740.62114/2–1446
The United States Political Adviser for
Germany (Murphy) to the Secretary of State
secret
No. 1957
Berlin, February 14, 1946.
[Received
March 4.]
Sir: I have the honor to transmit for the
Department’s information a report by a member of my staff on the
repatriation of former Russian soldiers. There is described in the
document the incident at Dachau on January 19, 1946, in which a
number of Soviet nationals committed or attempted suicide, rather
than be returned to Soviet Union. It will be noted that upon closer
investigation of the individuals who are being repatriated that
eleven individuals were released by the Soviet repatriation
authorities as not being of Soviet nationality.
This latter situation is one of grave import and is only one of
several reports of like nature which recently have been brought to
the Mission’s notice. Investigations of these other instances are
being made and the Department will be informed as soon as concrete
evidence or information is received.
Respectfully yours,
[Enclosure]
Memorandum by Mr. Parker W. Buhrman, on the Staff of the
United States Political Adviser for Germany
(Murphy),
to Mr. Murphy
Munich, January 28, 1946.
Conforming to agreements with the Soviets, an attempt was made to
entrain 399 former Russian soldiers who had been captured in
German uniform, from the assembly center at Dachau on Saturday,
January 19.
All of these men refused to entrain. They begged to be shot. They
resisted entrainment by taking off their clothing and refusing
to leave their quarters. It was necessary to use tear gas and
some force to drive them out. Tear gas forced them out of the
building into the snow where those who had cut and stabbed
themselves fell exhausted and bleeding in the snow. Nine men
hanged themselves and one had stabbed himself to death and one
other who had stabbed himself subsequently died; while 20 others
are still in the hospital from self-inflicted wounds. The
entrainment was finally effected of 368 men who were sent off
accompanied by a Russian liaison officer on a train carrying
American guards. Six men escaped enroute. A number of men in the
group claimed they were not Russians. This, after preliminary
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investigation by
the local military authorities, was brought to the attention of
the Russian liaison officer, as a result of which eleven men
were returned by the Russians as not of Soviet nationality.
The story of this group of former Russian soldiers is that after
their capture they were given the option by the Germans of
starvation or joining labor battalions. They joined labor
battalions and were subsequently transferred as a group into the
German Army without their having any choice in the matter. This
story conforms to the claims which were made by former Russian
soldiers who were captured in German uniform and who were
imprisoned in the United States. All of these men apparently
firmly believe that they will be executed on their return to
Russia. The fact that so many attempted to commit suicide is an
indication of the unfortunate plight in which they find
themselves.
The incident was shocking. There is considerable dissatisfaction
on the part of the American officers and men that they are being
required by the American Government to repatriate these
Russians. The incident was further aggravated by the attitude of
the Russian authorities on the arrival of the train in the
Russian Zone. None of the American guards were permitted to
leave the train; they were threatened with shooting by Russian
guards if they attempted to leave the train.
