History 11/03/20 Prisoners of the Germans in the Gulag – what awaited them after the victory over Hitler
Even today there are no final data on the number of captured Germans after the war. Girls who served in the military forces, police, SS were transferred to special camps. Only in the USSR, these places are prepared more than 2 thousand. The conditions were harsh, as evidenced by the numerous memoirs and reminiscences of the prisoners.
Who were prisoners of the Germans
During World war II German women and girls voluntarily or involuntarily have been put into service. Based on the extensive work of D’anna Campbell – “Women in combat” most of the people were sent in antiaircraft units.
Set the final number of German girls in the army impossible, many were volunteers or hidden items servicemen.
a Federal Gulag
Hundreds of thousands of prisoners were in the West. Martin Brash left interesting memoirs “In the death camps of Eisenhower” in his time he served in a pow camp in the Rhineland-Palatinate.
Originally a camp for prisoners had no buildings, it was a clean area is divided into zones. All women drove in one enclosure, they slept on the ground, without a roof, in rain and strong wind. The situation was complicated by the fact that there was almost no warm clothing and in camp were not given.
the Food was horrible, the prisoners were further prepared soup collected on the territory of the grass. Weeks of a raging epidemic of dysentery. Martin himself gave the prisoners food from our own resources, but when it learned senior officer, he threatened to court-martial him or shoot.
Another story from the book Martin officer just out of fun started to shoot German prisoners. This is not encouraged, but shooting has not suffered any punishment. Shocking information from death camps like Buchenwald, killing any unfortunate prisoners to the Germans and the Germans.
In Soviet camps
Life in the Soviet camps best tells Frida Helinski from Pomerania. She stayed in the USSR for 4 years and left the subject a memoir about this nightmare. The path to the camp took about 3 weeks. Prisoners were transported in unsuitable cars and was fed only stale bread. Many could not stand the path almost at every station the train carried the dead. Destination – a camp near Arkhangelsk. Despite spring still not the snow melted and they were cold, none of the girls was not a warm garment.
the Task is simple – work to atone for his guilt. Put women in a hastily downed the barracks, first built the dam. Watch workers took up to 9 hours, sometimes not given lunch. After the end of the building Frida was transferred to the timber industry, felling trees. She then worked in the mine and the factory for the production of bentonite clay.
Discounts for the weaker sex did not. Labour standards were the same for the prisoners of women and men. The girls were forced to carry bags, buckets and heavy stones. Frieda wonders how she managed to survive, a more experienced and strong died in heavy work.
there was No communication with relatives, numerous attempts to send a letter to Germany were stopped. In 1947 the Soviet government released the first group of prisoners. Went to the old and sick. Only by 1949 the opportunity arose to write a letter, Frieda learned that her relatives are alive. By the end of 1949 began a massive return to atone for the labor of prisoners to their homeland, Frida Helinski was one of the first waves and returned home to new, 1950.
Russian Seven
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