TOPICS
Members of the German Army force Soviet prisoners of war to dig their own graves, occupied Soviet territories, probably 1941
Before the attack on the Soviet Union, the German Army commands in the “Commissar Order” that Red Army political functionaries are to be shot immediately after capture. They are responsible for the political orientation of the Red Army and for training the soldiers. The order remains in effect until May 1942.
Photo: not known, dpa Picture Alliance
Breach of law
The German Reich had signed international agreements that specified the humane treatment of prisoners of war.
The German Armed Forces deliberately ignore this in the case of Soviet prisoners of war. Red Army political commissars and other prisoners are shot, especially in the first year of the war. Inadequate care leads to the starvation of millions. The situation of Red Army members in German imprisonment does slightly improve from mid-1942 because they become more crucial as manpower. But until the war ends they are treated much worse than prisoners of war from other countries.
Soviet prisoners of war in front of improvised shelter at Stalag 319, Chelm, 1941
In most of the camps there is no housing in the beginning, so prisoners have to sleep on the ground. In order to protect themselves from rain, wind and cold, they dig depressions in the ground and build shelters with whatever they can find.
Propaganda-troop photographer: Karl Arthur Petraschk, bpk / Karl Arthur Petraschk
Destitution
The German Army makes very few preparations to adequately house and care for Soviet prisoners of war.
Those who are wounded or ill receive next to no medical aid. The distributed food is totally insufficient. For a long time there is almost no infrastructure in the camps. The hygienic conditions are so catastrophic that epidemics soon spread. Most of the weakened prisoners of war become sick. In addition, maltreatment and humiliation by the guards are part of everyday camp life.
Prisoners of war have to bury the corpses of fellow prisoners, Vyazma, November 1941
In October 1941 the German Army drastically reduces rations for Soviet prisoners of war. This suddenly increases once again the already high death rate. In many camps hundreds of prisoners die every day. Their corpses are hastily buried in mass graves.
Private photo, SNG, Celle
Starvation
The Nazi regime anticipates a rapid victory. But the war cannot, as planned, be ended before winter.
When for that reason supply problems become ever larger, the Nazi leadership establishes an order of precedence for who is to be fed first. Soviet prisoners of war who are not working are left to starve to death. The rations that are actually distributed are, however, not enough for all the prisoners. So in autumn 1941 huge numbers of deaths start to take place in the camps. By spring 1942 over two million Soviet prisoners of war die miserably, about two thirds of those taken prisoner.
Soviet prisoners of war shortly after their arrival at Sachsenhausen concentration camp, September 1941
In the POW camps, different types of political functionaries, Jewish members of the Red Army, members of the intelligentsia, and “agitators” are sought. The German Army hands them over to the SS to be murdered.
Photo SS: not known, National Archives, Prague
Selection
The German Army distinguishes between supposedly dangerous and useful prisoners of war. More than 150,000 are separated out and shot.
This sometimes occurs immediately after they are captured. The army together with the SS and the police look for “intolerable elements” also in the camps. At the same time, the Germans recruit so-called Hilfswillige. They are put to work in the camps and with army troops. Some of them are armed and serve in the auxiliary police force and military units. Up to 800,000 captured members of the Red Army collaborate with the Germans, only some of them voluntarily.
Prisoners of war build a log road, Yershichi near Roslavl, September 19, 1941
The Germans have Soviet prisoners of war work for them. This is allowed by the laws of war as long as the labour assignment does not serve military purposes. The treatment and working conditions of Red Army prisoners are however so poor that many of them die.
Propaganda-troop photographer: Mehls, RH 82 Bild 00063, Federal Archive, Coblenz
Labour assignment
Soviet prisoners of war have to work throughout Europe for the Germans and their allies. The longer the war lasts, the greater the need for manpower in the German economy.
The German Army transfers more and more imprisoned members of the Red Army to the German Reich. They are put to work in the armaments industry, mining, agriculture, and many other areas. A network of tens of thousands of labour battalions extends over the cities and rural areas. In most cases the working and living conditions of the Soviet prisoners of war are catastrophic.
Soviet prisoners of war arriving at Stalag X B, Sandbostel, probably autumn 1941
During the forced marches, wounded, sick, or exhausted comrades are carried or supported. The guard who made this photo notes on the back, “dying Soviets, a common sight”.
Photo: Robert Vinx, 146-2005-014, Federal Archive, Coblenz
Survival
Soviet prisoners of war are repeatedly confronted with life-threatening situations and catastrophic conditions in the camps and on their labour assignments.
They make diverse attempts to survive. These range from “voluntarily” offering as so-called Hilfswillige to organised resistance and sabotage. There are cases of betrayal and theft as well as mutual solidarity, assistance and support. Attempts to escape are a mass phenomenon. The chances for survival in the occupied territories are usually better than in the German Reich.
Soviet prisoners of war after their liberation, near Staraya Russa, January 11, 1942
During offensive operations the Red Army is able to liberate many members of their own military. This occurs already at the turn of the year 1941/42, but especially starting in 1943. Those liberated are given medical care, like these men ill of typhus. As a rule the members of the Red Army return to military service later.
Photo: Timofei Melnik, MBK, Berlin
The end of the war
Already during the war, some of the Soviet prisoners of war are liberated by advancing Red Army and Western Allies troops.
But most of them remain in German hands until 1945. In the final months of the war their situation once again deteriorates dramatically. In order to empty the camps, the Germans force the prisoners to undertake long marches. Numerous Soviet prisoners of war are murdered. When liberated, many are so ill and weak that even in the following days and weeks they still die.
Departure from a repatriation camp, Oldenburg district, early summer 1945
Most former prisoners of war want to return home and to their families. But some of them have to be forced to do so. The Soviet government had agreed with the other Allies that all liberated Soviet citizens were to be handed over. This practice soon ends. Some 500,000 former prisoners of war do not return.
Photo: not known, SNG, Celle / Central Armed Forces Museum, Moscow
Return
The Soviet government has the goal to bring back as many Soviet citizens as possible, also by force if necessary.
By March 1946, 1.5 million former prisoners of war are repatriated. They are generally considered to be deserters and traitors, but only a minority are punished after secret service scrutiny. However, distrust remains and often leads to decades of social discrimination. Those returning home find a country many parts of which are completely devastated. 27 million people had died, including 14 million civilians.
Erecting a memorial at the cemetery in Oerbke, June 1945
Soviet military authorities have memorials erected on many cemeteries after the end of the war. However, the inscriptions usually do not mention that those buried were prisoners of war. In the GDR these memorials celebrate “German-Soviet friendship”. In the Federal Republic they are in some cases destroyed or modified in the context of the cold war.
Photo: not known, SNG, Celle / State Archive of the Russian Federation, Moscow
Commemoration
After the war, German crimes against Soviet prisoners of war hardly play a role.
They are disregarded in the Federal Republic. The GDR primarily stresses resistance activities. Only in 2015 does reunited Germany pay symbolic recompense. The survivors are refused formal reparations. In the Soviet Union official commemoration concentrates on the victory over fascism and remembrance of the heroes killed in the war. Former prisoners of war are excluded and in the post-Soviet countries completely rehabilitated only in the 1990s.