Treatment of political commissoners

[Klaus]

Sorry for the bad translation, but my english ain't that good. I still hope you get the meaning of this:


Guidelines for the treatment of political commissioners.

In the fight against the bolshevism is not to be counted on a behavior of the enemy after the principles of the humanity or international law. In particular the hate-fulfilled political commissioners of all kinds, as they are the actual carriers of the resistance, are to be expected to treat our prisoners cruel and inhuman. The troop must be conscious:

In this fight indulgence and international-law consideration with these elements is wrong. They are a danger for own security and the fast pacification of the conquered areas.
The authors of barbarianly asiatic combat methods are the political commissioners. Against these must be proceeded therefore immediately and easily with all sharpness. They therefore are, if seized in fight or resistance, to be shot by weapon. In all other respects the following regulations apply:
Area of operations:

political commissioners, who turn against our troops, are to be treated according to the ' decree over the practice of the jurisdiction in the area. This applies to commissioners of each kind and position, even if they only the resistance, sabotage or causing are suspicion for this. Refer to the ' guidelines on the behavior of the troop in Russia '.
2. Political commissioners as organs of the hostile troop are recognizable at special badges - red star with golden in-woven hammer and sichel on the sleeves - (to details see ' the war armed forces of the USSR ', OKH/Gen. StdH. O. Qu IV abbott foreigner of armies east [ II ] NR. 100/41 g. of 15.1.1941 under plant 9d.). They are to be seperated from the prisoners of war immediately, i.e. still on the battlefield to separate. This is necessary, in order to remove their possibile influence on the captured soldiers. These commissioners are not recognized as soldiers; the protection according to international law valid for the prisoners of war does not apply to them. They are to be settled after accomplished isolation.
3. Political commissioners, who make themselves guilty of no hostile action or are suspicious of such, will remain undisturbed first. Only with the further penetration of the country it will be possible to decide whether remaining functionaries will be left on spot or if they have to be handed over to the Sonderkommandos. It is the aim that these make the examination. With the judgement the question whether "guiltily or not guiltily" in principle the personal impression of the convicition and attitude of the commissioner is to be considered.
4. In the cases 1. and 2. a short message (registration form) is to be directed via the incident: a) of a division troops subordinated to the division (I C), b) of the troops, which are directly subordinated to a corps -, army upper or army group command or an armor branch, to the corps etc.. Command (I C). 5. All measures specified above may not stop the execution of the operations. Regular search and cleaning actions by the combat troop have to be omitted therefore. II. In the rear army area commissioners, who are seized in the rear army area because of doubtful behavior, are to be transferred to the group of employments and/or employment commands of the state police

[Ingsoc]

It's the infamous "Commisar Order" issued by Hitler and several generals, it's praclitly gave permission to any German soldier to shoot at any civilian/POW.

Here GFM Erich von Manstein version to the command:

This struggle is not being carried on against the Soviet Armed Forces alone in the established form laid down by European rules of warfare.
Behind the front too, the fighting continues. Partisan snipers dressed as civilians attack single soldiers and small units and try to disrupt our supplies by sabotage with mines and infernal machines. Bolshevists left behind keep the population freed from Bolshevism in a state of unrest by means of terror and attempt thereby to sabotage the political and economic pacification of the country. Harvests and factories are destroyed and the city population in particular is thereby ruthlessly delivered to starvation. Jewry is the middleman between the enemy in the rear and the remains of the Red Army and the Red leadership still fighting. More strongly than in Europe they hold all key positions of political leadership and administration, of trade and crafts and constitutes a cell for all unrest and possible uprisings. The Jewish Bolshevik system must be wiped out once and for all and should never again be allowed to invade our European living space. The German soldier has therefore not only the task of crushing the military potential of this system. He comes also as the bearer of a racial concept and as the avenger of all the cruelties which have been perpetrated on him and on the German people." ... "The soldier must appreciate the necessity for the harsh punishment of Jewry, the spiritual bearer of the Bolshevik terror. This is also necessary in order to nip in the bud all uprisings which are mostly plotted by Jews."

[Lancer44]

It is my humble opinion, in both, "Commisar Order" and "Mainstein Report" Germans show how naive they were.
Soviets never issued any written orders about treatment of German POWs and they were shooting them at will. It is well known fact that Waffen SS soldiers were shot on the spot. Some tankers which had a bad luck of not removing "scull and bones" from their uniforms were also shot.

It is a very broad topic... I hope I will revive it!

Cheers,

Lancer44

[Klaus]

Why do you think the Germans were naive? Because of the written evidence?

[Lancer44]

Originally Posted by Klaus

Why do you think the Germans were naive? Because of the written evidence?

Hi Klaus,

Exactly, German pedantical paper work...
Russkies were much better, they killed more people, they kept their paperwork well hidden... they were/are better than their masters...then... their teachers...

The only mistake Russkies always regret, is Yeltsin's opening of archives and passing proof of soviet crimes in Katyn, Kharkhov/ Miednoye and Bykhovina.

Cheers,

Lancer44

[Ingsoc]

Originally Posted by Lancer44

Exactly, German pedantical paper work...
Russkies were much better, they killed more people, they kept their paperwork well hidden... they were/are better than their masters...then... their teachers...Lancer44

So are the Germans, simply after the war the papers were captured by the allied.

[Klaus]

At least the papers which were not destroyed by the Germans themselves. The Russians were on the winning side. Why should they destroy their papers? Nobody was looking for them anyhow.

[Jim O]

Originally Posted by Klaus

At least the papers which were not destroyed by the Germans themselves. The Russians were on the winning side. Why should they destroy their papers? Nobody was looking for them anyhow.

People were looking, Western historians in particular. But they were denied access, at least until the 1990's. David Glantz, one of the foremost, if not the foremost authority in the West on the Russo-German War of 1941-45 was one of the first to analyze the selectively "opened" Soviet archives. Prior to that virtaully all English language histories of that war were written from German records and hence from the German perspective.

[Klaus]

You can't press a winner to show you his secret-papers. After a few centuries you can. With the papers of a loser you can do what you want.

[Jim O]

This is very true. Many papers from World War I are still "classified" in the US archives. It can be infuriating to researchers here and has been the subject of a great deal of press at different times.