How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

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Volklin
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How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#1

Post by Volklin » 08 Mar 2009, 02:49

From the German offensives of 41/42 when they netted all of those Soviet POWs, during SU's advance back toward Germany they brought some of those POWs back into their ranks, what was the percentage of their captured that joined back with the armies?

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#2

Post by Art » 09 Mar 2009, 14:28

Statistics on repatriated prisoners of war collected by Soviet repatriational organs can be found here:
http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 7#p1177027
In addition during the war about 940 thousands men previously registered as missing in action were reconscripted from liberated territories (Krivosheev). It's hard to say how many of them were former POWs, but, I guess, a considerable part.


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Qvist
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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#3

Post by Qvist » 13 Mar 2009, 15:52

I've been wondering about that, actually. As far as I know, the Germans did not generally keep prisoners of war in camps on Soviet territory, but brought them back to Germany, or at least Poland - except for POWs who were employed by the armies and other commands in the East. Of course, these areas were also reached by the fighting during the course of the war, but as I understand reconscripted liberated prisoners was a notable phenomenon already before that. Could these refer to liberated POWs from such things as German POW construction and labor units? Or even defected Hiwis and Osttruppen?

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#4

Post by Jan-Hendrik » 13 Mar 2009, 16:41

As far as I know huge amounts of Ukrainians, Ruthenen, Baltic people were released immidiatly in 1941, maybe many of the were "repatriated" when Red Army reconquered their territories?

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#5

Post by thom » 13 Mar 2009, 20:17

Krivosheev writes that 319,000 of these 940,000 were former POWs released by the Germans. From the OKH area alone some 340,000 Soviet POWs were released until the end of the war (without Hiwis or Ostlegionen).

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#6

Post by Art » 16 Mar 2009, 14:51

To give an example: on 25 January 1943 the staff of the 3rd Tank Army reported to the staff of the Voronezh Front that they started mobilization of draftees from the 4 southern districts of the Voronezh oblast’ liberated during the last offensive. Among other items the report mentioned that there were 2 904 former POWs (207 commanders, 393 NCOs, 2 304 privates) who were subject to treatment by a special commission, the number of conscripted was to be reported later. Nothing is said about how these men came to be there. The text of the document is reproduced in the article on actions of the 3 Tank Army in the operation "Star" written by A.Podoprigora.

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#7

Post by Qvist » 16 Mar 2009, 15:55

Right, this is the sort of thing that makes me wonder what I wonder. While POWs were released en masse in Ukraine and the Baltic in 1941, this hardly happened in solidly Russian Voronesh in 1942. Of course, these men might have been POWs held by 2nd Army whom they were not able to evacuate when they retreated. But I don't have the impression that the armies held that many POWs beyond those they were employing in some capacity (which is again not neccessarily Osttruppen or Hiwis).

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#8

Post by thom » 16 Mar 2009, 18:05

According to a tabulation of Wehrmachtsverlustwesen, 369,000 Soviet POWs were attached to the Ostheer on 1/1/43 (excl. Hiwis and Ostlegionen). Fremde Heere Ost reported 50,000 Soviet POWs lost due to enemy action in Jan/Feb 1943.

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#9

Post by Qvist » 16 Mar 2009, 18:29

Thanks Thom,

Do you have a reference for that?

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#10

Post by thom » 16 Mar 2009, 19:32

The WVW figure is from BA/MA RW 6/534, the FHO figure from RH 2/2089.

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#11

Post by Qvist » 16 Mar 2009, 19:52

Thanks, much appreciated. I've been through 2/2089 but seem to have overlooked that particular document.

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#12

Post by thom » 17 Mar 2009, 00:24

Yeah this happens quickly with these microfiche copies of RH 2. The document is from 17/3/43.

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#13

Post by Art » 18 Mar 2009, 12:59

Qvist wrote:Right, this is the sort of thing that makes me wonder what I wonder. While POWs were released en masse in Ukraine and the Baltic in 1941, this hardly happened in solidly Russian Voronesh in 1942.
That is a question I can't answer, I'm afraid. By the way I wouldn't call Voronezh oblast' strictly monoethnic. According to the census of 1939 its poplulation contained about 403 thousands Ukrainians out of 3,5 million total population (and southern districts were quite naturally more Ukrainian), moreover the ethnic self-determination was rather relative, as demonstrated by the fact that the census of 1926 registered 150% more Ukrainians (about 1080 thousands), total popualtion being almost the same (3,3 millions). So one shouldn't exclude the possibility that local Ukrainians were released by Axis command, although it's just a hypothesis, of course.

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#14

Post by Qvist » 18 Mar 2009, 14:35

right, wasn't aware of that. But we also have to consider that the practice of releasing POWs of certain nationalities was halted already in late 1941 if I remember correctly.

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Re: How many Soviet POWs came back into ranks?

#15

Post by thom » 20 Mar 2009, 19:56

It was officially halted for POWs of Ukrainian nationality per OKW order of 13/11/41, eventhough thousands of Ukrainians were still released after that. On 22/9/42, on the request of Himmler, OKW released an order to stop any release of Soviet POWs except of those that were transferred to Ostlegionen, and only in June 1943 POWs of certain nationalities (Latvians, Estonians) were again allowed to be released. All together, some 600,000 Soviet POWs were released until the end of 1942. By that time, NKVD had recorded 172,081 that went through special camps (Spezlager) which was the collection point for former soldiers that were released from German captivity or escaped from German encirclement. 150,512 of those were transferred to the army [Zagorul'ko, Voennoplennye v Stalingrade. Volgograd 2003].

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