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Six million eager volunteers? Not so fast. We separate fact from fiction about the Volkssturm: who was drafted, how they were armed, and their real impact in WWII. Plus, a candid reminder that history deserves honest debate—and respectful comments.

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0:00 - The Volkssturm and Online Misinformation
1:56 - Volkssturm Numbers and Conscription
6:21 - Weapons and Forced Service
9:08 - Executions of Volkssturm Members
11:44 - Military Impact and Allied Captivity
14:48 - Correcting Myths About the Volkssturm
19:07 - Constructive Criticism and Respectful Discussion
23:49 - Thanks and Upcoming History Videos


Category

📚
Learning
Transcript
00:00Dear friends, welcome back to an instant video from Dentro La Storia.
00:05I confess that I would have gladly avoided having to record this,
00:10because this, more than an instant video, is a look what I have to do.
00:17Every now and then, in the comments on shorts or videos,
00:21and in this case we're talking about a short,
00:23someone shows up who thinks they know better than anyone else
00:28and acts like a know-it-all and reels off data that's misleading,
00:32if not outright false, if not completely made up.
00:35It happened yesterday. Not really concerning.
00:38The Moto Guzzi video, which, by the way, made me really happy.
00:42Reading the comments of so many of you, who, both as enthusiasts,
00:46but also as complete novices on the subject, enjoyed it,
00:50I'm referring to yesterday's other post, the short, the real we did,
00:55regarding the Volkstern, because yesterday is the 82nd anniversary of the founding of the Volkstern.
01:03That defense militia that had been created by Adolf Hitler in the final months of World War II
01:11as a last line of defense, calling to arms all men aged 16 to 60
01:19who were otherwise outside the previous conscription age.
01:23Now, there were those who wrote all sorts of things.
01:28There were those who wrote that they were volunteers who had taken up arms.
01:33Six million German citizens who fought valiantly against the quote-unquote
01:38communist failures.
01:40I'd like to understand which communist failures, but fine,
01:44the Germans who have a respect for authority
01:46and a love of country that Italians could only dream of.
01:49In short, I'll let you imagine, but did things really happen like that,
01:54as some commenters have written?
01:56Let's clear things up then.
01:57First of all, regarding the numbers.
02:00Six million German citizens in the Volkstern.
02:03Well, that's nonsense.
02:05First of all, because the number of six million is based on a calculation
02:10referring to the potential recruits who fell within the founding principles of the Volkstern.
02:17That is, calling to arms men aged between 16 and 60
02:24who previously had not been called up for various reasons,
02:29for studies, for simply having failed the draft medical exam,
02:34or for age reasons,
02:35or in certain cases because they had already served their country in the Great War,
02:40or because they were judged partially physically impaired.
02:44And who precisely were recalled or called up to arms for the first time?
02:49This is the total number.
02:50But how many actually responded?
02:53Not six million.
02:54Much fewer.
02:56Estimates put it around six, around four million.
03:00Even though this is always based on what remains of the German archives and registries,
03:04and obviously not on precise records.
03:07Because many of these were destroyed or lost during the war,
03:11so it's hard to establish an exact number.
03:14It's hard to determine.
03:16Also because the activated Volkstern units weren't properly organized.
03:21In fact, the Volkstern levy included up to
03:25four levels of conscription.
03:27The first two levels, those involving actual mobilization,
03:32start right from the end of October 1944.
03:36The first mandatory conscription.
03:40And we will also come back to this concept later.
03:42It covers everyone born between 1884 and 1924.
03:48And it also provided for a maximum term of service of six weeks.
03:53No more than that.
03:55The second draft tier, the so-called second concept,
03:59was made up of men between 16 and 50 years old
04:03who had previously been exempt.
04:06The younger ones, due to their studies.
04:08The older ones, because they held jobs deemed essential to the war effort.
04:13And so, the so-called indispensable workers,
04:16who couldn't be called to the front line.
04:18If we add together these first two classes,
04:21out of all potential conscripts,
04:23we reach the number of four million.
04:25But there were never four million Volkstern soldiers at the front.
04:31There were fewer, and we're still below that famous figure of six million.
04:36You could reach six million by counting the third and fourth contingents,
04:40which, however, were mobilized in a very particular way back then.
04:45The third contingent involved the age cohorts from 1925,
04:50meaning 20-year-olds in 1945,
04:53and 19-year-olds in 1944,
04:56up to 1928.
04:58So, we're talking about 16-year-olds at most,
05:01at most 17-year-olds,
05:03provided they weren't already serving in the Wehrmacht and Waffen SS,
05:07like, in this case, volunteers.
05:09Those born in 1928,
05:13who were 16 at the time,
05:15and 17 in 1945.
05:18They had basic training that came from the Italian youth,
05:22or some came from the Reich Labor Service.
05:26But these, and also those of the fourth contingent,
05:29who were fit for military service,
05:32or people previously employed in guard or security service,
05:38did they have other types of call-ups?
05:41Let's also ask another question concerning the Volkssturm.
05:44Because while the first two classes
05:47were actually organized in such a way
05:50as to have their own ranks,
05:53their own collar tabs,
05:55and, in any case, distinctive insignia,
05:59the third and fourth levies
06:01were called up the very day
06:03the enemy appeared in the province,
06:05In practice,
06:07the enemy is directly at the gates of the town,
06:12or at least your settlement.
06:14Gentlemen,
06:15put on your arm,
06:16the Volkssturm armband,
06:18and go fight.
06:20But with what?
06:21And here we come to another point.
06:23What was the Volkssturm armed with?
06:26The Volkssturm was mainly armed with light weapons.
06:29The only anti-tank weapon
06:31was the Panzerfaust,
06:32the famous portable anti-tank rockets.
06:35But there weren't even that many of them
06:37because production within an industrial system
06:40like the German one at the end of World War II
06:43was by then running on empty.
06:45The German war industry between late 44 and early 45
06:51could no longer even meet the basic needs
06:55of the here and the Waffen-SS,
06:58let alone arming ordinary citizens.
07:01Even the fourth class,
07:02which included 15-year-old boys
07:05and seniors over 61,
07:09as well as the disabled.
07:11They were given maybe a few obsolete weapons,
07:14some relics from the Great War,
07:15and very little ammunition.
07:17And sometimes these children or elderly folks
07:20were told to get weapons on their own,
07:26maybe waiting for one of their comrades
07:28to fall in battle so they could take their weapon.
07:32So we can understand that in this case,
07:34it was a desperate defense.
07:36Then you mentioned the volunteers.
07:38But the volunteer formations
07:40within the German armed forces
07:42were distinguished by a word
07:45included in the very name of the unit.
07:48Freivillige.
07:50Frey, free, villige, vill.
07:53What does that mean?
07:54Volunteers, any unit named Freivillige,
07:57was supposed to be made up of volunteers,
07:59even if in some cases the label Freivillige
08:02hit a partly forced enlistment.
08:04The Folksturm was never.
08:07Freivillige, never, ever.
08:09Essentially, they were a kind of Freikorps,
08:13of Free Corps,
08:14like the ones that arose after the Great War
08:17in an irregular manner,
08:20but drawing from former imperial troops.
08:23In this case, they were,
08:24talking about armed bands,
08:27sometimes led by some party official.
08:29Obviously, the Nazi party,
08:31who were trying to resist
08:32the allied Anglo-American troops in the west
08:35and the Soviets in the east.
08:37With the little that was available,
08:39all of this makes it clear
08:40that they couldn't have been Freivillige,
08:43meaning volunteers.
08:45They were responding to a conscription call.
08:48They didn't volunteer to fight.
08:50There was a call-up,
08:51a clear call-up,
08:54stating that those age groups
08:55had to respond immediately.
08:58The classification of deserter,
08:59and therefore the possibility
09:01of facing a military court
09:02and being shot by a firing squad.
09:05Then there's another objection.
09:08There were no hangings of Folksturm members
09:11by the SS disciplinary battalions
09:14or SS courts marshal.
09:16Are we sure about that?
09:19In reality,
09:21if we go,
09:22verify,
09:23because you always have to verify,
09:26what comes to light?
09:27It turns out
09:28that in the last five weeks
09:30of the conflict alone,
09:31basically the month of April
09:33and early May,
09:35remember that peace
09:36became effective in Europe
09:37on May 8, 1945.
09:40Only in that brief period
09:43and only on the Western Front,
09:46the American military police
09:48stated in their reports.
09:49A figure that, of course,
09:51is rounded off,
09:52sometimes down,
09:54sometimes up.
09:55Between 5,000 and 7,000 bodies
09:58of Folksturm members,
10:01civilians,
10:02with or without armbands,
10:04found hanging from trees
10:06and lampposts
10:08with signs around their necks
10:10in German that read,
10:11I refuse to fight for my homeland.
10:13I refuse to defend my homeland.
10:16I am a coward
10:17because I refuse to take up arms.
10:19I betrayed the Fuhrer
10:21and on and on like that.
10:23Between 5,000 and 7,000.
10:26Which you might say,
10:27out of more than 300,000
10:30Folksturm members in the West,
10:31is small, percentage-wise, yes.
10:33But still,
10:34between 5,000 and 7,000.
10:367,000.
10:37Young boys and old men
10:39ending up hanged from trees
10:41by their own countrymen.
10:43Excuse me,
10:44but we can't pretend
10:46nothing happened.
10:47We can't pretend
10:48it's just a single
10:49isolated case of madness
10:51from some touchy SS officer.
10:54We're talking about
10:55something systematic.
10:56And, I repeat,
10:58these are only the data
11:00provided and that can be found
11:01in the reports
11:02of the American military police.
11:05Because in the East,
11:06where the Red Army arrives,
11:08where the fiercest fighting
11:10takes place,
11:11these records can't be found.
11:13Not because there were
11:14no summary executions,
11:16but simply because
11:17the Red Army
11:19didn't keep track
11:21of the so-called
11:23Volkstern deserters,
11:24who were hanged.
11:25They didn't account for them.
11:26So we don't have a precise
11:28overall figure
11:29for what happened,
11:30but we can easily
11:31quantify it
11:32in the thousands.
11:33Because the American reports
11:34are there,
11:35between
11:375,000 and 7,000
11:39Volkstern members
11:40were hanged
11:41by the SS.
11:42And that, too,
11:43is a matter of fact.
11:45But we're not done.
11:46We're absolutely not done.
11:48Because what was
11:49the real military impact
11:51of the Volkstern?
11:52Insignificant?
11:53I'll give you
11:54just a couple of facts,
11:56also taken from
11:57reports
11:58from the Western Front,
11:59where they faced
12:01the Anglo-Americans.
12:02The Volkstern battalions
12:04that were activated,
12:05and there really were
12:06a lot of them,
12:07at least on paper,
12:09almost all surrendered
12:10without a fight.
12:11Why?
12:12Because they realized
12:13they couldn't
12:14stand up to them?
12:16I don't mean on equal terms,
12:17but not even with
12:18the slightest hope
12:20of being able to
12:22fight
12:23in a serious way
12:24against a regular army,
12:26trained,
12:27well-armed,
12:28well-led in the field.
12:30It was a desperate attempt,
12:32and sending old men to die,
12:34or even worse,
12:35children,
12:36was truly despicable.
12:38Which is why
12:39the Anglo-Americans
12:40themselves,
12:41when they found members
12:42of the Volkstern,
12:44didn't shoot them,
12:44but either treated them
12:46as prisoners of war,
12:48while treating them
12:49more leniently
12:50than they treated
12:51regular soldiers.
12:52And let's not talk
12:53about the SS,
12:54who were indeed
12:55often the victims
12:56of summary executions.
12:58Instead,
12:59after a while,
13:00they were released
13:01because they were
13:01considered either
13:03practically hostages
13:04of the Nazi regime,
13:06or they were seen
13:07as citizens
13:08forced against their will
13:10to fight,
13:10to take up arms.
13:11But in the end,
13:12they hadn't even fought
13:14because they had
13:15thrown those weapons
13:16away at the first
13:17opportunity
13:18and surrendered,
13:19raising their hands.
13:20And these are the reports
13:21coming from the officers
13:22of the various
13:23Allied Army Corps
13:24on the Western Front.
13:26As for the Eastern Front,
13:28here too,
13:28unfortunately,
13:29we have no reports.
13:31Because the Red Army
13:32essentially filed
13:33no reports
13:34on what was happening
13:35regarding the Volkstern,
13:37the Volkstern members
13:39who were facing
13:40the Red Army,
13:40even though there are
13:42various accounts
13:44from Volkstern officers,
13:46regular officers
13:48assigned to command
13:49the Volkstern,
13:50who allegedly
13:51distinguished themselves
13:52in acts
13:54of presumed heroism.
13:55Simply put,
13:56yes,
13:57the Volkstern members
13:59captured alive
14:00by the Soviets
14:01were interned,
14:02and at most
14:03they could benefit
14:04from an earlier release
14:06compared to their comrades
14:07and compatriots.
14:08If, to give an example,
14:11the Soviet Union
14:12starts releasing
14:13the regular soldiers
14:14captured during the war
14:16starting from 1955,
14:18that is,
14:19ten years after
14:20the end
14:21of the Second World War,
14:22the Volkstern members
14:24who were captured
14:25by the Soviets
14:25were released
14:26as early as 1948,
14:2949,
14:30because
14:31they are judged
14:32as basically
14:34just poor devils.
14:35They had been given
14:36an impossible task
14:38to carry out,
14:39and therefore,
14:40they posed less
14:41of a military
14:42and social threat
14:43than the regular
14:44army and the Waffen-SS.
14:47It's all clear.
14:48So,
14:49when we talk about
14:50the Italian Volkstern,
14:52we cannot talk about
14:53heroism,
14:55patriotism,
14:57volunteers
14:57of six million men
15:00under arms.
15:01Because they are all lies,
15:03or,
15:03at best,
15:04manipulations of data
15:05to distort reality.
15:07To recap,
15:08the Volkstern
15:08wasn't six million strong.
15:11At least,
15:12six million
15:13was the final
15:14optimistic figure
15:15for the theoretical
15:16force they could count on.
15:18And in reality,
15:20there were fewer,
15:21at most,
15:22assuming it's all true.
15:23And it's impossible
15:24to prove,
15:25because indeed,
15:26many German registry
15:28records were destroyed.
15:29The Volkstern may have involved
15:31four million kids
15:33and old men
15:34under arms.
15:36That's the first fact.
15:37They weren't volunteers.
15:39They didn't show up
15:40voluntarily
15:40at the recruitment offices.
15:42They weren't asking to fight.
15:43They were forced.
15:45There was a law
15:46mandating
15:46a compulsory call-up
15:48with refusal
15:49treated as desertion,
15:50or draft evasion,
15:52which was a full-fledged draft.
15:55So,
15:55they weren't volunteers.
15:57Second fact.
15:59Third fact.
16:00Poorly armed.
16:02Sometimes not even armed.
16:04Or not even wearing a uniform.
16:06At all.
16:07Maybe an armband at best,
16:09and perhaps not even that.
16:11So, that is the third fact.
16:12Fourth fact.
16:13Military value?
16:14Poor,
16:15if not non-existent.
16:17With
16:17so many battalions that
16:20surrender without even
16:21firing a shot,
16:22or
16:23after firing two shots at most.
16:25Fifth.
16:26Arbitrary hangings
16:28carried out by tribunals,
16:29the SS,
16:30and disciplinary courts
16:31in this case as well.
16:33We have testimonies.
16:35On the Western Front,
16:36we don't have them
16:37on the Eastern Front,
16:39unfortunately,
16:39due to a lack of documents.
16:41But from the Western Front,
16:43we have factual evidence
16:45of summary executions
16:47carried out by the SS
16:48against members of the
16:50Volkssturm,
16:51who refuse to fight,
16:52who throw down their weapons,
16:54who do not answer the call,
16:55or who dispute
16:57the necessity of fighting.
16:58We have the testimonies.
17:00We have the reports.
17:01These are all hard facts.
17:03So,
17:04I am addressing the
17:05critics.
17:07Those who,
17:08very often,
17:09for ideological reasons,
17:11tend to glorify the madness
17:13of the Nazi Third Reich
17:14and
17:15do not want to face reality.
17:17Gentlemen,
17:18I can even understand
17:19that you,
17:20for
17:21personal and
17:22ideological reasons,
17:24might want to deny reality.
17:26That is your problem.
17:27We, however,
17:29do not deny reality.
17:30We affirm it.
17:32If that reality
17:33bothers you,
17:34that is not our problem.
17:36Just as it is not
17:37a problem for many
17:38other historians
17:39or many other popularizers
17:41who use YouTube
17:43or other channels,
17:44other avenues
17:45to share history.
17:46Even if history
17:47may be unpalatable
17:48for personal
17:49or ideological reasons,
17:51it does not mean
17:52that everything
17:53that we find unpleasant
17:55is wrong
17:56or false.
17:57or whatever else.
17:59Deal with it.
17:59If you don't like our videos,
18:01don't watch them.
18:02If you don't like what we say,
18:04don't listen to us.
18:05But don't come feeding us
18:06nonsense.
18:07Like the one about the
18:08Volkssturm
18:09of six million
18:10volunteers
18:11marching off
18:13singing,
18:14happy as a clam,
18:15toward the front
18:16to destroy hundreds
18:17of Soviet battalions.
18:18because they're just
18:21utter nonsense.
18:23And calling them nonsense
18:25is being generous.
18:26I honestly hope
18:27I won't have to make
18:28this kind of video anymore
18:29because I prefer
18:31to dedicate
18:31my time.
18:33And Giovanni,
18:34editing-wise,
18:35also wants to dedicate
18:36his time
18:37to much more
18:38peaceful,
18:39much nicer,
18:40much more interesting
18:41things.
18:41to helping you discover
18:43sides of history
18:44you might not know,
18:45to introducing you
18:47to episodes,
18:48characters,
18:48or to celebrating events
18:50like we did yesterday
18:51with the
18:52105th anniversary
18:54of Moto Guzzi.
18:55We prefer that
18:56rather than having
18:58to set the record
18:59straight
18:59and put in their place
19:00people who think
19:01they know history
19:02but actually manipulate
19:04it in a truly
19:05absurd way.
19:06I have one last thing,
19:08one last bone to pick,
19:11and I wouldn't even
19:13want to talk about
19:14the usual Mussolini guys.
19:16He also did good things,
19:18blah, blah, blah,
19:19because honestly,
19:20I'm just sick and tired
19:21of those
19:22because it means
19:22they are people
19:23who just don't want
19:24to understand.
19:24For example,
19:25what's the difference
19:26between creating pensions
19:28and creating the imps?
19:30Pensions are an instrument.
19:32The imps is an institution.
19:34Let's start with that.
19:35Anyway,
19:36I don't want to talk
19:36about this.
19:37There's another thing.
19:38I accept all criticism
19:40because criticism is good.
19:44Criticism helps you grow,
19:45helps you improve.
19:46I'm getting on in years.
19:48I'm well past my 40s.
19:49But even now,
19:50I like to learn.
19:51I like to know
19:52because I know very well
19:53that I'm not the custodian
19:55of human knowledge
19:56or everything knowable.
19:57So,
19:57I like it when
19:59you criticize me,
20:01when you write to me,
20:02either in the comments
20:04or even better,
20:05when you privately write
20:06your observations.
20:08For example,
20:09yesterday,
20:09in the Moto Guzzi video,
20:11someone pointed out to me
20:12that I didn't mention
20:14the three-wheeler,
20:15the Ercole.
20:16Yes,
20:17my bad.
20:17I preferred to focus
20:19on the Galetto
20:19simply for one reason,
20:21that the Ercole three-wheeler
20:22was mainly a work vehicle
20:24for those who had
20:25to do heavy work.
20:26The Galetto,
20:26on the other hand,
20:27was a means of transportation
20:28within reach of everyone,
20:30of every family,
20:31regardless of whether
20:32it was used for work
20:33or for transport
20:34or for leisure.
20:35That's the reason.
20:36Anyway,
20:37whoever wrote about
20:38the Ercole three-wheeler
20:39is completely right.
20:41And in this case,
20:42I admit my fault.
20:43I could have mentioned it.
20:44It's true.
20:45I apologize.
20:45But I won't accept insults
20:47because those aren't criticisms.
20:49So insulting,
20:50saying you're ignorant,
20:51you need to study,
20:53you didn't understand anything,
20:55or even worse,
20:56because some sink into vulgarity.
20:58That I don't accept
20:59and I've said it several times.
21:01You can say whatever you want,
21:02that you don't like the video,
21:04that there's something
21:04you disagree with.
21:05You can feel free
21:06to express your opinion,
21:08but respectfully.
21:09If, on the other hand,
21:10you go too far,
21:12I, most of the time,
21:13won't even reply
21:14because I don't feel
21:16you deserve an answer.
21:17If you act like that,
21:19Giovanni sometimes
21:20shares your comments.
21:21You end up a bit
21:22publicly shamed,
21:24mocked,
21:24provided other users
21:26haven't already taken care
21:27of mocking you.
21:28But,
21:29if you cross the line
21:30even further,
21:31and some have,
21:32then,
21:33I'm sorry,
21:34but I have two options.
21:35One,
21:36I ban you.
21:37Two,
21:37if we really reach
21:39excessive levels,
21:40then there's
21:41my lovely lawyer
21:43who can't wait
21:43to deliver
21:44a nice little notice
21:46to you.
21:46I'm sorry to have to say it,
21:48but,
21:48at a certain point.
21:49If people don't understand
21:50that respect is needed
21:52towards those
21:54who are doing a job,
21:55then,
21:56unfortunately,
21:57it becomes necessary
21:58to go
21:59to certain extremes.
22:01So,
22:02to reiterate,
22:03you can criticize
22:03all you want.
22:04The right to criticize
22:05is enshrined
22:06in the Constitution.
22:07And,
22:08that's totally fine with me.
22:09In fact,
22:10it helps me grow.
22:11It helps Giovanni
22:12grow, too.
22:13We improve.
22:14If I look back
22:14at the videos
22:15we made five years ago,
22:16I think,
22:17my God,
22:18absolutely atrocious.
22:19Now,
22:20they're better,
22:20but we can improve
22:21even more,
22:22and more,
22:23and more.
22:24So,
22:24constructive criticism
22:25is great for me.
22:26Criticism on the merits
22:27is totally fine with me.
22:29Criticism is totally fine with me.
22:30When you tell us
22:31we forgot something,
22:32perfect.
22:33I don't accept insults.
22:34And,
22:35even worse than that,
22:36I'm sorry.
22:37I'll tell you right now,
22:38I don't accept them.
22:40Because,
22:41just like I don't insult you,
22:42I don't understand why you,
22:44not all of you,
22:44just a tiny minority,
22:46feel entitled to insult me,
22:47or Giovanni,
22:48or both of us,
22:49or other users
22:50who are much more civil
22:51than those of you
22:52throwing insults.
22:53I will definitely
22:54not take this down.
22:56So,
22:57I'm asking you a favor.
22:59If you can't help
23:00but insult,
23:01don't watch,
23:02don't comment.
23:03You have
23:04the option
23:05to scroll past.
23:07Whether you're
23:08on a computer,
23:09a tablet,
23:09or a phone,
23:10it's the same thing.
23:12You can move on,
23:13move on,
23:14but don't waste time
23:15writing nonsense.
23:17Because that nonsense
23:18gets dismantled.
23:19And we saw that today
23:20with this instant video
23:22of mine
23:22about the Volksturm.
23:23Don't
23:24spend your time,
23:25because I advise against it,
23:27insulting
23:27or hurling
23:28defamatory accusations.
23:30Because then,
23:31in that case,
23:32not only
23:33will you get mocked
23:34by other users,
23:35but
23:36do you also risk
23:37ending up in court?
23:38Don't say I didn't warn you later,
23:40because you know what happens.
23:42Excuse me,
23:42because this was something
23:43I'd been holding in
23:44for a while,
23:45but
23:46every now and then,
23:47apparently,
23:48certain things
23:48need to be said.
23:49I thank you once again
23:50for your attention,
23:51and see you soon
23:52with another video,
23:54not like this one,
23:54but educational.
23:56We have many,
23:57so many,
23:58topics still to explore
23:59this month
24:00and next.
24:01We're also planning
24:02some surprises
24:02for December
24:03that I think
24:04you will really love.
24:06And what
24:07can I say?
24:08Keep following us.
24:10Have a great day,
24:11everyone.

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