For Russia with Hitler
White Russian Emigres and the German-Soviet War
Published on 6. September 2024
Book
Hardback
392 pages
978-1-4875-5648-8 (ISBN)
Description
The Bolshevik takeover of Russia created an alternative Russia in exile that never laid down its arms. For two decades, expelled White Russians sought ways to retaliate against the Soviet Union and return home. Their irreconcilability was galvanized by a superstructure, the dominant military organization, the Russian All-Military Union (ROVS). Eventually, militant anti-Bolshevism led the exiled Russians into alliance with Nazi Germany, despite the latter's anti-Slavic stance. For Russia with Hitler tells the story of how thousands of White Russian emigres joined the German invasion of the Soviet Union as soldiers, translators, and civilian workers.
Oleg Beyda investigates and contextualizes emigre collaboration with National Socialist Germany, explaining how it was possible for Russians to fight against the Russians. The book reveals that the exiles, although united ideologically by Russian nationalism in a general sense, did not establish one single, clear-cut political solution for a future "liberated Russia." Drawing on wide archival material, For Russia with Hitler details the background and ideological framework of the emigres, how they rationalized their support for Nazism, and what they did on the Eastern Front, including their reactions to life in occupation, war crimes, and the Holocaust.
Oleg Beyda investigates and contextualizes emigre collaboration with National Socialist Germany, explaining how it was possible for Russians to fight against the Russians. The book reveals that the exiles, although united ideologically by Russian nationalism in a general sense, did not establish one single, clear-cut political solution for a future "liberated Russia." Drawing on wide archival material, For Russia with Hitler details the background and ideological framework of the emigres, how they rationalized their support for Nazism, and what they did on the Eastern Front, including their reactions to life in occupation, war crimes, and the Holocaust.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Toronto
Canada
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
sewn/stitched
Cloth over boards
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 233 mm
Width: 162 mm
Thickness: 34 mm
Weight
705 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4875-5648-8 (9781487556488)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Oleg Beyda is the Hansen Lecturer in Russian History at the University of Melbourne.
Content
Acknowledgments
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Lasting Crusade: The Russian All-Military Union (ROVS) in the World of Exile
The Puzzle: Organisations and Structures
The White Idea: ROVS Ideology
Counter-Revolution from Abroad: Defencism and Defeatism
2. Swastikas Rising: Emigres and Nazi Germany
Russian Aryans: "Aryanization" and Foreign Passports
Seeking Hostilities: ROVS in Preparation for War
3. A Dawn of Liberation Is Rising over Russia: Russian Military Exile and the German-Soviet War, 1941-1945
Behind Bars: Arrests of Emigres in Belgium and France
Into the Vortex of Illusion: Emigre Assessments of the German-Soviet War, 1941-1943
Swan Song: 1943-1945
4. A Troubled Cooperation: Russian Emigres and the German Bans
Unerwuenscht: German Policy on the Use of Emigres
Kriegsentscheidend: The Wehrmacht's Need for Emigres
5. Forbidden but Still Marching On: Recruitment of Emigre Volunteers and Forms of Involvement
Germany
Czech Protectorate
The General Government
Bulgaria
France
Contract Work and Civil and Military Engineering
Demobilization
Emigres as Soldiers from 1942 On
6. Homecoming: Personal Outlooks on the War in the USSR
Not Just Interpreters: The Role of White Emigres as Mediators and Collaborators
"All of Russia Is a Graveyard": Emigres' Assessment of the Soviet Union
Them: The Red Army, Partisans, and Soviet POWs
7. "Collecting the Shards": Perspectives on Life under Occupation
The Russian Soul: Soviet Peasants and Other Civilians
Through Their Eyes: Soviet Citizens Meet the Emigres
Back to the Roots: "Soviet" White Guards and Their Relatives
"God Is With Us": The Church and Religion
Off Duty: Private Time and Leisure Activities
Mourning the Fallen: Death on the German-Soviet Front
Farewell, Motherland: Reflections by White Emigres on Their Second Exile
8. Darker Shades of Field Grey: Emigres and Nazi Occupation Policy
The Jewish Question: Antisemitism and White Russian Emigres
Shock, Awe, Compromise: War Crimes and Excesses
Saviours in German Uniforms: White Emigres' Actions to Defend the Oppressed
9. The Long Defeat: Russian Military Exile after 1945
Bolshevik Roulette: The White Emigres and the End of War in Europe
Verbal Masquerade: ROVS Self-Presentation after 1945
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
List of Illustrations
Abbreviations
Introduction
1. Lasting Crusade: The Russian All-Military Union (ROVS) in the World of Exile
The Puzzle: Organisations and Structures
The White Idea: ROVS Ideology
Counter-Revolution from Abroad: Defencism and Defeatism
2. Swastikas Rising: Emigres and Nazi Germany
Russian Aryans: "Aryanization" and Foreign Passports
Seeking Hostilities: ROVS in Preparation for War
3. A Dawn of Liberation Is Rising over Russia: Russian Military Exile and the German-Soviet War, 1941-1945
Behind Bars: Arrests of Emigres in Belgium and France
Into the Vortex of Illusion: Emigre Assessments of the German-Soviet War, 1941-1943
Swan Song: 1943-1945
4. A Troubled Cooperation: Russian Emigres and the German Bans
Unerwuenscht: German Policy on the Use of Emigres
Kriegsentscheidend: The Wehrmacht's Need for Emigres
5. Forbidden but Still Marching On: Recruitment of Emigre Volunteers and Forms of Involvement
Germany
Czech Protectorate
The General Government
Bulgaria
France
Contract Work and Civil and Military Engineering
Demobilization
Emigres as Soldiers from 1942 On
6. Homecoming: Personal Outlooks on the War in the USSR
Not Just Interpreters: The Role of White Emigres as Mediators and Collaborators
"All of Russia Is a Graveyard": Emigres' Assessment of the Soviet Union
Them: The Red Army, Partisans, and Soviet POWs
7. "Collecting the Shards": Perspectives on Life under Occupation
The Russian Soul: Soviet Peasants and Other Civilians
Through Their Eyes: Soviet Citizens Meet the Emigres
Back to the Roots: "Soviet" White Guards and Their Relatives
"God Is With Us": The Church and Religion
Off Duty: Private Time and Leisure Activities
Mourning the Fallen: Death on the German-Soviet Front
Farewell, Motherland: Reflections by White Emigres on Their Second Exile
8. Darker Shades of Field Grey: Emigres and Nazi Occupation Policy
The Jewish Question: Antisemitism and White Russian Emigres
Shock, Awe, Compromise: War Crimes and Excesses
Saviours in German Uniforms: White Emigres' Actions to Defend the Oppressed
9. The Long Defeat: Russian Military Exile after 1945
Bolshevik Roulette: The White Emigres and the End of War in Europe
Verbal Masquerade: ROVS Self-Presentation after 1945
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index