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Germany hands over to Russia archive data on Soviet POWs at TASS office

Among the documents, there are x-rays, body temperature charts, personal documents, and military IDs

© Valery Khristoforov/TASS

MOSCOW, May 6. /TASS/. German embassy officials in Moscow have handed over to Russia the first batch of digitized archives containing information about Soviet prisoners of war who had been kept at Nazi concentration camps during World War II. The ceremony took place at the TASS office on Wednesday.

Under a joint inter-governmental project Germany is opening to Russian specialists information about Soviet prisoners of war and forced laborers, which is kept at the federal archive in Koblenz. The archive contains information about the plight of 500,000 Soviet citizens. Some 20,000 scanned documents are in the first portion of archive materials that Germany has opened to Russia.

The documents are from the former archive department of the Wehrmacht and the German office for the affairs of Soviet prisoners of war who died in German captivity. Among them there are x-rays, body temperature charts, personal documents, and military IDs. The project will help clear up the plight of many Soviet prisoners of war.

Taking part in the ceremony were Russia’s special presidential representative for international cultural cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi, deputy chief of the Federal Archive Agency Andrei Yurasov, director of the Russian State Military Archive Vladimir Tarasov, president of ELAR corporation Sergei Balandyuk, the Russian Defense Minster’s aide Alexander Kirilin, and chief of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate for Commemorating Fallen Soldiers Pavel Sheludchenko.

Germany was represented by ambassador to Russia Geza Andreas von Geyr, President of the German People's Union for the Care of Military Graves, Wolfgang Schneiderhan, and director of the German History Institute in Moscow Sandra Dahlke. The President of Germany’s Federal Archives Michael Hollman addressed those present with a video message.

About the project

During World War II more than five million Soviet officers and soldiers were taken prisoner. More than three million died due to appalling conditions or were executed. The Nazis’ treatment of Soviet prisoners of war was universally recognized as one of the gravest war crimes committed during World War II.

On June 22, 2016, the day of the 75 anniversary of Nazi Germany’s aggression against the Soviet Union the then German Foreign Minister Frank Walter Steinmeier and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov launched an inter-governmental project for the search for information concerning Soviet and German prisoners of war and interned persons. The purpose of the joint project is to clear up the plight of missing people, present the corresponding documents and information to relatives and also to conduct research for historical and commemoration purposes. Sources are being searched for in German, Russian and international archives.

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