved differently in regions of Ukraine, Belarus and Russia. Representatives of Don and Kuban Cossacks provided their stable help on the land of “Grand Don Army” to Nazis, organizing occupation administrations.
The territory of today’s Luhansk region was divided between two subjects Ekaterinoslav province and “Grand Don Army” before February Revolution and capturing of power by Bolsheviks. A big number of territories are considered controversial, in connection that there was so-called demarcation line. Also, there were difficult relationships between cossacks and dwellers, which often were followed by a serious conflicts.
On October 24, 1942 “Cossack parade” took place in Krasnodon, after the month of creation of “Young Guard”, where cossacks had demonstrated their loyalty and devotion to Hitler’s command.
“20 representatives of German Military Command and Local Government presented on the celebration. The burgomaster of Krasnodon P.A. Chernikov, the chieftain of Stanitsa Gundorovska F.G. Vlasov, old cossack G. Sukhhorukov and Deutch officer addressed patriotic speeches for cossacks”, note of one of the propaganda periodicals of those years reports. Welcome letter on behalf of the Cossacks to Adolf Hitler, where cossacks glorified Fuhrer and called to unite in the resistance to Bolshevism and the Red Army, was read on that event.
Nazis often used cossacks at the initial stage as police units to to maintain order and also to struggle with guerrillas. Except this, cossacks actively took part in the public life of captured territories, entering the staff of local occupation administrations. Cossacks hundreds guarded strategic sites, carried on patrol duty. Except this cossacks regularly combed forest on the left bank of Seversky Donets river, searching for guerrillas and fugitive Soviet POWs.
Later, at the beginning of 1943, representatives of exactly this hundreds realized searchings of hiding “Youth Guard”.
The same year cossacks as parts of the Wehrmacht actively fought against Red Army on the territory of modern Rostov region, on the East of Luhansk. German command later remembered that cossacks distinguished with special tenacity and courage in this area, holding the defense on the right bank of Seversky Donets river.
Hitler Army had desperately defended Mius-front in 1943, on which The Red Army made a massive offense. 29 Corps of the 6th Army of Wehrmacht, which included 5 Cossack regiments total number are about 8 thousand of people withstood to the Red Army. Except this, 5 Cossack divisions fought on Mius-front as part of other German units.
Sad ending
Nazis were forced to retreat from the Eastern Ukraine in 1943 under the pressure of Red Army. Together with German Army, more than 100 thousands of representatives of Don, Kuban and Terskoe Cossacks with members of their families ran away on the West. Cossacks took with themselves on the West thousands of horses and cattle from the territory of Luhansk region, dooming the local population to starvation, which had begun to appear on Donbas.
Run away to Crimea and South regions of Ukraine, cossacks entered other units. There were enough of units on the territory of peninsula, fighting on the side of Nazis.
They resulted in execution so lovely Nazi tactics of “scorched Earth” in time of retreats, actively took part in the suppression of the Warsaw Uprising, the partisan movement in Yugoslavia, in the struggle with the Italian anti-fascists.
The “glorious” way of Cossacks continued as a part, created in Kirovograd in 1943 Cossack camp, united cossacks almost from all South of Russia and Ukraine.
Cossack camp on the territory of Italy, which counted more than 20 thousand of people, was reorganized in in the separate Cossack Corps under the command of Field ataman Major-General Domanov in spring 1945. Cossacks surrendered to English troops on May 18 and soon they were given to Soviet side. The biggest part of them ended their days in Soviet prison camps. Captured cossack top was put to death in USSR.
Nothing to forget
According to data of author of the article “Russian cossacks on the service of Nazis” Ihor Saenko, issued on “Ukrainian pravda” in 2012, more than 100 thousands of representatives of cossacks fought on the side of Nazis, mostly they were from Don.
Worship cross to Don Cossacks in Luhansk, popularly called “To sons of Glory and Kolya”
Today, if this pages were not deleted from Russian historiography, so they are in the shade of more “attractive” episodes from the point of view of Russian Imperial ideology.
Heirs of Don cossacks took an active part in anti-state rebel on the East of Ukraine in 2014. Their contribution to the rocking of the situation is hard to overestimate at the initial stage of the conflict. Today, a lot of this cossacks entered different armed formations of “LPR” and continue their destructive activity, mixed with the desire for revenge and enrichment.
Aleksei Chernov for Informator.lg.ua