World At War: Barbarossa Part 3 of 6

[emmteez1]

does anyone know what that is at 3:04 is it a arty shell?

[Rico8458]

ultimately russia had too many people, too many replacements, soldiers, millions and millions no end. it was not a fair fight from the start. even germany captures 3 million troops in one or two years, russia has more troops to spare whereas germans were a small nation compared to the russian empire

[vimalriktam]

the russians lost 26 million people. no wonder they are afraid to trust anybody when it comes to defence.

[wojbert]

Harrimann roosevelt advisor , coward , gave up Poland to the fucken bolsheviks.

[AngryRedMachine]

Anyone know the name of the amazing song that plays at 7:33?

[Jenjenilou]

Britain did not stand 'alone'. Please remember the Canadians, Aussies, Kiwis, Indians, Ghurkas ... and other Commonwealth troops, not to mention the Polish Squadrons who fought in the Battle of Britain, the Free French and resistance fighters in many occupied countries. Although the US weren't yet actively involved they supplied us with the goods to sustain us. The World at War was a fantastic series, but it couldn't include everything.

[randy95023]

Reading comments on this board are interesting. More people should READ actual books. As good as these documentaries are, and the World at War is a very good documentary, they still barely scratch the surface of a balanced historical education. WW2 is clearly a Soviet victory over the Wehrmacht with a strong supporting role for Britain/USA and the lesser allies. The war in the Pacific was clearly a U.S. victory over the Empire of Japan. Americans should give proper credit to the Soviets.

[randy95023]

continued- When we were attacked at Pearl Harbor the European war had already more than 1/2 played out. France fell, British stood alone for a year and the Soviets had halted the Nazi advance well BEFORE the USA even entered the war. While we Americans can be proud of our great contributions in defeating Nazism we were still pretty much a "minor player" until mid 1943. By the time we landed in France (June '44) the Nazis had already been crushed in the East and were in full retreat.

[Towncrier123]

In just three months of fighting, the Red Army lost as many men as the Nazis had massed along the Soviet border at the start of Barbarossa - a staggering 3 million men!.

[PrettyBrg]

lol soviet bi-plane attack

[xn117]

what song is at 1:54?

[P1B1U1H1]

The cogent Harriman interview is vital. Some, likely WWII autodidacts similar to me, argue Hitler's attack occurred to avoid an imminent Russian invasion. Russia was not yet ready for such an assault. That the Germans were so able to conquer so much of Russia testifies to that.

[Hayden001953]

Mdk31. I lived in Germany from 1974-78, and again from 1987-1990. I found the German people to be very thoughtful and insightful (usually.) My life was enriched by my opportunity to live in what was then the GDR. As a soldier I met a number of Nazi soldiers and their family members and realized the question is not a simple one. I am afraid that many things happening in the 1930's seem to be happening again. I never met a German who did not in some way enhance my life.

[mc0558]

@ingalls20 This, of course is utter nonsense! The Nazi aparatus, I do not say Germans per se, murdered about 20 million people: Jews, Gypsies, Russian prisoners of war, soldiers and partisans of nations it occupied and fought, and if you considered that Germany started the war--Germans (German soldiers, the handicapped, political opponents, socialists, communists, masons, homosexuals) the victims of their bombings, submarine campaign, etc. etc.

[mc0558]

@ingalls20 This, of course is utter nonsense!

[mc0558]

@ingalls20 Anyone who does not acknowledge the total turn about of modernday Germans is doing a disservice to the truth. The best historians on the horrors and the tragedy of Nazism for Germany are young German historians. Sadly, you are more likely to find renegade, skinhead neo-nazi yabbos in the UK, the USA and Russia today than in Germany. And by the way, Germany is back in scholarship, the arts and sciences.

[juporzio]

It is a very well done video, showing their people's spirit when the Germans started the war against Russia. Not always a book can make a good picture of the thinking at any moment; in this case a VIDEO is superior.

[dodge96neon]

it is a shame that no episode was made about the war in the balkans. not only were the people in that area fighting the nazis but were also fighting one another

[mc0558]

@dodge96neon Yes, the Serbs put up a tremendous fight against Nazis and Fascists! So did the Greeks!

[robertogan]

Too bad they couldn't have wiped out Russia. Soviet Russia was a scourge to humanity. The things they did to Eastern Europe during and after the war are unspeakable. Let us not forget, Britain said it was fighting the war for Poland's freedom, then went on to give away not just Poland, but the whole of Eastern Europe to the same man who made a pact with Hitler to slice up Poland in the first place. What hypocrisy indeed.

[ANACONDA360]

@robertogan Britain was in no state for continued war over Poland's freedom. The best they could do was beg for Stalin to allow free elections in at least some of the countries, which he did. The problem was that when these nations proved to be against the Soviet regime, they were invaded again and their governments replaced with Pro-Soviet puppets. Of the "big three", Churchill had been replaced with the weak Atlee, and Roosevelt was replaced with the hate-all Harry Truman.

[mc0558]

@ANACONDA360 Nobody was in a state to contest the Soviet Union's control of Poland or any other part of central Europe. The Red Army in 1945 was a bohemoth! More thn that, it was obvious that once you accepted the USSR as an ally, if you won the war, you handed over central Europe to them with what amounted to your blessing. This is why Chamberlain did not want the USSR as an ally against Hitler, thought he hated Hitler more.

[PeterMayer]

@ingalls20 Ah, yes. It's ze Chews fault. Just like WW II, WWI. No, Muslim extremistism is religous, therefore irrational. They have a mirad of excuses and justifications of why they senslously murder people. God told them to do it, etc. Besides them murdering over 3000 people here, no war declared, nothing; how do you justify all the other murders they have done? Like against each other? Is that the jews fault too? Bullshit.

[PeterMayer]

@ingalls20 It's not as bad? Are you friggin kidding me? Nazism destroyed my peoples country and forever will they live with the shame of their Nazism. Other than that, they did build good roads, right?

[PeterMayer]

@PeterMayer I also should ad how many other countries they destroyed as well. So let's just say that the the two are JUST AS BAD AS THE OTHER. THEY BOTH SUCK.

[ANACONDA360]

@PeterMayer No regime is completely good or bad. While their views on international affairs and disregard of the Geneva convention were clearly wrong, the Nazi government /did/ support families, albeit, only "certain" families. They began the reconstruction of Germany in a similar way to how Roosevelt lowered unemployment, by "building good roads", as you said. Their anti-smoking stance and support for animal rights acted as a blanket over their darker roles, ensuring public support.

[PeterMayer]

@ANACONDA360 Please don't mention the Nazis nd Roosevelt in the same manner. The Nazis were responsible for WII and brought nothing but death and destruction. I am aware of this because my mother and her family lived in Berlin during the war.

[ANACONDA360]

@PeterMayer I apologise. I was merely stating that reconstruction was a popular tactic used by many parties to earn votes. Both the US and Germany were hit hard by the depression. Reconstruction was commonplace in many nations heavily affected because their governments needed people off the streets.

Hitler and Roosevelt are very different men with very different ideas. I apologise for allowing you to think I thought of them as similar. Like I said, reconstruction was common at the time.

[teslagod2003]

@PeterMayer bush's solition for economic problems of US was a stupid war,believed by stupid people.which did not kill just the iraqis and afghans,but also innocent people at the wtc,which was innocently murdered.which is not diffirent to the case of the burning of the reichstag which was blamed to the communist by hitler.in US,bush blamed the people he helped learn how to fly,very nice thing though :)

US and nazis are not diffirent at all,things were done with stupidity people believing...

[PeterMayer]

@teslagod2003 Bush blamed people he helped learn how to fly? Huh? Auf Englisch bitte! I'm no fan of his, but to say we are no different than the Nazis is beyond ignorant. Before you make anymore stupid comments, take a good look of what your people, the Japanese, also did during WW II and then we'll talk.

[teslagod2003]

@PeterMayer my people?funny though,i'm no jap,i respect the japs,but dont like them for being arrogant and racists,yes,many of them still feels that japs are a "higher" people...

so you knew nothing of what really happened at 9-11,tsk...

it's really a pity that US were considered by many to have many intelligent people,but in the end where was their intelligence,when a disaster came,a leader says this and that,people believed without looking for any real evidence and truth,just like the nazis.

[PeterMayer]

@teslagod2003 Frankly, I don't give a fuck what you are. You don't know shit about 9/11. Let me guess, you believe in some grand conspiracy right? The Israelis did it? The Mosad? Listen pal, this is one GERMAN/ American that does not get easily duped. I have no love for Bush lying us into the Iraq war. And believe it or not, yes we do have intelligent people in this country. Given your statements, there one less where your are from.

[teslagod2003]

@PeterMayer so you're saying that US isnt really a democratic country?coz if it is,then those who are like you,should'ved overthrown such a bad leader who did nothing but suffering for his people and great priits for himself and his friends...

where is justice now?

the reality is,US and NAZIs are the same.there were those who support them and hug the ideology.there are also those who does not,but did not do enough to stop such evil intent....

[PeterMayer]

@teslagod2003 Communist. The US and Nazis are not the same douche bag. I'll be the first to point out any nonsense, especially under someone like Bush/Cheney. But funny, I don't see gas chambers in this country, no matter what stupid shit Bush/Cheney did. You try real hard to be clever. You are not. Let me ask you, where are you from? What is your nationality?

[PeterMayer]

@PeterMayer Nevermind. Phillipines. I thought perhaps you were some low life that thinks that the Soviets "liberated" Eastern Europe, that Stalin was a "visionary" fighting tyrany. Anyway, you have gotten way off the subject. What we are talking about is what a great documentary World At War is.

[teslagod2003]

@PeterMayer low life?see,where is the liberty,freedom,justice and equality that your nation are talking about?that all a cover for your evil intent,tsk...

yes it is,but people like you undermine what those who strugled and did their best to stop the nazis,and use every method you could use to gain your personal agenda...

i have nothing against normal german or american,but the government definitely forgets what washington stood for,his legacy forgotten,tsk...

[PeterMayer]

@teslagod2003 and no one looked for the real truth huh? And what prey tell would that be? The Nazis....hey Einstein, my family is from Germany. Do your homework before you start making baseless comparisons.

[PeterMayer]

@ingalls20 what, are we keeping score?

[hazemvirus]

i love it how these russians were cheering the germans tanks as they were russians, so stupid didnt notice the Iron Cross instead the red star, i bet they were shocked when they realized the truth

[randy109]

If you look at the USSR's poor showing in the first 5 months of the war you MUST remember that Stalin had purged his Military of about 85% of it's officers above the rank of Colonel just 3 or 4 years before. Thank God for our Soviet Allies!

[hazemvirus]

@randy109 even that didnt help that much, the germans didnt expect a terrible winter like the one they had, they thought its like the winter in germany, also hitler ignored his generals and advisers not to have two fronts war, finish with britain then go into russia, but he didnt so they got over numbred

[sirdard1]

oh my mine, wat a wonderful war Germans fought. mesmerized!

[PeterMayer]

@sirdard1 Yeah, killing millions of innocent people was just wonderful.

[hazemvirus]

@Rico8458 that country is fucked up mate, they got more than million soldier in main army and another in reserve and i dont think they will make a war now cuz if they do (chinese and russians will obviously send supplies and volunteers without merging into the war) and the south will be over whelm fast before the americans and some NATO countries rush to help them, but japan wont help for sure

[Rico8458]

how did russians allow a Georgian to rule over them?

[hazemvirus]

@Rico8458 rule over?

[kaypaxian1]

never trust a russian

[stardaddyo9]

@kaypaxian1 sometimes you have no choice. the enemy of my enemy is my friend

[PeterMayer]

@stardaddyo9 yup and it is now believed that the Nazis could not be detained like the Soviets were.

[hazemvirus]

@kaypaxian1 yep

[the82spartans]

5:04 Snow in June?

Hmmmm. Must have been the Northern tip of the front into Russia. Perhaps attacking from Finland?

[IvanBeSerious]

amazing footage tbh

[woodbinedrinker]

@7:15 the footage shows later war Italian Semovente SPG.

[woolvett22]

hitler=good sex

[RabidBunnyRabbit]

This is not Russia, it's Belorus - cities of Minsk and Smolensk. The teritory belonged to Soviet Russia at the time. My grand-grandparents (lithuanians) used to live in Belorus. Belorussians survived the sovietisation and collectivisation by the soviets and then suffered german occupation which was very cruel as Nazis did not consider slavs to be equal to their race. My grandfather (then 16 years old) and his three elder brothers went for partisan resistance. All his brothers died at war.

[RabidBunnyRabbit]

No surprise Stalin ignored the warnings and considered them to be a trick. First of all, he was a coward and was really afraid of Hitler. Second thing is that he was paranoid. There is a very nice doccumentary on Stalin's character called "Joseph Stalin" which gives a clear picture of this dictator.

[nyteq101]

does anybody knows the music name frome 7:35 ?

[phausser]

Yes sir

Its a song called Wenn Die Soldaten

Its available for download. Google it

Its a great marching song. The German had the best marching songs

[alexa00911]

One Russian city thought the army running tanks through it's streets were the Soviet army and cheerfully waved on their way to work.

Emmmm....... they confused a Big fat Swastika on a German Tank for a Hammer and Sickle, what a bunch of partially sighted simpletons.

[fernan2901]

from a walk in the cake to a crawl in the snow

[fendweller]

'Id been out and got home rather late'. Sounds like Britain's representative had been out on the lash on the eve of Barbarossa. The tension must have been palpable!

[cathkin33]

if nato ever attacks russia or china (as it seems to be heading for),there will be an unimaginable bloodbath......not a picnic ,like iraq,afghanistan

[rob11823]

It would be armageddon, in either case & doomsday if they tried to take on both at the same time! Although, if NATO does attack either country(Russia or China) they'll do it in such an arrogant & insolent manner that it will mean war with both of these 2 superpowers! Yes, I'am a cynic!

[Turksarebarbarians]

NATO is moving rapidly eastwards and I have no doubt the NATO fascists have "Barbarossa 2" ready and are waiting for their chance to put it into operation and do the same they did with Serbia some 10 years ago.Recently, there was a scandal as a Polish diplomat revealed inadvertently the existence of such plans euphemistically called 'pushing back Russian aggression'.Nowadays, all wars are 'defensive wars'.Even Barbarossa 1 was camouflaged as 'self-defence' against the Soviet aggression.

[TheNightBadger]

Rubbish; "a Polish diplomat revealed inadvertently the existence of such plans euphemistically called 'pushing back Russian aggression'". All that meant was taking the Russians fingers out of countries they had been oppressing since the days of the Soviet Union. "Barbarossa 2" indeed. Hitler was a dictator, Stalin was a dictator; if you think the US or NATO want to enslave Russia you're crazy; they want Russia to stop acting like a bully to its neighbours.

[Turksarebarbarians]

When the NATO fascists started bombing and partitioning Serbia,they howled about saving poor Moslems from the Serbian oppression and genocide.Today the few remaining Serbs there are terrorized and murdered by the poor Moslem "genocide survivors"of yesterday.Incidentally,the Americans snatched Camp Bondsteel near Urosevac.With 70 000 soldiers it can hold it is the biggest US base in Europe.That you naively believe NATO lies about "Russian aggression" doesn't mean I or anyone else should.

[TheNightBadger]

Didn't they start bombing and partitioning to stop the Serbians from ethnically cleansing their own people? What's the statute of limitations on "Barbarossa 2"? 10 years? 20? When do we know whether what you say is true? At what point would you believe it isn't?

[eflint1]

Face it. You know the Russians want their empire again. But I have to agree with you about Serbia. The U.S. got it wrong. Serbia was our WW2 ally for God's sake! And WHERE are all the millions in mass graves supposedly killed by Serbia? And what right did Clinton and Bush have to steal Kosovo from Serbia? The Albanians already have a country. It's called ALBANIA!!

[eflint1]

You are out of your mind. Eastern European countries want to be part of NATO to keep Russia from re-taking them. But I say, to blazes with NATO. I wish the U.S. would pull out of NATO all together. What a waste of money defending Europe who wants to stab us in the back economically. America needs to focus on China and the Muslims. We should be allies with Russia in this struggle.

[freedomwins1212]

@eflint1 You are so right!! We should not waste a minute defending Europe. The Muslims and the Chinese will attack Russia and the West. Russia is very fragile to the southern attacks and the Russian republic secession campaign in ten years time-and this is Europe whether the West wants to recognize this or not. Events will overtake ideology.

[nordicpatriot]

Well I'm a European and I would love to see the backs of the American soldiers. You are not defending us against anything.

As for "stabbing you in the back", you can hardly call sensible economic policies that. It's not our fault that you have acted irresponsibly by creating a titanic national debt. Surely you are not suggesting that America needs us to be it's babysitter?

Actually Goldman Sachs has just helped ruining Greece's economy. So go away please, your 'help' isn't welcome.

[eflint1]

By "stabbing us in the back", I simply mean you are an economic competitor, and RIGHTFULLY SO! I'm not faulting Europe at all. By why do you need our military there? You don't. As you said, you don't even like us. And like many generations before you, you see no dangers in the world that threaten you. You saw so no danger in Hitler, Stalin, the USSR, now you see in radical Islam. Europe has learned nothing and had judged herself unworthy of freedom.

[sneakeysmoker1]

@eflint1 i dont hate the usa..i admire it greatly,and i like american people..the usa saved the uk in 2 world wars and even before entering was helping england! 2006 england finished paying off its war debt to the usa,after sixty years! how many other countries payed theres off? anti americanism,mostly boils down to jealousy..so take it as a compliment!!

[hazemvirus]

@sneakeysmoker1 and this year the germans will finish their war reputation

[nordicpatriot]

I disgree with you on that one, many Europeans are against radical Islam. There is still some sort of politically corret taboo against saying that among some people, but it's gradually changing. And I don't see what the American prescence in Europe has to do with that.

We have learned a lot from history. But you should realize that there are many different lessons to learn and many different ways to enterpret the past.

[hazemvirus]

@nordicpatriot no country in europe is about islam, they are against terrorists not muslims

[TheNightBadger]

You're crazy if you think they'll ever attack them. There are enough weapons on both sides to destroy the world 100 times over.

[wi11ydapimp]

you wouldn't describe iraq as a bloodbath? if not, what?

[patsyd80]

its amazing how the russians stoped the germans. the uk (my country) could never have held out like starlingrad , kursk etc etc. luckly we had the channel and the royal navy blocking the hun as i dont think we had the man power and numbers of tanks to beat of the germans if we was connected by land.

[TheNightBadger]

It had less to do with 'Russians' than 'Russia'; Their population was large, their territory enormous, their natural resources were vast, and they had the ability to keep moving back. They also had massive production capacity. Hitler stepped down German production before the offensive (crazy). The Germans went in not prepared for winter and when they didn't succeed by winter 1941, they had already lost.

[PeterMayer]

@patsyd80 uh, did you forget about The United States roll in WW II, arming and supplying the British and Soviets? They might have lend a bit of a hand......

[teslagod2003]

@PeterMayer maybe,but maybe you also forgot,that when US joined ww2,the russians have proven already that they can defeat the germans,by driving them away from moscow,though they are not strong enough that time,but they are already massing their forces...

the only reason that stalin accepted aid from britain and US,is that he is a diplomat also,and he doesnt want any trouble from other nation that have not done much wrong to the ussr n the communists people...

[corn1971]

@patsyd80 UK didn't have the man power to throw away, didn't have the vast resource wealth to tap into to like the Soviets did. In 1940 it would have indeed been a grave situation if there was a land connection with the continent. It took a few years for England to catch up to the state of German military effectiveness. The Russians had to waste a lot of their troops lives to turn the tide. Thankfully the Channel saved England from facing such a possibility.

[bigsmokeish]

@patsyd80 thats sad cause i think the UK could have beaten the nazis even if they invaded the channel. i think Britain would have pushed the germans back into the sea given the fact they where still supplied by the US . you underestimated the courage, pride and resolve of your own country. remember, we did the same the to u guys many years ago during the REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

[naltrexone23X]

@bigsmokeish You are correct, the US did fight and defeat the British on US soil. But had Sealion been put into action, it would have been very difficult once the Germans secured a port. Their numbers and equippment and their tactics on land would have made it a bad situation. This is just going by numbers and previous victory against a similarly armed enemy. Tell me your side of it if you want, I am very open to others ideas, this is just my nerdy little vision of "what if".

[jimmy27paul]

@bigsmokeish Yeah............RIGHT.....

[vladma24]

@patsyd80 not just russians fought against Germany ! 

[schrire39]

@patsyd80 I'm not sure if that assesment is correct. Britain is an island ie: there would have been nowhere to retreat. In other words, the chances of constant street warfare would be very likely, especially in the massive industrial cities of London, Manchester, Birmingham....

[patsyd80]

@schrire39 If their was no channel the germans would have took the u.k in 6 or 7 weeks. you talk of citys like manchester and london but what about kiev and the other big citys the Germans took on their way to Moscow? The german allready took land the same size as the uk 7 or 8 times over in the ukraine and Russia. Plus you had the NKVD shoting anyone who tried to retreat PLUS the fact that russia had 20 times as many tanks and even more plans. Im proud Englishmen myself but lets not kid ourself

[schrire39]

@patsyd80 ultimately who will ever know what might have been? you may be correct in a technical sense- but reality can throw up all sorts of events and factors (eg: weather, terrain, culture) that can converge to create very odd outcomes. Also, one cannot talk about Britain and say "if there were no channel"- the sea would have been the ulitmate factor in any invasion if the Germans had come.... but ultimately your real point- that Russia took the brunt- is unarguably true.

[patsyd80]

@schrire39 you are 100% correct I never had room to write it but was gonna say that you never know what could have happend their is million variables. Lets just thank god for the Royal Navy an the channel. But my main point I was trying to make was that we never had the man power or the harsh treatment of their own people the russians had. They lost over a million a starlingrad an another kursk not mention the 3 and a half million pows the germans took and still raised a further ten million men.

[wojbert]

@patsyd80 Hitler , never really wanted to invade your country.. he felt the same culture , style of live. In opposite to Poland, and some other countries he wanted annihilate Slavs. He i think , wanted join England against bolshevik russia. where EVIL ruled .. and Patsy , you must read some  books and fix your historical knowledge. Koba and his annihilators , under Beria bloody dwarf murderd in cold blood 20 million russian

[wojbert]

@patsyd80 so only  6-8 million russian lost their lives in fight.

[davidbrianfisher]

@patsyd80 Im British and have to agree buddy, i think we are a tough old nation but the Russians are something else when it comes to durability! the Channel has always been our best weapon :-).

[patsyd80]

@davidbrianfisher You said it in one word durable. That sums it up perfect.

[wojbert]

@patsyd8 

[fredhubner]

As we can clearly see ... ignorance comes as a bliss ... some folks will say anything about Russia ... although their opinions reflects no more than the old and unsubstantiated Cold War paranoia ...

[indianpatriot]

that a fukicn jew out there in the parade

[obbabob]

You recognized Trotsky huh? :)

[patsyd80]

germany went through france in weeks yugoslavia in days and poland in a month. it took one and a half months for them to take one floor of a factory in stalingrad. you have to respect the red army. anyway greetings from london and god save the queen.............

[Evilfisher]

anyone knows the song at 2:12?

[SoulStealer124]

What's the name of the song during the Red Army Parade?

[mc0558]

Stalin must have thought, Why would Hitler attack us? Risky and unnecessary. Britain is not defeated. The USA is backing Britain; the American President would like nothing better than to enter the war against Germany. Russia is giving Hitler whatever he wants: oil, iron ore, food. All he has to do is ask for it and we give it to him. Why would he want to attack Russia? Besides, if H attacks, our army will certainly crack. Germans will win every battle to start with. So we don't want war either.

[DudokX]

I love those russian "fast tanks"

[WiredDragoon]

A great documentary, setting the benchmark pretty high for whatever came after it, but no longer up to date on some of the details.

[14kip]

does anyone know if there is a dvd box set of this entire series. its fascinating .ive leart more in these 4 programmes then i ever did at school.lol.

[randy95023]

Kip- The box set is available. I have one that I bought a couple of years ago, but I don't remember where I got it. I think it was from "Time". They've got a LOT of history and war vids.  I watched the "World at War" series when it first came out in '73 or '74. I saw it on PBS, which has always played a lot of BBC stuff. I've seen hundreds of WW2 docs and in my opinion the "World at War" is by far the finest. The music, the narration by Laurence Olivier all comes together to give it class!

[brodybear83]

You can buy the box set of "the World at War" at amazon and several other places. It is, I believe, one of the quintessential ww2 documentary series.

[kipastra]

yeh there is,have a look on ebay or amazon, 26 episodes,you should be able to pick it up for about £60!

[AllThingShow]

It can't be trosky he was exiled 10 yrs ago

[Vraltupp]

I saw Trotsky the bolshevist jew and asshole watching over the red army parade at 2:27.

[randy95023]

Vraltupp- You're right about Trotsky. He missed the whole thing, having left the Soviet Union to try to escape execution by Stalin. (Didn't work though, he was killed in Mexico by NKVD). There was another high ranking Soviet that looked a lot like Trotsky, with the same beard and spectacles. I've seen him in a LOT of WW2 Doc's but I don't recall his name. Cheers!

[JimmySmers]

That is Mikhail Kalinin

[faeembrugh]

It's hardly likely to be Trotsky is it? He was exiled in 1929 and killed in 1940 in Mexico.

[Wachetpower]

Are you counting the Holocaust?

[redplague]

The only thing I don't like about this series is the music.

[NYerintransit]

I have no animosity against the Russians, not even from the Soviet era.

[devmonbar]

I love the music at 3.07, Carl Davis is a genius!

[tranmere789]

Even russians addmit nowadays that 5 million soviet civilians were killed in areas where germans never reached.

There are lots of historicians nowadays who see that both Stalin and Hitler were planning to attack. Only problem is that russians don't want to open their secret documents about the summer of 1941, coz it could change history so much.

[JimmySmers]

Correct, the Russians want to continue to be portrayed as the victim of Nazi aggression and completely innocent to get sympathy from the world.

[MillitaryMind927]

Because they WERE victims.

and they WERE in fact completley Innocent.

[ILLAsassin]

I suppose invading Finland, occupying the Baltics, and conducting wholesale genocide on both your own people and others under a totalitarian regime makes you innocent. This is the Ost Front. There are no good guys.

[MillitaryMind927]

that 'genocide' on our people never happened. Just like the urban legends that Hitler was gay/jewish are just myths,

Ask anyone who lived in USSR before 1940 and they will tell you it was a utopia.

[ILLAsassin]

Wow really brainwashed huh?

[MillitaryMind927]

Oh cut the crap. You know nothing about the USSR, you weren't even their, so take your U.S. anti- communist conspiracies elsewhere

[ILLAsassin]

If it makes you feel better at night, American capitalist's funded the October Revolution and Karl Marx was a Freemason. Communism as much as the American government (both parties) and Fascism is a product of secret societies (AKA Illuminati). I don't support the US or the USSR, only the triumph of individual freedom.

[usafya]

Russians are no better than Nazis, Stalin and Hitler were partners in evil plot to divide the world in the beginning. Even in modern day Russians are worse than Nazis, committing the genocide of chechen civilians exterminating more 100,000 people, leveling to the ground schools, hospitals, something probably even Hitler would be ashamed of!

[panzeraxe]

"Wenn die Soldaten" song

[OceanicSS]

Hey can anybody tell me the song during 7:39 ?

[patsyd80]

"russian citys fell like 9pence" i like that bit. world at war best war doc ever if you ask me.

[ozmj]

8:35 ... ?? " citizens cheered for the german tanks thinking them thier own .." could anyone pease tell me why the hell would they possibly think them thier own tanks ??????

wierd !!!!

[theinventer6000]

they didn't think it was their own tanks, they were happy that the Germans invaded, because they hated Stalin. But the Germans started to kill them and treat them badly so they decided to stay on Stalin's side. Do you understand now or should i be a bit more specific.

[ozmj]

i got it , thank you .

[bunterx]

germans killing and treating civilians badly - now there's a surprise!!!. thanks to the manpower of russia the very darkest abyss of human nature - nazi germany - was prevented from enslaving the world. what amazes me is that modern germans are proud of their grandfathers' murderous behaviour. Im here to remind them of the truth. All countries including britain have committed atrocities on civilians in the past but germany in the 20th century was the most inherently evil society of all by far.

[mdk31]

"what amazes me is that modern germans are proud of their grandfathers' murderous behaviour."

Really? News to me. I'm German, and I'm certainly not proud of the holocaust and the war. Neither was my grandfather, who was imprisoned for his opposition to Hitler's regime.

Think before you post.

[DrZenith]

I agree with you 100%. No country has done as much to admit its mistakes and apologize for its past actions as Germany. What a contrast with Turkey, which continues officially to deny the murderous genocide in 1915 of one and a half million Armenians. There should be no question of this country entering the European Union until the Turkish government admits this historical truth.

[danbarnosu]

Turkey can't be in the Union cuz its simply doesn't belongs o Europe....geographicly talking

[JimmySmers]

A tiny piece of Turkey in the west is in Europe.

[mutchie6g]

@mdk31 I read your post with interest - if not for the treaty of versaies ww2 might never of happened ! Germany was not solely to blame for the war things were so bad in the 1930s it is not surprising Hitler rose to power because the people came to believe in him. He did a lot of good to begin with admittedley the holocaust was a tragedy but nevertheless you should be proud of your german heritage " germany is a great country" !!!!

[OceanicSS]

i think that i was documented wrong on that part. The non-loyalist to Russia thought that a German invasion was a miracle because of the wrath of Stalin and his tyranny; it made the Germans look like liberators but ironically the Germans had even more hatred for the serbs and the russians than Stalin did. But know that the brutality of Stalin had killed more people in Russia than the onslaught of the holocaust.

[ses4life]

the nazi regime was still grotesque though

[OceanicSS]

but we are comparing in contrast at the moment

[Taramriel]

The words "Garguantuan" and "Titanic" would not be wasted in desribing Operation Barbarossa.

[nulofka]

What is the name of the music at 7:35 in the clip?

[Angmarr]

Wenn die soldaten durch die stadt marschieren.. its here on youtube

[Calc1o]

Not that version, the versions on youtube are crap.

[Angmarr]

agree, i like this version the best. wish it was on youtube

[tumsabai]

This 26 part series was filmed between

1969 and 1973. The youngest WW2 veterans were about 45 years old between the years

1969 to 1973. Numerous eye witness accounts

of the battles.

[tranmere789]

Listen. Russian were surprised because germans attacked. But why? Because the war? No. But because germans made the first move. Nowadays we know that russians were planning to start their offensive against Germany in july 1941. This was the real shock for Russian leaders.

[PeterMayer]

The best.

[blade0954]

superb series