German High Command orders for the treatment of Soviet prisoners of war

These were the various orders sent out by the German High Command (OKW) regarding the special treatment to be given to Soviet prisoners of war by the German military in World War II. The order was revised over time with amendments and alterations to previous versions.

Among the notable instructions:


 * It said that Soviet prisoners are linked with 'Bolshevism'. By this reason, they should be treated differently from all other POWs.


 * "Insubordination, active or passive resistance must immediately be broken completely by force of arms (bayonets, butts and firearms)". German soldiers carrying out this order who do not use their "weapons or does so with insufficient energy" will themselves be punished.


 * Escaping Soviet POWs would be shot immediately.


 * Civilians and "politically undesirable" Soviet POWs would be 'segregated' into separate groups. Departments of the SS, like the Security Police and the Security Service (SD), would be doing most of the work. This is also called 'screening' or 'weeding out' depending on the translation. In German it is Aussonderung. Then, those 'segregated' POWs would be 'surrendered' by the military to the SS.

The orders

 * 8 September 1941 Order. English translation published in: International Military Tribunal at Nurnberg, Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Vol IV. Document 1519-PS. Online at http://avalon.law.yale.edu/imt/1519-ps.asp, and pdf at http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/NT_Nazi-conspiracy.html


 * 24 March 1942 Order. English translation published in: International Military Tribunal at Nurnberg, Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Vol III. Document 695-PS. Online at http://www.ess.uwe.ac.uk/genocide/USSR6.htm and PDF at http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/NT_Nazi-conspiracy.html

 Other sources 


 * International Military Tribunal at Nurnberg, Nazi Conspiracy and Aggression, Supplement A. Online at as a pdf at http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/Military_Law/NT_Nazi-conspiracy.html


 * Streim, Alfred: Sowjetische Gefangene in Hitlers Vernichtungskrieg. Berichte und Dokumente 1939-1945. Heidelberg: C. F. Müller Juristischer Verlag 1982, S. 36-38, 45, 103-107. Excerpt at http://www.moosburg.org/info/stalag/meinel.html (translate.google.com used)