Footage from the German occupation of Kyiv in 1918.
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Rare footage from April-May 1918 of German troops parading in a street in Kyiv.
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The vast differences between the German military leadership in both World Wars are clear. The German occupation of Kyiv in 1918 during World War I is an example, it stands in stark contrast to the brutal Naz1 occupation of Soviet territories during World War II. Under the Kaiser's, Ludendorff's, and Hindenburg's rule, the German forces largely maintained a respectful stance towards the local population. The administration sought to collaborate with local authorities and maintain order rather than resorting to repression and violence. The Naz1 regime's impact on Germany's reputation, especially when compared to its position in World War I and earlier, is a tragic subject.
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The goal of the German presence in Ukraine was economic and it was arguably justifiable given Germany's situation. German troops entered Kyiv with the aim of supporting the Ukrainian People's Republic (UNR), which had declared independence from Soviet Russia. The occupation was part of a broader strategy to establish a friendly regime that would supply Germany with much-needed grain and other resources for use on the Western Front against the allies. At this point Germany had been the victim of a devastating naval blockade that seriously degraded Germany's fighting abilities, it's fair to assume that at least half a million German civilians had died at this point, due to the blockade. While the Allied soldiers enjoyed excess in the trenches, the Germans could barely scrape enough to keep their wartime efforts going- and it was becoming exponentially worse after June 1918, when the average German soldier did not eat enough calories to fight.
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It was an unfortunate reality for the Germans that no grain exports made it to the Western Front in time to make any difference in their war effort.
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This period saw significant political maneuvering, with the Germans supporting the establishment of a conservative government under Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi in April 1918.
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From the Instagram page; / world_war_i_in_color