Fate of Soviet Prisoners of War during the War Years

The paper analyses the situation of Soviet prisoners of war during World War II, explores the causes of their mass captivity and the reasons for the high mortality rate in Nazi camps. The author studies criminal commands of the Wehrmacht as “the Hunger Plan”, and the use of Soviet prisoners of war s in forced labor. The paper examines strategies for survival in captivity, inclu­ding confronting the camp administration, participation in the Resistance, and collaborationism. It especially focusses on the question of the total number of prisoners and death tolls. The author addresses issues that require further research, such as camp routine, the biographies of captured Soviet generals, and the revealing the identities of dead Soviet prisoners of war and their burial sites.