Like Putin, Hitler Once Visited Occupied Mariupol. And That Did Not Work Out Well for Hitler

History doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. Old file photos have emerged showing the World War II Nazi leader visiting occupied Mariupol.

Ukrainian historian Anton Gerashchenko points out on Twitter that like Russian president Vladimir Putin, Adolf Hitler once visited occupied Mariupol.

"Another dictator also visited Mariupol once. We know how his story ended. Photo 📷: Hitler visiting Army Group South HQ at Mariupol, Ukraine in December 1941. Many historians and contemporaries claim that it was here that Hitler first realized the war was lost" - WarHistoryOnline

"People who do not know history is forced to repeat it. Photo 1: Hitler in occupied Mariupol. Photo 2: Putin in occupied Mariupol," tweeted Oleksandra Matviichuk.

Mariupol, a thriving city of 400,000 on the Black Sea to the East of Crimea, was occupied by the Russian Army after a fierce fight, in May 2022. The population has fallen to 100,000, and many thousands of residents were killed. Before the war the city was 80% Russian speaking, and perhaps half ethnic Russians.

Both dictators ordered their armies to completely level the City in order to occupy it.

The Russians have falsely claimed that they needed to occupy Ukraine in order to save the population from "Nazis."

"Putin makes surprise trip to occupied Ukrainian City of Mariupol

"March 19 (UPI) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin made a surprise visit to the occupied city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region of Ukraine on Sunday, a day after he made a trip to the Ukrainian province of Crimea on the anniversary of its illegal annexation by Russia."

"Mariupol, a port city on the Sea of Azov, has been occupied by Russian forces since May after troops carried out a three-month-long siege that led to the surrender of fighters at the Azovstal steel plant and destroyed much of the city."