A report by Jon Mark Castleman
It is estimated during the Second World War that of, “more than 3.8 million” (Makarov 2009) Soviet soldiers captured by the Germans, more than one million joined the side of the Axis powers either for political, personal, or survival reasons. Today the stories of these men are still debated, but the turbulence of the war at the time created a fog of confusion around these units. These Soviet soldiers coming from the extremely totalitarian system of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics often had no choice but to side with the enemies of their motherland due to Stalin’s political policies regarding surrendered soldiers. Although history labels these men Nazis and condemns them to the gallows of history; many of these men were simply caught in a tragic situation where they saw no other escape. One of the more famous examples of this comes from the Russian Liberation Army – otherwise known as the ROA headed by Andrey Vlasov.
In the first few months of Operation Barbarossa – Hitler's plan to invade and destroy the USSR – the German army captured millions of Red Army soldiers. These men were rounded up and put into camps where they were entrapped in barbwire fences with armed guards and let to starve. For many of these Red Army soldiers joining the enemy was the only way for these men to escape starvation and prevent their own deaths; yet many had political reasons for joining the side of the Axis powers. As Richard Overy – author of “Russia’s War” - states,” [Some captured Red Army Soldiers] did so in the mistaken belief that the Germans had enlightened views on the restoration of private land ownership and capitalist enterprise.” (Overy 2010) Lastly, former members of the White Movement who had fought against the Bolsheviks during the Russian Revolution of 1917 – and subsequent civil war - viewed this as a chance to liberate and reclaim the Russia they once knew. As many of the White Russians knew that upon return to the USSR they would eventually face prosecution and execution at the hands of the communist regime - although this was less common.
Besides the motivations of individual soldiers many members of the ROA were businessmen, landowners, Eastern Orthodox priests, or those who hoped for a better life without the repressive government of Stalin. These individuals joined the Axis forces as they invaded the territories of the USSR and greeted the Germans as liberators and heroes specifically in Ukraine. Many of these Soviet civilians who sided with the Nazis saw the Bolsheviks as the true enemy of the Russian people and declared with the old phrase that the enemy of their enemy was their friend. Yet little did they know they were circled in evil and would soon realize that there was no right side to either of these groups.
The first Russians to side with and work under the Germans were known as Hiwis a shortened form of Hilfswilliger better translated to,” those willing to help.” (Grasmeder 2021) These first volunteers were not placed into armed combat roles and were used exclusively for logistics and various non-combat duties. These non-combat units were placed under the German Wehrmacht Heer and exclusively were commanded by the Germans. This changed at the battle of Stalingrad, where it is estimated a quarter of the Nazi 6th army’s strength were citizens or soldiers of the USSR. Due to the desperate circumstances of the battle German commanders soon armed these Russian units and used them in various security tasks such as dealing with Soviet partisan forces, carrying the wounded, delivering supplies, or driving vehicles. (Ellis 2013) These seemingly small tasks would continually escalate and allow them to earn the trust and respect of their German commanders – especially Heinrich Himmler of the SS.
Soon after the use of Russian soldiers in combat roles for the German military, German propogandists began propagating the story of a Russian Liberation Army – causing thousands of Russians to surrender in an attempt to join this fictitious army. Yet, a freshly captured Soviet General called Vlasov would bring this propaganda to fruition. Andrey Vlasov (1900-1946) enlisted in the Red Army at 19 to fight the White Russian soldiers in the Caucuses, Crimea, and Ukraine during the Russian Civil War; later at 30 years old he became a communist party member. His devotion to the party allowed him to climb the ranks and avoid Stalin’s purges proving him to be a useful tool of the Soviet Union. At the start of the war in 1941 his leadership was noted by the Red Army and he was placed in command of Soviet Forces on the Volkov front. While fighting against the German Army the bulk of his forces were destroyed or captured, and upon attempting to hide from the Germans he was captured. Shortly after he found himself in a German prisoner of war camp inside Ukraine, where he wrote a letter to the German high command stating he was willing to help them on the condition of the creation of the Russian Liberation Army.
The Russian liberation Army (ROA) was a German allied unit consisting of former soviet soldiers who had pledged loyalty to the Germans and against the Bolsheviks. These men – as previously discussed – each had their own motivations for joining this unit, but Vlasov’s motives were quite clear. During his service of the Soviet Union Vlasov’s Brother was killed by the Bolsheviks which brought him much distaste for the system he served. His high ranking in the soviet system also allowed him to give gifts, through which he gifted his peasant mother and father a cow. Upon giving this gift Vlasov’s parents were accosted by Soviet Authorities for being too “wealthy” and were punished. These underlying issues with the system he served were compiled as he took note of how many Ukrainians praised the Germans as liberators, and thus threw Vlasov into a new allegiance with his former enemies. As Overy put it,” [Vlasov] was alienated from a system that traded in lies and deceit, butchered its own people and threw thousands of soldiers into battles for which they were poorly prepared.” (Overy 2010) Vlasov’s position as leader of the ROA gave him immense influence over his soldiers, and soon his questioning of the Soviet System worked its ways into his own ranks – something the German high command adored.
In December of 1942 Vlasov – with approval from German command – issued the Smolensk Declaration which was,” An appeal by the Russian Committee to the men and officers of the Red Army, to the whole Russian nation, and to the other nations of the Soviet Union.” (Andreyev 2023) This declaration was primarily used to recruit Soviet POWs, but it helped unite Ukrainians, Russians, Belarussians, and other ethnically Slavic soldiers as under the banner of the German controlled ROA. At the time of this declaration Vlasov was the supervised leader of the ROA and was primarily used for propaganda purposes while German commanders gave field orders and operational orders. This would later change as the war began to heat up.
In September of 1943 Forty-Six of the ROA’s units were deployed to the western front and took part in major battles including D-day, and Twenty of the remaining ROA units were sent to the eastern front to fight against the USSR – although the numbers of the ROA differ between historical accounts. (Shimov 2018) The Units deployed to the battlelines were almost completely destroyed in many cases, being forced to retreat and mingle with the Wehrmacht who were retreating beside them. This led to further indoctrination and helped to integrate the ROA into the pride of the German military. This newfound trust gave the ROA and its spiritual leader – Vlasov – a chance to become an independent fighting force. In 1944 Hienrich Himmler of the SS promoted Vlasov to full general and gave him independent control of nearly forty-five thousand ethnically Russian soldiers, allowing him to create the Russian People’s Liberation Committee (KONR) - a political wing of the ROA. Upon its creation Vlasov stated in “The Prague Manifesto” that,” Mankind is living through an era of the greatest upheavals. The present world war is a fight to the finish between opposing political systems. It is being fought by the powers of imperialism, led by the plutocrats of England and the USA, whose greatness is built on the oppression and exploitation of other countries and peoples. It is being fought by the powers of internationalism led by Stalin’s clique, who dream of world revolution and the destruction of the national independence of other countries and their peoples. It is being fought by freedom-loving nations, who yearn to live their own way of life, determined by their own historical and national development.” (Andreyev 1989) Upon the issuance of this manifesto, Vlasov’s ROA began a shift away from Nazi politics and Soviet Politics alike, marking an important change in who the ROA’s true enemies were.
This identity crisis for the ROA hit a boiling point during the Prague Uprising where the Chech Resistance attempted to oust the SS units who were occupying the city. Many of the ROA units joined the resistance fighters in fighting off the German occupiers, and reportedly saved the city from utter destruction. The motivations for this switch vary depending upon historical contexts but many historians believe,” ... it may have been resentment over how ROA fighters were treated by the Nazis that prompted the switch. … [or that] ROA fighters, hoping to reach the West, hoped to score public-relations points by aiding the Czech resistance.” (Wesolowsky 2019) Yet, regardless of the motivations of these soldiers," 'It's absolutely clear that without the Vlasov army fighters the Prague [fighters] would have suffered colossal human losses,’ Aleksandrov said. ‘The number of victims was still high, some 1,500 victims, but it could have been worse, much worse.’” (Wesolowsky 2019) During the fighting,” the Vlasovites [ROA] knocked the Germans out of most neighborhoods and occupied the Ruzyne airfield, where, in their opinion, planes with American landings were supposed to land. About five hundred Germans surrendered to them near Lobrovitsovskaya Square.” (Krechetnikov 2015) At Bunyachenko’s - a subordinate general of Vlasov – request,” request, Czech Radio transmitted a message that Vlasov's ‘heroic army’ was liberating the city from the Germans. The ROA tanks and trucks featured inscriptions: ‘Death to Hitler! Death to Stalin!’” (Krechetnikov 2015) After the fighting was over Vlasov and the remaining ROA fighters were taken in by the American military, where,” Bunyachenko [Serving under Vlasov] expected to get to the western regions of the Czech Republic, liberated by that time by American troops, and surrender to them, avoiding falling into the hands of Red Army soldiers. In the end, it happened, but in accordance with the decisions of the ‘Big Three’, the Western Allies subsequently handed over most of the soldiers and officers of Bunyachenko's division, as well as other collaborationist formations, to the Soviet side.” (Shimov 2018) This betrayal came as,” on the morning of May 8, American parliamentarians arrived at Scherner's headquarters and announced that their army would not liberate Prague. They also met with Vlasov representatives, to whom they gave the same thing.” (Krechetnikov 2015)
Upon the American military’s decision to turn over the remaining ROA members to the USSR, many of Patton’s subordinates felt sympathetic to the ROA members. Thus leading to unconfirmed stories of American soldiers allowing ROA members to escape or even smuggling them through the lines and to the relative safety of Western Europe or North America. Those who remained in Soviet controlled territory were rounded up and killed almost immidiately, yet some lasted longer than others,” In 1949, the communist authorities of Czechoslovakia declared the leaders of the National Council traitors. ‘Commander of the uprising’ Jaromir Nehansky was shot, Deputy Chairman of the Council, a prominent communist Joseph Smrkowski and General Kutlvarsh received long prison sentences, and were released only in 1960.” (Krechetnikov 2015)
Today the legacy of the ROA is still debated with many scholars calling them freedom fighters and others calling them Nazi sympathizers, yet the truth is that war is not black and white. The soldiers of the ROA each had their own individual motives, their own evils, their own redemptions, and their own fates. It is hard to piece together the story of a group who existed in such a tragic tale of two opposing politically totalitarian systems – as either which way you view their allegiance there will be backlash. On April 30th of 2020 a simple reminder of their existence was installed by the people of Prague. The memorial states,” ROA soldiers helped participants in the Prague uprising liberate the city from Nazi Germany's army in May 1945.” (Merzlikin 2020) Even this simply acknowledgement of their existence is debated on the global stage, as shortly after the Russian embassy in Prague denounced the memorial. This show between the two nations proves that even nearly eighty years after the war, the fighting for the ROA’s legacy has not stopped. Their stories are debated, bashed, glorified, and memorialized in thousands of ways – many of which never reach western ears. Regardless of their affiliations this tragic story outlines what average men did to survive during the war and the confusion of conflict, and it is important to remember that history is not to be worshiped but to be heeded – learned from – and taken to heart.
Bibliography
Andreyev, Catherine, and Andrey Vlasov. “Vlasov’s Prague Manifesto .” Vlasov and the Russian Liberation Movement: Soviet Reality and Émigré Theories, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1989.
Andreyev, Catherine. “The Smolensk Declaration (a) - Vlasov and the Russian Liberation Movement.” Cambridge Core, Cambridge University Press, www.cambridge.org/core/books/abs/vlasov-and-the-russian-liberation-movement/smolensk-declaration/D6FFE0F4962A6C47279BEF3B11A1BA83. Accessed 19 Nov. 2023.
Ellis, Frank. The Stalingrad Cauldron: Inside the Encirclement and Destruction of 6th Army. University Press of Kansas, 2013.
Grasmeder, Elizabeth M.F. “Leaning on Legionnaires: Why Modern States Recruit Foreign Soldiers.” MIT Press, MIT Press, 19 July 2021, direct.mit.edu/isec/article/46/1/147/102854/Leaning-on-Legionnaires-Why-Modern-States-Recruit/.
Pages 147-195
Krechetnikov, Artem. “Кто в 1945 Году Освободил Прагу?” BBC News Русская Служба, BBC, 8 May 2015, www.bbc.com/russian/international/2015/05/150429_prague_1945_liberation.
Translated to English
Makarov, Alexander. “Ошибка в Тексте, Битая Ссылка?” РОА: Предатели Или Патриоты? | История, Культура и Традиции Рязанского Края, 8 Nov. 2009, 62info.ru/history/node/6454.
Merzlikin, Pavel. “‘a Mockery of Memory’ Prague Erects Monument to Nazi Collaborationist Army, despite Protests from Russia’s Foreign Ministry.” Meduza, 5 May 2020, meduza.io/en/feature/2020/05/05/a-mockery-of-memory.
Müller, Rolf-Dieter, and David Burnett. The Unknown Eastern Front: The Wehrmacht and Hitler’s Foreign Soldiers. I.B. Tauris, 2014.
Overy, R. J. Russia’s War. Penguin, 2010.
Shimov, Yaroslav. “‘Рубать Немцев, Освободить Прагу.’” Радио Свобода, Радио Свобода, 6 Feb. 2018, www.svoboda.org/amp/29011676.html.
Translated to English
“The Vlasov Case: History of a Betrayal.” The Institute for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies (IERES), ieres.elliott.gwu.edu/project/the-vlasov-case-history-of-a-betrayal/. Accessed 19 Nov. 2023.
Wesolowsky, Tony. “The Vlasov Army: Nazi Sympathizers or WWII Freedom Fighters?” RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty, RFE/RL, 9 Dec. 2019, www.rferl.org/a/the-vlasov-army-nazi-sympathizers-or-ww-ii-freedom-fighters-/30313961.html.
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