The becoming of Brest Litovsk's POWs after 1945 ?

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DavidFrankenberg
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The becoming of Brest Litovsk's POWs after 1945 ?

#1

Post by DavidFrankenberg » 07 Apr 2018, 02:08

The soldiers of the fortress of Brest Litovsk resisted for weeks at the beginning of the war (june july 1941). They became heroes in soviet propaganda. And till today everyone can see their resistance as epic and heroic.
But the problem is that the soldiers finally surrended ! whereas the orders were to DIE rather than to surrender.
Soviet soldiers became POWs and hundred of them were freed by the Red Army in german camps in 1945.
Despite they did a heroic defense, i was told that they were sent to Gulag... because they surrended. Is it true ?

Any infos about that ?
Thanks

Art
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Re: The becoming of Brest Litovsk's POWs after 1945 ?

#2

Post by Art » 07 Apr 2018, 11:04

Don't read Solzhenitsyn that much. The bulk of Soviet POWs (I mean those who stayed alive) were re-conscripted to the Army or returned to their civil occupations. From a legal point of view the Article 193.22 of the Russian Criminal code defined "surrender not caused by military situation" as a capital crime (not different from the pre-Revolutionary laws of the Russian Empire). However, it doesn't seem that it was applied on any large scale during the war and in any case after the war end an amnesty in regard to this and some other articles was declared. Being a prisoner of war could be a problem from a career standpoint. To take exampled from the known personalities major Gavrilov after liberation from captivity became a chief of a camp for Japanese POWs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyotr_Gavrilov


DavidFrankenberg
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Re: The becoming of Brest Litovsk's POWs after 1945 ?

#3

Post by DavidFrankenberg » 07 Apr 2018, 12:28

Oh, so Soljenitsin is the source for this claim.

Concerning Gavrilov, he was not sent to Gulag but his party's membership was not restored before 1956 and he was not declared hero before the same year. So indeed he was a bit blamed for surrender. Today it may seem surprising, but But we can understand that since the war caused so many millions of deads and POW's were seen as traitors or as unfairly alive just after the war.
Maybe Gavrilov was not sent to gulag because he was an officer ? what about simple soldiers ?
Im curious of knowing how Gavrilov survived 4 years as a POW in german hands ?

Art
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Re: The becoming of Brest Litovsk's POWs after 1945 ?

#4

Post by Art » 07 Apr 2018, 12:58

DavidFrankenberg wrote: POW's were seen as traitors
Again: forget this idea, it's mostly a historical myth. As early as December 1941 the GKO decreed that former POWs except those implicated in collaboration activity must return to the Army. The same decree set up filtration camps for former POWs, hence a myth about sending them to GULAG. Officers were actually under heavier pressure than enlisted men - during the war former prisoner officers were normally sent to special probation battalions and were restored in their ranks after several months of probation.

DavidFrankenberg
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Re: The becoming of Brest Litovsk's POWs after 1945 ?

#5

Post by DavidFrankenberg » 07 Apr 2018, 21:08

Ok Art.
But how do you interpret that Gavrilov had to wait 1956 to become a Hero ?

Art
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Re: The becoming of Brest Litovsk's POWs after 1945 ?

#6

Post by Art » 08 Apr 2018, 10:32

The whole story of the Brest fortress was popularized by Smirnov in mid-50s, until then it was virtually unknown. Then normally awards were given following submission by higher commanders. Who would give such submission in a situation when the entire units were destroyed and their personnel were killed or went missing? Normal chains of command and information were broken and exploits of Gavrilov and others were simply unknown to their superiors.

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