Non-German POWS

Discussions on WW2 in Western Europe & the Atlantic.
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Kingfish
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Non-German POWS

#1

Post by Kingfish » 06 May 2016, 13:29

What was the fate of non-German POWs (Russian, Poles, Italians) in Allied hands?

Were they treated like all the other prisoners, or were they repatriated to their home countries and/or national armed forces?

In the book "Americans in Brittany: the Battle for Brest" there is a picture of a Russian soldier alongside US troops, and the caption read something to the effect that he was from an Ost battalion, but once captured switched sides to fight the Germans. I wonder how common that was.
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Carl Schwamberger
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Re: Non-German POWS

#2

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 21 May 2016, 05:21

Somewhere on my shelf is a book about the US Rangers in WWII. In the chapters about the Normandy battles there is a paragraph drawn from Rangers describing a 'battalion' of "Russians" who fought along side the the US Army during the siege of Brest. Exactly who authorized this, organized them, and supplied them is not clear. Neither does the author offer any collaborating evidence. Neither is it mentioned if these Russians were former PoW of the US Army or from a Ost unit that had simply deserted or changed sides when the German army collapsed in western France.

In 1944 the US was still shipping a portion of the German PoW back to the US. This practiced tapered off at some point. The non Germans captured were the first exceptions. Poles, Urkranians & other Ossies were segregated from the Germans & held in France. Some Asians, such as the famous Korea soldiers were sent to the US in the expectation they would repatriated across the Pacific.

'Pennetrating the Reich' by Perisco described efforts by the OSS to recruit spies from among the German PoW in the 6th Army sector. This was against Eisenhowers order, but either Devers, Patch, or both choose to look the other way. Approx 40-50 men were recruited & a dozen were infiltrated back into Germany as part of OSS teams.


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