How did the captured Germans live in Soviet camps after the victory of the USSR in the war?

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

If there is a huge amount of information about what the Nazis did with the prisoners of war, then for a long time talking about how the Germans lived in Russian captivity was simply bad form. And the mystery that was available was presented, for obvious reasons, with a certain patriotic touch. You should not compare the cruelty of the invading soldiers, possessed by a great idea and aimed at the genocide of other nations, with those who simply defended their homeland, however, in war as in war, because Russian captivity was far from being as simple as they tried to imagine.

The Soviet people were aware of the fact that the captured Germans were involved in construction projects, under the idea of "self-destroyed - restore yourself", they participated in very large construction projects. For example, Moscow State University was folded by their hands, but it was not accepted to talk about it, for example, through the pages of a newspaper or radio. It is understandable, in order to publish this kind of data it was necessary to determine the exact number of captured German soldiers. But with the numbers, something incredible was happening.

Germany says that during the war in German captivity there were 5, 7 prisoners from among the soldiers of the Red Army. Moreover, more than two million of them got there in the first year of the war. But the Soviet side indicates the figure is one million less. With German prisoners, the situation develops according to the opposite principle. The same difference in a million people, but the above German data. According to their calculations, 3.4 million soldiers were captured by the allies, but the Soviet side provides data on 2.3 million people.

Where did the million go this time? This is explained by the fact that the counting of prisoners was not conducted in an organized manner, moreover, many Germans, being captured, in every possible way hid their true origin and presented themselves as people of other nationalities. It is not surprising, because Croats, Italians and Romanians enjoyed certain privileges in Soviet captivity. They got easier work, for example, in the kitchen. Given the times of famine and even the facts of cannibalism among the captives, working in the kitchen was considered prestigious. However, even among the prisoners themselves, the attitude towards the Germans was the most negative. Especially Romanians succeeded in this, who settled in kitchens everywhere and mercilessly reduced the rations of former Wehrmacht soldiers.

Captivity That Was Too Light

Statistics is a stubborn thing, and even with the calculation errors described above, it says that more than half of Russian soldiers (58%) died in non-German captivity, while a Wehrmacht soldier in Soviet captivity - 14.9%.

The controversy still continues, based on the opinion that Russian captivity was too easy, especially in comparison with the horrors that were happening on the other side of the front. and the workers of the rear, and the prisoners got it according to the residual principle, no one starved them deliberately. So, the daily ration included: • 400 grams of bread (after the war ended, this rate increased by one and a half times); • 100 grams of fish; • 100 grams of cereals; • 500 grams of vegetables, including potatoes; • 20 grams of sugar; • 30 grams of salt;

For high-ranking prisoners and those whose health was on the brink, the ration was given in an increased amount. However, this is only official data, in fact, there was often not enough food, it was not bad if what was missing was replaced with bread.

After the end of the war, when the Germans worked on the restoration of cities, and in particular Stalingrad, they were paid allowances. Depending on the military rank, from 7 to 30 rubles. A prize for especially impactful work. Prisoners could receive transfers from loved ones. At the same time, there was a terrible famine in the Union itself and its own citizens were dying, needless to say that the food for the prisoners was out of the ordinary.

Many prisoners of war who were able to return from Soviet captivity, in their memoirs, complained about the lack of medical assistance, dirty barracks, in which sometimes there was no roof, overcrowding and the eternal war for food.

The captive to the captive is the main enemy

Almost nothing is known about the abuses of Soviet soldiers over German prisoners, and why, if the relationship between the prisoners themselves was akin to military action? Eyewitnesses write that German soldiers at first tried to establish their dictatorship among their allies, pushing them around, and sometimes even using humiliation and physical strength. They tried to impose principles of behavior, for disobedience they beat in a crowd, took away food, knocked out gold teeth.

However, the plan of the Germans failed even in this case, the harsh dictatorship that they tried to establish played against them. That is why the "warmest" places were occupied by the Romanians and the Croatians, who, subsequently, distributing rations, recalled all the past grievances. The Germans created their "defense detachments" in order to beat off their rations.

The German fascists chose a losing strategy of behavior only because they had a tremendous confidence that liberation was near and very soon they would be free, because their behavior was thoroughly imbued with the belief that the victory for Germany, which happened to them, was just a misunderstanding.

In many memoirs, there is evidence that cannibalism was encountered in the camps. The Nazis complained that there was not enough meat in their diet, which means that they were deficient in fat and protein. The desire to replenish it led to the fact that they began to eat each other. Meanwhile, the Soviet chronicle says that the prisoners held in Kyrgyzstan had the opportunity to even swim in the pool after work, they ate buckwheat porridge and fish soup. It was these conditions that did not suit them either. Apparently, they decided that they were in a sanatorium, while the Soviet prisoners were dying of hunger, because towards the end of the war they simply ceased to be fed at all.

The mortality rate of the prisoners was high, they perished from scurvy, at the same time they did not hesitate to ruin, robbing their own comrades who were in a dying state. Often this became the reason for further infection among inmates who were walking into his pockets, regardless of the danger.

However, the most difficult experiences of the prisoners of war on the German side were still ahead. For many of them, May 9, 1945 was a real shock, they simply did not have the moral strength to hold on and endure all the hardships that befell them. Then they had to work for a long time at a construction site, but there were many disagreements and omissions.

How the life of German prisoners of war was arranged

Prisoner detention camps. There was a widespread food shortage in them, and there was a lack of basic medical care. Buildings, as a rule, were dilapidated or unfinished, the mortality rate was high, it was possible to reduce it only after the end of hostilities.

The Germans, accustomed to constant employment, formed creative groups, staged theatrical performances, sang in choirs, and studied literature. There was no prohibition in this, as well as in reading newspapers, books and other publications that could be obtained. They could play chess and checkers, they were engaged in woodcarving, made various crafts.

Russians, accustomed to scolding their own native "maybe", highly appreciated the quality of construction of objects that were erected by painstaking and pedantic Germans. It even began to be considered that all architecture of the 1940-1950s was German, which, of course, has nothing to do with the truth. Another myth is the German architects who allegedly took part in the construction. It is possible that among the captives there were people with an architectural education, but they were not involved in the design of buildings in any way. All master plans for the restoration of cities belong to Soviet architects.

Despite the fact that the role of the German soldier in the restoration of cities should not be exalted, the work of qualified specialists who met among the captives was highly valued in the union. They listened to their advice and rationalization proposals. Despite the fact that Stalin did not recognize the Geneva Convention for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, there was an unspoken order to save the lives of Wehrmacht soldiers. Probably, that was also the calculation. For many of them it was worse than death, the destroyed ideals for which they fought turned out to be a deception, and the humanity of the enemy, whose country they were trying to conquer and destroy, completely trampled their human dignity.

Among the memoirs of former Soviet prisoners, there are words that the common Russian population sometimes tore a piece of bread from their own children in order to help the prisoners. Such a manifestation of the breadth of the Russian soul is incomprehensible to the Germans, who went to war under ideological slogans and were sure that they were fighting against "subhumans."

What happened to German prisoners after the war

In 1949, the question arose about the closure of the camps and the further fate of those who were held in them. For each Nazi, a separate check was carried out, some were put on trial and then sent to the camps as spies, others were deported to their homeland. In 1955, the Chancellor of Germany visited the USSR, after his visit and past negotiations, the remaining prisoners of war were also sent home.

Some of the former captives, for one reason or another, did not leave for their homeland, but remained in Russia. The story of the Wehrmacht soldier Franz Vogel, who did not leave for Germany, is widely known, his whole family was among the dead. He met a Russian girl with German roots and turned out to be a sought-after specialist at a local mine. He got along well with colleagues and neighbors, who forgot to remember that he once fought against them.

The war turned out to be too difficult a test for all countries, there were a huge number of broken fates and crippled lives on both front lines, the only difference is that truth, and therefore justice, was only on one side. The winners are not judged, but even greater trials were prepared for the women who found themselves at the front. V German captivity, Soviet women were threatened with inevitable death, and upon a successful return from the war, they stumbled upon a wall of incomprehension from their own compatriots.