meore msoflio omi da qarTul-italiuri nonkonformistuli gamocdileba (axal saarqivo masalebze dayrdnobiT)
World War II and Georgian-Italian Non-conformist Experience (New archival materials)

Summary/Abstract: The outbreak of World War II caused immense reaction in Georgian emigration.One wing, including social-democrats, regarded Britain and France as Georgia’s politicalallies, and the other gravitated to Berlin, because it saw in Nazi Germany an instrumentfor re-establishing the independent national homeland which had been extinguished bythe Bolsheviks. Hoping to benefit on nationalist and anti-Bolshevic sentiments among theCaucasian and Asiatic peoples of the Soviet Union, the German army recruited several nationalunits from these peoples. Even before the invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941,Amt VI C, the Russian desk in the foreign intelligence division in RSHA (Reich MainSecurity Office), had developed a close relationship with the more fanatical nationalistsaround the émigré leader Micheil Kedia. The Russian bureau, which was very desperateto get information from the Soviet Union, soon came to consider the Georgians one of itsmost important assets. For this purpose and Kedia’s direct solicitation the group of paratroopers“Tamar I” and “Tamar II” was formed to land in Georgia.Despite the active cooperation with the German government, the leader of theGeorgian emigrant movement did not agree with the “Nazi brutal policy” and kept closefriendship with influential Germans who were in confrontation with Hitler. In the hopeof Kedia’s numerous contacts, famous Georgian theologian and Kartvelologist Mikheil(Michael) Tarkhnishvili applied to him for an assistance...

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