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PART 19
I just want to watch the world burn.......
To say it is a hard prospect for anyone, especially those among intellectual circles such as myself, to accurately describe to you the true and sobering nature of daily life for the people that were unfortunate to live under the colonial-esque tyranny of the Third Reich would be. As one might say; a drastic understatement. This should however not deter any of you from striving to learn the truths of the Cold War and the horrors of the Reich as we have done these past several days, because while the truth may never be pure and definitely never simple; a lie can always be more damaging then a truth that stings.
Lie, Such a simple, yet amazingly destructive word. The art of lying throughout the entirety of history has been one of the hallmarks of totalitarian societies such as the Third Reich; used to deceive the civilian and the powerful alike, those individuals or groups that the government could not successfully deceive with lies and promises were more often then not forced into submission by fear, lest they face the dire consequences of taking action against the regime. This combination was frequently and very effectively used by the Nazis to combat political dissent and ensure a complete iron grip of state control on the Reich's "volk", especially when in regards to it's minority Slav populations in the East. Of course. The further east one went within the Reich, the more likely it became that plain unadulterated fear commanded the daily situation; rather then any attempt at deceiving the populace or encouraging local collaboration. Something that we will examine further today.
Figure 1: German artillery pass through the Rot-Platz (better known as Red Square) in downtown Moskau during the 10th Annual "Siegtag" Celebrations, circa 1956
As the decade continued, thinking among the highest circles of the NSDAP underwent a radical shift in regards to issue of the Reich's racial policies. this shift in and in itself largely was a result of a need on the part of the Germans to secure economic and political security in it's restless Eastern territories. The failure of previous polices had convinced Albert Speer and many within in the highest circles of government that a long term change in direction was needed; lest the Reich eat herself to oblivion from the inside out. The passing of the Aryanization Protocols Act of 1955 (measures which would later be extended to also cover the Baltic peoples of the R.K. Ostland), in addition to the abolishment of Soviet-era communal farming in favor of more traditional privately owned farms were among the various reforms passed through the chambers of the Reichstag that signaled this significant deviation from prior doctrinaire thought. With the German government now pursuing a more long term and "stable" strategy of slow Germanization and co-opting of the local populace. in comparison to prior policies that were geared towards a rapid extermination of the local populace and comparable rapid colonization by German settlers.
These measures were however; rather soberingly in truth. Only intended by Berlin for implementation within those regions that passed one of two governmental qualifications by either "possessing direct or strategic interests; economic or otherwise, to the security and well-being of the Reich". Or otherwise being deemed racially viable enough for the government to "salvage". Such ideological based code language was a hallmark of Nazi policy, and in this particular instance. Was generally known within German circles to include practically everyone residing within the Reich's Eastern Territories, with the lone exception of the Russians.
In theory. One would think that since the R.K. Moskowien was not only the largest of the various Reichskommissariat's subordinate to the German government; but the most populous as well. That it would in turn logically hold the most sway politically and economically of the Reich's Slavic majority territories. In practice however, this was far from the case. The R.K. Moskowien had the grave misfortune of essentially consisting entirely of what had been the cultural heartland of Russia, leaving it a impure structure that; at least according to Nazi doctrine. "Needed" to be destroyed from the inside out so the Reich could be cleansed of all so called impure and decadent "Asiatic" influences. The Germans set out to accomplish these goals through various methods; through mostly through the continuation of the already implemented polices of "Generalplan Ost". However, even with this continuation of prior policies on the part of the Germans, it was still becoming quite clear to them that some of the measures outlined within Generalplan Ost would need to be scaled back in size; considering the increasingly obvious infeasibility that was the prior goal of killing off 90% of a 100 million strong population. Thus; with complete eradication becoming unlikely due to the lack of practically long term in the matter; the need to find a way to permanently deal with the issue of an increasingly restless large minority population became a buzzing question in the highest circles of the Berlin high command.
Figure 2: German troops salute their commander during a patrol in the Russian countryside, circa 1957
The matter of dealing with restless locals was, unfortunately for the Germans. Only made even more difficult by the issue of Slavic militant and rebel groups, especially those groups that actively worked with each other across borders in a coordinated effort to fight the Germans together compared to those that fought the Germans alone, the issue of illegal materials such as arms and medical supplies being smuggled across the borders of the Reichskommissariats was especially and increasingly troublesome for Berlin and local authorities on the ground to deal with in particular. Thus, the Germans began seeking a solution that would nip the problem in the bud before it grew to the point where it was no longer able to be controlled, this would lead to the passing of the so called "Einsamkeit" (Seclusion) Measures; which implemented a series of strict border control measures between the R.K. Moskowien and the neighboring R.K. Ostland, Ukraine and "Ural-Kaspischen Sicherheit Bezirk" in a attempt to stop the movement of illegal materials across the eastern frontiers. While the measures enjoyed some considerable amount of success at certain points of the border, the vast expanse that was the Russian frontier essentially made it a logistical impossibility for the Germans to properly patrol the borders in question to the efficient and effective manner desired by Berlin; effectively making the measures null and void as illegal materials continued to flood across the borders to and from the various partisan groups operating within the eastern territories.
The threat of these Slavic partisan groups; the majority of whom had been and would continue to be not so discreetly supported by Soviet agents. Had always been a tenuous issue for leadership in Berlin since the territories in question had been wrestled from Soviet control in the aftermath of the war. And while no specific group or groups had been able to successfully cause an extensive amount of damage to Germans in the east, they had proved to be a great nuisance to local authorities and governmental authorities alike. Through in truth, how problematic these groups in actuality were largely dependent on where you were in the Reich, the farther west you were, and thus the closer you were to the core of German control in Central Europe you were, things could be said to be
generally calmer due to the proximity of the territories in question (Ukraine, Ostland and Gotenland) to Berlin, easing the logistical issues of combating political dissidents. Comparatively, the further east you went; and thus the closer to the Soviet-German border you were. Things were in turn, as one might expect. Generally more chaotic. This closeness to the Soviet border in particular served to make the R.K. Moskowien (as well as the eastern "bezirks" or districts, of the R.K. Ukraine) a hotbed of Anti-German activities due to the relatively ease of supplying military intelligence and necessary combat and medical supplies to local groups on the part of Soviet agents.
Figure 3: Soviet partisans inspect a cache of stolen German materials at a safe zone near Charkow, Ukraine (Kharkov)
While we have already covered in some detail the activities of partisan groups in the Ukraine and Poland, it is worth mentioning the vast differences that existed in the operations conducted by those partisan groups compared to the groups that operated within the R.K. Moskowien. As we discussed before, the proximity territories such as Ukraine and Ostland to the core German areas not only made it infinitely easier for German authorities to maintain a tight and iron grip on the region, but limited much of the opportunities for foreign aid to successfully make it's way into the hands of partisan groups; effectively hitting together as a double combo that limited many of the opportunities for groups such as the Forest Brothers and the Ukrainian Insurgent Army to conduct operations outside of simple run and ditch raids and specific coordinated attacks on buildings and supply transport lines. The groups in R.K. Moskowien howevever, had a lot more freedom in their operational capabilities due to their close proximity to both the Soviet border as well as the limited German presence that existed within the region.
Most partisan attacks conducted within the region were usually aimed at disrupting the Reich's transportation infrastructure; particularly by attacking parts of Kiew-Dnjeprstadt-Moskau rail line, a important rail line which connected most of the major cites of Eastern Europe in addition to serving many German logistical needs; or by otherwise attacking various German military depots and supply bases located in the east. Overall, the majority of the operations undertaken by these Russian partisan groups during the late years of the 1950s would achieve considerable success in their objectives, causing massive and chaotic disruption across the board for the Germans. Unfortunately. These disruptions would ultimately only be but a mere minor inconvenience for the Reich, with local authorities being able to quickly clean up and repair any damage caused by the partisans efforts, essentially negating the success these operations had given to rebel forces. The attacks also served to only further inflame already furious German attitudes. Leading to a series of mass reprisals against civilian populations as "punishment" for the crimes of the so called Judeo-Bolshevik terrorists. The reprisals of the late 1950s were particularly aimed at major metropolitan centers in the R.K. Moskowien, and specifically Moscow, which would see most of it's population either exiled even further eastwards or otherwise outright murdered by local authorities.
Figure 4: The above is a example of early 60s era Soviet anti-German propaganda. The above example in particular urges the Soviet soldier to be ready to deal with the Fascist snake "wherever he operates and wherever he hides". Similar imagery and political slogans were used heavily against the Central Asian nationalist groups during the Soviet Civil War, groups which the Soviet government attempt to equate as being "Nazis in disguise" in a attempt to drum up civilian support for the war effort.
However. Partisans were not the only problem the Germans would have to deal with as the new decade approached. In fact, the Soviets themselves were increasingly becoming a major and pressing issue for Berlin as the Red Army stepped up it's attacks and raids across the border; forcing a escalation of the long running Soviet-German border conflict, the Germans returned these attacks in kind, launching raids across it's border with the Kazakh SSR, looting and pillaging nearby villages for what they could grab and generally just trying to cause as much chaos and general mayhem as they possibly could in the short amount of time they had to operate before retreating back across the border, all chaos the the Soviets would need to deal with once the sun rose in the morning. Despite these mutual border raids, both Berlin and Irkutsk refused to escalate the conflict into a full on shooting war, essentially leaving the Soviet-German Border War to continue as a undeclared dick measuring contest that would flame up when either side felt like causing trouble on a particular day. Which in a bit of ironic hindsight, was eerily similar to the motives for many of the Cold War's bloodiest and most destructive proxy conflicts.