The Volga-Tatar Legion (german: Wolgatatarische Legion) or Idel-Ural Legion ( tt-Cyrl, Идел-Урал Легионы, translit=İdel-Ural Legionı) denoted a series of units within the
Wehrmacht in
World War II. It was recruited among
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
Volga Tatar in the
Soviet Union, but also included other
Idel-Ural peoples, including
Bashkirs,
Chuvashes,
Maris,
Tatars,
Udmurts, and
Mordvins. Germany promoted the Idel-Ural Legion as evidence that Muslim Turkic peoples were opposed to Russia and Bolshevism, but they also wanted to spare German blood.
The legion was established in 1942 and comprised around 12,500 men, spread over seven battalions numbered 825 to 831. On February 23, 1943, near
Vitebsk,
Belarus, the entire (about 900 soldiers) went over to the partisans.
One of the most notable members of the legion was Soviet–Tatar poet
Musa Cälil
Musa Cälil ( tt-Cyrl, Муса Җәлил, translit=Musa Çəlil, ; russian: Муса Джалиль; 25 August 1944) was a Soviet–Tatar poet and resistance fighter. He is the only poet of the Soviet Union awarded simultaneously the Hero of t ...
, who was later executed by the Gestapo for sabotage.
See also
*
Ostlegionen
References
Foreign volunteer units of the Wehrmacht
Russian collaborators with Nazi Germany
Waffen-SS brigades
Collaborators with Nazi Germany
Volga Tatars
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bg:Идел-Урал