Arcady Adolfovich German,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Saratov National Research State University, Saratov, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Contribution of the USSR Germans to Repelling Nazi Aggression During the Great Patriotic War
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2021-3-17
The article is devoted to the analysis of the USSR Germans’ contribution to the victory in the Great Patriotic War. At the end of August 1941, the Volga Germans were officially accused of treason, followed by the deportation of the entire German population of the European part of the country to Siberia and Kazakhstan. In the fall of 1941, the bulk of the Germans were withdrawn from the front and sent to the rear in workers' battalions, which laid the foundation for the “Labor Army”. The accusation of treason turned the Soviet Germans into social outcasts for many years. Only in August 1964 was the charge dropped, but this fact did not become public knowledge. The state erected a wall of silence around the Germans, which was destroyed only during the years of “perestroika”. The author, analyzing many facts, creates a real picture of the participation of the Soviet Germans in repelling Nazi aggression. The behavior of the Soviet Germans, officers, sergeants, and privates at the front, especially in the first months of the war, is investigated. Even in the first months of the war, many Germans gave their lives heroically for the coming victory (officers E. Erdmann, A. Miller, I. Pekher, privates H. Hoffmann, H. Neumann, etc.). Already in August-September, officers N. Hagen, G. Shultz, A. Shvartz, P. Gezundtermann and others were awarded orders. Some, in order to get to the front, changed their surnames to the Russian ones. The most striking example is the awarding of the title of Hero of the Soviet Union to Lieutenant V. Ventsov, who turned out to be V. Ventsel. The Germans fought in partisan detachments, or they themselves led them (A. Hermann, R. Klein, etc.). A separate topic of the article is the posthumous awarding of the title of Hero of Russia in 1996 for the exploits accomplished in 1942 to the pilot E. Geptner and tanker F. Hanus.The article describes the “Labor Army” as a phenomenon of the Soviet economy in 1941–1946. Almost all adult able-bodied Germans passed through mobilization. More than half served in the camps of the NKVD, the rest – at enterprises and construction sites of 39 other people’s commissariats of the USSR. The labor army soldiers developed mineral deposits, built industrial facilities, laid railways and highways, manufactured ammunition and much more, making a worthy contribution to the approach of the victory. The author comes to the conclusion that the contribution of the Soviet Germans to the Victory requires further study and adequate attention. This is the only way to overcome still not obsolete stereotypes of negative attitudes towards the Russian Germans inherited from distant Stalinist times, and thereby contribute to strengthening the unity and mutual respect of the peoples of multinational Russia.
Publishing: 28/06/2021
The article has been received by the editor on 09.02.2021
How to cite: German A.A. Contribution of the USSR Germans to Repelling Nazi Aggression During the Great Patriotic War // Historical Courier, 2021, No. 3 (17), pp. 153–163. [Available online:] http://istkurier.ru/data/2021/ISTKURIER-2021-3-17.pdf
Links: Issue 3 2021
Keywords: Soviet Germans; USSR; Great Patriotic War; contribution of Soviet Germans to Victory; Soviet Germans – war heroes; labor mobilization of Soviet Germans; “Labor Army”; Germans labor soldiers; N. Hagen; A. Shwartz; V. Wentsel; A. Hermann; R. Klein; E. Geptner; F. Hanus