Transcript Battle of the Baltics (including the First Part of Barbarossa)

Battle of the Baltics
(including the First Part of
Barbarossa)
Presented by Kunal Gupta, Kaley Romero, Derek Schreiber, Simona
Snapkauskaite, Tim Tran
Thesis
Through the invasion of the Baltics in the initial
stages of Operation Barbarossa, Nazi Germany
provoked a Soviet counter-strike that forced Hitler
to fight a war on two fronts; this conflict not only
over-extended Nazi forces but also caused strife and
turmoil for the people of the Baltics.
Soviet Control (pre-Operation
Barbarossa)
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September 28-October 10, 1939- U.S.S.R forced Estonia, Latvia,
and Lithuania to allow Red Army forces into their nations and
started to impose puppet governments and politicians that advocated
Soviet rule (Tag Archives)
Baltics had no ability to fight back, and no ally in Europe to help
them (Tag Archives)
o everyone else focused on war, uneager to fight Russia (ally in
the war)
Still, resistance known as the Forest Brotherhood(partisans) worked
to thwart the movements of the Red Army
o wore white sleeves on their arm (baltaraisciai) (Buttar 109).
Soviets very unpopular among the people of the Baltics due to
occupation and conscription of its people, as well as mass
deportations to Siberia.
o Led the people to seek salvation in the Germans.
German Offensive
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Known as Operation Barbarossa
Motivation
o Invading USSR for Lebensraum (Webb).
o Setting the stage for the prognosticated show-down
between Britain and Nazi Germany as the world power
(Webb).
o Free Germany from economic strain placed upon it by Allies
(Webb).
Germany army split up into Army group North, Center, and South.
Used Blitzkrieg tactics to take large swaths of Soviet territory.
Targeted railways and airports.
Most of the Baltic locals were happy to see German forces.
o “As the Germans marched into Lithuania, they were greeted
by jubilant crowds, and thousands of people who threw
bunches of flowers to the men they regarded as saviors
from the Bolsheviks” (Buttar 103).
Baltic Reception of the Germans
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Germans were considered by many
of the people of the Baltics as
liberators
Hoped that they would allow for
Baltic independence
However, it soon became clear that
the Nazis planned to use the Baltics
for lebensraum, and hoped to
completely Germanize the area
#volkgemeinschaft
Also, as we will get into later, the
Nazis also heavily persecuted the
Jews of the Baltics, leading to
ghettos and concentration camps
around the region
Russian Counter-Offensive
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Russian forces defeated Army group Center and forced German troops out of Lithuania, and
Estonia
Seeing the hole in the German lines, the Russian forces moved west to the Baltic sea cutting off
German influence in the Baltic states
They then focused their attacks on Latvia where the remainder of German forces were settled.
The Latvians were on the side of the Germans.
o “On 1 March, units of the Red Army attacked across the frozen Velikaya, the beginning of
a series of battles that continued through most of the month. On 16 March, the Latvians
were driven from Hill 93.4 near Sapronovo, one of the few pieces of high ground on the
west bank…” (Buttar 183).
The Russians surrounded the remnants of Army group North in the Courland Peninsula of Latvia
Hitler Renamed Army group North to Army group Courland which recognized the fact that he
thought that there was no chance for a linkup between East Prussia and the Baltic states
Army Group Courland surrendered on May 9th, 1945 after over 200,000 prisoners were taken
(Phillips)
Military Movements
Details/Analysis of thesis
(Importance)
If Hitler hadn’t attacked the Baltics, Russia would have
stayed with the Axis forces.
The Soviet Union played a large part in the Allies’ victory
once they declared war with Germany. Not only did they
retake the Baltics, they continued to press against
Germany’s Eastern borders.
As Hitler continued to fight the war, he was pressed on two
fronts. Unable to defend Germany, this ultimately led to the
Nazi Party’s downfall.
Terrifying facts/ Long term effects
DID YOU KNOW? The highest
wartime losses in Europe were in
the Baltics
General Population Loss in the Baltics
● Resulted from emigration, deportations,
exterminations, and deaths
● Estonian population loss of 25%
● Lithuanian population loss of 15%
General Deaths from War or
Occupation in the Baltics
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180,000 deaths within Latvia
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250,000 deaths within Lithuania
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90,000 deaths within Estonia
WARNING!
Disturbing content ahead
The Eastern Holocaust
~The horrors of being a target of the Nazis in the Baltics and Soviet Union~
Baltic Camps - Klooga Camp, Estonia
“It was already afternoon, and the workers were not returning. Suddenly there
was a sound of automatic rifle fire. Every fifteen minutes, Germans came and
took away 25 to 50 people and immediately afterwards there was the sound
of rifle fire” (Webb).
“Suddenly there is quiet, silence, only fire and
sparks, Children, women, men are burned in
the fire and when day breaks once again we
no longer see any Germans” (Webb).
All quotes from the written records of M. Balberiszsky, a prisoner of the camp (Webb).
Ghetto Life - Kharkov, Ukraine
“We were permitted to go out of the
barracks between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. –
anyone who went out at any other time
was shot on the spot. By morning, the
corridors of the barracks were befouled to
an unimaginable degree. Then there
began a cleanup by hand, since there
were no shovels or brooms, and the
Germans threatened us with the firing
squad if it wasn’t all picked up within an
hour. The morning was also the time for
removing the bodies of those who had
died the night before” (Webb).
Quote from Jewish engineer in the ghetto, S. Krivoruchko (Webb).
Inhumane Treatment - Lvov, Ukraine
“In front of the military prison, Zamarstinov, hundreds of Jews were
removed from the nearby houses, men, women, old people, youngsters,
boys and girls, children, all naked, after their clothes and underwear had
been plucked from them, bleeding, followed by blows and kicks into the
prison courtyard.
“The people were ordered to dig their own pits and trenches, into which
they fell, after being shot. Some three hundred people were killed on that
day, and several thousands more were injured, beaten, crippled.
“Thus is the face of the first day of German rule in Lvov” (Webb).
Quote from Polish writer Tadeusz Zaderecki living there
(Webb).
Gas Vans Usage
“There were two gas-vans in use. I saw them myself. They were driven into the prison yard and the
Jews – men, women and children – had to get into the van directly from the cell. I also saw inside the
gas-vans, they were lined with metal and there was a wooden grille on the floor. The exhaust gases
were fed into the inside of the van…”
“I can still today hear the Jews knocking and shouting,
‘Dear Germans, let us out’” (Webb).
Quote from Battalion 9 of the Anton Lauer Police Reserve (Webb).
Works Cited
"22 September 1944: From One Occupation to Another." Estonia.eu. Welcome to Estonia, n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Buttar, Prit. Between Giants: The Battle for the Baltics in World War II. N.p.: Osprey, 2013. Print.
Chen, C. Peter, Alan Chanter, Thomas Houlihan, and David David Stubblebine. 1941 Timeline. N.p.: n.p., n.d. World War II
Database. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Hurtado, Mike. "World War II in the Baltic." World War II in the Baltic. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Meo, Valentina “RIP Obi-Juan”. Murder in Hayward’s Class. Physics, 13 Mar. 2015
"Operation Barbarossa." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.
Phillips, Charles, and Alan Axelrod. Encyclopedia of Wars. New York: Facts on File, 2005. Print.
"Tag Archives: Occupation of the Baltic States." Latvian History. Latvian History, 29 Oct. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Webb, Chris, Carmelo Lisciotto, and Victor Smart. "The Holocaust in the Soviet Union and Baltic States." The Holocaust in the
Soviet Union and Baltic States. H.E.A.R.T., 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Webb, Chris. "Operation Barbarossa 1941-1943." Holocaust Education & Archive Research Team. H. E. A. R. T., 2008. Web.
13
Mar. 2015.
"World War II, 1939 - 1945." World War II, 1939 - 1945. Worldology, 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2015.
Picture Works Cited
http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/nazioccupation/opbarb.html
https://www.pinterest.com/marcoabal/wwii-baltic-states/
http://www.youreuropemap.com/