A fascinating account of a little-known World War Two rebellion.
In the final days of World War II in Europe, Georgians serving in the
Wehrmacht on Texel island off the Dutch coast rose up and slaughtered
their German masters. Hitler ordered the island to be retaken and
fighting continued for weeks, well after the war's end.
The uprising had it origins in the bloody history of Georgia in the
twentieth century, a history that saw the country move from German
occupation, to three short years of independence, to Soviet rule after
it was conquered by the Red Army in 1921. A bloody rebellion against the
Soviets took place in 1924, but it remained under Russian Soviet rule.
Thousands of Georgians served in the Soviet forces during World War II
and among those who were captured, given the choice of "starve or
fight", some took up the German offer to don Wehrmacht uniforms.
The loyalty of the Georgians was always in doubt, as Hitler himself
suspected, and once deployed to the Netherlands, the Georgian soldiers
made contact with the local Communist resistance. When the opportunity
arose, the Georgians took the decision to rise up and slaughter the
Germans, seizing control of the island. In just a few hours, they
massacred some 400 German officers using knives and bayonets to avoid
raising the alarm. An enraged Hitler learned about the mutiny and
ordered the Germans to fight back, showing no mercy to either the
Georgians or the Dutch civilians who hid them. It was not until 20 May,
12 days after the war had ended, that Canadian forces landed on the
island and finally put an end to the slaughter.
Eric Lee explores this fascinating but little known last battle of the
Second World War: its origins, the incredible details of the battle and
its ongoing legacy.
