A reader sent in this picture that they saw on President Zelensky’s Twitter account before it was deleted. Zelensky posted a proud Ukrainian soldier but mistakenly forgot to photoshop out the massive Nazi symbol on his chest. The skull image symbolizes the 3rd SS Panzer Division, “Totenkopf” (English translation: death’s head), which was an elite group of Nazis who fought for Germany during World War II. The group has a notoriously gruesome past and is responsible for atrocious war crimes such as the Le Paradis massacre where the division murdered 97 British troops after they surrendered.
Totenkopf also invaded the former Soviet Union and was responsible for killing high-ranking officers. The division fiercely battled against the Red Army and the symbol goes hand in hand with Russian hatred. The group was also responsible for murdering countless Jews in Poland and operating concentration camps. They participated in Intelligenzaktion or “mass shootings” in Poland where it is estimated that 100,000 Poles were massacred. When fighting the French, the squad murdered black prisoners of war solely based on race.
The term “Nazi” is thrown around by politicians globally, but in this instance, the fighters are wearing actual Nazi symbols and making it known that they support those ideologies. On Victory Day, Putin stated, “It’s goal is to protect people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide … for the last eight years. And for this we will strive for the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.” So yes, the West is indeed providing military power to the same organizations that our ancestors fought against during World War II.