Germany and Turkestanis during the course of the World War II (1941-1945)

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the debates about the nationalities issue in the Soviet Union with a special emphasis on the situation of the peoples living in the Soviet Central Asia during the World War II. The thesis traces the history of the Soviet Central Asia on the eve of the World War II and the patterns of behavior of the Turkestani soldiers in the Soviet Army during the war. This study also looks upon Hitler Germany and National Socialist movement within a framework of the German change of attitude towards the Asiatic and Turkic peoples of the Soviet Union before and during the World War II. Finally, it tries to find an answer to the question, why the Turkestani Muslim soldiers fought under German ranks and to which degree this contributed to the nationalism of the Central Asian peoples.