You're absolutely right. First off, Oliver said that the Russians were our western allies, but in fact it was the Soviet Union, including the Stans, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and all the other republics, not just the Russians. And it's clear that the allies distrusted the Soviets all through the war and were allies only out of pragmatism.
For many Ukrainians, especially young men at the start of The Great Patriotic War as it was called in the Soviet space. the Soviet Union was a far worse enemy than the Nazis, and the UPA fought against the Soviets for more than five years following the end of WWII.
History is far more complicated than Nazis bad, others good.
In the case of Ukraine, after much debate, in April 1943 the Ukrainian Central Committee (UCC located in Krakow, Poland) acceded to the German “proposal” of forming a Ukrainian division to be officially called “14 Waffen Grenadier Division der SS, Galizische Nr. 1” – or the “Galicia Division.” It was formally created on April 28th, 1943. Moreover, it was agreed that the Ukrainian division was to be deployed for service only on the Eastern Front against the Soviets. The UCC also hoped that this enterprise might help improve the treatment of Ukrainians, whom the Nazis considered “Untermenschen” (“sub human”).
The Galicia Division and another Ukrainian military group that became the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) formed on October 14th, 1942, were two separate military entities with different origins and immediate objectives. The motivation behind forming a Ukrainian military unit within Germany’s armed forces was greatly influenced by the experience of WW1. At the beginning of WW1 Ukrainians living in western Ukrainian provinces under the Austrian Empire were able to form their own regiment, the Sich Riflemen (Sichovi Striltsi), within the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. The war in the east ended with the front lines in Ukraine, and soldiers and officers of the Sichovi Striltsi soon formed the core of the nascent army of the newly declared Ukrainian National Republic (UNR). These experienced and disciplined soldiers helped the UNR Army to fight off the invading Soviet Russian and Polish armies for three years (1918-1920) despite a total lack of support from the West. It was therefore surmised that if WW2 ended with the front lines in Ukraine, or if Allied forces of the West were to engage the Soviet Union, then a highly trained, well-equipped fighting force would be an effective argument for an independent Ukrainian state. Indeed, the most important motivation for Ukrainian youth to join the division was the memory of USSR atrocities in occupied Ukraine between September 1939 and the beginning of July 1941. A similar philosophy involved the creation of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) which fought against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for a free Ukraine."
A friend's mother in law was a member of the UPA and was sentenced to death by both Hitler and Stalin...
You're absolutely right. First off, Oliver said that the Russians were our western allies, but in fact it was the Soviet Union, including the Stans, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia and all the other republics, not just the Russians. And it's clear that the allies distrusted the Soviets all through the war and were allies only out of pragmatism.
For many Ukrainians, especially young men at the start of The Great Patriotic War as it was called in the Soviet space. the Soviet Union was a far worse enemy than the Nazis, and the UPA fought against the Soviets for more than five years following the end of WWII.
History is far more complicated than Nazis bad, others good.
Here's a bit of an interesting piece I got from Graham Seibert - posted on his site: https://grahamseibert.substack.com/p/email-by-a-canadian-ukrainian-explaining , which reads, in pertinent part:
In the case of Ukraine, after much debate, in April 1943 the Ukrainian Central Committee (UCC located in Krakow, Poland) acceded to the German “proposal” of forming a Ukrainian division to be officially called “14 Waffen Grenadier Division der SS, Galizische Nr. 1” – or the “Galicia Division.” It was formally created on April 28th, 1943. Moreover, it was agreed that the Ukrainian division was to be deployed for service only on the Eastern Front against the Soviets. The UCC also hoped that this enterprise might help improve the treatment of Ukrainians, whom the Nazis considered “Untermenschen” (“sub human”).
The Galicia Division and another Ukrainian military group that became the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) formed on October 14th, 1942, were two separate military entities with different origins and immediate objectives. The motivation behind forming a Ukrainian military unit within Germany’s armed forces was greatly influenced by the experience of WW1. At the beginning of WW1 Ukrainians living in western Ukrainian provinces under the Austrian Empire were able to form their own regiment, the Sich Riflemen (Sichovi Striltsi), within the Austro-Hungarian armed forces. The war in the east ended with the front lines in Ukraine, and soldiers and officers of the Sichovi Striltsi soon formed the core of the nascent army of the newly declared Ukrainian National Republic (UNR). These experienced and disciplined soldiers helped the UNR Army to fight off the invading Soviet Russian and Polish armies for three years (1918-1920) despite a total lack of support from the West. It was therefore surmised that if WW2 ended with the front lines in Ukraine, or if Allied forces of the West were to engage the Soviet Union, then a highly trained, well-equipped fighting force would be an effective argument for an independent Ukrainian state. Indeed, the most important motivation for Ukrainian youth to join the division was the memory of USSR atrocities in occupied Ukraine between September 1939 and the beginning of July 1941. A similar philosophy involved the creation of the Ukrainian Partisan Army (UPA) which fought against both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union for a free Ukraine."
A friend's mother in law was a member of the UPA and was sentenced to death by both Hitler and Stalin...