How did the German women behave when meeting with Soviet troops?
In the report of the deputy. Head of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army Shikin in the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks G.F. Alexandrov on April 30, 1945 about the attitude of the civilian population of Berlin to the personnel of the Red Army troops:
“As soon as our units occupy one or another area of the city, residents gradually begin to take to the streets, almost all of them have white bands on their sleeves. When meeting our military personnel, many women raise their hands up, cry and shake with fear, but as soon as they are convinced that the soldiers and officers of the Red Army are not at all what their fascist propaganda portrayed them to be, this fear quickly passes, more and more the population takes to the streets and offers their services, trying in every possible way to emphasize their loyal attitude to the Red Army.”
The winners were most impressed by the humility and prudence of the German women. In this regard, it is worth citing the story of mortarman N.A. Orlov, who was shocked by the behavior of German women in 1945.
“No one in the Minbat killed German civilians. Our special officer was a “Germanophile.” If this happened, then the reaction of the punitive authorities to such an excess would be quick. Regarding violence against German women. It seems to me that when talking about this phenomenon, some people “exaggerate things” a little. I remember an example of a different kind. We went to some German city and settled in houses. “Frau,” about 45 years old, appears and asks for “Ger Commandant.” They brought her to Marchenko. She claims to be in charge of the quarter and has collected 20 German women for sexual (!!!) service of Russian soldiers. Marchenko German understood, and to the political officer Dolgoborodov standing next to me, I translated the meaning of what the German woman said. The reaction of our officers was angry and abusive. The German woman was driven away, along with her “squad” ready for service. In general, the German submission stunned us. They expected it from the Germans guerrilla warfare, sabotage. But for this nation, order - "Ordnung" - is above all. If you are a winner, then they are “on their hind legs”, and consciously and not under duress. This is the psychology..."
He cites a similar case in his military notes. David Samoilov :
“In Arendsfeld, where we had just settled down, a small crowd of women with children appeared. They were led by a huge mustachioed German woman of about fifty - Frau Friedrich. She stated that she was a representative of the civilian population and asked to register the remaining residents. We replied that this could be done as soon as the commandant’s office appeared.
“This is impossible,” said Frau Friedrich. - There are women and children here. They need to be registered.
The civilian population confirmed her words with screams and tears.
Not knowing what to do, I invited them to take the basement of the house where we were located. And they, reassured, went down to the basement and began to settle down there, waiting for the authorities.
“Herr Commissar,” Frau Friedrich told me complacently (I was wearing a leather jacket). “We understand that soldiers have small needs. “They are ready,” Frau Friedrich continued, “to give them several younger women for...
I did not continue the conversation with Frau Friedrich.”
After communicating with residents of Berlin on May 2, 1945. Vladimir Bogomolov wrote in his diary:
“We enter one of the surviving houses. Everything is quiet, dead. We knock and ask you to open it. You can hear whispering, muffled and excited conversations in the corridor. Finally the door opens. The ageless women, huddled in a tight group, bow fearfully, low and obsequiously. German women are afraid of us, they were told that Soviet soldiers, especially Asians, would rape and kill them... Fear and hatred are on their faces. But sometimes it seems that they like to be defeated - their behavior is so helpful, their smiles and words are so touching. These days there are stories in circulation about how our soldier entered a German apartment, asked for a drink, and the German woman, as soon as she saw him, lay down on the sofa and took off her tights.”
“All German women are depraved. They have nothing against being slept with,” this opinion was common in the Soviet troops and was supported not only by many clear examples, but also by their unpleasant consequences, which military doctors soon discovered.
Directive of the Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front No. 00343/Ш dated April 15, 1945 stated: “During the presence of troops on enemy territory, cases of venereal diseases among military personnel increased sharply. A study of the reasons for this situation shows that sexually transmitted diseases are widespread among Germans. The Germans, before the retreat, and also now, in the territory we occupied, took the path of artificially infecting German women with syphilis and gonorrhoea in order to create large foci for the spread of sexually transmitted diseases among the Red Army soldiers.”
The Military Council of the 47th Army reported on April 26, 1945 that “...In March, the number of sexually transmitted diseases among military personnel increased compared to February of this year. four times. ... The female part of the German population in the surveyed areas is affected by 8-15%. There are cases when the enemy deliberately leaves German women with venereal diseases behind to infect military personnel.”
Interesting diary entries were left by the Australian war correspondent Osmar White, who in 1944-1945. was in Europe in the ranks of the 3rd American Army under the command of George Paton. This is what he wrote down in Berlin in May 1945, literally a few days after the end of the assault:
“I went through the night cabarets, starting with Femina near Potsdammerplatz. It was a warm and humid evening. The smell of sewage and rotting corpses filled the air. The façade of Femina was covered with futuristic nudes and advertisements in four languages. The dance hall and restaurant were filled with Russian, British and American officers escorting (or hunting for) the women. A bottle of wine cost $25, a horse meat and chips hamburger cost $10, and a pack of American cigarettes cost a mind-boggling $20. The women of Berlin had their cheeks rouged and their lips painted so that it seemed as if Hitler had won the war. Many women wore silk stockings. The lady hostess of the evening opened the concert in German, Russian, English and French. This provoked a barb from the Russian artillery captain who was sitting next to me. He leaned towards me and said in decent English: “Such a quick transition from national to international! RAF bombs are great professors, aren't they?
The general impression of European women that Soviet military personnel had was sleek and elegant (in comparison with their war-weary compatriots in the half-starved rear, on lands liberated from occupation, and even with front-line friends dressed in washed out tunics), approachable, selfish, promiscuous or cowardly. submissive. The exceptions were Yugoslav and Bulgarian women.
Severe and ascetic Yugoslav partisans were perceived as comrades in arms and considered inviolable. And given the strict morals in the Yugoslav army, “the partisan girls probably looked at the PPZH [field wives] as beings of a special, nasty kind.”
About Bulgarians Boris Slutsky recalled this: “...After Ukrainian complacency, after Romanian debauchery, the severe inaccessibility of Bulgarian women struck our people. Almost no one boasted of victories. This was the only country where officers were often accompanied on walks by men, and almost never by women. Later, the Bulgarians were proud when they were told that the Russians were going to return to Bulgaria for brides - the only ones in the world who remained pure and untouched.”
But in other countries through which the winning army passed, the female part of the population did not command respect. “In Europe, women gave up and changed before anyone else...” wrote B. Slutsky. - I have always been shocked, confused, disoriented by lightness, shameful lightness love relationship. Decent women, certainly unselfish, were like prostitutes - hasty availability, desire to avoid intermediate stages, disinterest in the motives that push a man to get closer to them.
Like people, from all the lexicon love lyrics who recognized three obscene words, they reduced the whole matter to a few body movements, causing resentment and contempt among the most yellow-mouthed of our officers... The restraining motives were not ethics at all, but the fear of getting infected, the fear of publicity, of pregnancy,” and added that in the conditions conquests“general depravity covered and hid the special female depravity, making it invisible and unashamed.”
Interesting, isn't it?
German postcard and notebook seized during the arrest of prisoners of war
I was called up for military service.
In the battles near Revel on August 20, Ferdi Walbrecker fell for his fatherland. Hans and I spent the last Sunday in September in Aachen. It was very nice to see Germans: German men, women and German girls. Previously, when we first arrived in Belgium, the difference did not catch my eye... To really love your homeland, you must first be away from it.
1941 October. 10. 10. 41.
I'm on guard. Today I was transferred to the active army. In the morning we read the list. Almost exclusively people from construction battalions. Of the July recruits, only a few mortarmen. What can you do? I can only wait. But next time it will probably affect me too. Why should I ask voluntarily? I know that it will be more difficult to fulfill my duty there, much more difficult, but still...
14. 10. 41.
Tuesday. On Sunday, machine gunners were selected from 1st platoon. I was among them. We had to swallow 20 quinine pills; suitability for service in tropical conditions was tested. On Monday I received an answer: good. But I heard that the shipment was cancelled. Why?
Today we had a review. It was conducted by our company commander. This is all just a theatrical performance. As could have been predicted in advance, everything went well. Vacation in Lüttich for 18-19.10 has been arranged.
22. 10. 41.
The vacation has already passed. It was good. We still found the military priest. During divine services, I served him. After lunch he showed us Lüttich. It was a pleasant day. I felt like I was among people again.
Hans, Gunther and Klaus left. Who knows if we'll see each other.
There has been no news from my brother at home for many weeks (7-9). After I received the news of Ferdi Walbrecker's death, I felt as if my brother would also be killed. May the Lord God protect me from this, for the sake of my parents, especially for the sake of my mother.
Werner Kunze and Kosman are killed. Nothing more is heard from Africa.
Written by Frieda Grislam (relation to the government and to the people; soldier and woman at the present time).
1941 November.
20. 11. 41.
Five days in Eltfenborn are over. The service there was very easy. Apart from shooting as a platoon, we practically did nothing. But we were in Germany, and it was nice. In Eltfenborn I visited the priest.
The way the Germans are holding out in the former Eifen-Malmedy can be understood; we expected a different Germany. Not so anti-Christian. But there are also Walloon villages there, and quite a few. During the shooting, someone lit a fire. When you stand like that and look at the flame, old memories come up. As it was before. For me, nothing better could happen right now than to go on the road with a few guys, but...
P... also wrote about wasting time; now that we are in the prime of our powers and want to use them. What would you like to work on?
What challenges await us! They say that two marching battalions are being formed again. News from home: Willy Walbrecker has also been killed. We also made our sacrifice. Willie is fourth. I ask: who's next?
26.11. 41.
Willie Schefter is in the infirmary. This was a real comrade. More and more often the thought occurs to me that I am wasting my time here aimlessly. I hesitate on what I want to be: Africa; technical profession; or a priest only for God.
There is no camaraderie to be found in our room. I would like to get to the front sooner. It will be good for me.
25. 11. 41.
Yesterday morning, unexpectedly for everyone, the dispatch order arrived. Now no one wanted to believe it when we were gathered. But it is so. The day was spent in uniform. What I expected has finally arrived, and I firmly believe that more will come. A more difficult, but better (if that is the right expression) time is coming. Now you have to show whether you are a man or a coward. I hope that this experience will be a lifelong gain for me; I will become more mature.
I don’t want to write about the general enthusiasm that was reflected in drunkenness; it won't last long.
1941 December. 8.12.41.
I've written various things this week, and there's a lot more I could write. About general enthusiasm, about duty at the moment, etc. Dusseldorf! It's not good for you. No!
Magdalene was also here on Wednesday (my parents were here last Sunday). The Gestapo searched and took away my letters and other things. No comments needed. I'll get my leave on Sunday and find out more about it. From me they went to the Dealer and took a lot of things there. Do they have the right, because we live in Germany; The dealer was taken to... and from there sent to Dortmund, where he is in pre-trial detention. They were still sitting until Sunday. Johann is there too. I think there are 60-100 people sitting there.
12.12. 41. Friday.
We've been on the road since Wednesday. They say that we are 13.12. We will be in Insterburg, and on December 15 we will be on the other side of the border.
America also entered the war.
It's cramped in the carriage here. Whether we will get to the Southern Front is now, perhaps, doubtful. Regarding the Gestapo, I visited our captain; he promised me full support. I composed the letter, but there are still some little things, we'll see. We'll be somewhere for Christmas.
13.12. 41. Saturday.
I wrote a letter to the Gestapo. The captain will probably sign the petition. What more could you want? I put it all in a business-like manner. Success is doubtful. We are in Insterburg.
East Prussia is almost all behind. I haven't shaved since Monday. “Unshaven and far from home.” Still haven't encountered any camaraderie. I hope that things are better at the front in this regard; otherwise it would be a big disappointment for me.
16.12.41. Tuesday.
Lithuania, Latvia are behind. We are in Estonia. We had a long layover. I was in the city. Nothing interesting. Riga was already better. Unfortunately, we couldn't get into the city.
The mood in our carriage is terrible! Yesterday two people fought; Today there are two again. Friendly relations here are an illusion, a utopia.
Lithuania is a flat country that stretches wide before our eyes. This country is poor. Everywhere there are wooden huts (they cannot be called houses), covered with thatch. The inside is small and cramped.
Latvia is not so smooth. One part is mountainous and covered with forest. The houses here, even in the villages, are better and look more comfortable. Estonia also has a lot of forests and hills.
The people here are very nice. The language is completely incomprehensible. There's not much here either. No vodka. Food cards.
In Riga, they say, 10,000 Jews (German Jews) were shot. No comments needed. Three people were shot for robbery, I support this, no matter how harsh it may be. To prevent this from spreading, decisive intervention is needed. This is a mistake: on Tuesday we were not yet in Estonia (18.12.)
18.12. 41.
In Russia. We passed through Estonia very quickly. Russia is a flat, endless country. Tundra. We received cartridges.
We traveled along the following route: Riga - Valk (Estonia) - Russia; to Pskov. Pskov is said to be the third most beautiful city in Russia.
I read Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice and Hamlet. We are located 10 km. from Pskov and we will probably stay here for a long time. I like Shakespeare.
19.12. 41.
We are still near Pskov. The fact is that the Russians have severely damaged the railway industry and there are few steam locomotives here.
I gave bread to several Russians. How grateful these poor people were. They are treated worse than livestock. Of the 5,000 Russians, approximately 1,000 remain. This is a shame. What would Dvingoff and Etighofer say if they knew this?
Then I “visited” one peasant. When I gave him a cigarette, he was happy. I looked at the kitchen. Poor! I was treated to cucumbers and bread. I left them a pack of cigarettes. Not a word is clear from the language except: “Stalin”, “communist”, “Bolshevik”.
The ring around St. Petersburg was broken through by the Russians a few days ago. The Russians broke through 40 km. They couldn’t do anything against the tanks. The Russians are extremely strong here. Whether the ring is closed from the side of the lake is doubtful. There are too few of our troops there. When will Leningrad fall? War! When will it end?
21. 12. 41.
Today is Sunday. It's not noticeable in any way. The trip is over. In Gatchina (Baltic) we were unloaded. The population besieged our carriages, asked for bread, etc. It is good when you can bring joy to a child, woman or man. But there are too many of them.
We are located 6 km. from the station. There are 16 of us in one room with 4 wide beds; There are 3 people for each bed, and the other four..?
ABOUT last days I don’t want to write anything in the carriage. There is not a trace of soldier's friendship. In one prison camp, more than 100 prisoners are said to have died in one night. 22.12.41.
Our apartment is good. The hostess (Finnish) is very kind, but poor. We give her quite a lot. After all, it is better to give than to take.
24. 12. 41.
Today is Christmas Eve... In Gatchina, most of the churches were destroyed by German pilots, not by the Reds. There is still a cross on the palace.
(Bra)ukhich resigned or was dismissed. What does this mean?
27. 12. 41.
Christmas has passed. In fact, these were very, very sad days, there could not be any real Christmas cheer.
It is said that the 1st Division, since it took part in very heavy fighting, will be sent to the south of France. Therefore, we will probably end up in the 12th division. I hope so. Others would also like to get to the south of France.
Today we saw seven carriages with soldiers who arrived from the ring near Leningrad. These soldiers looked terrible. Such pictures are not seen in newsreels.
It's gradually getting cold here. 20 degrees.
Wrote something about a soldier's life. I think a lot about Dealer, Johann and things related to them.
30. 12. 41.
Today or tomorrow we are being sent, and to the 1st division at that... Something will happen with Dealer, Johann and others...
1942 January. 03.01.42.
Arrived New Year. Will the war end in 1942? On December 31, 1941 we set out from Gatchina. When we walked 15-20 km, two buses and one truck arrived, which immediately delivered 60 people. to 1st division. Among these 60 were also myself, Wunten and Tsuitsinga. In the division we were immediately distributed among regiments; the three of us ended up in the 1st regiment. That same evening we were sent to the 3rd battalion, where we spent the night in an ice-cold dugout. This was a New Year's gift. Then we were distributed into companies. Wunten and I ended up in the 10th company. We handed over our food to the kitchen and “stomped” to the company, which had been on vacation for five days and just 1.1.42. in the evening she returned to the front line.
And now we are in the dugout. We stand on duty 6-7 hours a day. The rest of the time we lie down or eat. A life unworthy of man.
We are here between Leningrad and Shlisselburg, near the Neva, where it makes a sharp bend. The crossing is still in Russian hands. We are to the left of it. The dugout is tolerable (compared to others). It's calm here. Occasionally mortars fire. One person was killed last night. One person in the second platoon was killed today.
Our life is in the hands of God. We must remain on the front line for 10 days, and then 5 days of rest.
The company numbers 40-50 people. Of the division (15,000), only 3,000 remained alive. The ring around Leningrad is not closed (propaganda). The food is very good.
04. 01. 42.
You look like a pig. That's not putting it too strongly. You can't wash your face. And so, eat it in this form. I don't write this to complain. It just needs to be recorded.
Yesterday we brought a dead man - “We are not carrying treasure, we are carrying a dead man.” The rest don't pay attention to it. It's because you see too many dead people.
Friendship! Will she come again? Don't know. Or am I still not accustomed to the new environment?
Johann and Dealer, what could it be? You often get furious when you think about this meanness. If you then think that you are here at the front, then questions arise to which you would like to receive an answer. But there is a difference between the government and the people. This is the only solution.
07. 01. 42.
Yesterday more reinforcements arrived from the 4th marching company. There is talk that we will be replaced in the coming days!?!
“Comrades” often sing a beautiful song:
“Heil Hitler, heil Hitler.
All day - Heil Hitler
And on Sundays Heil Hitler
Heil Hitler, heil Hitler."
They sing this song to the melody of “Gedwig’s aunt, Gedwig’s aunt, the machine doesn’t sew”... Comments are unnecessary.
There is one soldier in our department. He is a Catholic. He is 35 years old. Peasant (6 cows, one horse). He is from Altenburg; from Bourscheid 2.5 hours walk. Maybe it can be used somehow for a group, or..?
(?). 1. 42
Yesterday there was talk that we were leaving here. The convoy seemed to have already been loaded. Everyone believes it. I also think this is true. I call this big disgusting. The “comrades” rejoice. I understand those who have been here from the very beginning. But we, who have just arrived, and are already back; This is downright scandalous. But we can't change anything about this. Nobody knows where they are sent. To Koenigsberg? Going skiing to Finland?
13. 1. 42.
We're on vacation. If you can call it a vacation. In any case, better than on the front line. Regarding the shift: behind Mga, where the convoy is located, a new position is being built.
18. 1. 42.
We are back on the front line for ten days. This time on the right position (south). We should post a few more posts. The dugout is small and cold. The conversations were really in vain. This will probably last a long time. But we believe that in the spring, when the attack comes, we will not be here, since then we disappeared, everyone says.
Friendship is funny. Sometimes you are pleased, and sometimes you again commit the most unfriendly and selfish act that can be done. In the near future I will be collecting cigarettes again, since my comrades really don’t deserve to always be given cigarettes.
30. 1. 42.
Only today did I find time to write further. Instead of ten days, it turned out to be thirteen, but it was pretty good in the dugout... During this time, I shaved once and “washed” in a lid with water (1/4 liter). Von Leeb also left, or was suspended. Reichenau died. It is not known how this should be understood. I don't mind going to Germany either.
1942 February.
02. 02. 42.
The two days of rest were soon over. On Sunday, January 31, the order came. At 18 o'clock we left and came back again. We weren't supposed to be here until the next morning at 6 o'clock. At night we changed our underwear and “washed ourselves”. We are further east from the old position. Again at the Neva. The area is calmer and better. The dugouts are all quite comfortable. The company occupied 1800 meters (probably the length of the defense section - editor's note). There are 4 people in our department. We put one person out for the night. This would have been nothing if we had not been occupied with too many other things during the day (carrying ammunition).
They say we will stay here until the attack? We don't get trench rations. It is not right.
15. 2. 42.
I'm again in another department. Tomorrow we move to another place. Erwin Schultz was wounded 7.2 by a mine fragment. Because of this, the three of us are forced to stand at the post. This is a bit much, but other branches cost the same. So you need to be happy. Everything is still calm here. I rejoice at every letter from home. Now I finally know about Johann and the Dealer... I’m finishing. Prayer must not be forgotten. I'll be glad for the time when I'm free from military service and I can live the way I want - not like everyone else.
Long live Moscow! Mouth front!
22. 2. 42.
We are still in the same position. It became colder again. I'm happy with the mail. The Gestapo was with us. They wanted to know the address. Hope I hear something about this soon.
27. 2. 42.
Today I turn 19 years old. Corporal Schiller arrived from Mga. The wound was not terrible; it was caused not by the Russians, but by Domerak.
I am already looking forward to the day when I can start working, free from military service.
Non-commissioned officer Riedel, it seems, big pig. Nothing has been heard from the Gestapo yet. If only I could hear nothing at all from all that is so disgusting for a few days.
1942 March. 09.03.42.
Several days passed again. It would be nice to get a few nights sleep. I don't have enough food - too little bread. There is wild talk about Vienna, Koblend, etc.
12. 03. 42.
From 9.30 to 10 o'clock approximately 100-200 rounds were fired per rifle, 600-1000 rounds per machine gun; in addition, a mass of flares were fired. After 10 o'clock there is silence. We weren't supposed to show up during the day. This was done in the area from the crossing to Shlisselburg (15 km). The command wanted to attract defectors in this way or cause the expulsion of a reconnaissance detachment, since prisoners were needed to obtain testimony.
On the night of 9.3. on 10.3. a man came on the left wing of our company - a defector or not, eyewitnesses differ on this point. He told a lot: the positions were poorly defended, there was nothing to eat, the company commander was supposedly a Jew, etc. Whether this is true is doubtful. I don’t know how many Russians fell into our hands in the indicated area.
It was also said that if we do not receive prisoners, we will have to send a reconnaissance detachment across the Neva, which, one might say, is a team of suicide bombers. Volunteers, go! We need to bring in the prisoners!
I haven't heard anything about the Gestapo yet.
20. 3. 42
At 20-30 we were loaded and transported by truck to Shapki (a little further).
21. 3. 42
Reconnaissance squad in the forest.
24. 3. 42
About 3 o'clock. Order: get ready. Now, as a battalion reserve, we are sitting in dugouts in which “the sun is shining.” The worst thing is artillery fire.
10th company - losses of 9 people.
10, 11, 12 companies - losses of 60 people.
9th company - losses 40%.
Our position is omega (possibly Mga - comp.). Food is better. Easter. What will happen for Easter?
Translated by: shekhn. Quartermaster I rank - Zinder.
My name is Wolfgang Morel. It's a Huguenot surname because my ancestors came from France in the 17th century. I was born in 1922. Until the age of ten he studied at a public school, and then for almost nine years at a gymnasium in the city of Breslau, present-day Wroclaw. From there, on July 5, 1941, I was drafted into the army. I just turned 19 years old.
I avoided forced labor (before serving in the army, young Germans were required to work for six months for the Imperial Labor Service) and was left to my own devices for six months. It was like a breath of fresh air before the army, before captivity.
Before coming to Russia, what did you know about the USSR?
Russia was a closed country for us. The Soviet Union did not want to maintain ties with the West, but the West also did not want ties with Russia - both sides were afraid. However, back in 1938, as a 16-year-old boy, I listened to a German radio station that regularly broadcast from Moscow. I must say the programs were not interesting - sheer propaganda. Production, visits of managers, and so on - no one was interested in this in Germany. There was also information about political repression in Soviet Union. In 1939, when there was a turn in foreign policy, when Germany and the USSR concluded a non-aggression pact, we saw Soviet troops, soldiers, officers, tanks - it was very interesting. After the signing of the agreement, interest in Soviet Union. Some of my school friends began to study Russian. They said this: “In the future we will have close economic relations and we must speak Russian.”
When did the image of the USSR as an enemy begin to take shape?
Only after the start of the war. At the beginning of 1941 it was felt that relations were deteriorating. There were rumors that the USSR was going to stop exporting grain to Germany. wanted to export their grain.
How was the start of the war with the Soviet Union perceived?
The feelings were very different. Some believed that in a week all enemies in the East would be destroyed, as happened in Poland and the West. But older generation viewed this war with skepticism. My father, who fought in Russia in the first world war was convinced that we would not bring this war to a happy end.
At the end of June, I received a letter in which I was ordered to be at the barracks of the military unit at such and such an hour on such and such a date. The barracks was located in my hometown, so it wasn't far to go. I was trained to be a radio operator for two months. However, at first I played more tennis. The fact is that my father was a famous tennis player and I myself started playing at the age of five. Our tennis club was located not far from the barracks. Once in a conversation I told the company commander about this. He really wanted to learn how to play and immediately took me with him to practice. So I left the barracks much earlier than others. Instead of drill training, I played tennis. The company commander was not interested in my drill skills; he wanted me to play with him. When training in the specialty began, the games ended. We were taught how to transmit and receive using a key, and how to eavesdrop on enemy conversations in English and Russian. I had to learn Russian Morse code signs. Each character of the Latin alphabet is encoded with four Morse characters, and the Cyrillic alphabet with five. It was not easy to master this. Soon the training ended, the next batch of cadets arrived and they left me as an instructor, although I didn’t want to. I wanted to go to the front because it was believed that the war was about to end. We defeated France, Poland, Norway - Russia will not last long, and after the war it is better to be an active participant - more benefits. In December, soldiers from rear units were collected throughout Germany to be sent to the Eastern Front. I submitted a report and was transferred to a team to be sent to war.
We drove to Orsha along railway, and from Orsha to Rzhev we were transferred to transport Yu-52. Apparently, replenishment was very urgently needed. I must say that when we arrived in Rzhev I was struck by the lack of order. The army's morale was at zero.
I ended up in the seventh tank division. The famous division commanded by General Rommel. By the time we arrived at the division there were no tanks - they were abandoned due to lack of fuel and shells.
Have you been given winter clothing?
No, but we received several summer sets. We were given three shirts. In addition, I received an additional overcoat. But in January there were frosts of forty degrees! Our government slept through the onset of winter. For example, the order to collect skis from the population for the army came out only in March 1942!
When you arrived in Russia, what struck you most?
Space. We had little contact with the local population. Sometimes they stayed in huts. The local population helped us.
Skiers from our group began to be selected for operations behind enemy lines - they had to connect to enemy communication lines and listen to them. I didn’t get into this group and on January 10th we were already on the front line as a simple infantryman. We cleared the roads of snow and fought.
What did they feed you at the front?
There was always hot food. They gave us chocolate and cola, sometimes liquor - not every day and in limited quantities.
Already on January 22nd I was captured. I was alone in a combat guard when I saw a group of about fifteen Russian soldiers in winter clothes on skis. It was useless to shoot, but I had no intention of surrendering. When they came closer, I saw that they were Mongols. They were believed to be especially cruel. There were rumors that mutilated corpses of German prisoners with their eyes gouged out were found. I was not ready to accept such a death. In addition, I was very afraid that I would be tortured during interrogation at Russian headquarters: I had nothing to say - I was a simple soldier. Fear of captivity and painful death under torture led me to the decision to commit suicide. I took my Mauser 98k by the barrel, and when they approached about ten meters I put it in my mouth and pressed the trigger with my foot. The Russian winter and the quality of German weapons saved my life: if it had not been so cold, and if the parts of the weapon had not been so well fitted that they froze, then we would not be talking to you. I was surrounded. Someone said “Hyunda hoh.” I raised my hands up, but in one hand I was holding a rifle. One of them approached me, took the rifle and said something. It seems to me that he said: “Be glad that the war is over for you.” I realized that they were quite friendly. Apparently I was the first German they saw. I was searched. Although I was not a heavy smoker, there was a pack of 250 R-6 cigarettes in my backpack. All smokers received a cigarette, and the rest was returned to me. I later exchanged these cigarettes for food. In addition, the soldiers found a toothbrush. Apparently they encountered her for the first time - they looked at her carefully and laughed. One elderly soldier with a beard patted my overcoat and said dismissively: “Hitler,” then pointed to his fur coat and hat and respectfully said: “Stalin!” They wanted to interrogate me right away, but no one spoke German. They had a small dictionary in which there was a chapter on “interrogation of a prisoner”: “Wie heissen Sie? What's your last name?" - I gave my name. - “Which part” - “I don’t understand.” I decided to hold out until the last moment during the interrogation and not reveal my unit number. After struggling with me a little, they stopped the interrogation. An elderly soldier who praised his uniform was ordered to accompany me to the headquarters, which was located six kilometers away in a village we had left two or three days ago. He was skiing, and I was walking in one and a half meters of snow. As soon as he took a couple of steps, I remained many meters behind him. Then he pointed to my shoulders and the ends of the skis. I could have punched him in the temple, taken my skis and run away, but I didn’t have the will to resist. After 9 hours in 30-40 degree frost, I simply didn’t have the strength to decide to do such an act.
The first interrogation at headquarters was conducted by the commissioner. But before I was called in for questioning, I was sitting in the hallway of the house. I decided to take a moment and shake out the snow that had accumulated in my boots. I only managed to take off one boot when a heroic-looking officer dressed in an astrakhan cape addressed me. In French, which he spoke better than me, he said: “It’s lucky that you were captured, you will definitely return home.” He distracted me from shaking the snow out of my boots, which later cost me dearly. We were interrupted by a translator who shouted from behind the door: “Come in!” My empty stomach immediately accepted the offer to have a light snack. When they handed me black bread, lard and a glass of water, my hesitant glance caught the eye of the commissar. He motioned for the translator to try the food. “As you can see, we are not going to poison you!” I was very thirsty, but instead of water there was vodka in the glass! Then the interrogation began. I was again asked to give my last name, first name, and date of birth. Then followed main question: “Which military unit?” I refused to answer this question. . The sound of the pistol hitting the table forced me to come up with an answer: “1st Division, 5th Regiment.” Complete fantasy. Not surprisingly, the commissioner immediately exploded: “You’re lying!” - I repeated. - “Lies!” He took a small book, in which the divisions and the regiments entering them were apparently written down: “Listen, you serve in the 7th tank division 7th infantry regiment 6th company." It turned out that the day before, two comrades from my company were captured and told me in which unit they served. At this point the interrogation was over. During the interrogation, the snow in my boot, which I did not have time to remove, melted. They took me outside and took me to a neighboring village. During the trek, the water in my boot froze and I stopped feeling my toes. In this village I joined a group of three prisoners of war. For almost ten days we walked from village to village. One of my comrades died in my arms from loss of strength. We often felt the hatred of the local population, whose houses during the retreat were destroyed to the ground as part of the scorched earth tactics. To angry shouts: “Fin, fin!” we answered: “German!” and in most cases the locals left us alone. I had frostbite on my right foot, my right boot was torn, and I used my second shirt as a bandage. In such a pitiful state, we met the film crew of the News of the Week film magazine, past whom we had to walk several times in deep snow. They told me to go through and go through again. We tried to hold on to the idea of German army wasn't that bad. Our “provisions” on this “campaign” consisted mainly of empty bread and ice cold well water, from which I got pneumonia. Only at the Shakhovskaya station, restored after the bombing, did the three of us board a freight car, where an orderly was already waiting for us. During the two or three days that the train traveled to Moscow, he provided us with the necessary medicines and food, which he cooked on a cast iron stove. For us it was a feast while we still had an appetite. The hardships we experienced took a toll on our health. I was tormented by dysentery and pneumonia. About two weeks after our capture, we arrived at one of the freight stations in Moscow and found refuge on the bare floor of the wagon coupler. Two days later, we couldn't believe our eyes. The guard put us in a white, six-seater ZIS limousine, on which a red cross and a red crescent were painted. On the way to the hospital, it seemed to us that the driver was driving on purpose in a roundabout way to show us the city. He proudly commented on the places we passed by: Red Square with the Lenin Mausoleum, the Kremlin. We crossed the Moscow River twice. The military hospital was hopelessly overcrowded with wounded. But here we took a bath that had a beneficial effect on us. My frostbitten leg was bandaged and suspended over the bathtub using lifting blocks. We never saw our uniform again, as we had to wear Russian clothes. We were sent to the boiler room. There were already ten completely exhausted comrades there. There was water on the floor, steam escaping from leaky pipes in the air, and drops of condensation crawling down the walls. The beds were stretchers raised on bricks. They gave us rubber boots so we could go to the toilet. Even the orderlies who appeared from time to time were wearing rubber boots. We spent several days in this terrible dungeon. Fever dreams caused by illness drag on the memories of this time... Five, maybe ten days later we were transferred to Vladimir. We were placed directly in a military hospital, located in the building of the theological seminary. At that time, there was no prisoner of war camp in Vladimir in whose infirmary we could be accommodated. There were already 17 of us and we occupied a separate room. The beds were made with sheets. How did they decide to place us together with the Russian wounded? A clear violation of the no contact order. One of my Russian friends, who by the nature of his work was engaged in studying the fate of German prisoners of war in Vladimir, admitted to me that he had never seen anything like this. In the archive Soviet army in St. Petersburg, he came across a card from a filing cabinet documenting our existence. For us, such a decision was a great happiness, and for some even salvation. There we felt treated as one of our own in terms of medical care and living conditions. Our food was not inferior to that of the Red Army soldiers. There was no security, but despite this, no one even thought about escaping. Medical examinations took place twice a day, most of them were carried out by female doctors, less often by the chief doctor himself. Most of us have suffered from frostbite.
I've already gotten there. My appetite disappeared and I began to put the bread they gave us under my pillow. My neighbor said that I was a fool and should distribute it among the others, since I was not a tenant anyway. This rudeness saved me! I realized that if I wanted to return home, I had to force myself to eat. Gradually I began to improve. My pneumonia subsided after two months of treatment, including cupping. Dysentery was taken by the horns by intramuscularly administering potassium permanganate and taking 55 percent ethyl alcohol, which caused the indescribable envy of others. We were truly treated like patients. Even those slightly wounded and slowly recovering were exempted from any work. It was performed by sisters and nannies. The Kazakh cook often brought a full portion of soup or porridge to the brim. The only German word he knew was: “Noodles!” And when he said it, he always smiled broadly. When we noticed that the Russians’ attitude towards us was normal, our hostile attitude diminished. This was also helped by a charming female doctor, who treated us with sympathy with her sensitive, reserved attitude. We called her "Snow White".
Less pleasant were the regular visits from the political commissar, who arrogantly and in great detail told us about the new successes of the Russian winter offensive. A comrade from Upper Silesia - his jaw was crushed - tried to transfer his knowledge Polish language into Russian and translated as best I could. Judging by the fact that he himself understood no more than half, he was not at all ready to translate everything and instead scolded the political commissar and Soviet propaganda. The same one, not noticing the game of our “translator,” encouraged him to translate further. Often we could hardly contain our laughter. Completely different news reached us in the summer. Two hairdressers said in great confidence that the Germans were near Cairo and the Japanese occupied Singapore. And then the question immediately arose: what awaits us in the event of a passionately desired victory? The commissar hung a poster over our beds: “Death to the fascist invaders!” Outwardly, we were no different from the Russian wounded: white underwear, a blue robe and slippers. During private meetings in the hallway and in the toilet, of course. they immediately recognized the Germans. And only a few of our neighbors, whom we already knew and avoided, were indignant at such meetings. In most cases the reaction was different. About half were neutral towards us, and about a third showed varying degrees of interest. The highest degree of trust was a pinch of shag, and sometimes even a rolled cigarette, lightly lit and handed to us. Suffering from the fact that shag was not part of our diet, passionate smokers, as soon as they regained the ability to move, set up duty in the corridor to collect tobacco. The guard, who changed every half hour, went out into the corridor, stood in front of our door and attracted attention with the typical movement of the smokers’ hand, “shooting” a plane tree or a pinch of shag. So the problem with tobacco was somehow solved.
What conversations took place between the prisoners?
Conversations between soldiers at home were only about women, but in captivity the No. 1 topic was food. I remember one conversation well. One friend said that after dinner he could eat three more times, then his neighbor grabbed his wooden crutch and wanted to beat him, because in his opinion he could eat not three, but ten times.
Were there officers among you or only soldiers?
There were no officers.
In mid-summer, almost everyone was healthy again, their wounds were healed, and no one died. And even those who recovered earlier still remained in the infirmary. At the end of August, an order came to be transferred to a labor camp, first in Moscow, and from there to the Ufa region in the Urals. After an almost heavenly time in the infirmary, I realized that I was completely unaccustomed to physical work. But the parting became even more difficult because they treated me here with friendliness and mercy. In 1949, after spending almost eight years in captivity, I returned home.
Interview and literary processing: A. Drabkin
From the memoirs of Wehrmacht soldiers and officers:
“My God, what are these Russians planning to do to us? We will all die here!..”
1. Chief of Staff of the 4th Army of the Wehrmacht, General Gunter Blumentritt
“Close communication with nature allows Russians to move freely at night in the fog, through forests and swamps. They are not afraid of the dark, endless forests and cold. They are no stranger to winter, when the temperature drops to minus 45. The Siberian, who can be partially or even fully considered Asian, is even more resilient, even stronger... We already experienced this ourselves during the First World War, when we had to face the Siberian Army Corps "
“For a European, accustomed to small territories, the distances in the East seem endless... The horror is intensified by the melancholic, monotonous nature of the Russian landscape, which has a depressing effect, especially in the gloomy autumn and painfully long winter. The psychological influence of this country on the average German soldier was very strong. He felt insignificant, lost in these endless spaces."
“The Russian soldier prefers hand-to-hand combat. His ability to endure hardship without flinching is truly amazing. Such is the Russian soldier whom we came to know and for whom we began to respect a quarter of a century ago."
“It was very difficult for us to form a clear picture of the equipment of the Red Army... Hitler refused to believe that the Soviet industrial production may be equal to German. We had little information regarding Russian tanks. We had no idea how many tanks Russian industry was capable of producing per month.
It was difficult to even get maps, since the Russians kept them a great secret. The maps we had were often incorrect and misleading.
We also did not have accurate data about the combat power of the Russian army. Those of us who fought in Russia during the First World War thought it was great, and those who did not know the new enemy tended to underestimate her.”
“The behavior of the Russian troops, even in the first battles, was in striking contrast with the behavior of the Poles and Western allies in defeat. Even surrounded, the Russians continued stubborn fighting. Where there were no roads, the Russians remained inaccessible in most cases. They always tried to break through to the east... Our encirclement of the Russians was rarely successful.”
“From Field Marshal von Bock to the soldier, everyone hoped that soon we would be marching through the streets of the Russian capital. Hitler even created a special sapper team that was supposed to destroy the Kremlin. When we came close to Moscow, the mood of our commanders and troops suddenly changed dramatically. We discovered with surprise and disappointment in October and early November that the defeated Russians had not ceased to exist at all. military force. Over the past weeks, enemy resistance has intensified, and the tension of the fighting increased every day ... "
2. From the memories of German soldiers
“The Russians don’t give up. An explosion, another, everything is quiet for a minute, and then they open fire again..."
“We watched the Russians in amazement. They didn’t seem to care that their main forces were defeated..."
“Loaves of bread had to be chopped with an axe. A few lucky people managed to acquire Russian uniforms..."
“My God, what are these Russians planning to do to us? We will all die here!..”
3. Colonel General (later Field Marshal) von Kleist
“The Russians showed themselves to be first-class warriors from the very beginning, and our successes in the first months of the war were simply due to better preparation. Having gained combat experience, they became first-class soldiers. They fought with exceptional tenacity and had amazing endurance..."
4. General von Manstein (also a future field marshal)
“It often happened that Soviet soldiers raised their hands to show that they were surrendering to us, and after our infantrymen approached them, they again resorted to weapons; or the wounded man feigned death, and then shot at our soldiers from the rear.”
5. Diary of General Halder
“It should be noted the tenacity of individual Russian formations in battle. There have been cases when garrisons of pillboxes blew themselves up along with the pillboxes, not wanting to surrender.” (Entry dated June 24 - the third day of the war.)
“Information from the front confirms that the Russians are fighting everywhere until last person... It is striking that when capturing artillery batteries, etc. Few surrender." (June 29 is in a week.)
“The fighting with the Russians is extremely stubborn. Only a small number of prisoners were captured." (July 4th - less than two weeks.)
6. Field Marshal Brauchitsch (July 1941)
“The uniqueness of the country and the unique character of the Russians gives the campaign a special specificity. The first serious opponent"
7. Commander of the 41st Tank Corps of the Wehrmacht, General Reinhart
“About a hundred of our tanks, of which about a third were T-IVs, took up their starting positions for a counterattack. From three sides we fired at the Russian iron monsters, but everything was in vain... The Russian giants, echeloned along the front and in depth, came closer and closer. One of them approached our tank, hopelessly stuck in a swampy pond. Without any hesitation, the black monster drove over the tank and crushed it into the mud with its tracks. At this moment a 150 mm howitzer arrived. While the artillery commander warned of the approach of enemy tanks, the gun opened fire, but again to no avail.
One of Soviet tanks approached the howitzer to within 100 meters. The gunners opened fire on him with direct fire and scored a hit - it was like being struck by lightning. The tank stopped. “We knocked him out,” the artillerymen sighed with relief. Suddenly, someone from the gun crew screamed heart-rendingly: “He’s gone again!” Indeed, the tank came to life and began to approach the gun. Another minute, and the shiny metal tracks of the tank slammed the howitzer into the ground like a toy. Having dealt with the gun, the tank continued its journey as if nothing had happened."
Apparently we are talking about a KV-2 attack. Truly a monster. 
8. Joseph Goebbels
“Courage is courage inspired by spirituality. The tenacity with which the Bolsheviks defended themselves in their pillboxes in Sevastopol is akin to some kind of animal instinct, and it would be a deep mistake to consider it the result of Bolshevik convictions or upbringing. Russians have always been like this and, most likely, will always remain like this.”
“Stalingrad is a good lesson for the German people, it’s just a pity that those who completed the training are unlikely to be able to use the knowledge they acquired in later life.”
“Russians are not like people, they are made of iron, they do not know fatigue, they do not know fear. Sailors, in the bitter cold, go on the attack in vests. Physically and spiritually, one Russian soldier is stronger than our entire company.”
“Russian snipers and armor-piercers are undoubtedly disciples of God. They lie in wait for us day and night, and do not miss. For 58 days we stormed one - the only house. They stormed in vain... None of us will return to Germany unless a miracle happens. And I don't believe in miracles anymore. Time has turned to the side of the Russians.”
“No, father, God does not exist, or only you have him, in your psalms and prayers, in the sermons of priests and pastors, in the ringing of bells, in the smell of incense, but in Stalingrad he is not. And here you are sitting in the basement, drowning someone’s furniture, you are only twenty-six, and seem to have a head on your shoulders, until recently you were happy with your shoulder straps and shouted “Heil Hitler!” with you, but now here are two options: either die or die. Siberia".
“I’m talking with Chief Sergeant V. He says that the struggle in France was more fierce than here, but more fair. The French capitulated when they realized that further resistance was futile. The Russians, even if it is to no avail, continue to fight... In France or Poland they would have given up long ago, says Sergeant G., but here the Russians continue to fight fanatically.”
“My beloved Tsylla. This, to be honest, is a strange letter, which, of course, no mail will send anywhere, and I decided to send it with my wounded fellow countryman, you know him - this is Fritz Sauber... Every day brings us great sacrifices. We are losing our brothers, but the end of the war is not in sight and, probably, I will not see it, I don’t know what will happen to me tomorrow, I have already lost all hopes of returning home and staying alive. I think that every German soldier will find a grave here. These snow storms and vast fields covered with snow fill me with mortal horror. It is impossible to defeat the Russians..."
“I thought that the war would be over by the end of this year, but, as you can see, the situation is different ... I think that with regard to the Russians we miscalculated.”
“We are 90 km from Moscow, and it cost us a lot of people killed. The Russians are still putting up very strong resistance, defending Moscow... Until we get to Moscow, there will be more fierce battles. Many who do not even think about this will have to die... During this campaign, many regretted that Russia is not Poland or France, and there is no enemy stronger than the Russians. If another six months pass, we are lost...”
“We are located on the Moscow-Smolensk highway, not far from Moscow... The Russians are fighting fiercely and furiously for every meter of land. Never before have battles been so cruel and difficult, and many of us will no longer see our loved ones...”
“I have been in Russia for more than three months now and have already experienced a lot. Yes, dear brother, sometimes your soul really sinks when you are just a hundred meters away from the damned Russians...”
From the diary of the commander of the 25th Army, General Gunther Blumentritt:
“Many of our leaders greatly underestimated the new enemy. This happened partly because they did not know the Russian people, much less the Russian soldier. Some of our military leaders spent the entire First World War on the Western Front and never fought in the East, so they did not have the slightest idea about the geographical conditions of Russia and the fortitude of the Russian soldier, but at the same time ignored the repeated warnings of prominent military experts on Russia... The behavior of the Russian troops, even in this first battle (for Minsk), was strikingly different from the behavior of the Poles and the troops of the Western allies in conditions of defeat. Even when surrounded, the Russians did not retreat from their lines.”
