The Allied crime against humanity WW2 (Operation Keelhaul E1)

Operation Keelhaul was the code-name given to the forced "repatriation" of millions of Soviet and non-Soviet citizens to the USSR between the years 1944 and 1947 (if not beyond). At least three major Western powers were responsible for this crime against humanity - Britain, the United States, and France - with others (Canada?) potentially also taking part. This is the first video in a multi-part series where we'll be diving into the details of what happened, and trying to figure out the motivations behind the various actors. Today, we'll look at who the people were that didn't want to go back to the Soviet Union, why they didn't want to go back, why the Soviet Union wanted them back, and what the Allies did to send them back.

To the YouTube censors: I'm NOT a Nazi, nor a Fascist, nor a Marxist, nor do I believe in any other evil totalitarian ideology. The purpose of this video is to study history so that we can avoid repeating the same mistakes in the future. If we deny history, it will repeat.

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📚 BIBLIOGRAPHY / SOURCES 📚

The Operation Keelhaul specific bibliography:

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ABOUT TIK 📝

History isn’t as boring as some people think, and my goal is to get people talking about it. I also want to dispel the myths and distortions that ruin our perception of the past by asking a simple question - “But is this really the case?”. I have a 2:1 Degree in History and a passion for early 20th Century conflicts (mainly WW2). I’m therefore approaching this like I would an academic essay. Lots of sources, quotes, references and so on. Only the truth will do.

This video is discussing events or concepts that are academic, educational and historical in nature. This video is for informational purposes and was created so we may better understand the past and learn from the mistakes others have made.

[winghungyuen]

Never heard of Operation Keelhaul before this. Thank you for bringing this to light and can’t wait to see you continue to cover this topic.

[Legio__X]

Lets go. This is for all the people who say TIK is biased and wouldn’t cover allied crimes. Proof he’s a legit historian, and a good one.

[cronoros]

The fact they even called it Operation Keelhaul is pretty bad

[lorenzbroll]

My father told me that there were lots of Russians who 'disappeared' from Normandy once they were captured, and he always wondered what happened to them. This is really good stuff you have unearthed here!

[lenjapita]

A similar thing happened in Yugoslavia. The British set up camps for Yugoslav refugees in northern Italy. In 1945 they handed over more than 200, 000 people (mostly Serbs and Montenegrins) to the partisans. In today's Slovenia, which borders Italy, it has been confirmed that there are 581 mass graves with over 100, 000 bodies. Yugoslavia does not exist for 30 years, but no state security agency of all the new states has disclosed how many people were shot by partisans at the end of the war.

[truxlee]

Keelhauling was a particularly rare, harsh, mostly illegal, form of punishment/execution at sea from the earliest times up into the age of sail. Whoever chose such a code name in WW2 must have been in no doubt as to its appropriateness.

[jordana.]

TIK I don't give a shit what anyone says you are the best online historian out there. The level of detail in your videos is fantastic. Stop listening to these clowns criticizing you, you challenge their pre conceived notions of history and it makes them butt hurt.

[Lagassejames]

As a high school student we were told this story by our civics teacher who served under General Patton, it wasn’t as vivid but he spoke of the shame of many US soldiers. He said they were told it was only collaborators that were being sent back but they soon realized it was anyone who had been in the USSR before the war. They knew in their hearts that all would be punished and many executed.

[jayteegamble]

Imagine setting up a system of government so ineffective that you have to fear that people who were prisoners of the nazis (!!) would be able to tell their neighbors how much better things are outside of the Soviet Union.

[agat]

As a russian - thank you so much for surfacing this topic! I am familiar with it, but, alas, especially with Putinism, idealisation of WWII and craking down on opposition, it is largely forgotten and shunned in "modern" russia. Thank you so much for your work!

[dfgggg]

One of my history teachers was an OSS officer during the war and he participated in operation keelhaul. He told me a horror story about it. He was to escort a train full of former Soviet prisoners of war. When the train stopped before the border to take on water and coal, he went to open the train cars to let the soldiers stretch their legs. A deluge of blood poured out of the doors. The soldiers in mass took their own dog tags and used them to cut their wrists. They were that desperate not to go back.

[General_Rubenski]

You should do more topics on Allied War Crimes during and post WW2. Its not something a lot of western audiences know or learn about but I do think its extremely important that we do so. They may not be on par with Nazi or Soviet atrocities, but they still are crimes against humanity and they should also be discussed to understand why and what we did in order to learn and teach people that anyone is capable of such crimes. And hopefully to avoid such crime in the future.

[chrisdaley]

The memory of this played must have played a strong role in the negotiations to end the Korean War. The repatriation of POWs was a major sticking point in the armistice talks and was one of if not the major reason the war dragged on an extra year after it was clear that neither side was going to win a decisive victory. The Chinese and North Koreans insisted that all POWs be returned and the UN side said it should be up to the individual prisoners. Ultimately an India proposal was adopted that set up a neutral body that would handle the return of POWs and as a result more than 22, 000 Chinese and North Korean POWs refused to be returned.

[AFGuidesHD]

26:08 "Life as slave labourers in Germany had been better than life in Commie Russia" lmao

[joethegeographer]

I'm glad to see someone finally tackling this very painful subject, which has been neglected for far too long in my humble opinion. Thanks!

[Worrun]

Recently discovered your channel and have been enjoying ever since. Love the detailed and passionate explanations/research. Best of luck to you Tik and thank you very much!

[commissarkordoshky]

Always remember, lads. The goverment is NEVER your friend.

[kaiserconquests]

You deserve much praise for your detailed explanation of many events in history that do not receive enough attention. Well done.

[OrixDalgrath]

Ever since I read Victims of Yalta, I was hoping for more people to start talking about this topic. Great work as always, TIK.

[apendragon]

I might not always agree with you on some topics, but I highly respect you. Especially great effort you put in making your videos. I really like how you show different POVs on things and don’t make statements like “dis good, dis bad”. And you cover a lot of different topics as well.

All in all, TIK, you are doing amazing job, please carry on doing high quality content.