About 1 million inhabitants of the Soviet Union collaborated with the Nazis. This is a remarkable fact because the Nazis can not really be seen as allies due to their racial policy. And yet it happened. The aversion to Bolshevism and hope for new freedom a new horizon emerged in which collaboration between the Soviet peoples and the Germans might offer a better alternative to the 'Soviet paradise'. Historical oppression and bloody experiences played a major role in this, especially among the Ukrainian, Crimean and Caucasian peoples. But there were also Russians who longed for the tsarist times of old. Within Nazi Germany, there was much resistance to this collaboration, but others were more practical and saw in the help of Soviet collaborators precisely the solution to the long campaign in the east. This led to a difficult but ultimately large-scale collaboration. Using documents and literature, this book gives an insight into the broad outlines of this extraordinary event. It was also a dramatic event because the collapse of the Third Reich put the Osttruppen's desire for freedom into question, and met a dark end.