Hitler

Originally posted by jagdflieger
Well you don't really point out that Finland and Germany were allies for most of World War II. One could say that Finland did not switch sides, until it was obvious that Hitler and Germany was going to be defeated.

Ok.. well we did.. i have no problems admitting that.. 22.6.1941-15.9.1944 we fought at their side.. it was in 15.9.1944 that German launced operation TANNE OST trying to capture Suursaari.. (island on gulf of Finland..) very important to all (Germans, Finns, Soviets..) So we kicked their bottom.. Sinking several German vessels and capturing whole invasion force of 2000 (about 200 killed, 1800 captured..)

FACTS OF FINNISH WW2:

"On 22nd June 1941, Germany launched its massive attack against the Soviet Union. Finland joined the war on 25th June. This time the Finnish army was much better prepared and equipped. The army consisted of almost half a million men which was more than the Soviet army had on the Finnish front. With its determination and brute force the Finnish army quickly reached its old border line and continued the offensive deep into Russian territory. On December 1941, the Finnish army stopped its advance although Hitler insisted that Finland should attack against Leningrad with the Germans.

The war had become stabilized, and a part of the Finnish army was demobilized. Men were waiting in their bunkers just doing some daily routines. Everything changed after the German defeat in Stalingrad. The total German victory did not seem anymore reasonable and Finland started to find a way out of the war but it turned out to be impossible in that situation because of the German pressure.

So the Finns just waited till 9th June 1944, when the Soviet Union started a major advance against the Finnish lines. The Finnish army retreated almost in panic. But when the Finnish troops were again organized, the Finnish army could stop the overwhelming Soviet assault. The front line was stabilized in the middle of July, and the Soviet forces were unable to gain any further ground. This gave Finland an opportunity to exit from the war with acceptable conditions. On 19th September 1944, the peace treaty was signed.

According to the peace treaty, Finland was required to drive the Germans away from the Finnish soil. The first attempt at this was a "fake war", but the Russians demanded that the Finns should start a real war. The Germans retreated to Norway and destroyed the whole of Lapland. This war is called the Lapland War and it lasted from autumn 1944 to spring 1945.

A total of 86 000 Finns were killed in the three wars, and a further 57 000 were wounded and remained permanent invalids. Some 420 000 evacuees from the ceded territories had to be settled elsewhere. This was the cost of Finland staying as a independent state. In fact, there were only three capitals of European countries involved in the war which were never occupied by the enemy: London, Moscow and Helsinki."

Well, people I think your forgetting that the majority of Hitler's victims were not jews.

The Soviet union lost an estimate of 20 million people in the war, and Poland roughly a quater of its polulation. Not to mention how Hitler persecuted Gypsies, religious ministers and priests (just about anyone who didnt agree with him).

I heard he died in 1987.

This is a great thread and discussion.

As I read I pondered for a second and remembered watching the movie "Patton" and really enjoying it. Then I found out before he died in an "accident" immediately after WW2 had ended, he said something infamously ignored.

"We defeated the wrong enemy."

Of course he was referring to the communists.

Then Israel was formed, Palestine fell into chaos, the Korean War began and of course the 40+ year Cold War began and tore international relations to shreds with communists vs capitalists becoming a common theme.

Patton was right in my opinion.

a reply to: jagdflieger

In my opinion the same thing with Italy, Croatia and Norway as well. They supported the Axis until they realized it was over and Allied troops and partisans were winning.

This is the oldest thread on ATS. thread #4. 1, 2 and 3 are deleted and so is thread #5. I see there is a #6, will bump that to the top of Recent and move on up to the future.

Why? So I can see it all, grand tour, before it goes away?

The nazis had u-boats which we know took their nuclear research to Japan who were doing nuclear weapons research in Korea and they finished and tested a nuclear bomb.

en.wikipedia.org...

When the Soviets took Manchuria and Korea they found the Japanese nuclear research and used it to start their own nuclear program.

It's not known how much Klaus Fuchs aided the Soviet nuclear program by being a spy. The Soviets may have completed a working bomb without him, but he certainly helped. I think it's likely they would have, given how far the Japanese got with their research.

Point is, that Hitler certainly could have hitched a ride to another country in a u-boat if he wanted to. The Germans were shipping people and resources by u-boat wherever they wanted to go.