Hi, Just sorting out some POW related photographs and can across this I thought at first it was a column of German PoW`s but on closer inspection I believe some are British! ...or am I missing something.
They could have been recently liberated from German POW camps in areas overrun by the Red Army, being escorted to the rear (and reletive safety). Of course that is only my opinion, and hopefully that is what happened to them.
British? I do not believe so. Look at their uniforms, especially at their blouse and berets. They seem to be Romanian POWs, do not forget they deployed their units to Stalingrad area on the Wehrmacht side along with some Hungarian, Slovak, Spanish and Italian troops...
British? I do not believe so. Look at their uniforms, especially at their blouse and berets. They seem to be Romanian POWs, do not forget they deployed their units to Stalingrad area on the Wehrmacht side along with some Hungarian, Slovak, Spanish and Italian troops... Quite possible........however I did not say all take a closer look. Dont be swayed by the front ranks tunics,Does anyone know which nations armies wore berets apart from the British,Canadians and like Drew rightly mentions the Italians? Tricky Verrieres
Is there a date with the photograph. In 1945 there were British, French, Danish etc Liberated P.O.W. who were repatriated out of the Black sea Ports.
Is there a date with the photograph. In 1945 there were British, French, Danish etc Liberated P.O.W. who were repatriated out of the Black sea Ports. Hi, All the photographs I was sent (700+) were described as `Soviet Snapshots 1945` Sorry thats all I know. Verrieres
They wearing what looks like Service Dress, which some British troops wore in 1940. I doubt it would survive until 1945 in a POW camp. That's what's making them look British. I don't think they are though.
They wearing what looks like Service Dress, which some British troops wore in 1940. I doubt it would survive until 1945 in a POW camp. That's what's making them look British. I don't think they are though. Uniforms and boots in many cases were replaced via the Red X in Europe. Not necessarily replaced with kit from the same Branch of Service though.
Not sure if they are British, Italian or French etc... but the Russians moved alot of liberated British pow troops back to Russia after the war and many never ever returned, forced to work in labour camps. I read somewhere that the goverment at the time tried to cover it up.
I tried to find the piece that I read on British and American pows but couldn't find it, but I found the following article on the site below: http://redstateeclectic.typepad.com/.../repatriation-the-dark-side-of-world-war-ii.html Repatriation — The Dark Side of World War II There were lots of dark sides to WWII but Jacob Hornberger recounts one which shows yet another reason why FDR was one of the worst presidents in our history. His seven-piece article focuses on the fate of POWs after the war's end where allied Russian POWs recovered from the Germans and in American hands were sent back to Russia and their ultimate doom under Operation Keelhaul, while U.S. & British prisoners of war (20,000 & 30,000 respectively) were left in Russia forever and covered up by the U.S. government (you know, the very same government that tells us we should support the troops): How could the U.S. government tell the truth about what happened to American servicemen? To tell the truth would mean exposing American complicity in the murder of over a million innocent Russian people. It would entail a closer examination of the Allied alliance with one of the most brutal political regimes in all of history. And it would expose all the scheming and machinations that resulted in the abandonment of over 50,000 Allied soldiers to our communist "friends." What could the U.S. government have done differently as the war approached its end? It could have negotiated a peace with Germany that entailed the exile of Nazi leaders and ensured democratic regimes in all of Germany and Eastern Europe. It could have refused to participate in one of the worst holocausts in history — the forcible repatriation of Russian anticommunists — by refusing to force them to return to the Soviet Union against their will. If Russian forces refused to return American and British POWs, one option would, of course, could have been war against the Soviet Union. But if war was not a practical option at that point, then the least that the U.S. government owed its own soldiers was to let the world know what happened — so that the soldiers would never be forgotten. Imagine the loneliness those men must have felt as they were being transported to the Soviet gulags. They had trusted their own government. They had fought and had been willing to die at the behest of their government. They had helped to win the war. Instead of coming home to their loved ones, they were being transported from a German POW camp to a Russian gulag. ... Unfortunately, however, they were forgotten, because they were abandoned by their own government — the same U.S. government that starts out every new war with "Support the troops." As the authors of Soldiers of Misfortunecarefully document, U.S. governmental officials not only have refused to open the files on this dark and sordid episode of World War II, they have also altered and destroyed pertinent documents. Moreover, American officials still refuse to open up the files on the forcible repatriation of the Russians as well as other aspects of World War II. They claim that national security is at stake — fifty years after the end of the war. History may be written by the victors, but in this day of information technology, so too can the truth. And the truth is that war is a deadly game where seemingly sane minds put their trust in megalomaniacal hands to be lead to unforeseen ends for obscure reasons. "You can no more win a war than you can win an earthquake." – Jeannette Rankin
If they were british POW's being moved they would have been carrying 'all' of their possession with them wearing all their clothes to keep warm , blanket rolls , cooking equipment for a brew homemade backpacks etc . if they had been liberated from their German captors they look too 'smart' for POW's that late in the war , IMHO John
The author Nigel Cawthorne did a book about this called The Iron Cage - The Iron Cage: Are British Prisoners of War Abandoned in Soviet Hands Still Alive in Siberia?: Amazon.co.uk: N. Cawthorne: Books
Hi guys. Those POWs are from the Romanian Army. They were #vânători de munte# (mountain troops). Foto Soim Press: Prizonieri de război, Vânători de Munte - URSS 1943 . You may see the largest Photo Gallery with the Romanian Army in WW2 on http://foto.soim.ro/armata
Hi guys. Those POWs are from the Romanian Army. They were #vânători de munte# (mountain troops). Foto Soim Press: Prizonieri de război, Vânători de Munte - URSS 1943 . You may see the largest Photo Gallery with the Romanian Army in WW2 on http://foto.soim.ro/armata Forgot all about this one ! Its nice to finally get a definative answer Romanians they are! Thank you. Best Wishes Jim
I tried to find the piece that I read on British and American pows but couldn't find it, but I found the following article on the site below: http://redstateeclectic.typepad.com/.../repatriation-the-dark-side-of-world-war-ii.html It wasn't just Roosevelt that was to blame.
Hi guys. Those POWs are from the Romanian Army. They were #vânători de munte# (mountain troops). Foto Soim Press: Prizonieri de război, Vânători de Munte - URSS 1943 . You may see the largest Photo Gallery with the Romanian Army in WW2 on http://foto.soim.ro/armata I doubt that they met a nice fate - labour camp and work to death was probably what happened most of these. But great to finally find out who they are.
I agree with gerard's comments. Regardless of Nationality, those unfortunate to be sent East to the Siberian Gulags, were extremely lucky to survive and only a small percentage returned home. Regards Tom
