How the captured Germans lived in the USSR

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

The captured Germans in the USSR rebuilt the cities they destroyed, lived in camps and even received money for their work. 10 years after the end of the war, former Wehrmacht soldiers and officers "exchanged knives for bread" at Soviet construction sites.

Locked topic

It was not accepted to talk about it. Everyone knew that yes, they were, that they even participated in Soviet construction projects, including building Moscow skyscrapers (Moscow State University), but it was considered bad form to bring the topic of captured Germans into a wide information field.

In order to talk about this topic, you need, first of all, to decide on the numbers.

How many German prisoners of war were there in the Soviet Union? According to Soviet sources - 2,389,560, according to German - 3,486,000.

Such a significant difference (an error of almost a million people) is explained by the fact that the count of prisoners was set very poorly, and also by the fact that many German prisoners preferred to "disguise" themselves as other nationalities. The repatriation process dragged on until 1955, historians believe that approximately 200 thousand prisoners of war were incorrectly documented.

Heavy soldering

The life of captured Germans during and after the war was strikingly different. It is clear that during the war in the camps where prisoners of war were kept, the most cruel atmosphere reigned, there was a struggle for survival. People died of hunger, cannibalism was not uncommon. In order to somehow improve their lot, the prisoners tried in every possible way to prove their innocence to the "titular nation" of the fascist aggressors.

Among the prisoners were also those who enjoyed a kind of privilege, for example, Italians, Croats, Romanians. They could even work in the kitchen. The distribution of food was uneven.

There were frequent cases of attacks on food carriers, which is why, over time, the Germans began to provide their carriers with protection. However, it must be said that no matter how difficult the conditions of stay of the Germans in captivity were, they cannot be compared with the conditions of life in the German camps. According to statistics, 58% of the captured Russians perished in fascist captivity, only 14.9% of the Germans perished in our captivity.

Rights

It is clear that captivity cannot and should not be pleasant, but there is still talk of such a kind about the content of German prisoners of war that the conditions of their detention were even too mild.

The daily ration of prisoners of war was 400 g of bread (after 1943 this rate increased to 600-700 g), 100 g of fish, 100 g of cereals, 500 g of vegetables and potatoes, 20 g of sugar, 30 g of salt. For generals and sick prisoners of war, the ration was increased.

Of course, these are just numbers. In fact, in wartime, rations were rarely given in full. The missing products could be replaced with simple bread, the ration was often cut, but the prisoners were not deliberately starved to death, there was no such practice in Soviet camps in relation to German prisoners of war.

Of course, the prisoners of war worked. Molotov once said the historical phrase that not a single German prisoner will return to his homeland until Stalingrad is restored.

The Germans did not work for a crust of bread. The NKVD circular of August 25, 1942 ordered that prisoners be given a monetary allowance (7 rubles for privates, 10 for officers, 15 for colonels, 30 for generals). There was also a prize for shock work - 50 rubles a month. Amazingly, the prisoners could even receive letters and money orders from their homeland, they were given soap and clothes.

Big construction site

Captured Germans, following the Molotov covenant, worked at many construction sites in the USSR, were used in the municipal economy. Their attitude to work was in many ways indicative. Living in the USSR, the Germans actively mastered the working vocabulary, learned the Russian language, but they could not understand the meaning of the word "trash". German labor discipline became a household name and even gave rise to a kind of meme: "Of course, it was the Germans who built it."

Almost all low-rise buildings of the 40s-50s are still considered to be built by the Germans, although this is not the case. It is also a myth that the buildings built by the Germans were built according to the designs of German architects, which, of course, is not true. The general plan for the restoration and development of cities was developed by Soviet architects (Shchusev, Simbirtsev, Iofan and others).

Restless

German prisoners of war did not always obey meekly. There were escapes, riots, uprisings among them.

From 1943 to 1948, 11,403 prisoners of war escaped from Soviet camps. 10 thousand 445 people of them were detained. Only 3% of those who fled were not caught.

One of the uprisings took place in January 1945 in a prisoner of war camp near Minsk. German prisoners were unhappy with the poor food, barricaded the barracks, and took the guards hostage. Negotiations with them led nowhere. As a result, the barrack was shelled with artillery. More than 100 people died.

Time for forgiveness

About German prisoners of war. They built houses and roads, participated in the atomic project, but most importantly, they saw for the first time those who until recently were considered "subhumans", those whom the fascist propaganda called to destroy without any pity. We looked and were amazed. People who suffered from the war often selflessly helped the prisoners, starving themselves, feeding and treating them.

The film involves: former German prisoners of war, as well as veterans of the Great Patriotic War, employees of the 7th department who worked with prisoners.

Includes an exclusive interview with Professor, translator R.-D. Keil, who participated in the negotiations between Konrad Adenauer and Nikita Khrushchev on the release of German prisoners of war.