Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1982-077-11, Russland, Minsk, gefangene sowjetische Soldaten

These were the various orders sent out by the German High Command ( OKW) regarding the special treatment to be given to

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

prisoners of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held Captivity, captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold priso ...

by the

German military The ''Bundeswehr'' (, meaning literally: ''Federal Defence'') is the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. The ''Bundeswehr'' is divided into a military part (armed forces or ''Streitkräfte'') and a civil part, the military part con ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The order was revised over time. Among the notable instructions: * It said that Soviet prisoners are linked with ‘

Bolshevism Bolshevism (from Bolshevik) is a revolutionary socialist current of Soviet Marxist–Leninist political thought and political regime associated with the formation of a rigidly centralized, cohesive and disciplined party of social revolution, fo ...

’. By this reason, they should be treated differently from all other POWs.In the Sept 8, 1941 version of the order, it says “The bolshevist soldier has therefore lost all claim to treatment as an honourable opponent in accordance with the Geneva Convention.” See Bibliography * “Insubordination, active or passive resistance must immediately be broken completely by force of arms (bayonets, butts and firearms).” German soldiers carrying out this order who do not use their “weapons or does so with insufficient energy” will themselves be punished. * Escaping Soviet POWs would be shot immediately. * Civilians and “politically undesirable” Soviet POWs would be ‘segregated’ into separate groups. Departments of the SS, like the Security Police and the Security Service ( SD), would be doing most of this work. This was also called ‘screening’ or ‘weeding out’ depending on the translation. In German it is ''Aussonderung''. Then, those ‘segregated’ POWs would be ‘surrendered’ by the military to the SS.

Notes & Bibliography

The orders

* 8 September 1941 Order. English translation published in: International Military Tribunal at Nurnberg, ''Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression'', Vol IV. Document 1519-PS. Online at http://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/1519-ps.asp, and pdf at https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/NT_Nazi-conspiracy.html * 24 March 1942 Order. English translation published in: International Military Tribunal at Nurnberg, ''Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression'', Vol III. Document 695-PS. Online at https://web.archive.org/web/20090421052603/http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/USSR6.htm and PDF at https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/NT_Nazi-conspiracy.html Other sources * International Military Tribunal at Nurnberg, ''Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression'', Supplement A. Online at as a pdf at https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/NT_Nazi-conspiracy.html * Streim, Alfred: Sowjetische Gefangene in Hitlers Vernichtungskrieg. Berichte und Dokumente 1939-1945. Heidelberg: C. F. Müller Juristischer Verlag 1982, S. 36-38, 45, 103-107. Excerpt at http://www.moosburg.org/info/stalag/meinel.html (translate.google.com used) {{DEFAULTSORT:German High Command Orders For Treatment Of Soviet Prisoners Of War * * Nazi war crimes in Russia

See also

Notes & Bibliography

The orders