bloc against the Soviet Union. This proposed Georgian bloc was opposed by Hitler, who stated: Resistance Before Crimea even came under occupation by German forces, efforts were made to establish a partisan network in the peninsula. Beginning in Kerch in early October, partisan forces existed in all of Crimea by 23 October 1941. In spite of organisational issues, the Crimean resistance managed to pose a significant threat to German activities in Crimea, and was praised by Soviet generals Aleksandr Vasilevsky and Panteleimon Ponomarenko as being a vital part of the war effort. Aftermath The German occupation of Crimea had an immediate impact on Crimea following its recapture by Soviet forces. As part of a general process of ethnically cleansing ethnicities Stalin regarded as unreliable, all Crimean Tatars were deported from the Crimean peninsula to Central Asia and Siberia (primarily Uzbekistan) from 18 to 20 May 1944. The actual reasons for the deportation remain debated, with some arguing that it was to keep minorities out of the Soviet Union's border regions and others stating that it was done as a way of securing access to the Dardanelles strait in Turkey, across the Black Sea from Crimea, as a prelude to the Turkish straits crisis of 1946–1953. Others, still, cast the deportation as an act of Russian nationalism dating back to long before the establishment of the Soviet Union. Following the war, Crimea was economically and agriculturally devastated as a result of fierce fighting. It was impacted by the Soviet famine of 1946–1947, along with Moldova, the Central Black Earth Region, and parts of Ukraine. References 1941 establishments in Russia 1941 establishments in Ukraine 1944 disestablishments in the Soviet Union 1944 disestablishments in Ukraine Crimea in World War II German military occupations Military history of Germany during World War II Nazi colonies in Eastern Europe Soviet Union in World War II States and territories established in 1941 States and territories disestablished in 1944 Ukraine in World War II