Figure 1.--The Shamakhmudovs, a Uzbekh couple, had no children of their own. They took in 12 orphaned children of different erhnic groups. Notice the three boys wearingbtheir Young Pioneer scarves..

The NAZI-Soviet Non Agression Pact made World War II possible (August 1939). Hitler and Stalin were in effect allies for the first 2 years of World War II. After both counties invaded Poland, the Soviets went on to invade Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania (1939-40). The Soviets also fought a substantial engagement with the Japanese along the Chinese border. This of course changed when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union (June 1941). The resulting conflict was the most massive and most brutal in modern history. No one knows but perhaps 20 million Soviet citizens died in the struggle with the Germans. Hitler saw it as a war of anialation. Part of the purpose was to depolulate lage areas which could be colonized by Germans. The rmaining Serbs were to be used as a slave labor class. Himmler and other NAZI were especially concerned that as much as much Aryan blood be retrieved from the East as poosible. After the Stalingrad debacle in January 1943, Himmler ordered that trasit camps be set up for children and youths of suspects rounded up in anti-partisan operations.

NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact (August 1939)

NAZI Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and newly appointed Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs Molotov on August 23, 1939, signed the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact. At the time of thesigning, British and French delegations were in Moscow trying to reach an understanding with Stalin. Hewas convinced, however, that they were tring to draw him into a war with Hitler. The two countries which until that time had been bitter foes, pledged not attack each other. Any problems developing between the two countries were to be delt with amicably. It was last for 10 years. The Pact shocked the world and the purpose was immedietly apparent. It meant that Germany could attack Poland without fear of Soviet intervention. Thus after defeating Poland, Germany did not have to fear a full-scale European war on two fronts. What was not known at the time was that there was a secret protocol to the pact which in effect divided Eastern Europe betwen the two countries. This protocol was discoered after the end of the World War II in 1945. The Soviets continued to deny this protocol until 1989. The NAZIs 8 days after signing the Pact invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, launching World War II. Britain and France declared war September 3. Poland's fate was sealed on September 17, when the Soviets invaded Poland from the east. Although the Soviet's did not enter the War against Britain and France, the Soviets were virtual NAZI allies as they provided large quantaies of strategic materials, especially oil. Communist parties in Britainand France opposedthe war effort. The Communst Party in America opposed President Roosevelt's efforts to expand defense spending and assist Britain and France.

Invasion of Poland (September 1939)

Histories of World War II generally focus on the German invasion on September 1 and the horific NAZI occupation policies. Less well documented was the Soviet invsion a few weeks later of eastern Poland. The Soviet invaders did not target the Jews like the NAZI but they did srt out to destroy the Polish intelegencia in an effort to destroy Polish naionalism with the same ruthless policies pursued by theNAZIs in western Poland. The masacre of Polish officers in the Katyn Forrest were a small part of the murders and deportations ordered by Stalin at this time.

Soviet Invasions

Although it is the NAZI aggressions that are most commonly addressed in World War II histories, the Soviet Union compiled nearly as long a list of aggressions as the NAZIs. Operating within secret protocols to the Non-agression Pact, Hitler and Stalin were in fact close partners in the waging of aggressive war. The Great Patriotic War fought against the NAZIs after the 1941 German invsion came to be an icon in Soviet history. Left unsaid was the fact that Hitler and Stalin were partners in the virtul partition of Europe. After Poland, the first target was Finland, but Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania were also targets. The oviet invasion of Finland had significant repercussions. The Allies for a time considered actively aidinging Finland, but the Germans offensoives in the West soon made that impossible. The poor performance of the Red Army in Finland was a factor in Hitler'd decission to attack the Soviet Union before Britain had been defeated.

Operation Babarosa (June 1941)

This of course changed when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union (June 1941). The resulting conflict was the most massive and most brutal in modern history. No one knows but perhaps 20 million Soviet citizens died in the struggle with the Germans. No one was more surprised with the fall of France than Stalin. He had hoped that his Non-Agression Pact (August 1939) with Hitler would safegard him from German attack while Hitler fought it out with the British and French. Instead the fall of France left him facing Hitler alone. Stalin ignored warnings that the Germans were preoaring an invasion. Hitler thus launched Operation Barbarosa June 22, 1941 surprising unprepared Sovier forces. The invasion had been delayed by a hasity executed invasion of Yugosalvia. The Wehrmacht performed brilliantly in the opening phase of the campaign. Probably only Hitler's medling prevented them from taking Moscow. The Luftwaffe's performance was, however, below expectations. They destroyed large numbers of obsolete Soviet planes and supported tie Wehremacht's advance, but the vast distances involved made the Liftwaffe less effective than it had been in the West. Particularly troubelsome was the lack of long range strategic bombers that could strike at Soviet industry beyond the Urals with large bomb loads. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941. Hitler had tried to convince them to attack the Soviet Union. (The Axis never succedded in coordinating strategy as the Allies did.) The Japanese attack in many ways ended any hope of Germany victory on the Eastern Front, if not the War as a whole. Informed by inteligence operatives that Japan had decided to strike America (rather than move north against Siberia), Stalin rushed crack Siberian reserves to Moscow enabling Marshall Zukov to launch a winter counter offensive against the Germans Decembr 6. Now Germany, which had only a few short months earlier had appeared invinceable, faced the combined forces of undefeated Britain and the Soviet Union as well as a now resolute United States with its huge industrial capacity.

NAZI Eastern Policies

Hitler saw it as a war of anialation. Part of the purpose was to depolulate lage areas which could be colonized by Germans. The rmaining Serbs were to be used as a slave labor class. The NAZI program for Lebensraum in the east was not just to acquire territory. The plans for that territory was monsterous beyond belief. he plan was to evacate Poles an Russians from these territories. Some would remain to serve as slave laborers. Millions would be expelled or "evacuated" with the understanding that large numbers would die in the process. The goal was to make the east German. Here Reichsf�hrer Heinrich Himmler had the responsibility for persuing this effort. He appears to have assigned his deputy Reinhard Heydrich appears to have coordinated this effort and essentially he SS's entire eastern operations.

Eindeutschung

Himmler and other NAZI were especially concerned that as much as much Aryan blood be retrieved from the East as possible. The procedures were for the SSand other NAZI agencies were developed in Poland before the Soviet invasion. A key elment in the Germanization of the east was finding Germans to populate it with. An important part of this process was to "reclaim" Aryan stock from the occupied territories and turning them into Germans. This process was termed Eindeutschung. The SS section responsible for Eindeutschung was Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt--RuSHA (Race and Settlement Head Office). Here the SS's authority also overlapped with Alfred Rosenberg's Ostministerium (Ministry for the Occupied East). While there were differences within the SS, there was agreement that the most of the population of the occupied East was not suitable for Eindeutschung and would have to be expelled to Siberia. The differences withinthe SS was the extent to which force should be used to bring about the emmigration to Siberia.

Eindeutschung in the Soviet Union

The SS by June 1941 had become increasingly skilled a rounding up and evaluating children for Eindeutschung process. The SS was especially occupied with operations to murder Jews in 1941. The Sovit winter offensive of December 1941 had come at a terrible shock to the Wwhrmacht and SS. The SS by the Spring of 1942 could give more attention to Eindeutschung, in fact the losses in 1941 if anything gave more empetus to the need to reclaim available Aryan blood. After the Stalingrad debacle in January 1943, Himmler ordered that transit camps be set up for children and youths of suspects rounded up in anti-partisan operations. The purpose of these camps wa the raciual evaluation of the children. The children were Aryan blood were shipped to the Reich. The younger children went to Lebensborn homes for adoption. The older children were sent to boarding schools in Germany. The children that were found to be"racially worthless" were sent to concerntration camps for slave labor.

NAZI Scoarhed Earth Actions and Attrocities

The Soviet Winter offensive before Moscow startled the NAZIs. Although not widely preceived at the time, the lossesses sustained by the Wehrmact were of such an order that many on the general staff realized that Germany would be unable to win the War. For the first time in World War II, areas conquuered by the Germans were liberated. A furious Adolf Hitler issued scoarched earth orders of his own to his commanders. The result was enormous property destruction. This was not only facilities linked to the war effort like factories, mines, communications lines, and other productive facilities, but dwelings, schools, and hospitals. The result was a wasteland. And it did not stop here. German soldiers in countless towns and villages carried out actions against civilians. This was done rotinely by the SS, but regulasr Wehrmacht units were also involved.

Orphaned and Displaced Children

One huge problem which developed during the War was large numbers of displaced children. As a result of the fighting as well as NAZI attrocuities and pilligaing of Soviet resources, huge numbers of Soviet citizes were killed outright or died as a result of deprivation or mistreatment. No one knows precisely how many Soviet citizens were killed, but most estimtes exceed 10 million people. This includes many children, but it also includes many parents. The NAZIs also shipped large numbers of Soviets west to serve a slave labor in Germany. No provision was made for any children they may have. The result was a huge number of orphaned or displaced children. This problem was especially severe in the occupied areas. The NAZIs ignored the problem because their goal was to reduce the population of Slavs and the children in particular were of no economic value. Soviet authorities were thus left with a massive problem when they began liberating areas occupied by the NAZIS. Some children wondered the desolated cities or countryside. Many were taken in by orphanages. In some cases thei parents were dead. In other cases there parents or a parent survived the War but had difficulty finding what happened to their children.

Sources

Padfield, Peter. Himmler: Reichsf�hrer-SS (Henry Holt: New York, 1991), 656p.

Created: September 23, 2002
Last updated: 3:25 AM 3/14/2015