Kazachi Stan

Common card · No. 251255

The Kazachi Stan (Kosakenlager, Казачий Стан, lit. 'Cossack Encampment') was a massive, mobile encampment and a combat formation composed of Cossacks who collaborated with Nazi Germany during World War II. The entity had its origins in volunteer regional militias organized under local Atamans who chose to collaborate with occupying German forces following the Wehrmacht's advance into Southern Russia and the North Caucasus in the summer of 1942 (Fall Blau). When the Germans was forced to retreat after the defeat at Stalingrad in early 1943, a massive civilian exodus occurred; fearing Soviet retribution, the Cossack collaborators and their families chose to follow the Germans. Retreating westward alongside Axis forces across Ukraine, Belarus, and Poland, the Kazachi Stan evolved into a unique, self-contained nomadic community that managed its own schools, judicial tribunals, and religious infrastructure. At formation in 1943, Kazachi Stan stood at 14,000, both civilians and armed collaborators...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Unknown authorUnknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0 de