In late June 1941, while the German armies were racing east and capturing their targets, the Soviets were racing against time and targeting the captured.
In late June 1941, while the German armies were racing east and capturing their targets, the Soviets were racing against time and targeting the captured. ➡ The moment the Third Reich invaded, as many as 50,000 people were kept in dozens of prisons in the lands the USSR had annexed from Poland. Most were Ukrainians, a quarter Poles, the rest Jews, Lithuanians, Belarussians and other nationalities – the bulk put there for political reasons. The Wehrmacht was advancing fast, and the NKVD had a dilemma. ➡ They couldn’t evacuate these enemies of the people further east because that required time and a thousand railway cars they didn’t have. Their leadership came up with a solution: release ordinary felons and eliminate the political prisoners. The NKVD behaved like a dog in the manger: if they couldn’t have these people, the Germans wouldn’t have them either. ➡ Wherever they were in a big hurry, they threw grenades into crowded cells, stabbed, axed or bludgeoned the inmates. If t...