Apart from Savicheva's diary There were some other notable symbols of the siege still remaining in people's memory: the metronome brodcast via the radio. The faster it ticked the more imminent was shelling. It was a warning for the citizens to take cover. Another symbol was the same sign on the walls of different buildings saying: "Citizens! During the shelling this side of the street is the most dangerous!" The original signs were removed after the war but in 1970s they appeared again to commemorate the siege. In some streets tourists still can find replicas of that sign. The Way of Live was a supply line laid on the ice of the Ladoga lake. It was used to supply the siege city. On the way to it drivers delivered food on the way back they evacuated citizens. It wasn't safe. In the winter it was shelled and in the spring the ice was melting and some cars could sink. There are several memorials devoted to those drivers Shostakovich's 7th symphony was finished in the besieged city. Then It was performed in the concert. The orchestra band had sustained losses and had to be reinforced by several military musicians. Despite the siege the audience gathered to listen to it. The music played by starved musicians to starving audience was a kind of challenge to the death.
Fun Fact: The Bronze Horse is one of the city's most beloved monuments (the largest stone ever moved by humans). Legend stated the city will not fall as long as the statue stands. To protect the monument, sandbags and a wooden shelter was erected. The city survived the siege for 900 days.
@@ReaperCH90 I did and I have seen my error. My comprehention was definitely off to say the least. Maybe it was the horror of it all that clouded my reading.
The way you do the German perspective is amazing. It allows a person to soak in the other view, right or wrong. Great history lesson professor Stefan, cheers my friend.
I really appreciate the detailed evidence you present through anecdotes, historical writings and policy documents. This makes your channel remarkably unique in a sea of WW2 history channels. Many of which, just paraphrase existing documentaries or rip them off completely! Mucho respecto!
@@Ghost-vi8qm "The west" helped the Soviet Union defeat Nazi Germany even after the Soviets helped to start the war by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and carving up eastern Europe with Germany. So your comment makes absolutely no sense at all.
Been there at summer 2019, most beautifull city in the world, so much history and culture at one place.i heard story's from locals about Great war, and terrible hunger during the those 900 days
Much of the old city was built by Finnish craftsmen starting in latter half of the 18th century and continuing through the 19th. Russia had annexed whole Finland in 1809 and had the areas of South Eastern part of Finland already earlier.
Thanks another super interesting video. BZ The German policy of starvation was implemented in two cases: in Leningrad and with the handling of the Russian prisoners of war. These were the crimes committed under the command of the Wehrmacht not by other organizations like the SS.
@@davehall44 6 April 1947 Backe committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell after being interrogated during the Nuremberg trials of 21 February and 14 March 1947
Stefan, i miss your old intro , the hyped up and a little bit crazy history teacher that got me as a kid in to ancient and modern history ever since. Great stuff , from Australia
I understand. It really depends on the available sources and my personal interest. Leningrad is not one of my greatest interests so that's why I kept it short. In the future things can change of course. I promise that next week's installment about the German perspective will be longer.
The 1st Tiger 1 to be captured was South of the city when it's 56 ton weight caused it to sink in the swampy terrain...it's believed that this is the tank used by the Russians on a firing range to determine the calibre of anti tank gun needed to penetrate its frontal armour.
The tank was captured near Rabochiy Poselok №5 (Workers' Settlement №5), 50km east of Leningrad, during the operation Iskra offensive. It was in full working condition and was left by german crew.
@@robertsettle2590 Na Tiger crews were to important. Most likely abandoned due to a lack of fuel or some terrain that kept it immobile. So they left it thinking the rest of the army would be able to recaptured it.
I met a fellow that served in a German engineering unit that specialized in bridge building. He said the Mosquitos at Leningrad were the size of Sparrows.
There is now a new German military cemetery South East of St Petersburg called Sologubovka...it's near the infamous Volkhov swamp where an entire Soviet army was wiped out.....newly found Wehrmacht remains from many miles around are reinterred in this huge field..
Besieging the city was a very good decision from a military perspective. Because taking it would require costly urban warfare. The Germans didn't have the ressources to take a City that wasn't important from a strategik perspective, the city was cut of from the rest of the SU and the troops in Leningrad were in no shape to pose a threat. The germans focused their limited supplies on more important objektives like Moscow, Stalingrad, the caucasus and Kursk.
@@holdfast453 I specifically said that besieging the city was a good idea *from a military perspective* . Read my comment before you answere. And what is wrong with my Avatar? I just like the character of Thanos
Thank you so much for pronouncing Von Leeb correctly! Yes, the destruction of the Badaev warehouses (where large food stores were kept) was a death knell for many people in the city. Don't know if you will cover this, but during the premier of Shostokovich's Seventh Symphony (the "Leningrad"), the Soviets positioned huge speakers at the German lines so the Germans could hear the symphony. There is a story that one of the German soldiers broke down in tears while hearing the concert because he realized that the Soviets would never surrender.
@@jacopofolin6400 It wasn’t. If only for the reason that the term was not invented yet. The idea that it is much cheaper to starve to death the population of a surrounded city rather than wasting resources on breaching the defenses is as old as human warfare. To an extent it worked as the Soviets wasted entire armies trying to break German encirclement. Once a thin corridor was created Soviets in fact gave up, this is why the siege of Leningrad lasted as long as it did.
@@pawelpap9 Hitler wanted the "living space in the est" made of only etnic german, how can he accomplish It whidowt Killing all the people living there? Starving to death Is a tipe of genocide, most of the genocide are done by starving or killing them in other ways. The use of death camps Is an exception in history
This Siege is one of the longest and cruelest form of nazi attrocities against people of Russsia. It lasted 884 days yet this event is rarely known outside former Soviet Unuion. During that period around 1 = 1.5 million people died of starvation deliberately imposed on populaton of the city by Nazis . This is my phd thesis and when you are taliking of what Soviet Union and its people endure during the WW2 that`s first thing whic comes to my mind .You SHOULD do a docu on this toppic to make new generations understand what the people of former Soviet Union endured under german occupation , this is especially good example , and why there was an outcry for revenge from the red army. Before war Leningrad had a population of around 3 mllions. 2OO.000 old men women and children were evacuated during the Siege . At the end of the war `Northern Venice ` was left with poulation of around 800,000.The othersin the city surrunded by nazis died of hunger and starvation.You mede a mistake = 7 th hot 6 Shostakovich sumphony was named after Leningrad not 6th.And it was partly written in the city before Shostakovich was evacuated himself from besieged city. No one shall be forgotten Nothing shall be forgotten = Ana Ahmatova.Finall offensive was called operation Iskra (the Spark ). You should explore it from soviet side.
@Der Patriot The city wouldn’t have to be defended if the Germans didn’t attack with the explicit goal to genocide the population of the Soviet Union, which they considered sub-humans. But that’s a tiny detail…
@Der Patriot What a sick mind construction you are trying to build?! What's next? Jews were to blame because they didnt evacuate "wilingly" and its their fault for ending in concentration camps?! Count yourself lucky key-board warrior, as in some countries you could end up behind bars for these statements!
Your approach to each and every one of even the most excruciating of topics or incidents separates you, Stefan, from the rest of the RUclipsr historians, whose opinions are almost always utterly without nuance ( with the almost single exception of Dr Mark Felton ). Well done, sir.
I'm a bit of a ww2 interested person and I have come to realize that no matter how much information I get to study I will not be able to know that entire history.
This storyline fits in with Hitler's plan to wipe out all Slavs, replacing them with Germans. Huge lack of support through supplies logistics being the greatest German failure. Second front in Sicily Italy, by Allies forces, did it make any difference?
many speculated that was generaly not great idea, because Italy have a pretty difficult terrein, germany predicted It and swiftly invaded Italy, and delayed operation overlord
This is rather rudimentary take on the history of Leningrad siege, even if the premise was to restrict ourselves to the German perspective. I am certain that Germans new quite a lot about the situation within the city and about Soviet efforts to break the siege. Arguably, the decisive moment was opening by the Soviets a narrow (10km) corridor along Lake Ladoga which for the next year allowed limited supply of the city and reduced the urgency to break the siege entirely. I was hoping to hear about German perspective on this event. In particular, inability to cut a 10km wide corridor (Soviets actually built a rail line through it) was an inexplicable military failure.
@@someguy7805 True, but the ice was short lived and easily broken by German artillery and planes. Soviet losses was horrendous and it was impossible to supply the city using this connection in any meaningful way.
The decisive thing was that Finns stopped exactly to the old Finnish-Soviet border. It was essentially a message to Stalin - see, we could advance but we stopped here, exactly to the border that you wanted so much to push back.
@@jrohilaso what you trying to say because Germans and Finns failed in their attempts to capture Murmask and Kola in the early stages of Barborossa what makes you think Leningrad won't surrender
Nazis: Enacts policy of starvation. Western Historians: Why did Stalin kill all these people by not evacuating them in time? Like I know you don’t like Stalin and the Soviet Union but that’s a bit ridiculous.
Western historians claim both. In all the literature I've read both aspects are talked about. In the video I pay more attention to the nazi starvation policies and briefly mention Stalin.
@@HistoryHustle I mean but just the framing on such statements are ridiculous. Can we blame the British for not evacuating all of Singapore? Of course not, even if the British didn’t care for those people as they would their fellow Britons, it was the Japanese who inflicted casualties on the people of Singapore, not the British failing to evacuate them. From hindsight, it’s easy to assign blame, but at the end of the day it is the aggressor that pulls the trigger.
@@comradeconnolly4538 It’s such a victim blaming. “Now why didn’t the city not get sieved? If it were prettier and kinder to its invaders, it wouldn’t have happened to her”. All these talks about how “Stalin is to blame for all the Nazi victims” ignores one aspect - the Nazi and their war machine. Same goes for the Red Army prisoner losses in 1941 - victim blaming those who died for being weak, while conveniently being silent on the military strength, aggressiveness and INTENT of the Nazi’s & Ally’s strength. Why didn’t Leningrad break the siege? Because the Red Army was fighting the war on the entire front from Ladoga to Caucasus - Moscow was being besieged and nearly escaped the same fate as Leningrad, or worse, Stalingrad started pulling troops. All the while 1/3 of population of the USSR with the most fertile agricultural lands was under the Nazi occupation. The numerical and technological advantage of the Red Army wouldn’t catch up until 1943-44.
Stefan, I have a question which you might be interested in answering with a video: If the USSR did not invade and annex the Baltic nations in 1940, would Germany have invaded them in Barbarossa? Or would an independent Latvia, Lithuania and/or Estonia be co-belligerents with Germany, like Hungary, Romania and Finland?
Estonia had pretty good relations with Germany at the time... if they are still independent when Barbarossa starts, I think that they join the Finns and Germans. Latvia feared both Germany and the Soviets, while Lithuania was more inclined towards the USSR because Germany had taken Memel in March 1939.
@@gumdeo It was the Soviet Union who invaded Finland. If Soviets would have left Finland alone, Finns would have left them alone. Same would have been true with Balts.
Aha, more early war German arrogance and shortsightedness (now there’s an English word to rival a German one). I personally think the manpower and material cost maintaining the siege cost the Germans far more then it hurt the Russians. More importantly it turned this far north part of the front and the Finnish front into a voluntary static front. If Leningrad held the Russians did not have to worry much about offensives in the north and the Germans did not seem inclined to take the city. Basically, they tied up a good amount of their own divisions and the Finnish army to gain really nothing.
Talking about a Luftwaffe pilot while showing a Finnish Bf109. The Luftwaffe didn't have the swastika symbol on their planes, they had the Balkenkreuz. It was the Finnish who used a swastika on a white backdrop.
Thats a really damn stupid thing to say. Germany is the only country that doesn't let go of the past. Even now we are still made responsible for the crimes comitted 70-80 years ago. We have nothing to do with the Nazis anymore. How can the Americans look the world in the eye with all the wars and the genocide of the natives? How can the Russians look the world in the eye with all the atrocities on their own population after WW2 and under the leadership of Stalin. All of those crimes, the German crimes too, were acts of the current leaders.
@@Paul___04 You have something to do with events 70-80 years ago even only by the fact that modern Germany is an official continuation of the Third Reich. This is why Germany is paying reparations, just to give you one example.
@Paul... Typical denials as expected...Germans refused to hunt down and prosecute nazi killers, judges that sent people to death camps were allowed to stay on the bench after your murderous holocaust...My uncle didn’t need to die in North Africa because of your people so stop pointing your finger at the US this is about you.
The siege of Leningrad is the definition of genocide pure and simple. It's interesting that there was such a stink generated during the blockade of Berlin but few in the West talk about the barbaric and genocidal siege of Leningrad. Never forget!
Nice picture of Finnish Air Force Messerschmitt bf 109 at 5:57. Not that the Finnish Air Force had any aerial missions in Leningrad. Actually, Finland did not have any official involvement in the Siege of Leningrad!
@@HistoryHustle you would be surprised at what “should be destroyed” that isn’t…I mean I’ve got a sizable roterfrontkapmfer bund collection….and you would think all of that stuff would’ve never survived the Nazis.
@@HistoryHustle If you were interested in collecting more you should join some of the Facebook groups that are dedicated to militaria… there are several different ones to choose from and specific ones as well. I used to collect nothing but the third Reich antiques, but the market is so full of fakes that look identical to the original that I felt I needed to shift my focus to Soviet era. So now predominantly I collect Russian Yugoslavian Romanian Hungarian and Bulgarian military antiques from the Soviet era. Would love to see some of your collection, maybe try and sneak it into a video like you did this one. Thanks again for all your videos I’ve grown quite fond of them
A little side track , we all heard of battles of the nations in volved in the western front in may 1940 , but there is one nation i absolutley havent heard a thing about exept it was jumping in to boats at dunkirk . What did the british actualy do during the invasion of the Netherlands , Belgium and France. as it doesnt seem they did much .
They did actively support Belgium and France. In the Netherlands only some troops came ashore (at Hoek van Holland) but departed soon. More about the German invasion of Belgium here: ruclips.net/video/Re75FUufKVs/видео.html
As an old history buff, (I'm 66)_I would loveto see videos thast show German at lest down to divisional level. So far on videos, whomever is making a video so far have just shown corps level. There is a lot of rich history being either overlooked or the makers of videos, maybe do not care. I'm not picking on this site, I'm just saying that the lack of some very good historians show's itself on all the RUclips sites
4:29 Since the German soldiers didn't take in civilians from Leningrad, they could go to the Finns instead, who were not waging an ideological war. And why didn't the civilians leave the besieged city as soon as Lake Ladoga was frozen - if the Russians had allowed it?
@@HistoryHustle I think Leningrad demonstrates that the Germans needed heavy 4 engine strategic bombers that also would have been useful against the factories that had ben moved East in the early days of the war.
I don't know how to tell you I think I make a big mistake I feel Moscow was all the way in the back close to Reykjavik or Vladivostok the capital of Russia is right next to Belarus and Poland it's right there next to Lithuania and Latvia I mean all this time I thought it was all the way in the back
Amazing how the city recovered the nazi destruction and is now one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Very sad so many people died in the siege….
An estimated one million Soviet civilians died during the siege; 16,700 of them because of shelling and bombing, most of it by honger of which most died during the winter of 1941-1942 [Overy].
Nothing but respect for Finland. They could have probably taken Leningrad from the north, but knew the Russians were likely to win the war and would never forgive this. They are also the only nation that fought the USSR and would preserve their independence after peace. This is due to their defensive victories on the Karelian Isthmus in Summer 1944 when the Red Army launched a major offensive with the goal of occupying Finland. Finland was a small Christian Democracy, they knew the fate of their nation and people if the USSR successfully occupied them, the fate of all Eastern European nations abandoned behind the Iron Curtain by the Western democracies makes for some very grim reading. The USSR was far worse than the Third Reich, there I said it.
How did the Finnish troops treat civilians who wanted to get out of the city? Because they didn't share the inhuman and racist ideology like the other countries of the Axis Powers. Even some members of the Finnish Army were jews.
As far as I know the Finns only chased the red army up to the border they wanted (Karelia, before the winter war) and took very little action in Leningrad beside it
@@MrKakibuy Yes. They dug in on their former border. But there where surely civilians coming out from the city begging for food from them or they wanted to let them pass through that they could organise some food themselves by fishing or hunting.
@@Chrizz06041980 While we all heard the stories of noble Finns, they were aligned with Germany in the WWII and only flipped to the other side at the very end, which afforded them a chance to escape persecution for their crimes. What crimes you may ask? Maintaining the military siege to the north for one - they didn’t allow civilians out or food supplies in, keeping their part of the bargain with The Nazi, bombing Lake Ladoga and attempts to resupply the city under siege. The camps they built on “reconquered territories” to inter the non-Finns (in Karelia). Ever heard of “Greater Finland”? Oh, the thirties were all the rage for “great reich”, “great Poland”, “great Finland”, etc. It was the time when young democracies slid into dictatorships and nationalistic fever dreams & ambitions. So no, while I have no hard feelings for the Finns today, we shouldn’t forget they were not so innocent in the war. And it doesn’t get all explained away by “the evil Stalin”.
@@HistoryHustle When I saw the title, 'How the Germans Saw the Siege of Leningrad', I was expecting find out how the German newspapers were reporting it, how the propaganda dealt with it, Die Wochenschau and what the rumours in the streets were. What you have done here is simply present the straight history of the siege and you've done it well but there is nothing that gives me a fresh insight making me think, 'Oh, the Germans saw the whole thing differently.' I just found the title misleading. Keep up the good work!
Koba (Stalins) starved Leningrad, Historian Mark Solonin proved it with the numbers, a simple qestion to all communists/Muscovites here, Marxist - ussr tried to starve Berlin 2 times, and failed 2 times, why ?
@@HistoryHustle The first 3 minutes is from the Soviet perspective. At 3:19 You mention a German professor notes in his diary.... Who and where was this professor? Was he a soldier at Leningrad? Was he at high command in Berlin? Was he a historian 20 years after the war? You say little to nothing on what the German soldiers saw during the siege except for a pilot bombing Leningrad early on. Also very little from the perspective of the German population at home.
GERMAN PERSPECTIVE ON WW2 PLAYLIST:
ruclips.net/video/4TlKvJ52TZk/видео.html
Take a look at the book “Red Symphony” Stalin/AH both tried to go against Big brother and both got clipped.
@@checktheplaylist101 Stalin was big brother. Stop inventing stuff.
@@julianshepherd2038 Read the book 📚….
@@checktheplaylist101 ?
It is just insane how much the city sufferd during the siege. Truly horrible.
Apart from Savicheva's diary
There were some other notable symbols of the siege still remaining in people's memory: the metronome brodcast via the radio. The faster it ticked the more imminent was shelling. It was a warning for the citizens to take cover.
Another symbol was the same sign on the walls of different buildings saying: "Citizens! During the shelling this side of the street is the most dangerous!" The original signs were removed after the war but in 1970s they appeared again to commemorate the siege. In some streets tourists still can find replicas of that sign.
The Way of Live was a supply line laid on the ice of the Ladoga lake. It was used to supply the siege city. On the way to it drivers delivered food on the way back they evacuated citizens. It wasn't safe. In the winter it was shelled and in the spring the ice was melting and some cars could sink. There are several memorials devoted to those drivers
Shostakovich's 7th symphony was finished in the besieged city. Then It was performed in the concert. The orchestra band had sustained losses and had to be reinforced by several military musicians. Despite the siege the audience gathered to listen to it. The music played by starved musicians to starving audience was a kind of challenge to the death.
Thanks for sharing this additional information!
I had been wondering why the Germans did not bother capturing Leningrad during 41 and 42 and now I have the answer. Thanks.
You're welcome!
Beyond propaganda value there was little strategic sense in taking it
They didn't bother capturing Moscow and Stalingrad too.
@@arkhammemery4712 It would have made supplying German forces, by sea, much easier.
@@fantasia55 why would you do that.. when there was already a land connection
Fun Fact:
The Bronze Horse is one of the city's most beloved monuments (the largest stone ever moved by humans). Legend stated the city will not fall as long as the statue stands.
To protect the monument, sandbags and a wooden shelter was erected.
The city survived the siege for 900 days.
There were far longer sieges which lasted for decades.
@@ReaperCH90 when was Leningrad ever under siege for decades?!
@@robertsettle2590 read again
@@ReaperCH90 I did and I have seen my error. My comprehention was definitely off to say the least. Maybe it was the horror of it all that clouded my reading.
I've read that too about the statue.
My great grandfather fought in Leningrad, I’m happy to see you make a video on this topic!
Thanks for sharing this.
@Count Choculitis Yup
@Count Choculitis You can believe that I guess, even though it is true
The way you do the German perspective is amazing. It allows a person to soak in the other view, right or wrong. Great history lesson professor Stefan, cheers my friend.
Many thanks, Otis. Next week Fall Blau! :)
I really appreciate the detailed evidence you present through anecdotes, historical writings and policy documents. This makes your channel remarkably unique in a sea of WW2 history channels. Many of which, just paraphrase existing documentaries or rip them off completely! Mucho respecto!
Awesome. Thanks!
My grandfather fought in Leningrad. Thank you for keeping this period unforgotten!
Thanks for your reply. What can you tell us about his experiences? Did you ever speak to him about his war experiences?
I am an Indian living in Czech Republic now. Have been looking at your videos for a while. Such a jewel your videos are man!!!
Many thanks 👍
Finally a video where I can briefly learn about the details from the German side of The Siege of Leningrad.
👍
Thanks for the Hustle once again!
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I had the hardest week!!
I needed this!! Thanks so much for the weekly escape!!
Man you have some awesome topics!!
Great to read, thanks as always. Hope you had a good rest!
Thanks again for the closed captioning.
You're welcome 👍
Have my coffee and a Professor Stefan lecture, an excellent Saturday morning!
Awesome, hope you enjoyed!👍
Underrated Channel!
Feel free to share:)
Professor. A superb history lesson. There is so much information you are uncovering. The more you are uncovering; the less endearing the Germans get!
👍👍👍
Thanks alot bro. Great topic and coverage.
Thanks, Keith!!
Professor, you continue to amaze me with your wonderful lectures.
Many thanks, Nikki!
With all due respect to the presenter and his effort, my understanding is he is a high school teacher, not a history professor.
Incredible & interesting is how I would describe your knowledge Stephon ✌️ thank you for sharing 👍
👍👍👍
@@HistoryHustle Stefan, Stephon...Still today I am not sure how your first name is, broer. Anyway, in portuguese looks like "Estêvão". Obrigado! 🇧🇷
Each video is a gem. Thank you
👍👍👍
Vladimir Putin's older brother died in Leningrad. I believe he was one of the many children who died of starvation during the seige.
Believe so too yes.
No wonder he hates the west now.
@@Ghost-vi8qm Yep. Putin must be atleast 80 year old to remember.
@@Ghost-vi8qm "The west" helped the Soviet Union defeat Nazi Germany even after the Soviets helped to start the war by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and carving up eastern Europe with Germany. So your comment makes absolutely no sense at all.
@@stephenbrand5661 Yes but now the west is united against Russia. And Putin sees this west as a "new threat from the west" as nazi Germany was.
Very interesting video, thank you for the knowledge! Learning is important, I wish RUclips would recommend your videos to more people! Great job 👍🏻
Thanks! Of course as always: feel free to share.
Been there at summer 2019, most beautifull city in the world, so much history and culture at one place.i heard story's from locals about Great war, and terrible hunger during the those 900 days
Agree, very beautiful city. Luckily the Germans didn't raze it to the ground.
Much of the old city was built by Finnish craftsmen starting in latter half of the 18th century and continuing through the 19th. Russia had annexed whole Finland in 1809 and had the areas of South Eastern part of Finland already earlier.
@@InssiAjatonRussia bought Finland from sweads - finnish peasants didn’t have much agency
Thanks another super interesting video. BZ
The German policy of starvation was implemented in two cases: in Leningrad and with the handling of the Russian prisoners of war. These were the crimes committed under the command of the Wehrmacht not by other organizations like the SS.
Indeed. Thanks for your message!
The Hunger Plan architect Herbert Backe hanged himself before he could be sent to the Soviet Union to explain his plan.
@@davehall44 6 April 1947 Backe committed suicide by hanging himself in his prison cell after being interrogated during the Nuremberg trials of 21 February and 14 March 1947
Herbert Backer declared Slavic and Jewish people “useless eaters”… I guess his death saved a lot of sauerkraut and schnitzels…
Stefan, i miss your old intro , the hyped up and a little bit crazy history teacher that got me as a kid in to ancient and modern history ever since. Great stuff , from Australia
Old intro? Which one you mean exactly?
My only complaint is that these videos are not longer. Excellent stuff, thanks.
I understand. It really depends on the available sources and my personal interest. Leningrad is not one of my greatest interests so that's why I kept it short. In the future things can change of course. I promise that next week's installment about the German perspective will be longer.
What my history teacher missed, professor Stephan filled. Thank you.
Great to read 👍
Great video like always!!!
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The 1st Tiger 1 to be captured was South of the city when it's 56 ton weight caused it to sink in the swampy terrain...it's believed that this is the tank used by the Russians on a firing range to determine the calibre of anti tank gun needed to penetrate its frontal armour.
Thanks for sharing this additional information.
The tank was captured near Rabochiy Poselok №5 (Workers' Settlement №5), 50km east of Leningrad, during the operation Iskra offensive. It was in full working condition and was left by german crew.
@@АлександрХудяков-ы4п I wonder if the tank crew were shot for abandoning their TIGER 1?!
@@robertsettle2590 Na Tiger crews were to important. Most likely abandoned due to a lack of fuel or some terrain that kept it immobile. So they left it thinking the rest of the army would be able to recaptured it.
I met a fellow that served in a German engineering unit that specialized in bridge building. He said the Mosquitos at Leningrad were the size of Sparrows.
Bizarre... Thanks for sharing!
Great video!!
Thanks, Miguel!
There is now a new German military cemetery South East of St Petersburg called Sologubovka...it's near the infamous Volkhov swamp where an entire Soviet army was wiped out.....newly found Wehrmacht remains from many miles around are reinterred in this huge field..
Interesting. Thanks for sharing this.
Your a very good broadcaster/ teacher....
🙂
I appreciate your approach of the subject.
👍
i read a detailed boog on siege 30 years ago very good presentation thank you.
Great to read. Thanks!
Thanks a lot mate
Cheers!
Besieging the city was a very good decision from a military perspective. Because taking it would require costly urban warfare. The Germans didn't have the ressources to take a City that wasn't important from a strategik perspective, the city was cut of from the rest of the SU and the troops in Leningrad were in no shape to pose a threat. The germans focused their limited supplies on more important objektives like Moscow, Stalingrad, the caucasus and Kursk.
There is something to say for that yes. Storming the city would be very costly indeed.
@@holdfast453 I specifically said that besieging the city was a good idea *from a military perspective* .
Read my comment before you answere.
And what is wrong with my Avatar? I just like the character of Thanos
@@thanos_6.0the Soviet soldiers in Leningrad put up an impregnable defence that Germans never captured it
Thank you so much for pronouncing Von Leeb correctly! Yes, the destruction of the Badaev warehouses (where large food stores were kept) was a death knell for many people in the city. Don't know if you will cover this, but during the premier of Shostokovich's Seventh Symphony (the "Leningrad"), the Soviets positioned huge speakers at the German lines so the Germans could hear the symphony. There is a story that one of the German soldiers broke down in tears while hearing the concert because he realized that the Soviets would never surrender.
Thanks for sharing this, very interesting to read. There are much more interesting aspects of this siege.
A truly tragic tale. The civilians in Leningrad suffered terribly. I have heard the siege is considered by some to be a genocide.
Pretty clearly that was the objective, but NAZI Germany was based on genocide so isn't a surprise
@@jacopofolin6400 It wasn’t. If only for the reason that the term was not invented yet. The idea that it is much cheaper to starve to death the population of a surrounded city rather than wasting resources on breaching the defenses is as old as human warfare. To an extent it worked as the Soviets wasted entire armies trying to break German encirclement. Once a thin corridor was created Soviets in fact gave up, this is why the siege of Leningrad lasted as long as it did.
Never forget indeed.
@@pawelpap9 Hitler wanted the "living space in the est" made of only etnic german, how can he accomplish It whidowt Killing all the people living there? Starving to death Is a tipe of genocide, most of the genocide are done by starving or killing them in other ways. The use of death camps Is an exception in history
@@pawelpap9 yes i never said that wasn't pratical but was based on racial view, they would had never done this in the west for example
This Siege is one of the longest and cruelest form of nazi attrocities against people of Russsia. It lasted 884 days yet this event is rarely known outside former Soviet Unuion. During that period around 1 = 1.5 million people died of starvation deliberately imposed on populaton of the city by Nazis . This is my phd thesis and when you are taliking of what Soviet Union and its people endure during the WW2 that`s first thing whic comes to my mind .You SHOULD do a docu on this toppic to make new generations understand what the people of former Soviet Union endured under german occupation , this is especially good example , and why there was an outcry for revenge from the red army. Before war Leningrad had a population of around 3 mllions. 2OO.000 old men women and children were evacuated during the Siege . At the end of the war `Northern Venice ` was left with poulation of around 800,000.The othersin the city surrunded by nazis died of hunger and starvation.You mede a mistake = 7 th hot 6 Shostakovich sumphony was named after Leningrad not 6th.And it was partly written in the city before Shostakovich was evacuated himself from besieged city. No one shall be forgotten Nothing shall be forgotten = Ana Ahmatova.Finall offensive was called operation Iskra (the Spark ). You should explore it from soviet side.
@Der Patriot The city wouldn’t have to be defended if the Germans didn’t attack with the explicit goal to genocide the population of the Soviet Union, which they considered sub-humans. But that’s a tiny detail…
@Der Patriot What a sick mind construction you are trying to build?!
What's next? Jews were to blame because they didnt evacuate "wilingly" and its their fault for ending in concentration camps?!
Count yourself lucky key-board warrior, as in some countries you could end up behind bars for these statements!
Thanks for your comment.
Idk if youre trying or not but your commentating is much clearer now, i really like your channel, keep it up ^^
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Thank you for this history lesson
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Actually allways wondered about that. Lets have a look!
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Your approach to each and every one of even the most excruciating of topics or incidents separates you, Stefan, from the rest of the RUclipsr historians, whose opinions are almost always utterly without nuance ( with the almost single exception of Dr Mark Felton ). Well done, sir.
Many thanks as always, Matthew!
@@HistoryHustle The pleasure is entirely mine.
"Only the dead have seen the end of the war." 💥 Obrigado! 🇧🇷
Interesting quote.
A consise definition of the human condition
@@billatkins6837 Thanks!
great video may i ask where do you get the info for your vids i would really like to know :D
See SOURCES below the video.
@@HistoryHustle thank you
I'm a bit of a ww2 interested person and I have come to realize that no matter how much information I get to study I will not be able to know that entire history.
It was a huge conflict indeed.
This storyline fits in with Hitler's plan to wipe out all Slavs, replacing them with Germans. Huge lack of support through supplies logistics being the greatest German failure. Second front in Sicily Italy, by Allies forces, did it make any difference?
many speculated that was generaly not great idea, because Italy have a pretty difficult terrein, germany predicted It and swiftly invaded Italy, and delayed operation overlord
They breched the last german+fascist lines only at the end of the war
@@jacopofolin6400 Not really. Italy capitulated already in September 1943 and officially joined allies shortly after.
At the end Germany lost WW2 due to the lack of oil.
This is rather rudimentary take on the history of Leningrad siege, even if the premise was to restrict ourselves to the German perspective. I am certain that Germans new quite a lot about the situation within the city and about Soviet efforts to break the siege. Arguably, the decisive moment was opening by the Soviets a narrow (10km) corridor along Lake Ladoga which for the next year allowed limited supply of the city and reduced the urgency to break the siege entirely. I was hoping to hear about German perspective on this event. In particular, inability to cut a 10km wide corridor (Soviets actually built a rail line through it) was an inexplicable military failure.
Even before the corridor was opened, the Soviets were able to send truck convoys across Lake Ladoga during the winter when it froze over.
@@someguy7805 True, but the ice was short lived and easily broken by German artillery and planes. Soviet losses was horrendous and it was impossible to supply the city using this connection in any meaningful way.
The decisive thing was that Finns stopped exactly to the old Finnish-Soviet border. It was essentially a message to Stalin - see, we could advance but we stopped here, exactly to the border that you wanted so much to push back.
Sure, there was more to it. This was just an overview video. Indeed, a rudimentary take.
@@jrohilaso what you trying to say because Germans and Finns failed in their attempts to capture Murmask and Kola in the early stages of Barborossa what makes you think Leningrad won't surrender
Vladimir Putins father was wounded at the Nevsky Pyatachok bridgehead just South of the city...
I believe so too.
Thanks!
Much appreciated!
5:57 pictured BF-109 is Finnish, not connected to the story told at that particular moment.
Ok.
great topic
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Nazis: Enacts policy of starvation.
Western Historians: Why did Stalin kill all these people by not evacuating them in time?
Like I know you don’t like Stalin and the Soviet Union but that’s a bit ridiculous.
Western historians claim both. In all the literature I've read both aspects are talked about. In the video I pay more attention to the nazi starvation policies and briefly mention Stalin.
@@HistoryHustle I mean but just the framing on such statements are ridiculous. Can we blame the British for not evacuating all of Singapore? Of course not, even if the British didn’t care for those people as they would their fellow Britons, it was the Japanese who inflicted casualties on the people of Singapore, not the British failing to evacuate them. From hindsight, it’s easy to assign blame, but at the end of the day it is the aggressor that pulls the trigger.
@@comradeconnolly4538 It’s such a victim blaming. “Now why didn’t the city not get sieved? If it were prettier and kinder to its invaders, it wouldn’t have happened to her”. All these talks about how “Stalin is to blame for all the Nazi victims” ignores one aspect - the Nazi and their war machine. Same goes for the Red Army prisoner losses in 1941 - victim blaming those who died for being weak, while conveniently being silent on the military strength, aggressiveness and INTENT of the Nazi’s & Ally’s strength.
Why didn’t Leningrad break the siege? Because the Red Army was fighting the war on the entire front from Ladoga to Caucasus - Moscow was being besieged and nearly escaped the same fate as Leningrad, or worse, Stalingrad started pulling troops. All the while 1/3 of population of the USSR with the most fertile agricultural lands was under the Nazi occupation. The numerical and technological advantage of the Red Army wouldn’t catch up until 1943-44.
Stefan, I have a question which you might be interested in answering with a video: If the USSR did not invade and annex the Baltic nations in 1940, would Germany have invaded them in Barbarossa? Or would an independent Latvia, Lithuania and/or Estonia be co-belligerents with Germany, like Hungary, Romania and Finland?
Most likely yes.
Estonia had pretty good relations with Germany at the time... if they are still independent when Barbarossa starts, I think that they join the Finns and Germans. Latvia feared both Germany and the Soviets, while Lithuania was more inclined towards the USSR because Germany had taken Memel in March 1939.
@@gumdeo It was the Soviet Union who invaded Finland. If Soviets would have left Finland alone, Finns would have left them alone. Same would have been true with Balts.
Greedy people don't stop , they go after what they want, trying their best to find reasons to achieve what they want
Of course they would - these tiny political prostitutes are always the same
Aha, more early war German arrogance and shortsightedness (now there’s an English word to rival a German one). I personally think the manpower and material cost maintaining the siege cost the Germans far more then it hurt the Russians. More importantly it turned this far north part of the front and the Finnish front into a voluntary static front. If Leningrad held the Russians did not have to worry much about offensives in the north and the Germans did not seem inclined to take the city. Basically, they tied up a good amount of their own divisions and the Finnish army to gain really nothing.
Hope to cover more on WW2 Finland later.
Stefan jou videos is baie interessant
Super, bedankt!
There is a small little monument in a park in the middle of Segovia dedicated to the Spanish Blue Division who fought valiantly at Krasny Bor "Like"
Ok! More on the Spanish Blue Division here:
ruclips.net/video/U8URPW5EUFQ/видео.html
Talking about a Luftwaffe pilot while showing a Finnish Bf109.
The Luftwaffe didn't have the swastika symbol on their planes, they had the Balkenkreuz. It was the Finnish who used a swastika on a white backdrop.
I stand corrected.
@@HistoryHustle
No worries man. Just nitpicking which doesn't affect your overall score for the video.
Keep up the good work.
Close to 100k yessir
100K in 2020 😁👍
Those poor people were reduced to cannibalism...how can the germans look the world in the eye?
Sad and brutal history.
Thats a really damn stupid thing to say. Germany is the only country that doesn't let go of the past. Even now we are still made responsible for the crimes comitted 70-80 years ago. We have nothing to do with the Nazis anymore. How can the Americans look the world in the eye with all the wars and the genocide of the natives? How can the Russians look the world in the eye with all the atrocities on their own population after WW2 and under the leadership of Stalin. All of those crimes, the German crimes too, were acts of the current leaders.
@@Paul___04 You have something to do with events 70-80 years ago even only by the fact that modern Germany is an official continuation of the Third Reich. This is why Germany is paying reparations, just to give you one example.
@Indigenous Advocate. Did I write anything about guilt? Or you are replying to a different post?
@Paul... Typical denials as expected...Germans refused to hunt down and prosecute nazi killers, judges that sent people to death camps were allowed to stay on the bench after your murderous holocaust...My uncle didn’t need to die in North Africa because of your people so stop pointing your finger at the US this is about you.
Hopefully behind one of the first doors of your advent calendar you will find a silver play button.
Yes, one day 💪
@@HistoryHustle Only 5K to go.
He’s got 111k now. Hope he already got that button!
@@valkyrie9553 Sure did. Check out the post under his Community tab.
The siege of Leningrad is the definition of genocide pure and simple. It's interesting that there was such a stink generated during the blockade of Berlin but few in the West talk about the barbaric and genocidal siege of Leningrad. Never forget!
Never forget!
Kind of weird how the battle of leningrad never gets talked about. Largest seige in human history
Guess it was overshadowed by "more exciting" battles.
Goeie video!!
Bedankt!
Thank you.
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I need the landcard in the backround
Ok. It's an old school map.
@@HistoryHustle they cant buy it today?
Nice picture of Finnish Air Force Messerschmitt bf 109 at 5:57. Not that the Finnish Air Force had any aerial missions in Leningrad. Actually, Finland did not have any official involvement in the Siege of Leningrad!
Didn't know this. I stand corrected.
@@HistoryHustle The picture ( bf 109 G-2 ) you have on your interesting and good video is taken above Malmi Airport in Helsinki in February 1944!
Got my hot chocolate and the dog wants to go out .... sit down son, Stefan is delivering!
My dog asked to go out just as I started this video too!
Lol, thanks y'all!
Do you always relax watching documentaries about human misery?
Can you imagine just how much one of those invitations would be worth now
You mean the original copies? Would be interesting if these would resurface one day... I assume they were destroyed.
@@HistoryHustle you would be surprised at what “should be destroyed” that isn’t…I mean I’ve got a sizable roterfrontkapmfer bund collection….and you would think all of that stuff would’ve never survived the Nazis.
I feel like camouflaging a bunker as a log cabin
Ok.
I see a tunic and helmet. What else do you collect?
That's pretty much it, I have some more helmets and repro uniforms for decoration. As well as flags. Oh, I do collect old banknotes from time to time.
@@HistoryHustle If you were interested in collecting more you should join some of the Facebook groups that are dedicated to militaria… there are several different ones to choose from and specific ones as well.
I used to collect nothing but the third Reich antiques, but the market is so full of fakes that look identical to the original that I felt I needed to shift my focus to Soviet era.
So now predominantly I collect Russian Yugoslavian Romanian Hungarian and Bulgarian military antiques from the Soviet era.
Would love to see some of your collection, maybe try and sneak it into a video like you did this one.
Thanks again for all your videos I’ve grown quite fond of them
A little side track , we all heard of battles of the nations in volved in the western front in may 1940 , but there is one nation i absolutley havent heard a thing about exept it was jumping in to boats at dunkirk .
What did the british actualy do during the invasion of the Netherlands , Belgium and France. as it doesnt seem they did much .
They did actively support Belgium and France. In the Netherlands only some troops came ashore (at Hoek van Holland) but departed soon. More about the German invasion of Belgium here:
ruclips.net/video/Re75FUufKVs/видео.html
Guter Sendung
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As an old history buff, (I'm 66)_I would loveto see videos thast show German at lest down to divisional level. So far on videos, whomever is making a video so far have just shown corps level. There is a lot of rich history being either overlooked or the makers of videos, maybe do not care. I'm not picking on this site, I'm just saying that the lack of some very good historians show's itself on all the RUclips sites
4:29 Since the German soldiers didn't take in civilians from Leningrad, they could go to the Finns instead, who were not waging an ideological war.
And why didn't the civilians leave the besieged city as soon as Lake Ladoga was frozen - if the Russians had allowed it?
Distance and the Luftwaffe. As for the Finns, hope to cover more on that in the future.
Children and civilians were backloads for the trucks on the Road of Life but it was pretty dangerous.
@Lex Bright Raven It seems that some did, it is mentioned in the wiki entry on the Road of Life.
Wow incredible thank you, poor peaple horrendous,,,,,
Indeed.
If Leningrad had fallen, what impact would it have had on the war?
Good question. Think it wouldn't have an altering effect, but it sure would damage Soviet morale.
@@HistoryHustle I think Leningrad demonstrates that the Germans needed heavy 4 engine strategic bombers that also would have been useful against the factories that had ben moved East in the early days of the war.
Can you add some animation to depict your narration?
Animation? Please explain.
Question: “How did (insert any soldiers from any time) feel about (insert any operation from any time)?”
-
Answer: They thought it sucked.
Ok.
Thanks for this angle. I hope one day you will be able to take the Russian angle too. Great vid again teach!
Groet 🌷, T.
Many thanks, T!
5:20 Is that an Elephant?
Not sure... A horse perhaps?
They should have done the same with Stalingrad instead of wasting valuable men in that insane battle
Interesting theory.
I don't know how to tell you I think I make a big mistake I feel Moscow was all the way in the back close to Reykjavik or Vladivostok the capital of Russia is right next to Belarus and Poland it's right there next to Lithuania and Latvia I mean all this time I thought it was all the way in the back
Amazing how the city recovered the nazi destruction and is now one of the most beautiful cities in the world.
Very sad so many people died in the siege….
Very sad history. And indeed amazing that the city looks so great today.
The Soviet did it for propaganda purposes, it wasn't organic recovery.
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97% of people died of starvation, 3% died of German air raids.
An estimated one million Soviet civilians died during the siege; 16,700 of them because of shelling and bombing, most of it by honger of which most died during the winter of 1941-1942 [Overy].
No tears for Finland
I see.
?!?
Finland was subjected to a brutal, unprovoked aggression in 1939.
@@gumdeo yes The brave Finns
Nothing but respect for Finland. They could have probably taken Leningrad from the north, but knew the Russians were likely to win the war and would never forgive this. They are also the only nation that fought the USSR and would preserve their independence after peace. This is due to their defensive victories on the Karelian Isthmus in Summer 1944 when the Red Army launched a major offensive with the goal of occupying Finland. Finland was a small Christian Democracy, they knew the fate of their nation and people if the USSR successfully occupied them, the fate of all Eastern European nations abandoned behind the Iron Curtain by the Western democracies makes for some very grim reading. The USSR was far worse than the Third Reich, there I said it.
Siege of Leningrad makes Battle of Britain look like mickey mouse
Agree.
How did the germans see the siege of stalingrad????
Soon..
Let’s gooo
yes
German soldiers rated it a total feck up!
>
Your picture was of a Finnish fighter plane, with all due respect
I see. Didn't know.
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Bloodiest front ever
It sure was bloody.
How did the Finnish troops treat civilians who wanted to get out of the city? Because they didn't share the inhuman and racist ideology like the other countries of the Axis Powers. Even some members of the Finnish Army were jews.
Good question. I still have to dive into the whole Finland WW2 story. More on that in 2022.
@@HistoryHustle Thank you for your effort making such interesting videos.
As far as I know the Finns only chased the red army up to the border they wanted (Karelia, before the winter war) and took very little action in Leningrad beside it
@@MrKakibuy Yes. They dug in on their former border. But there where surely civilians coming out from the city begging for food from them or they wanted to let them pass through that they could organise some food themselves by fishing or hunting.
@@Chrizz06041980 While we all heard the stories of noble Finns, they were aligned with Germany in the WWII and only flipped to the other side at the very end, which afforded them a chance to escape persecution for their crimes. What crimes you may ask? Maintaining the military siege to the north for one - they didn’t allow civilians out or food supplies in, keeping their part of the bargain with The Nazi, bombing Lake Ladoga and attempts to resupply the city under siege. The camps they built on “reconquered territories” to inter the non-Finns (in Karelia). Ever heard of “Greater Finland”? Oh, the thirties were all the rage for “great reich”, “great Poland”, “great Finland”, etc. It was the time when young democracies slid into dictatorships and nationalistic fever dreams & ambitions. So no, while I have no hard feelings for the Finns today, we shouldn’t forget they were not so innocent in the war. And it doesn’t get all explained away by “the evil Stalin”.
Clickbait title, 'The Siege of Leningrad' would be better.
Please explain.
@@HistoryHustle When I saw the title, 'How the Germans Saw the Siege of Leningrad', I was expecting find out how the German newspapers were reporting it, how the propaganda dealt with it, Die Wochenschau and what the rumours in the streets were. What you have done here is simply present the straight history of the siege and you've done it well but there is nothing that gives me a fresh insight making me think, 'Oh, the Germans saw the whole thing differently.'
I just found the title misleading. Keep up the good work!
Thanks for replying.
Koba (Stalins) starved Leningrad, Historian Mark Solonin proved it with the numbers, a simple qestion to all communists/Muscovites here, Marxist - ussr tried to starve Berlin 2 times, and failed 2 times, why ?
Tell us? I assume that Berlin NOT being surrounded by swamps, lake Ladoga and the gulf of Finland had some bearing on the attempts?
@@daviddoran3673 Even more likely the simple fact that the Germans didn’t destroy food supplies without evacuating population.
Muscovites? is this a slur for Russians in Poland/Ukraine?
I agree with David.
Hang on. That is aFinnis plane on 6.16
someone noticed it, oh well, wrong image.
Seems very incomplete
Please explain.
@@HistoryHustle The first 3 minutes is from the Soviet perspective. At 3:19 You mention a German professor notes in his diary.... Who and where was this professor? Was he a soldier at Leningrad? Was he at high command in Berlin? Was he a historian 20 years after the war? You say little to nothing on what the German soldiers saw during the siege except for a pilot bombing Leningrad early on. Also very little from the perspective of the German population at home.
Professor was: Wilhelm Ziegelmayer.