Reich's Commissariat "Ukraine"

The Nazi minister for the occupied eastern territories, Alfred Rosenberg, who remained under a strong influence of the advisers, recruited among the Ukrainian renegades, thought about creation of a Ukrainian satellite state, similar to the Slovak State or so-called Independent State of Croatia. He expressed his ideas in May 1941 in the instructions to the commissar for the Ukraine. It soon occurred, though, that the Ukrainian renegades, rallied around Stefan Bandera, had no intention to remain loyal to Berlin due to conflict of interests. The day before the aggression on the Soviet Union - 21 June 1941 - the chief of Sipo and SD stated in the letter addressed to the Foreign Ministry and the genera staff, that he would not tolerate activities of the Ukrainian nationalist groups in their current form, since they were incompatible with German interests. Therefore, he announced that he would act accordingly. Meanwhile he ordered to postpone creation of the Ukrainian National Committee and forbade the key figures among the Ukrainian nationalists to travel to the occupied areas. More >>>

900 days of Leningrad

The defence of Leningrad was on the Leningrad Military District, responsible for guarding the Soviet-Finnish border from the Barents Sea to the Gulf of Finland. It was to hold positions on a 1,600km-long front with the forces of three armies (14th, 7th and 23rd), which together numbered 15 infantry divisions and 2 mechanized corps. In the Baltic Sea operated the Baltic Fleet with 2 battleships, 2 cruisers and 65 submarines. A move very important to the defence of Leningrad was shifting the Soviet-Finnish border after the war of 1939-1940. Then the border running within 32km from the city centre was moved by 150km westward, and the Baltic Sea gained bigger ease of operating in the Baltic Sea. More >>>