Volga-Tatar Legion (Idel-Ural Legion)- a Wehrmacht unit consisting of representatives of the Volga peoples of the USSR (Tatars, Bashkirs, Mari, Mordovians, Chuvash, Udmurts). Volga-Tatar legionnaires were part of 7 reinforced field battalions (12.5 thousand people). Organizationally subordinate to the Headquarters of the Command of the Eastern Legions (German). Kommando der Ostlegionen)
Description
Ideological basis
The formal ideological basis of the legion was the fight against Bolshevism and Jews, while German side deliberately spread rumors about possible creation Idel-Ural Republic. The leading role in the ideological training of legionnaires was played by emigrants - members national committees formed under the auspices of the Ministry of the Occupied eastern territories. Prominent figures were especially popular among them national movements period -1920 (Shafi Almas). The Muslim legionnaire camps were repeatedly visited by the Mufti of Jerusalem, Haj Amin el-Husseini, who made calls for holy war against the “infidels” in alliance with Germany. In the Muslim legions, the positions of mullahs were introduced, who sometimes combined religious functions with command ones, being at the same time platoon commanders. The military and political training of soldiers ended with a collective oath to Hitler and the presentation of a flag.
No promises regarding creation national republic under the German protectorate, following the example of the Ustasha in Yugoslavia or the Slovaks, none of the nationalities of the USSR was given.
Moreover, published materials highlighting Hitler’s categorically negative point of view regarding the need or possibility of allowing the creation of national state entities under a German protectorate in territory occupied by Germany, it is impossible to talk about any other goals of Germany in relation to the legionnaires, other than their assistance to Germany in the fight against Bolshevism and control over the territories supplying resources to Germany.
Symbolism
One of the options for the Idel-Ural legion patch
The Volga-Tatar Legion used a variant of the patch that looked like a blue-gray oval with a yellow border. In the center of the emblem there was a vault with a vertical arrow. At the top it was written in yellow letters Idel-Ural, and below - Tatar Legion. The round cockades on the headdresses had the same color combination as the stripes.
Story
Legion fighter in German uniform
Creation logic
Future legionnaires arriving from prisoner of war camps were already in preparatory camps divided into companies, platoons and squads and began training, which at the first stage included general physical and drill training, as well as the assimilation of German commands and regulations. The drills were conducted by German company commanders with the help of translators, as well as by squad and platoon commanders from among the legionnaires who had undergone two weeks of training at non-commissioned officer courses. Upon completion initial course training, recruits were transferred to battalions, where they received standard uniforms, equipment and weapons and moved on to tactical training and study of the material part of weapons.
In addition to 7 field battalions, during the war, construction, railway, transport and other auxiliary units were formed from prisoners of war - natives of the Volga region and the Urals, serving German army, but did not take direct part in the hostilities. Among them were 15 Volga-Tatar separate companies.
Organizational structure of field battalions, participation in hostilities
At the beginning of 1943, in the “second wave” of field battalions eastern legions 3 Volga-Tatar regiments were sent to the troops (825, 826 and 827th), and in the second half of 1943 - the “third wave” - 4 Volga-Tatar regiments (from 828th to 831st).
Each field battalion consisted of 3 rifle, machine gun and headquarters companies of 130-200 people each; V rifle company- 3 rifle and machine-gun platoons, in the headquarters - anti-tank, mortar, engineer and communications platoons. Total number The battalion consisted of 800-1000 soldiers and officers, including up to 60 German personnel (Rahmenpersonal): 4 officers, 1 official, 32 non-commissioned officers and 23 privates. The German commanders of battalions and companies had deputies from among representatives of the nationality of legionnaires. Command staff below the company level was exclusively national. The battalion was armed with 3 anti-tank guns (45 mm), 15 light and heavy mortars, 52 light and heavy machine guns, rifles and machine guns (mostly captured Soviet ones).
At the end of 1943, the battalions were transferred to Southern France and stationed in the city of Mand (Armenian, Azerbaijani and 829th Volga-Tatar battalion s). The 826th and 827th Volga Tatars were disarmed by the Germans due to the reluctance of the soldiers to go into battle and numerous cases of desertion. The 831st Volga-Tatar battalion was among those detached from the Wehrmacht at the end of 1943 to form a regiment within the SS troops under the command of career intelligence officer Major Mayer-Mader.
Switching to the side of the Red Army
The battalions did not demonstrate high combat effectiveness due to the fact that some of the legionnaires recruited against their will deserted or went over to the side of the Red Army. The first successful attempt was made in February 1943 in the 825th Volga-Tatar battalion, which at that time was on security duty in the Vitebsk region. An underground organization had been operating in this battalion since the end of 1942. The underground fighters of Vitebsk established contact with her, provided local partisans with detailed information about the battalion and took an active part in organizing the transition of its personnel on the side of the partisans. As a result, on February 23, 1943, near Vitebsk, the 825th battalion (over 800 people with 6 anti-tank guns, 100 machine guns and machine guns and other weapons) almost in its entirety went over to the side of the First Vitebsk partisan brigade. Most of them were subsequently repressed by the Stalinist regime.
For participation in underground organization On August 25, 1944, 11 Tatar legionnaires were guillotined in the Plötzensee military prison in Berlin: Musa Jalil, Abdullah Alish, Gainan Kurmashev, Fuat Sayfulmulyukov, Fuat Bulatov, Garif Shabaev, Akhmet Simaev, Abdulla Battalov, Zinnat Khasanov, Akhat Atnashev and Salim Bukharov.
Notes
Links
- Gilyazov I. A. Legion "Idel-Ural". - Kazan: Tatknigoizdat, 2005. - 383 p. - ISBN 5-298-04052-7
- Karashchuk A., Drobyazko S. Eastern legions and Cossack units in the Wehrmacht. - AST, 2000. - 48 p. - (Military-historical series “Soldier”: Uniform. Armament. Organization). - 7000 copies. - ISBN 5-237-03026-2
- Romanko O. V. Muslim legions in the Second World War. . - M.: AST; Transitbook, 2004. - 320 p. - 7000 copies. - ISBN 5-17-019816-7, 5-9578-0500-9
- Yurado K.K.
The Nazis initially did not intend to form military units from citizens of the USSR - due to distrust of “racially inferior nations.” The history of the international SS legion “Idel-Ural” subsequently confirmed these fears - hundreds of collaborators surrendered during the existence of this unit Soviet troops or partisans.
Why did the Nazis trust Muslims?
The main ideologist of the NSDAP, Alfred Rosenberg, believed that the Turkic-Muslim peoples are closer to the Aryans than everyone else living in the territory Soviet Union and should hate the Russians, who had these ethnic groups under colonial dependence. The factor of adherence to Islam of future SS legionnaires also played an important role - the Nazis were very interested in this religion, trying to use it to benefit the Reich.
Why was the legion called “Idel-Ural”?
The SS Idel-Ural legion, created in the summer of 1942, was called the Volga-Tatar legion by the Germans. The name came from the failed Volga “mini-state” (state) of the same name, which they intended to create on Russian territory during the Civil War. The Idel-Ural autonomy was to include the Ufa province and certain territories of six other regions.
The Idel-Ural legion, which consisted of seven battalions, included Tatars, Bashkirs, Volga and Ural peoples. The unit was replenished several times and, according to historians, over the entire history of its existence, about 25 thousand people passed through the Tatar legion.
Why did he fight so badly?
The first big one combat operation « Ball lightning"with the participation of "Idel-Ural" showed that the Nazis were cruelly mistaken in attributing to Muslim collaborators ideological fortitude in the fight against Soviet power– in 1943 sent for liquidation Belarusian partisans the Tatars, Bashkirs and Chuvashs rebelled, shot the Germans serving in the legion and the overwhelming majority went over to the partisans. Overall on Eastern Front similar transitions to the enemy’s side were very common in other units formed by nationality.
The remains of the Idel-Ural were transferred to Holland. But even there the Tatars rebelled. The legion was again reorganized and sent to France, where dozens of legionnaires also went over to the enemy’s side. In the end, the national unit was declared unfit for combat, and by the end of the war, the “Idel-Urals” performed only auxiliary security and construction functions for the Germans. WITH ROA general Vlasov “Idel-Ural” did not interact - the Muslims did not want to deal with the Russian: “he is on his own, and we are on our own.”
Musa Jalil: Idel-Ural legionnaire, “enemy of the people”, Hero of the Soviet Union
Famous Soviet poet Tatar Musa Jalil, whose name was discovered by his equally famous fellow writer Konstantin Simonov, was a member of the Idel-Ural legion. In one of the battles in June 1942, senior political instructor Jalil, seriously wounded in the chest, was captured. There he enlisted in the International Legion formed by the Nazis. He began to conduct underground work. In 1943, Musa Jalil was arrested by the Gestapo. A year later, in the Berlin prison Plötzensee, the underground fighter was guillotined.
At first, in his homeland, Jalil was classified as a particularly dangerous criminal. But when the Tatar poet’s poems, which he wrote while imprisoned, were published, the prisoner of Plötzensee prison was rehabilitated. Jalil was subsequently awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, streets and avenues in dozens of cities were named after him former USSR, poems from the cycle “Moabite Notebook” in Soviet time were included in the mandatory school curriculum. By the way, along with Jalil, another Tatar poet and writer, also an Idel-Ural legionnaire and an active underground fighter, Abdulla Alishev, was executed in Pletzensee.
On the same topic:
Volga-Tatar Legion of the SS: how the Tatars, Bashkirs, Chuvashs fought on the side of Hitler
Volga-Tatar Legion of the SS: what representatives Soviet peoples fought for Hitler
Who fought against the USSR in the Volga-Tatar SS Legion during the war
How the Bashkirs fought against Napoleon
It became unsafe to write about the collaboration of Soviet citizens during the Second War: scientists working on this difficult topic are attacked by jingoists. Despite the campaign of harassment, research continues.
Doctor historical sciences, professor of Kazansky federal university, whom we met in European University St. Petersburg, has been studying this phenomenon for several decades using the example of Russian Muslim soldiers who found themselves in German captivity during the First World War, and the example of representatives of the Turkic-Muslim peoples of the Soviet Union who joined armed formations as part of the Wehrmacht, in in particular in Volga-Tatar Legion, into the so-called legion "Idel-Ural".
Iskander Gilyazov reports.
The creation of the Eastern Legions as part of the Wehrmacht during the Second World War came to a certain extent as a surprise to the Germans themselves
– The creation of the eastern legions within the Wehrmacht during the Second World War came to a certain extent as a surprise to the Germans themselves. At the very beginning of the war, when they were planning a military campaign against the Soviet Union, the Germans did not plan to rely on any forces from other nations at all. They had a very strict attitude: only Germans could carry weapons, and only German weapons, victory can be achieved with German hands. The remaining peoples, according to the Nazi anthropological racist theory, had their own “hierarchy”, classification, therefore the Germans initially, according to this theory, treated them with distrust. Of course, there were peoples a little closer to them - Scandinavian, for example, and there were the so-called Untermensch - “subhumans”: Slavs, Gypsies, Jews, etc.
The course of military operations against the Soviet Union, especially in the first months, practically pushed the Germans to the idea of creating military formations from the eastern peoples. And, surprisingly, when there was no plan to attract these peoples, already at the end of August 1941 they began to work in prisoner of war camps special commissions Rosenberg's Eastern Ministry. They were engaged in a kind of division of prisoners of war on a national basis and separating them into separate special camps, which also remained, naturally, prisoner of war camps, but already concentrated representatives of various nationalities. Both emigrants and German representatives, German scientists and immigrants from the Soviet Union worked on these commissions. They seemed to be working for the future, not just hoping, but implying that sooner or later it might come in handy.
The course of hostilities against the Soviet Union prompted the Germans to the idea of creating military formations from the eastern peoples
The idea gradually began to take shape, and the impetus for its implementation was given German defeat near Moscow, when the blitzkrieg fizzled out. And in fact, in December 1941, the go-ahead was given for the creation of formations from the eastern peoples. Of course, everything cannot be reduced to a blitzkrieg; here we must take into account several factors that influenced the creation of the eastern legions. This is, let's say, unexpected a large number of prisoners of war. It was not clear what to do with them. By the end of the summer of 1941 there were a huge number of them. There are terrifying figures: by the end of the war, the Germans registered six million Soviet prisoners of war. This is a horror, a terrible tragedy!
Moreover, we must also take into account the fact that the Soviet Union practically did not comply with international conventions on the rights of prisoners of war, and these people seemed to be abandoned to the mercy of fate by their country, according to Stalin’s well-known instruction: “We have no prisoners of war!”
In relation to prisoners of war from other countries - England, the USA - these international norms were still in effect, but Soviet prisoners of war found themselves in a terrible situation. And the Germans, realizing that no one needed them, treated them especially cruelly. It was, of course, pestilence, epidemics, terrible famine, and terrible supplies... In addition, we must take into account that representatives of the old emigration and the authorities of other countries played a certain role, who to some extent influenced the Germans, expressed some thoughts to them.
The Soviet Union practically did not comply with international conventions on the rights of prisoners of war, and these people seemed to be abandoned to the mercy of fate by their country
In the end, the Germans decided to get out of this situation and “put trust in the representatives of the Turkic-Muslim peoples,” first of all, because they considered (and the position of Rosenberg and the position of other ideologists was corresponding) that these Turkic-Muslim peoples were subject to the ideology of Turkic unity, that they, relatively speaking, will be just as united as the Aryans. In addition, it was believed that these peoples were colonially dependent on the Soviet Union and they initially hated Russians. In addition, they are Muslims, and the Germans had an attentive attitude towards Islam. This is a long history, it dates back to the period of the First World War, when the Kaiser’s diplomats and scientists tried to use the Islamic factor.
In the end, this whole sum of factors played a role: “Turks, Muslims, colonial dependence, do not like Russians, Bolsheviks." It also seemed that the Soviet Union was a colossus in feet of clay that if you push it a little, it will fall apart, especially if the national forces within it begin to put pressure on it. This idea was formed by the end of 1941.
– Then did the formation of the first legions begin?
– At the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942, the formation of the first four legions began from these separated representatives, primarily Central Asian and Caucasian peoples. Oddly enough, both Georgians and Armenians fell under this wave, although they were neither Turks nor Muslims. Therefore, at first four legions were formed - Turkestan, Caucasian-Muslim, Georgian and Armenian. The Caucasian-Muslim was subsequently divided into North Caucasian and Azerbaijani. That is, five legions were formed as part of the eastern legions, which became one military structure as part of the German armed forces.
Tatarsky, or, as the Germans called him, Volga-Tatar Legion, or the “Idel-Ural” legion, as the representatives of the peoples of the Volga region themselves called it, included Tatars, Bashkirs, representatives of the peoples of the Volga region and the Urals. It was founded in late July - early August 1942. In reality, the banner was presented to him on September 6, and this date is considered the founding date of the legion. There were corresponding rules, there were several waves of replenishment.
At the end of 1941 - beginning of 1942, the formation of the first four legions from representatives of Central Asian and Caucasian peoples began
1942 and 1943 were the peak years for the creation of these eastern legions. Almost all of their base camps were located in Poland. Formations were constantly taking place. There were corresponding rules, a certain routine. It should be noted that in the legions it was allowed to create military unit numbering no more than a battalion - that's about 900-950 people. These battalions included at least 50–80 Germans.
As a result, eight were created Volga-Tatar battalions. There were more Turkestan, Georgian and Armenian ones. As a result, it turned out that the Turkestan Legion turned out to be the most numerous. At least representatives of the Volga region peoples, Tatars, Bashkirs and others passed through the Idel-Ural legion, according to the most approximate ideas, about 20–25 thousand people.
– The very name of the legion "Idel-Ural" is related to the events of 1918, when in Kazan, at the 2nd All-Russian Muslim Military Congress on January 8 (21) - February 18 (March 3), 1918, a resolution was adopted on the creation of a state within Russia Idel-Ural, which includes the entire Ufa province, part of the Kazan, Simbirsk, Samara, Orenburg, Perm and Vyatka provinces?
Eight Volga-Tatar battalions were created. There were more Turkestan, Georgian and Armenian
– Most likely, it was a certain political game, because this slogan has already, in principle, remained in history when, during the period Civil War issues were discussed nation building on the territory of the Middle Volga region, the creation of a state or state "Idel-Ural". Moreover, this was absolutely not a separatist movement. This staff was supposed to consist of Russian Federation, that is, it was not a department. But, in the end, the Bolshevik leaders did not allow even this to be created. Then a softer option began to be implemented. As the Civil War progressed, as the Bolsheviks strengthened their power, the idea of creating a Tatar-Bashkir Republic arose. In the end, already in 1920, under completely different conditions, a scanty and not fully reflecting interests was created Tatar population Volga Republic - Tatar Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, which, unfortunately, included only a quarter or one fifth of all ethnic Tatars. Even so, the territories in which they lived ethnic Tatars, for some reason they ended up in others administrative entities. One can only guess why this happened.
Most of the political emigrants who had authority in the 20s and 30s, at least among the Tatar political emigration, were not involved in this epic with the creation of the Idel-Ural legion. The fact is that the Germans were generally very suspicious of the political emigrants of the first wave. It turned out that “more reliable people” were involved in the creation of the legion: from among defectors, from later emigrants, from some other spheres, but not from those who had authority in the 20s and 30s. This applies not only to the Tatars, but also to many other peoples, for example, Central Asian and Caucasian emigration.
As the Bolsheviks strengthened their power, the idea of creating a Tatar-Bashkir Republic arose
– The relationship was specific. The army of General Vlasov was created as Russian liberation army, no national divisions were planned in it. Vlasov himself, judging by some of his speeches and some publications, adhered, I would say, to fairly democratic approaches to national question. For example, in one of his speeches he spoke out for the full right of nations to self-determination in future Russia, up to the separation. At the same time, he noted that he believes in the power of traditions, in the power of the ties of these peoples with the Russian people, in the fact that sooner or later this centuries-old tradition will play its role, and these peoples will be together with the Russian people.
And at the same time, there was distrust of General Vlasov on the part of the national leaders of the Turkic-Muslim peoples. They even jointly signed an anti-Vlasov manifesto, in which they asked the Germans to under no circumstances unite them with the army of General Vlasov, because, as it was written there, “General Vlasov is a Russian general, and his whole train of thought is Russian. And that’s why we have - his movement, and he has his own." Although, of course, there were contacts. There were special representatives of the ROA who communicated with representatives of the Turkic-Muslim peoples, but no alliance worked out.
– In addition to the military cooperation of the Germans with representatives of the Turkic-Muslim peoples of the Soviet Union, there was also political cooperation. What was it?
The army of General Vlasov was created as the Russian Liberation Army; no national units were planned in it
– In addition to military cooperation, the Germans planned to organize a kind of ideological base for all these military formations. Special so-called mediation agencies were created for Eastern Ministry Rosenberg, the Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories, which was responsible for all this work, including with representatives of the eastern peoples. These mediations with various eastern peoples were German institutions within this ministry. Turkestan mediation and Tatar mediation were created.
I will talk about the latter, which I studied more carefully. It was a German institution that dealt with the Tatars. It worked among emigrants, among workers who worked on the territory of the Reich, among legionnaires, and organized propaganda and political work among these people. This mediation was headed by an absolutely random person (I met him when he was still alive, he was over 90 years old) - lawyer Heinz Unglaube, a very cheerful, cheerful person who spoke neither Russian nor Tatar. And he was chosen for this position because, as he himself said, he once read something about the Tatars. It shocked me!
He headed this mediation almost until the end of the war. Under his auspices, the weekly newspaper for the legion and magazine Tatar literature in Tatar language. In order to support the political efforts of other peoples, supplements to this newspaper were created. He began to publish a German-Tatar newsletter in two languages.
In addition to military cooperation, the Germans planned to organize a kind of ideological base for all these military formations
A kind of outcome of this political work was the creation of national committees, which began to present themselves as governments in exile, as political organizations. And under the auspices of Tatar mediation in the Eastern Ministry in 1944, the “Union of Struggle of the Turkic-Tatars of Idel-Ural” was created, which was simply called the “Idel-Ural Committee”. Attempts to create such political organization began back in 1942, but it took shape only in 1944. Preserved policy documents, transcripts of this congress. I published them partially, including translation into Russian, in the magazine “Gasyrlar Avazy” (“Echo of Centuries”).
These documents are, by and large, democratic, which is quite unexpected. They are not Nazi, not fascist, they are nationalist, national. But at the same time, they largely repeat the postulates of the Tatar democratic movement of 1917–1920. The Tatars, of course, spoke quite cautiously on issues of anti-Semitism, but in some of them political movements anti-Semitic notes were quite strong. This, of course, cannot be accepted.
– What was the fate of the members of the Volga-Tatar legion “Idel-Ural” after the end of the war?
95% of the legionnaires, and maybe even more, were completely random people in the legions. They weren't truly enemies
– 95% of the legionnaires, and maybe even more, were completely random people in the legions. They were not truly enemies; many joined the legion with only one purpose: to wait it out, to save their lives. And of course, we made a mistake. They cannot be blamed for becoming traitors or fascists. Any crime must be specifically proven in court.
Their fate is in many ways difficult. Those who survived and returned to their homeland migrated from one camp to another. I won’t say that they were shot immediately, but almost all of them went through filtration camps. Their affairs, which in the 90s were in open access. I didn’t have time to work with them at that time, but there are a lot of them there – tens of thousands.
– Have you now tried to obtain permission to work with these materials?
Those who were released did not receive any rights as WWII veterans
– I didn’t even try. I've heard a lot about how difficult access is there. Those who were released did not receive any rights as WWII veterans. This is quite understandable. From a purely human perspective, I just feel sorry for these people. In many ways, these are lost people. I don’t treat such people with understanding, but at least taking into account all the circumstances.
– A year ago, on the 70th anniversary of the victory film "War of the Unforgiven" directed by Denis Krasilnikov about the Idel-Ural legion became the winner in the category "Best Feature Film" documentary"at the 11th Kazan International Muslim Film Festival. It aroused rage among Russian nationalists. To this day, on nationalist websites, for example, on the Novorossiya website, you can read negative comments about this film. This story with the film is another evidence of that process, which we are witnessing today in Russia - the process of distorting history in order to achieve certain political goals. How can you comment on this situation?
People want to stand out, show themselves without understanding the sources
– I acted as a consultant in this film. I read a lot of reviews - from enthusiastic to sharply critical. Most of the critical reviews themselves don't stand up to scrutiny because the critics approach this film from a position they already know. These critical assessments the main leitmotif is as follows: “Since this film was made about the Idel-Ural legion, then it is already clearly bad and it is already clearly defending this legion.” And the fact that this film is not dedicated to the Idel-Ural legion, but is dedicated to those people who, having found themselves in captivity, being part of the legion, in these difficult conditions rose to fight against Nazism, this does not bother them.
There is already some kind of rage going on here. People want to stand out, show themselves, without understanding the sources. Therefore, I considered it unnecessary to enter into controversy with them. Now, unfortunately, this trend has begun. If in the 90s we had a surge of interest in this topic, now we again see signs of the Soviet approach (in the bad sense of the word).
Unfortunately, we again began to glorify war as a phenomenon. And war is first and foremost a tragedy
In history today we see only what we want to see. In the present, we reproject many things and transfer them to the past. Unfortunately, we again began to glorify war as a phenomenon. I do not like it. War is, first of all, a tragedy. And it seems to me that on May 9 we should not just beat the fanfare, but stop and think, remember those people who died during the war, and maybe just be silent, and not shout: “Hurray! Hurray!”
When I see stickers on cars in May that say “We’ve reached Berlin, let’s get to Washington!”, I just get scared. This is a misperception of history. Unfortunately, our society is beginning to see in war only heroism and feat, and not tragedy. But it seems to me that tragedy and horror should come first in the perception of war.