II. Dünya Savaşında Almanlara Esir Düşen Türkistanlı İdil (Volga)-Ural Lejyonu
The Turkestan Idil (Volga)-Ural Lejion Who Was Captured by the Germans During World War II

Author(s): Taner Gür
Subject(s): Military history, WW II and following years (1940 - 1949), Peace and Conflict Studies
Published by: Özgür Yayın Dağıtım Ltd. Şti.
Keywords: World War II; Germans; Turkestan Idil; Ural Lejion;
Summary/Abstract: The Soviets and the Germans, who came to a common decision on the partition of Poland, signed a 10-year non-aggression agreement in August 1939, but this period of peace ended with the sudden attack of the Germans on the Soviets on June 22, 1941. With these sudden attacks, which Russia did not expect, the Nazis made great progress and captured millions of Soviet soldiers, including soldiers of Turkestan origin, towards the end of the year. While the living conditions in the German camps cost the lives of many prisoners, the survivors brought an additional responsibility and cost to the Germans over time. Under the leadership of the German Ministry of the East, various committee studies were carried out with the notables of Turkestan, who sought a solution, and it was decided to form legions of captives that seemed to be beneficial to both sides. The legions formed from Turkestan soldiers later suffered great loss of life in the battles they fought with the Red Army on the Eastern Front and with the allies on other fronts. One of these legions, created under the control of the Germans, was the 'Idil (Volga)-Ural' Legion, mostly Tatar-Bashkir Turks, who had sworn to liberate their occupied lands since the middle of the 16th century. In this context, the formation processes of the Idil-Ural Legion and its political-military activities during the war will be discussed.

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