ПРИВЛЕЧЕНИЕ НЕМЕЦКИХ ПЕРЕСЕЛЕНЦЕВ ИЗ СССР В ВООРУЖЕННЫЕ СИЛЫ ГЕРМАНИИ НА ЗАКЛЮЧИТЕЛЬНОМ ЭТАПЕ ВТОРОЙ МИРОВОЙ ВОЙНЫ

Abstract

German immigrants who were evacuated by the German authorities in 1943–1944 from the USSR to the territory of Warthegau, Silesia, General Government and Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, became part of the human resources actively used not only in the economy, but also in defensive measures of the Reich. Contrary to the fact that the mobilization of that potential contingent was relatively low, tens of thousands of men were in the ranks of the armed forces of Germany. A significant number of Soviet Germans were replenishment for the SS troops. The initial process of attracting German settlers to military service was not easy and required adherence to a number of formalities related to their naturalization. One of the key factors that also had an effect on solving the issue of ethnic Germans in the internal service was the long-standing contradiction between the Wehrmacht and the SS. The article notes that, in the last months of the war, immigrants from the USSR found themselves in practically no alternative situation, since the military and political leadership of Germany decided to mobilize all men appropriate for military service, regardless of the naturalization. By the end of hostilities in Europe, many Soviet Germans serving in the German army had been captured by the Western allies or the Red Army.