Guest
When discussing the Axis powers of World War II, history tends to focus on Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan and Mussolini’s Italy however this is only part of the story. Fascism and antisemitism were by no means limited to Hitler and his closest allies in Tokyo and Rome. Indeed, far-right extremist ideologies had taken hold in several European countries that made them potential allies for Berlin particularly with the natural hostility such policies attracted from the communist superpower of the Soviet Union. One such nation that found itself seduced by the same Fascist ideals as Germany was Romania. Surrounded by potential enemies who viewed its lands with jealousy including the Soviet Union, historic antisemitism combined with a fear of a communism led Romania down a dark path as it found itself working alongside Hitler’s Germany on what the leaders of both countries saw as nothing short of a holy crusade against those who they believed conspired against them, stifling them and holding them back from achieving their true destiny of greatness in the world. But working with the devil comes at a terrible price. In this episode we are going to examine the involvement of Romanian soldiers in one of the most brutal chapters of the Holocaust where hatred manifested itself in its purest forms against those who had no way of fighting back. This is the story of the 1941 Odessa Massacre. 00:00 Introduction 01:54 Romania and the Reich 06:17 Pearl of the Black Sea 18:26 Romanian Reprisal 23:52 An Ongoing Massacre 28:36 Aftermath Prefer to listen on the go? Check out the WotW Podcast: Spotify: iTunes: Google: RSS Feed: Written & Researched by: Tony Wilkins Edited by: James Wade History Should Never Be Forgotten...
