Growth of Ukraine’s Azov Units Follow Path of the Waffen-SS
The rise of Nazism in Germany was accompanied by the rise of its armed militants. These were used to fight opposing political parties and militia formations. They were ruthless.
The units were later known as the Waffen-SS:
After release from prison Hitler decided that he needed a paramilitary group to protect him personally. That group should be steadfastly faithful and loyal to him alone; not least to protect him from possible SA intrigues. Therefore Hitler established a personal bodyguard in his hometown München (Munich). Initially this group numbered only ten men with one officer. It was first called “Stoßtruppe Hitler” (Shock Troops Hitler). Again the title derived from divisional assaults groups from World War I. Later it was renamed “Schutz Staffel” (SS or Protection Squad).
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By 1932 the SS had some 30,000 men, …
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In March 1935 Hitler renounced the Treaty of Versailles and announced the expansion of the German Army and the formation of the SS Verfügungstruppen (SS VT or SS special purpose troops) as the core of a full military division. This unit was financed by the police budget to counter any Army fears.
After the start of the war the ‘armed evil’ grew further:
By 1939, four regiments (Standarten) had been organized.
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During the following winter and spring, regiments that had fought in Poland were expanded into brigades and later divisions. … These three divisions were to be the nucleus of the Waffen-SS in its subsequent rapid expansion.
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At the end of 1940, the Waffen-SS numbered slightly more than 150,000 men. By June 1944, it had grown to 594,000. Intended as an elite force, the Waffen-SS evolved due to the exigencies of war from the original SS concept of a military organization imbued with Nazi ideology and loyalty to Hitler into a polyglot force of decreasing combat effectiveness.
The Waffen-SS was not part of the regular army. It had its own financial resources. It recruited and trained its own officers through Nazi youth organizations. These were ‘true believers’ .
There are a lot of parallels between the rise of the Waffen SS and the Ukrainian Nazi formation known as Azov.
Azov started as a violent hooligan gang in Kharkov. It mixed nordic myth and Nazi ideology. It found rich oligarchs as sponsors and in exchange provided them with the necessary muscles to solve ‘business conflicts’. It has its own youth organization and international network.
Already in 2014, after the U.S. instigated a coup against the elected government of Ukraine, the fascist background of the newly installed government was shining through. Prime Minister Yatsenyuk, selected by the State Department’s Victoria Nuland, designated the Russian speaking people in east Ukraine who opposed him as “subhumans” i.e Untermenschen in Nazi speak.
In December 2014 the BBC(!) warned of the growing Nazi menace in Ukraine:
the ultra-nationalists have proven to be effective and dedicated fighters in the brutal war in the east against Russian-backed separatists and Russian forces, whose numbers also include a large contingent from Russia’s far right.
As a result, they have achieved a level of acceptance, even though most Ukrainians are unfamiliar with their actual beliefs.
The volunteer Azov Battalion is a case in point.
Run by the extremist Patriot of Ukraine organisation, which considers Jews and other minorities “sub-human”, external and calls for a white, Christian crusade against them
Article from LewRockwell
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