Passenger rail '41-'42 between Reich and Minsk?

Discussions on every day life in the Weimar Republic, pre-anschluss Austria, Third Reich and the occupied territories. Hosted by Vikki.
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winterlight
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Posts: 40
Joined: 09 Feb 2015, 03:37
Location: Massachusetts

Passenger rail '41-'42 between Reich and Minsk?

#1

Post by winterlight » 06 May 2017, 23:25

Any opinions out there on whether it was possible to travel as a civilian (i.e. a businessman or civil servant) between say, Vienna and Minsk, or perhaps Berlin and Minsk, in the fall of 1941, that winter, or the spring of 1942? If it WAS possible, did such travel still take place in the depths of winter? I would appreciate hearing from anyone who might know the answer to any of these questions, as I am completely clueless (as usual!). Thanks in advance.

GregSingh
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Location: Melbourne, Australia

Re: Passenger rail '41-'42 between Reich and Minsk?

#2

Post by GregSingh » 08 May 2017, 08:01

AFAIK all long-distance civilian trains run as far as Warschau (in GG) and local civilian trains (in GG) as far as Terespol.
Separate wagons for civilians were part of some military trains running into occupied territories in the East, but places were not guaranteed as these could be taken over by military without previous notice, which happened a lot during that winter. So in general not impossible, but quite difficult. It all depended on who signed your travel permits and how important a "civilian" business was for war effort.


winterlight
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Posts: 40
Joined: 09 Feb 2015, 03:37
Location: Massachusetts

Re: Passenger rail '41-'42 between Reich and Minsk?

#3

Post by winterlight » 08 May 2017, 16:24

Thanks, Greg. As you can probably tell I'm working on another novel with a scene in Minsk.

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