What was the fate of Soviet soldiers captured by Germany after World War II?

During World War II, approximately 5.16 million Soviet troops were captured by Germany. Among them, about 3.75 million people died in Hitler's concentration camps. Except for some who surrendered to Germany, only 1.05 million people waited until the day they were liberated. However, when these former heroes returned home, what they faced was not flowers and applause, but the Gulag concentration camps of their motherland.

Obviously, these captured Soviet soldiers were not willing to be prisoners without any resistance. They often fought bloody battles and were trapped in a tight siege, running out of ammunition and food, being seriously injured, and having no hope of fighting. captured under circumstances. Especially in the early days of the war, a series of mistakes by the Soviet top leadership headed by Stalin resulted in the passivity of these soldiers on the battlefield. However, the responsibility for this crime was ultimately borne by these soldiers.

Stalin once dictated Order No. 270 of the Supreme Command Headquarters: First, anyone who tears off his epaulettes and surrenders in battle is the most abhorrent deserter, and his family members will be punished for violating the military oath and betrayal. The motherland should be arrested. Such deserters should be shot on the spot. Second, those who are surrounded should fight to the end and break out of the siege and return to our side. Anyone who would rather surrender should be eliminated by all means, and the family members of the surrendered Red Army soldiers should be deprived of the state subsidies and relief they enjoy. Third, all brave and courageous personnel should be actively promoted.

Because of this order, many prisoners suffered unfair treatment after the war. Stalin also ordered the Ministry of Internal Affairs to establish special concentration camps to examine breakouts and those who escaped from prisoner of war camps. For example, Major General Ponejelin, commander of the 12th Army Group, is a typical victim. In 1941, Ponejelin was seriously wounded in battle and lost consciousness before being captured. Four years of life in a German concentration camp did not make him succumb. He did not become a traitor like Vlasov, and finally survived until the day of liberation. However, the NKVD falsely claimed that the general was a traitor, so Ponedelin was imprisoned in a Soviet concentration camp and sentenced to death on August 25, 1950.

Victims like Ponejelin were not in the minority at that time. They fought bloody battles for the Soviet Union, but in the end they were suspected and persecuted by their own people. It is really ironic!