Böcker av Perry Pierik

Suffering due to the consequences of the border revision of mid-europe, romania, led by marshal antonescu, opted for a pact with nazi germany. it was a deal with the devil. the romanian jews were sacrificed and the romanian army fell at stalingrad. the author sheds a light on the consequences of these fatal events through extensive archive work. Illustrated with special historical images Dr. Perry Pierik is a historian specialised in geopolitics. He wrote various other books on the Second World War and mid/eastern Europe. He was rewarded with the civis mundi prize for his work as a historian and publisher.

At the end of 1941, after the invasion of the Soviet Union, an idea of collaboration with the Islamic peoples of the Soviet Union arose among the Germans. Although Hitler and high command were sceptic about a partnership with 'Soviet citizens' in order to defeat Moscow, eveyone did agree that the Islamic peoples of the Caucasus and the Krim were reasonably trustworthy allies. Especially the Turkmen were considered reliable. This led to a large-scale military and political collaboration. The SS joined as well and established the 'Neu Turkestan' division, with help from the Grossmufti from Jeruzalem. This partnership came too late and suffered from the unbridgeable differences between the diverse ideologies. The experiment could not end in anything but drama. Furthermore, the collaboration at the Balkan, where Islamic volunteers served in the ranks of the Waffen-SS, is also touched upon.

Besides the persecution and annihilation of the Jewish community, the quest for Lebensraum was a pillar of the Nazi's ideology. The march east, operation 'Barbarossa' (1941), was essentially the final part of the geopolitics of the Third Reich. Historian Pierik takes readers into the world of ideas behind these politics, where cold blooded, rational elements go hand in hand with myths and radical beliefs. An example of solid and, more importantly, understandable historiography>Important step in a necessary discussion>Orpheus-like descent- Herman Veenhof

About 1 million inhabitants of the Soviet Union collaborated with the Nazis. This is a remarkable fact because the Nazis can not really be seen as allies due to their racial policy. And yet it happened. The aversion to Bolshevism and hope for new freedom a new horizon emerged in which collaboration between the Soviet peoples and the Germans might offer a better alternative to the 'Soviet paradise'. Historical oppression and bloody experiences played a major role in this, especially among the Ukrainian, Crimean and Caucasian peoples. But there were also Russians who longed for the tsarist times of old. Within Nazi Germany, there was much resistance to this collaboration, but others were more practical and saw in the help of Soviet collaborators precisely the solution to the long campaign in the east. This led to a difficult but ultimately large-scale collaboration. Using documents and literature, this book gives an insight into the broad outlines of this extraordinary event. It was also a dramatic event because the collapse of the Third Reich put the Osttruppen's desire for freedom into question, and met a dark end.