289. The Georgian Texel Uprising - The War Beyond Surrender

Battleground

Goalhanger Podcasts

History

4.6 • 703 Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2025

⏱️ 43 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of Battleground 45, Roger welcomes author and expert Eric Lee to delve into one of World War II's most remarkable and often overlooked events: the Georgian Uprising on the Dutch island of Texel. From April to well beyond Germany's surrender in May 1945, as the war in Europe drew to a close, a contingent of Georgian soldiers, conscripted into the German army, turned their weapons on their captors in a desperate fight for freedom on the Dutch island of Texel. If you have any thoughts or questions, you can send them to - [email protected] Producer: James Hodgson X: @PodBattleground Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hello and welcome to the battleground podcast with me, Roger Morehouse.
0:16.8	You may have thought that with the anniversary of VE Day some time ago already,
0:21.4	that the fighting in Europe that we're tracking so assiduously on this podcast from 80 years ago
0:26.8	essentially ended, but the subject we're talking about today will prove that to be a false assumption.
0:32.1	We're talking about the Georgian revolt on Tessel, or Texel, I would call it, but Tessel Island, the fighting on which,
0:39.3	which, as we'll learn, didn't end until the 20th of May, so long after the peace treaties have been
0:44.9	signed. Here to discuss this fascinating episode with me is Eric Lee, who's the author of Knight
0:50.9	of the Bayonets, The Texel,el or Tesla Uprising and Hitler's Revenge,
0:55.5	which is published in 2020.
0:57.4	Welcome, Eric.
0:58.3	Good to be here.
0:59.3	Now, these Georgians, now we should stress, these are Georgians of the Caucasus rather than
1:04.9	of the eastern seaboard of the USA.
1:07.0	These Georgians, they had been in German uniform, fighting alongside the Wehrmacht, and they found themselves on Tesla, largest island of the Frisian chain, is that right, in occupied Holland?
1:21.3	Just tell us, you know, how did they find themselves there, and how did they find themselves in German uniform?
1:26.5	Roger, one of the fun things about doing history is everything you just said is contested,
1:31.8	right?
1:32.0	Like the idea that were they wearing German uniforms?
1:34.2	Were they actually in the German army?
1:35.5	Did they fight side by side with the Germans?
1:37.5	Yes, all that is true, and yet all that is contested, right?
1:40.8	How they found themselves to be there is a very long story, but the short version is
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 5 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Goalhanger Podcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Goalhanger Podcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.