An unusual gift for an orphanage
Senior Researcher of the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineering and Signal Corps, retired colonel, candidate of historical sciences, professor V. A. Chernukhin donated a Soviet leaflet in German for soldiers of the German army to the Prokhorovka Orphanage for Girls to the Corner of Military Glory in 2014. The history of this document turned out to be unusual.
The translation of the leaflet made it possible to establish that it was issued by the Soviet propaganda organs at the time of the tank battle near Prokhorovka in July 1943. The document provided statistical information for 21 months of the war: from June 1941 to February 1943.
The leaflet called on German soldiers to think about the defeats of the Nazi army: out of 21 months of the war, the Germans advanced only 8 months, and retreated or fought defensive battles for 13 months. During this time, as stated in the document, the Germans lost about 9 million people killed, wounded and captured.
The document is written in the dry language of numbers and convinces with the logic of presentation and facts that should lead the German soldier to the inevitable conclusion: the Nazi army has become weaker and is afraid of being surrounded, attempts to attack are doomed, and surrender in this situation is the only salvation for the German soldier.
A story told by a photograph
During the Great Patriotic War, the leaflet served as a kind of "prisoner pass" for the soldier. Soviet propaganda organs published them for the Germans from the first days of the war. But then the effectiveness of leaflets was extremely low. The German soldiers were hostile. Here is a fragment of a letter to the wife of Chief Corporal Willie Klepper on February 3, 1943: “But woe to us if we fail to crown our banners with victory! a wonderful state, like our beautiful Germany. Just thinking about it, the blood boils in our veins. It just should not be so, no matter what happens, we must have many other weapons in order to kill the Russians … "1
But after the defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad, "prisoner passes" were earned. Including in the tank battle near Prokhorovka. So, in the report of acting. Head of the counterintelligence department SMERSH of the 5th Guards Tank Army Colonel Frolov and the head of the 4th counterintelligence department SMERSH Captain Poyarkov dated July 17, 1943 N 962 read: Forces, the squad of German soldiers of the 6th mechanized regiment of the 7th tank division as part of the squad leader, non-commissioned officer Heinz Scharf, born in 1917, German, corporal Pavel Zumpel, born in 1921, German, corporal Oskar Poodle, 1913 Born in Poland, Private Edmund Leshik, Born in 1921, Private Vorik Kurnovsky, Born in 1924, Pole, Corporal Johann Karl, Born in 1909, German, and Private Jan Frinkel, Born in 1916, Pole "2. A total of 7 people. Upon surrendering, they presented a Soviet leaflet to the Red Army soldiers.
What was the emotional state of the surrendered German soldiers can be judged by a photograph taken on July 14, 1943 against the background of a house in the village of Skorovka, which housed the headquarters of the 5th Guards Tank Army.
This settlement is located about 30 km from the place of delivery - the village of Bolshiye Podyarugi. The author of the photo is the head of the organizational department of the political department of the 5th Guards Tank Army D. I. Kochetkov, and the title of the picture is "A group of German servicemen who went over to the side of the Red Army during the battles in the vicinity of the Prokhorovka station." There are also 7 of them. Judging by the photos, the captured German soldiers are happy and smiling.
"Whoever returns alive to his homeland will be happy"
What were the circumstances of the surrender of the detachment of German soldiers? In the article "Side Impact" N. I. Ovcharova writes: "The battle at Prokhorovka … was characterized by extremely high tension and a variety of forms of hostilities. Offensive and oncoming battles were fought in some areas, defense and offensive in others. The success of July 12 consisted of many components. This, of course … well-coordinated military operations were not only in the main direction, but also in the auxiliary "3. One of them was an auxiliary attack by the enemy in the general direction of Korocha. To eliminate a serious threat to the left flank and rear of the army, the army commander ordered Major General K. G. Trufanov to unite parts of the 92nd and 37th rifle divisions, as well as his own reserve to destroy enemy forces. A detachment under the command of General Trufanov was sent to the area of the village of Bolshiye Podyarugi, which included the 1st Guards Motorcycle Regiment, the 53rd Guards Tank, the 689th Anti-Tank Destroyer Artillery Regiment and the battery of the 678th Howitzer Regiment. Throughout the entire day of July 12, the detachment fought intense battles, and the enemy brought in fresh reserves. A fierce tank battle ensued in the area of Bolshoye Podyarug. According to the operative report dated July 12, 1943 at 19.00, the detachment of Major General K. G. Trufanov took up defensive positions in the area of Bolshiye Podyarug and conducted reconnaissance to the south. In this direction, the fate of the Prokhorov tank battle was decided, and the heroism of Soviet soldiers was massive. After being defeated on July 12 in the direction of the main attack, the Hitlerite command set itself the task of encircling five divisions of the 69th Army, which were defending in the ledge between the Lipovy and Seversky Donets rivers. On July 13-14, the center of the final stage of the Prokhorov battle shifted to the Storozhevoe - Vinogradovka - Ivanovka - Bolshiye Podyarugi area. The enemy captured the nearby villages with the forces of the 19th Panzer, 107th Infantry Divisions and the approaching SS Panzer Division. However, General Trufanov did not allow the enemy to break through to the Shakhovo line. On this day, the detachment destroyed 20 German tanks and up to 100 soldiers and officers, he himself lost 14 T-34 tanks.
German soldiers and officers taken prisoner at the Battle of Kursk. / Homeland
In such a tense combat situation, the surrender of the detachment of German soldiers took place. In the report we read: "The 6th Mechanized Regiment of the 7th German Panzer Division was in the defense of the village of Bol. Podyarugi. The squad commanded by NCO Heinz Scharf was in the trenches of the second line. When the Germans … began to retreat, Private Jan Finkelmann proposed not to retreat, but to surrender to the Russians. The squad leader, NCO Heinz Scharf, supported him, no one from the squad began to retreat, although they had the possibility of retreating, but continued to be in the trench. leaflet, and the soldiers surrendered to the entire squadron "4.
During interrogation on July 16, Heinz Scharf explained the surrender in captivity as follows: "Seeing that Germany is waging the war hopelessly and given Goering's statement that whoever returns to his homeland alive will be happy, I had the intention of going over to the Russians and kept a Soviet leaflet in order to surrender. On July 14, this opportunity presented itself, and I, together with my squad, surrendered. " Lance corporal Oscar Poodle also confirmed that he remained in the trenches in order to surrender, as he was tired of fighting.
It looked like a leaflet calling on the soldiers of the Wehrmacht to surrender. / Homeland
Think about it!
German soldiers!
1. In the first 5 months of the eastern military campaign, the German army advanced along the entire front and occupied about 1.4 million km2 of Soviet territory. But it cost the Germans 4, 5 million people killed, wounded and taken prisoner. In October 1941, Hitler argued, the Red Army must be destroyed and complete victory is a matter of the next weeks. However, the defeat of the Germans near Moscow showed how baseless his prophecies were.
2. Then, from November 1941 to February 1942, the German army retreated along the entire front, losing 150,000 km [2] of previously occupied territory and up to 1.5 million people killed, frozen, wounded and taken prisoner.
3. In the next three months of 1942, the German army was making no headway. Then Hitler scraped up a couple of dozen divisions from the population of the occupied countries into his army. And in the summer of 1942, he was able to go over to the offensive again, but only on one southern segment of the front. Occupying 350,000 km2 of territory, he at the same time lost about 1.5 million soldiers killed, wounded and taken prisoner. In October 1942, Hitler argued that the German army would never lose everything that it had occupied, that it would not give up anything else, and that the Russians would not be able to advance in the coming winter. However, the defeat of the Germans at Stalingrad showed again how baseless his predictions were.
4. In late 1942 - early 1943, the German army again retreated along the entire front. In winter, the Red Army conquered 480 km2 of territory, this is part of the territory that the Germans occupied in 1941. The Germans lost over 1 million people killed and wounded and over 300,000 surrendered.
What is the result?
5. For 21 months of the war, the German army managed to advance only for 5 months in the first year, along the entire front, it attacked only on one segment of the front for 3 months. While 13 months she retreated or remained in place. Then the Russians conquered more than 1,750,000 km2 of territory, 630,000 km2 of which were occupied by the Germans, which is more than one third. As a result, during the war, the Germans lost about 9 million people killed, wounded and taken prisoner, of which 4.5 million fell on the last 16 months of the war, during which the Germans did not capture a single kilometer of Russian land, on the contrary, a third of what was captured again lost …
So, the facts irrefutably show that the Germans are constantly weaker, the Russians, on the contrary, are becoming constantly stronger. The ruthless law of war says: the winner is not the one who unleashes the war, but the one who is able to make decisions instantly.
German soldiers, think about it yourself!
Isn't the defeat at Stalingrad and in the south, your withdrawal from Rzhev, Gzhatsk, Vyazma, Demyansk under the blows of the Red Army not the best proof that you have become weaker and are afraid of being surrounded by the Red Army?
What else are you hoping for? Your new attack attempts? Better leave it. You will suffer new senseless losses and make your relatives unhappy.
Make a conclusion about the war. Surrender captive - this is your only salvation!
Notes (edit)
1. Army General N. F. Vatutin: a photo chronicle of heroism and victories. Belgorod, 2015. S. 43.
2. Zhurakhov V. Smersh: baptism of fire near Prokhorovka. Belgorod, 2015. S. 93-95.
3. Ovcharova N. I. Side impact // Origins. 2012.12 July. N 82-84. P. 3.
4. Zhurakhov V. Decree. Op. S. 93-95.
5. Ibid.
