Who were the 'Lienz's Cossacks'? A sneak peak into lesser known history.

Forced Repatriation after World War II.

Source: https://medium.com/@SteveAwriter/appeasing-stalin-forced-repatriation-after-wwii-1fff9ee97b5f

Perhaps little is known about the 'Cossacks' in mainstream knowledge over the world. Even I did not know about the term. Actually, people having an interest in history, culture, and politics might be aware of such lesser-known terms. Also, the millennial population residing in countries that have a significantly lesser connection with larger world events might be unaware of such terms.

James Bond fans over the world might have happened to hear this term from the film- GoldenEye. That was the first time when I heard of the term 'Cossack'. I was not quick to read it over the internet then. After a significant amount of time had elapsed, I happened to remember it and thought about scouring the internet before it scours away from my mind.

'Cossacks' were a distinct ethnic population that belonged primarily to southern Russia and Ukraine. They were known for horsemanship and war tactics and excellent abilities in war. There were largely known loyal to the Romanovs. During the Bolshevik uprising in 1917, the Cossacks were targeted for being anti-Communist. The Cossacks fled Russia to settle in central and western Europe. The ones who stayed back faced oppression from the regime in Russia.

Stalin had commissioned Cossacks in the Red Army. But facing oppression and anti-Cossack policies, the Cossacks sought to flee the Russian clutches. Many of the Cossacks fought for the Nazi regime against the Red Army in World War II. They were a part of the XV SS Cossack Cavalry Corps in the Nazi Army. They actively fought against the Red Army.

After the end of World War II, the Nazi regime fell and the Cossacks were once again in danger. Most of the Cossacks were POWs or captured either by British Army or Red Army. At a conference in the city of Yalta along the coast of the Black Sea, the major allies- the USA, UK and USSR met. It was decided there that Germany would be divided into four post-war zones and also about repatriations of POWs.

The legend has it that the British Army 'tricked' the Cossacks captured at Lienz (present-day Austria) to a conference, which was actually the easy path to handing them over to the Soviet army. Also known as 'The Massacre of Lienz's Cossacks', the event saw the repatriation of more than 30,000 Cossacks, forcibly to the Soviets.

The Cossacks officers along with their children and women were forced into cattle cars and trucks, beaten brutally on the opposition, to be sent to Russia. Many of them tried to escape the train but were hunted down by the British army. Many of them chose to end their lives. This was the theme story of the villain in the James Bond film- GoldenEye, which now upon reading might be better understood as to why Alec Trevelyan was eager to kill Bond because his family barely survived the British betrayal and Stalin's execution squads!