An unusual sight in Jonkerbos C.W.G.C. cemetery, Nijmegen: the grave of a Russian serviceman. I presume he was a prisoner of war set to work there by the Germans. Were any of them liberated by the Allies?
An unusual sight in Jonkerbos C.W.G.C. cemetery, Nijmegen: the grave of a Russian serviceman. I presume he was a prisoner of war set to work there by the Germans. Were any of them liberated by the Allies? Most probably a Russian POW who died whilst under forced labour for the German occupying force or he could have lost his life while serving in the Dutch underground after escaping from German custody.In France it was quite common for these HIWIs to desert from the Germans (and more so especially if they had been press ganged into German service) and seek service with the French underground. He is not a HIWI,ie a Russian,usually an ex POW serving as an volunteer auxiliary with the Wehrmacht as in this case his gravestone would be German with the designation "HIWI" (Hilfswillige) inscribed. Liberation of bona fide Russian POWs posed a personal problem for the individuals concerned.The fact that they had surrendered and had experienced a political system other than Stalins totalitarism made them in Stalins eyes,enemies of the motherland and and on return to Russia they were lucky to escape with their lives in the living hell of the Siberian gulags. HIWIs if they were returned to Russia were usually eliminated by Stalin's Beria organisation.The same fate awaited those Ukrainians who had volunteered to serve with the Wehrmacht and police auxiliary units.These presenting themselves to the Allies as displaced persons post war and thus evaded a return to Russia.Many who were guilty of aiding the Nazi regime in the elimination of the "untermenchen" in the East were able to hide their past by settling in the West and were only brought to justice when their true identities were revealed.
