Dear friends, welcome to the channel the Eastern
Front! Today I want to start my story with an anecdote.
- Grandpa, is it true that you killed believers in God in the war?
- Yes, grandson. - And how did you distinguish them?
"They had written on their belt buckle Gott mit uns.
I think many of you have heard about the so-called crusades carried out under the auspices
of the Roman Catholic Church, formally aimed at liberating Christians from the rule of Muslims,
protecting Christian shrines from desecration, and then spreading and affirming the Catholic faith.
At the same time, the Catholic Church often absolved all the sins of the crusaders,
which allowed them to destroy and plunder on their way with impunity.
In the 20th century during the Third Reich, when tourists from Europe decided to come with their
new religion called Nazism. His belt buckles bore the inscription God with us. The only
question is which one is with horns or with wings. So why nazi do this? Let's figure out.
In addition to the image of the royal crown of Prussia
(since 1847), and later the coat of arms of nazi Germany (since 1933),
the inscription "Gott mit uns" was stamped in a semicircle on the belt buckles
of the German military in the upper part of the emblem, which means "God is with us" in German.
For the first time in history, this phrase was used as a battle cry in the armies of the Roman
Empire and later in Byzantium (from Latin Nobiscum Deus — God is with us!). In Germany, the Teutonic
Order was the first to use this nickname. In the 17th century, the Swedish army led by King Gustav
II Adolf used this phrase as a motto during the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). In 1701,
the first king of Prussia, Frederick I, put this phrase on the updated coat of arms of the kingdom.
In 1871, after the unification of Germany, this motto was added to the imperial standard,
and began to be applied to belt buckles in the German army.
It is worth noting that this motto in the Russian interpretation " God is with us " is also present
on the coat of arms of the Russian Empire. With the coming to power of the Bolsheviks,
the coat of arms and the flag changed. And any mention of God has also disappeared.
When the Nazis came to power in 1933, the crown of Germany on the buckle was replaced with the Nazi
coat of arms in the form of an emblem of a black eagle holding an oak wreath with a
swastika. Unlike ordinary Wehrmacht soldiers, SS soldiers and even officers had a different
motto on their buckles - "Meine Ehre heißt Treue", which literally meant "my honor is
called loyalty". In the Luftwaffe (Air Force) units, there were no mottos on the belt buckle.
Until 1962, the motto was used on the buckles of soldiers of the Bundeswehr of Germany,
and in the West German police until the early 70s of the last century.
Since 1962, a new motto has appeared in the German army - "Einigkeit, Recht, Freiheit" (Unity, Law,
Freedom). These are the first words of the German anthem. The emblem is the modern coat of arms
of Germany, an eagle with outstretched wings. Despite the fact that the war with fascism was
over. Nowadays, new elite SS units have been revived, which do not hesitate to decorate their
bodies with the symbols of the Third Reich, but only when such characters are captured,
they turn out to be cooks, drivers or just passing by. Many naively believe that the real SS soldiers
are some mythical creatures who lived only in the time of Hitler. However, like 70 years ago,
just like now, these creatures look like people. And there is no difference between them.
Dear friends, that's all for today. It was Tim
and the Eastern Front channel. And as usual I wish you peace and health. See you.