German atrocities committed against Soviet prisoners of war
On the 22nd of June 1941, Germany and its allies invaded the Soviet Union. This invasion was not merely a military campaign but a war of extermination. Nazi planners believed that conquering territory to the east was essential for Germany's long-term survival. They called this living space. The German leadership viewed the Soviet Union as an ideological enemy controlled by an international Jewish conspiracy. They expected resistance to collapse quickly if they killed communist functionaries and Soviet Jews. Racial theory placed Soviet citizens in a strict hierarchy. Germans, Balts, and Muslims sat at the top. Ukrainians were middle tier. Russians were near the bottom. Asians and Jews were at the very lowest level. This hierarchy dictated how prisoners would be treated from the moment of capture.
Germany had signed the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War before World War II began. Military education covered these laws thoroughly. There was no legal ambiguity regarding their obligations. The Soviet Union was not a signatory to either the Hague or Geneva conventions. Adolf Hitler rejected an offer from the Soviets to abide by the Hague provisions several weeks after the war started. On the 30th of March 1941, Hitler stated privately that they must distance themselves from soldierly comradeship. He declared Red Army soldiers were no comrade of Germans. He ordered a war of extermination. No one present raised any objection. The Oberkommando der Wehrmacht claimed the Geneva Convention did not apply to Soviet prisoners. They suggested using it only for planning purposes. Law and morality played a minor role compared to labor demands. Abwehr officer Helmuth James Graf von Moltke was one of the few who favored treating Soviet prisoners according to international law.
By the end of 1941, over three million Soviet soldiers had been captured. Two-thirds of them died from starvation, exposure, and disease by early 1942. This represents one of the highest sustained death rates for any mass atrocity in history. Prisoners were often forced to march hundreds of kilometers on foot with little food or water. Guards frequently shot anyone who fell behind. Open cattle wagons used after October 1941 resulted in the death of some 20 percent of passengers due to cold weather. Russian estimates place deaths in transit between 200,000 and 250,000. Housing conditions were dire. Prisoners were herded into open fenced areas with no buildings or latrines. Some camps lacked running water. Kitchen facilities were rudimentary. Many prisoners got nothing to eat. Some lived in the open all winter or dug burrows that collapsed. At Dulag 131 in Bobruisk, an estimated 30,000 to 40,000 Red Army soldiers died. The death toll at many camps was comparable to Nazi concentration camps.
An estimated 1.4 million Soviet prisoners served as auxiliaries to the German military or SS. Collaborators were essential to the German war effort and the Holocaust in Eastern Europe. Hitler opposed recruiting Soviet collaborators initially but military leaders disregarded his instructions. Himmler recognized in July 1941 that locally recruited police would be necessary. Motivations for joining varied from survival to ideological reasons. A large proportion of survivors from 1941 collaborated to survive. Most had supporting roles like drivers or cooks. Others engaged directly in fighting during anti-partisan warfare. In 1943, there were 53 battalions raised from prisoners. These included fourteen in the Turkestan Legion and nine in the Armenian Legion. Trawniki men were recruited from prisoner-of-war camps. They helped suppress the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising and worked in extermination camps killing millions of Jews. If recaptured by the Red Army, collaborators were often shot. By D-Day in mid-1944, these soldiers made up 10 percent of German forces occupying France.
More than one million Soviet prisoners were deported to Germany for forced labor. Conditions were worse than civilian forced laborers or prisoners from other countries. Employers paid RM0.54 per day per man for agricultural work and RM0.80 for other tasks. Workers received RM0.20 per day in wages. Many also provided extra food to achieve productivity. The number of prisoners working in Germany increased from 455,000 in September 1942 to 652,000 in May 1944. At least 1.3 million Soviet prisoners had been deported to Germany or its annexed territories by the end of the war. Of these, 400,000 did not survive. Most deaths occurred during the winter of 1941, 1942. Some were deported to Norway and the Channel Islands. Camps in Germany had an internal police force of non-Russian prisoners who were often violent towards Russians. Soviet Germans often staffed camp administration and served as interpreters. Both groups received more rations and preferential treatment.
Former prisoners of war were not recognized as veterans upon returning home. They faced discrimination due to the perception that they were traitors or deserters. Soviet policy held that any soldier falling into enemy hands was a traitor. An August 1941 classified order declared surrendering commanders and political officers deserters to be summarily executed. Families of defectors were sometimes arrested. In November 1944, the State Defense Committee decided freed prisoners would be returned to the army. Those serving in German units were handed over to the NKVD. Freed prisoners were sent to filtration camps where most stayed for one or two months. This process failed to separate voluntary collaborators effectively. According to official statistics, 57.8 percent returned home while 6.5 percent were transferred to the NKVD. Death sentences were rare but fear persisted. Former prisoners did not receive reparations until 2015 when the German government paid a symbolic amount of 2,500 euros to the few thousand still alive.
Deaths among these Soviet prisoners have been called one of the greatest crimes in military history. The number of deaths is second only to those of civilian Jews yet far less studied. Thousands of books have been published about the Holocaust but no English books existed on this topic as of 2016. The issue was mostly ignored by Soviet historiography until the last years of the USSR. Few prisoner accounts were published and perpetrators were not tried for their crimes. Christian Streit published the first major study of their fate in 1978. Soviet archives became available in 1990. Crimes against prisoners were exposed to the German public in the Wehrmacht exhibition around 2000. Memorials and markers have been established at cemeteries and former camps. For the 80th anniversary of World War II, several organizations organized a traveling exhibition. Russian nationalist historiography defended former prisoners minimizing defection incidents while emphasizing resistance.
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Common questions
How many Soviet prisoners of war died during World War II?
Over three million Soviet soldiers were captured by the end of 1941, and two-thirds of them died from starvation, exposure, and disease by early 1942. At least 1.3 million Soviet prisoners had been deported to Germany or its annexed territories by the end of the war, with 400,000 not surviving.
When did Adolf Hitler reject the Geneva Convention for Soviet prisoners of war?
Adolf Hitler rejected an offer from the Soviets to abide by the Hague provisions several weeks after the war started on the 22nd of June 1941. On the 30th of March 1941, Hitler stated privately that they must distance themselves from soldierly comradeship and ordered a war of extermination.
What was the death rate among Soviet prisoners in German camps compared to other groups?
Two-thirds of over three million captured Soviet soldiers died from starvation, exposure, and disease by early 1942, representing one of the highest sustained death rates for any mass atrocity in history. Conditions were worse than civilian forced laborers or prisoners from other countries, with some camps having death tolls comparable to Nazi concentration camps.
How many Soviet prisoners collaborated with the German military during World War II?
An estimated 1.4 million Soviet prisoners served as auxiliaries to the German military or SS, making up 10 percent of German forces occupying France by D-Day in mid-1944. In 1943, there were 53 battalions raised from prisoners including fourteen in the Turkestan Legion and nine in the Armenian Legion.
When did former Soviet prisoners of war receive reparations from Germany?
Former prisoners did not receive reparations until 2015 when the German government paid a symbolic amount of 2,500 euros to the few thousand still alive. Families of defectors were sometimes arrested under an August 1941 classified order that declared surrendering commanders and political officers deserters to be summarily executed.