End of WW 2 in Germany

[riseabovethis]

My grandfather was born in November 1906. He spent his childhood and teenage years in a town that is now called Donetsk, but was known as Yuzovka at the time. During the Civil War, every possible force involved in the conflict passed through these areas, from the Germans and the Whites to the Reds and various insurgents.
His father died of cholera in 1922, and that is all I know about him. My grandfather had three brothers, and all of them died during the coming war.
My grandfather learned to drive locomotives, joined the party, and by the late 1930s had risen to mid-level leadership positions (incidentally, he knew Brezhnev well, who worked in a neighboring city).
This is the earliest surviving photograph. Judging by my father’s age (he’s the little boy in the picture), it was taken sometime around 1932.
View attachment 1257655

There is a photo showing my grandfather as part of a group of construction pioneers at the Kryvyi Rih Metallurgical Plant, pictured alongside Kalinin, one of the leaders of the Bolshevik Party. My grandfather is second from the right in the top row, Kalinin is in the center.
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When the smell of war was in the air, my grandfather was drafted into the army as a commissar and, as part of an engineering battalion, was sent to the border near Lithuania to build defensive structures. That’s where he found himself when the war broke out.
Incidentally, his wife, my grandmother, set out to join him at his post the day before the war, on June 21, 1941, along with the children (my father and uncle), so they could be together, but as soon as they left Kryvoi Rog, they learned of the outbreak of war and turned back. From there, they were later evacuated to Central Asia, where they spent most of the war.
Here is a photo of my grandfather with his family taken before the war. The baby in the photo is my uncle.
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My grandfather retreated with the army to Leningrad, where he took part in its defense.
It should be noted that, as a political commissar, he would have been doomed to immediate execution if captured, just like communists and Jews. But he was lucky. His three brothers were not. One died defending Leningrad, another during the final days of the defense of Sevastopol in 1942, and the third died of his wounds immediately after the war.
By the way, my other grandfather died in a hospital in February 1942; the notice of his death arrived on the day his youngest son was born. No photographs of him have survived.
When the position of commissar was abolished in the army, my grandfather, like all the other commissars, was sent for retraining as a political officer. I remember reading his notes on the history of warfare as a child, starting with the Macedonian phalanx.
After completing the course, my grandfather was assigned to the troops and served as the battalion’s deputy commander for political affairs. In addition to the usual frontline duties of an officer in the sapper units, his responsibilities included propaganda and agitation work among his subordinates.
His further combat path took him through Ukraine as part of the 3rd Ukrainian Front; in 1944, he was even able to briefly visit Kryvoi Rog, where his family had by then returned from evacuation. This photo was taken right then:
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Then came the fighting in Europe. My grandfather fought his way through Romania, Hungary, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. He saw the end of the war in Prague, by then a major in a guards unit.
In the photo, soldiers are celebrating Victory Day. My grandfather is on the right, dancing:
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And this photo was taken after he returned home. My grandfather is wearing a military uniform, without epaulets. At that time, many people were forced to wear army uniforms because there wasn’t enough civilian clothing. The country’s entire effort was focused on producing military supplies.
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My grandfather died in 1976. Cancer. I was a teenager at the time. Unfortunately, I hardly asked him any questions, like all teenagers back then, I had other interests. My grandfather himself never talked about the war, except for a few episodes unrelated to combat. That’s understandable; a normal person wouldn’t tell their young children about the horrors of war. Although I did hear some things from other people later on, while I was working. Veterans were everywhere back then, and they weren’t old at all...

During the war, my grandfather was awarded two orders, here is a brief excerpt from the description of why he received one of them:
"...In combat situations, he was brave, resourceful, resolute, and proactive.
During the fighting from October 29 to November 7, 1944, comrade Kalashnikov consistently carried out his duties directly on the front lines, inspiring soldiers and officers to heroic deeds through his personal example.
On November 2, 1944, the enemy launched a counterattack with up to 30 tanks and self-propelled guns against our units in the sector where a group of sappers was mining the field. Despite the enemy’s fierce artillery and machine-gun fire, the sappers, led by comrade Kalashnikov, successfully mined the field on schedule; seven enemy tanks were destroyed by the mines laid by the sappers, and the rest turned back. This operation facilitated the advance of the corps’ units.
On numerous occasions, comrade Kalashnikov personally took part in the rout of scattered enemy groups and personally shot and killed three hungarian soldiers and one officer with his pistol..."

Here’s another photo of my grandfather holding gun, taken before the war. It’s also interesting because it shows two different submachine guns that were adopted by the Red Army. Production of these models was discontinued after the war began, as the Red Army started manufacturing the PPSh, which was easier to produce.
By the way, the man on the left also survived the war; I knew him.
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Thank you for sharing you're grandfather's story. He lived most of his life during turbulent times.

 

[Soupnazi630]

Name them asshole.

The Trinh Kingdom in the north and Nguyen Kingdom in the south.

**** you liar

 

[Deadstick]

The Trinh Kingdom in the north and Nguyen Kingdom in the south.

**** you liar

You said it you idiot the area was a series of war lords and dynastic Families, the area was under Chinese occupation for a thousand years, Vietnam as a Country didn't exist , keep trying idiot, on second thoughts don't.

 

[Soupnazi630]

You said it you idiot the area was a series of war lords and dynastic Families, the area was under Chinese occupation for a thousand years, Vietnam as a Country didn't exist , keep trying idiot, on second thoughts don't.

No need to keep trying I already owned your stupid ass

North Vietnam had no claim over south vietnam and started the war. This was not a civil war you ignorant fool it was a war of communist imperialism

 

[Deadstick]

No need to keep trying I already owned your stupid ass

North Vietnam had no claim over south vietnam and started the war. This was not a civil war you ignorant fool it was a war of communist imperialism

So after and before WW2 which Country did the French Colonialists occupy? lets keep it simple for your simple mind.

 

[Soupnazi630]

So after and before WW2 which Country did the French Colonialists occupy? lets keep it simple for your simple mind.

Both

That is a simple one syllable answer which even a stupid fool like you might be able to grasp

 

[AZrailwhale]

Name them asshole.

Read my earlier post, or just get off your lazy ass and google “French Indochina in 1939” yourself.

 

[AZrailwhale]

Name them asshole.

From Wikki: "Cambodia, Laos (from 1899), Guangzhouwan (1898–1945), Cochinchina, and Vietnamese regions of Tonkin and Annam. It was established in 1887 and was dissolved in 1954. In 1949, Vietnam was reunited and it regained Cochinchina. " Since you are too lazy to look for yourself, here is a link to a map of French Indochina in 1939:

map of french indochina in 1939 - Bing

Check out what I just created on Bing Image Creator

www.bing.com

 

[Deadstick]

Both

That is a simple one syllable answer which even a stupid fool like you might be able to grasp

Both what?

 

[Deadstick]

From Wikki: "Cambodia, Laos (from 1899), Guangzhouwan (1898–1945), Cochinchina, and Vietnamese regions of Tonkin and Annam. It was established in 1887 and was dissolved in 1954. In 1949, Vietnam was reunited and it regained Cochinchina. " Since you are too lazy to look for yourself, here is a link to a map of French Indochina in 1939:

map of french indochina in 1939 - Bing

Check out what I just created on Bing Image Creator

www.bing.com

I will ask you what was the Country called that the French Colonialists occupied from 1858?

 

[Soupnazi630]

I will ask you what was the Country called that the French Colonialists occupied from 1858?

He answered

So did I

You just hate being wrong like a little brat child

 

[Deadstick]

He answered

So did I

You just hate being wrong like a little brat child

So remind me.

 

[Soupnazi630]

So remind me.

No you scroll up

 

[Ringo]

Wrong moron the two seperate kingdoms DID exist for centuries

I know for sure of one kingdom that existed not just as two parts, but as dozens, even hundreds of parts: Germany. So maybe it was a mistake for the two Germanys to reunite? It didn’t do the world any good in the 20th century.

 

[Ringo]

At the time they didn't but something has happened to their brains since then and transformed many into Nazi apologists or even Nazis, after all many high ranking former Nazi officers were in the leadership of Nato.

I think the Western mind is too unfamiliar with the scale of warfare on the Eastern Front to truly grasp its enormity. People see figures like the Allies sending 7,700 tanks and think that is massive, but the Soviet Union alone produced around 110,000 tanks during the war.The Soviet Union lost more men fighting over just a few blocks in downtown Stalingrad in four months than the United States has lost in wars throughout its entire history up to the present day.

 

[Deadstick]

I think the Western mind is too unfamiliar with the scale of warfare on the Eastern Front to truly grasp its enormity. People see figures like the Allies sending 7,700 tanks and think that is massive, but the Soviet Union alone produced around 110,000 tanks during the war.The Soviet Union lost more men fighting over just a few blocks in downtown Stalingrad in four months than the United States has lost in wars throughout its entire history up to the present day.

Indeed they can't grasp just how the scale of the fighting on the Eastern front was on another level most of the time,and what a total war of annihilation the Nazis were engaged in, i believe 17000 towns and villages in the soviet union were destroyed.

 

[AZrailwhale]

I think the Western mind is too unfamiliar with the scale of warfare on the Eastern Front to truly grasp its enormity. People see figures like the Allies sending 7,700 tanks and think that is massive, but the Soviet Union alone produced around 110,000 tanks during the war.The Soviet Union lost more men fighting over just a few blocks in downtown Stalingrad in four months than the United States has lost in wars throughout its entire history up to the present day.

You mean the Soviet leaders and generals murdered those soldiers by pushing barely trained troops into a meatgrinder when they could have pulled back. Stalin wasn’t going to give the Germans a propaganda victory by letting them capture STALINgrad.

 

[Soupnazi630]

I know for sure of one kingdom that existed not just as two parts, but as dozens, even hundreds of parts: Germany. So maybe it was a mistake for the two Germanys to reunite? It didn’t do the world any good in the 20th century.

You know nothing of anything

It did the world massive good to topple the communisty east just like the end of the USSR was a blessing to humanity

 

[Ringo]

You mean the Soviet leaders and generals murdered those soldiers by pushing barely trained troops into a meatgrinder when they could have pulled back. Stalin wasn’t going to give the Germans a propaganda victory by letting them capture STALINgrad.

I’ll answer. But not to you. You’re hopeless. There’s no point in talking to someone who judges the Battle of Stalingrad based on some idiotic Hollywood movie.

The 1920s marked a period of rapid development for Stalingrad. Its population grew sharply, and a tractor factory, a hydroelectric power plant, a metallurgical plant, a shipyard, a red and silicate brick factory, and a number of other facilities were built and actively developed. Thus, by the start of the war, Stalingrad was a major industrial center of the Soviet Union.

With the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, Stalingrad became the largest arsenal in the southeastern USSR. For Germany, Stalingrad was a crucial strategic and ideological center that had to be captured at any cost.

First, Stalingrad occupied a very advantageous geographical position—it opened the way to the south of the Soviet Union, to the oil fields of Azerbaijan.
Second, Stalingrad was a major industrial center. Its capture would mean the loss for the Soviet Union not only of a major arsenal but also of its port.
Third, the city bore the name of Stalin—Hitler’s chief enemy—and the capture of such a city would inevitably have signaled a major ideological victory for the Nazis.
Fourth, the fall of Stalingrad was intended to serve as a signal for Japan and Turkey to attack the USSR.

Given the importance Hitler attached to Stalingrad, he directed the main forces of his advancing armies there. The data is as follows: in July, 30 divisions were advancing on Stalingrad, and in September—81.

“Never in history has any army fought with such composure and fortitude, with such unsurpassed skill, with such unflagging power, as the army led by Stalin. Let us sincerely acknowledge that, had it not been for the exploits of the Red Army, the fate of free peoples would indeed have been grim.”
The English newspaper Evening News, 1942

 

[Soupnazi630]

I’ll answer. But not to you. You’re hopeless. There’s no point in talking to someone who judges the Battle of Stalingrad based on some idiotic Hollywood movie.

The 1920s marked a period of rapid development for Stalingrad. Its population grew sharply, and a tractor factory, a hydroelectric power plant, a metallurgical plant, a shipyard, a red and silicate brick factory, and a number of other facilities were built and actively developed. Thus, by the start of the war, Stalingrad was a major industrial center of the Soviet Union.

With the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, Stalingrad became the largest arsenal in the southeastern USSR. For Germany, Stalingrad was a crucial strategic and ideological center that had to be captured at any cost.

First, Stalingrad occupied a very advantageous geographical position—it opened the way to the south of the Soviet Union, to the oil fields of Azerbaijan.
Second, Stalingrad was a major industrial center. Its capture would mean the loss for the Soviet Union not only of a major arsenal but also of its port.
Third, the city bore the name of Stalin—Hitler’s chief enemy—and the capture of such a city would inevitably have signaled a major ideological victory for the Nazis.
Fourth, the fall of Stalingrad was intended to serve as a signal for Japan and Turkey to attack the USSR.

Given the importance Hitler attached to Stalingrad, he directed the main forces of his advancing armies there. The data is as follows: in July, 30 divisions were advancing on Stalingrad, and in September—81.

“Never in history has any army fought with such composure and fortitude, with such unsurpassed skill, with such unflagging power, as the army led by Stalin. Let us sincerely acknowledge that, had it not been for the exploits of the Red Army, the fate of free peoples would indeed have been grim.”
The English newspaper Evening News, 1942

They did not develop any facgtories or plants before thewar. They were given those things by western nations which were duped by stalin.

Trusting the evening news for accurate reporting is dumber than trusting a movie