История / 2. Общая история

Dr. Prof. Kokebaeva G.K.

Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty, Kazakhstan

THEY WERE NOT TRAITORS

(about one of the five millions Soviet soldiers,

prisoners of war)

When the World War II (1939-1945) was close to be over in Europe, the Soviet government began to think seriously about the further destiny of those millions people who were taken into prison by Germans and were on the territory of foreign states. Of course, the majority of the Soviet people, including prisoners of war, wanted to go back home. But the certain part of the prisoners, especially those joined to national detachments of Nazi army, who got an information about attitude of the Soviet government towards traitors collaborated with Nazi regime, desired to stay in the West. The Soviet security system received a task to return back all those prisoners to the territory of the Soviet Union. Main driven factor of this Soviet policy was to prevent the process of enlargement of anti-Soviet immigration criticizing Soviet power. If we also add to these reasons the needs of the government to use the major part of these prisoners for the restoration of destroyed industry and agriculture of the country we would understand partly the cruel policy of the state.

“Pravda” newspaper (4 Oct., 1945) informed about the repatriation of 5 336 130 people, among them 4 491 403 came to their settlements where they began to services and 750 people were on their way home. But the real facts were not congruent to this information of the Soviet official news. M. Geller and A. Nekrich showed that overwhelming majority of 2 272 000 Soviet citizens taken by the Soviet government from the territory of Western countries were accused in betraying the Soviet Union. About 2 % of them were sentenced by “committees of three” to dearth or to 25 years in Soviet camps; 15-20 % were sentenced from 5 to 10 years in camps; 10 % were exiled to the most remote regions of Siberia, where they spent more than 6 years; 15 % were sent for the restoration of industrial sector of Soviet economy to those regions which suffered most during the war and only 15-20 % could go back to their homes and also 15-20 % were, probably, destroyed or murder during transportation except those who were lucky to escape [1].

The Commission under the President of Russian Federation on rehabilitation of victims of political repressions gave the following figures on problem of repatriation: when the process of repatriation was over in 1946 on 1 of December the number of registered were – 1 833 567 prisoners of war and 3 582 358 civilians. The Commission confirms the following facts. At the end of July in 1945 NKVD of USSR issued an act “An instruction on order of registration of repatriated Soviet citizens”. By this instruction all the Soviet repatriates, including civilians and prisoners of war, were accepted as enemies of Soviet state. To those repatriates who came back to their original places, were given special documents instead of passports and they were prohibited to leave the places of settlements. All these repatriates were accepted to the special discount by NKVD offices in the regions. This special discount for each repatriate was necessary even in the case of absence of any negative information concerning these people. Local offices of NKVD were given materials which provided them by an opportunity to continue the process of further treating them as enemy’s agents. Then after giving by NKVD offices new material on these repatriates followed new arrests and new processes of taken them into prison. In 1948-1949 the new wave of arrests of former repatriates began. A special act of Presidium of Supreme Council of USSR was issued on 21 of February 1948 “On sending of special dangerous state criminals to the remote places of USSR for settlements in exile”. Among those who were listed in this act were former prisoners of war. By decision of Council of Ministers of USSR in such districts as Kolyma, Norilsk, Komi ASSR, regions of Karaganda and Temniky in Mordovskaya ASSR were organized special camps on 100 000 imprisoned each. In towns of Vladimir, Alexandrovsk, and Verhneuralsk were organized special prisons for 5 000 people each. All those people who had left camps and prisons after finishing of their terms were sent to exile by the decision of Special Commission under MGB USSR [2]. So, all these Soviet people who had survived German concentration camps and prisons, were sent again to Stalin’s camps after coming back home. They were accused in betraying of their motherland. On 17 of September 1955 was issued an act of Presidium of Supreme Council of USSR “On amnesty of Soviet citizens collaborated with German invaders suring the period of Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”. On 20 of September of 1956 Presidium of Supreme Council applied this act to the cases of former prisoners of war [3]. But this special decision again was made against interests of Soviet prisoners: they were under amnesty but they were not accepted as innocent victims of war because they continued to be “traitors of motherland”.

The same punishment were put on those former Soviet prisoners, who fled from prison and participated in Opposition movement in European countries. For example, Kandaza Jaumbaev, 18 year old guy, just graduated from railway college, joined the Red Army in January 1942. He served as private in 825 regiment and in one of the battle under Voronezh was wounded when German planes began to bomb the Soviet troops. He was captured by German soldiers. The biggest part of the captured Soviet soldiers had moved to the concentration camp Khorol and some days later they marched to German camp in Neuhammer. Here they were sorted and young and stronger prisoners were moved to the territory of Northern Italy. In German military base in Istria the prisoners were used for the restoration of bridges, warehouses and other objects which were destroyed by bombs of Allies. As longer Allies bombed the territory of Axis countries the more prisoners were killed because they were forced to work under dangerous situations. The Soviet prisoners established close relations with local partisans and they helped them to organize an escape. According to a plan the prisoners had to leave barracks by small groups and later to meet in local forest. But only one group could use an opportunity to be free as for the others they were unable to leave the camp. Later the Germans began the investigation of the circumstances of the escape and those who left were arrested, beaten and by railway in carriages were sent to the territory of France. K. Jaumbaev told: “In a small carriage there 55 persons, were couldn’t even to sit, we were standing the whole way, shoulder by shoulder and didn’t know anything about our own future”. In one of the stations in France the train was bombed by Allies planes and majority of the prisoners died. The French workers opened just few of the carriages because of the shortage of time and some of the prisoners used this opportunity to run far enough from the station. When the reached the forest they began to organize small groups. “One of the group consisted of 13 prisoners and I was among them, was hiding for some days in the forest, we were starving several days but soon we discovered baggage accompanied by 5 German soldiers. They hold their hands up, and we took them in prison. We decided not to kill them, just banded their hands and freed them” – told Jaumbaev his story. After long period of strolling in the forest in June of 1944 in Albi region they finally met French partisans. Fighting side by side with French partisans they participated in the liberation of France from Nazi troops. The prisoners organized 1^st Partisan regiment who’s commander became Kazakh Z. Jamankulov, in this regiment also served K. Jaumbaev. From Soviet mission in Paris to this people came general-lieutenant Vikhrov. He suggested them to write a letter to their relatives in Kazakhstan with exact address and finally they got this letter from France. The 1^st Partisan regiment participated in parade of French troops who belong to French liberation movement. In July of 1945 the repatriation of Soviet prisoners began. With the group of Soviet repatriates K. Jaumbaev went back home, but on the border of the USSR the train was stopped and former prisoners were sent to the NKVD camp. Finally after the revision process the youngest and strongest men were sent to Kemerovo region to work in sawmills. In 1946 in August they were permitted to go back home. K. Jaumbaev came to his native village in Aktyubinsk region and began to work as a deputy of chief accounter. But as later was known the chief accounter who had been working in financial department of army staff, was exiled to Kazakhstan after the arrest of Tukhachevsky. Some months later after his return K. Jaumbaev was asked in local office of NKVD and accused in keeping close relation with exiled book keeper when he was fighting in France. When the second wave of arrests of repatriates had began in 1948 on 17 of July K. Jaumbaev was arrested again. The military court of MVD of South Ural military district sentenced him by 58-1 “B” article of RF criminal law for 15 years in prison, 8 years from them he spent in Karaganda camp. By decision of Presidium of Supreme Council of USSR on 17 of November 1955 he was rehabilitated and finally in December this year he went home. But he didn’t get his documents evidenced on his participation in Liberation movement in France. In 1993 K. Jaumbaev began to seek his documents, his correspondence with different security and military offices had been lasted about 10 years. And only in 2003 they returned him back his letters, cards and other documents, which were in his file in 1948. Unfortunately, among the documents there were no the ID 236, belonged to private of 1^st Partisan regiment, formed in France. This document was given back to him finally after appeal to the chief of KNB RK on Aktyubinsk region [4]. His life is a typical example of the Soviet people life, who participated in the World War II, was in German camps, participated in partisan movement in Europe and went after war to Stalin’s camps. Unfortunately, a lot of them couldn’t even see the document of their rehabilitation.

Those Soviet people who were in German prison were accepted in society as dangerous elements, they were excluded from the party, they were fired at first, they were not accepted as participants of the war [5]. In comparison with USSR, in Western countries we could se the opposite attitude towards people being prisoners of war. In USA in 1985 on of November was created a medal “For the service in prison” awarded to soldiers and officers of US army, who were prisoners of was after April of 1917, in World War II, Korean War, conflict in Vietnam and Persian Gulf. This medal couldn’t be awarded in cases when military offices found the behavior of the prisoners out of mode accepted by military code of practice. In those cases the final decision is usually taken by Minister of Defense. Sometimes people are awarded by this medal after death [6].

The Soviet private and officers, being in prison, regardless of their behavior, sometimes successful run and participation in partisan movement are accused as traitors of motherland. By decision 270 the families of prisoners were also arrested. Inhumanr attitude of Soviet power towards prisoners we could see in earlier period. Part of private of Red Army fought at Khalkin-Gol were taken into prison. When they came back after Japanese prison they were given 10 years in Soviet camps “using only in dangerous industry”. In spring of 1940 after the Soviet – Finnish war Soviet Union got 5,5 thousand of prisoners. By their arrival in Ivanovo district NKVD prepared a special camp. The revision process lasted a year. As the result part of the prisoners were sentenced to different terms in jail, the others were sent to the North of Soviet Union where they finally disappeared [7].

Among the Soviet leadership there were not popular such things as devotion to truth, respect to human rights, law and morality, first of all because of cruelty of civil war aand Stalin’s repressions. That is why the soldiers who won a victory over the most dangerous enemy Hitler’s Germany in World War II became “traitors”, who betrayed the country in the own motherland. This a law of the totalitarian society where existed only leader and crowd, forced to follow all the decision of the leader. The principle of “leader” in Soviet system and Nazi Germany are so close that many differences between them gradually disappeared.

References:

1. Heller M., Nekrich A. Geschichte der Sowjetunion. Bd.2 Athenaum: Verlag GmbH, 1982, S. 140.

2. Новая и новейшая история, 1996, № 2, с. 100, 102-103.

3. Ведомости Верховного Совета СССР, 1955, № 17; 1956, № 19.

4. Интервью с К. Жаумбаевым, ноябрь 2004 года.

5. Архив Президента Республики Казахстан, ф. 708, оп. 14, д. 102, л. 135, 140, 415-416.

6. Шнеер А. Советские военнопленные в Германии, 1941-1945. Москва, Иерусалим, 2005, с. 11-12.

7. Стецовский Ю. История советских репрессий. Т. 1, М., 1997, с. 91.