Declassified documents of the Second World War. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation declassified new documents on the history of the Second World War

On the anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War, the Ministry of Defense published on its website more than 100 pages of declassified memoirs of Soviet military leaders. Documents from the declassified funds of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense include the answers of the commanders of districts, armies, corps and division commanders to five key questions prepared by the Military Historical Directorate of the General Staff Soviet army.

In 1952 in the Military History Department General Staff The Soviet Army created a group under the leadership of Colonel-General A.P. Pokrovsky, which began to develop a description of the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945.

Assignments were sent to the commanders of districts, armies, commanders of corps, divisions, who exercised control in the first days of the war.

The materials received by the Military Historical Directorate, authored by famous Soviet military leaders, were carefully studied and analyzed and formed the basis of fundamental scientific works describing the course of the Great Patriotic War from the point of view of military specialists.

DEREVYANKO KUZMA NIKOLAEVICH
lieutenant general
In 1941 - Deputy Head of the Intelligence Department of the Headquarters of the Baltic Special Military District (North-Western Front)

"Group of Nazi troops on the eve of the war in the Memel region, in East Prussia and in the Suwalki region in last days before the war was known to the headquarters of the district quite fully and in large part and in detail.

The opened grouping of Nazi troops on the eve of hostilities was regarded by the intelligence department [of the district headquarters] as an offensive grouping with a significant saturation with tanks and motorized units.

BAGHRAMYAN IVAN KHRISTOFOROVYCH
Marshal Soviet Union
In 1941 - Head of the Operations Department of the Headquarters of the Kiev Special Military District (South-Western Front)

“The troops that directly covered the state border had detailed plans and documentation up to and including the regiment. Field positions were prepared for them along the entire border. These troops were the first operational echelon.

"The cover troops, the first operational echelon, were stationed directly at the borders and began to deploy under the cover of fortified areas with the outbreak of hostilities."
"Their advance exit to the prepared positions by the General Staff was prohibited in order not to give a pretext for provoking war on the part of fascist Germany."

During his speech, the Russian leader wondered if the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was the only document signed by one of the European countries with Nazi Germany.

"It turns out that this is not at all the case. I will simply list them with your permission. So, "Declaration on the non-use of force between Germany and Poland"<…>Signed in 1934. In essence, this is a non-aggression pact," Putin began.

He went on to name the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935. "Great Britain gave Hitler the opportunity to have his own navy, which was forbidden to him, in fact, or minimized as a result of the First World War. Then the Anglo-German Declaration of Chamberlain and Hitler, signed on September 30, 1938, agreed upon by them on the initiative of Chamberlain," the President pointed out.

Putin noted that this is not all. "The Franco-German Declaration. The declaration was signed on December 6, 1938 in Paris by the French and German Foreign Ministers Bonet and Ribbentrop. Finally, the treaty between the Republic of Lithuania and the German Reich. The treaty was signed on March 22, 1939 in Berlin<…>about the reunification of the Klaipeda region with the German Reich. And the non-aggression pact between the German Reich and Latvia of June 7, 1939," the Russian president said.

"Thus, the treaty between the USSR and Germany was the last in a series of those that were signed by other European countries, as if interested in maintaining peace in Europe. At the same time, I want to note that the USSR went to sign this document only after they had exhausted all possibilities, all proposals of the USSR on the creation of a unified security system were rejected<…>in Europe," he said.

Further, the president presented excerpts from some archival documents. Thus, he cited the words of the Prime Minister of France: "Not only can one not count on Polish support, but there is no certainty that Poland will not strike from the rear."

Further, Putin points out that French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier raised a number of questions with the Polish ambassador. “He asked him if the Poles would let the Soviet troops through. (Józef) Lukasiewicz answered in the negative. Daladier asked if they would let the Soviet airplanes through. Lukasiewicz said that the Poles would open fire on them. , if<…>Germany will declare war on France, the Polish representative replied no. Daladier replied that he sees no point in a Franco-Polish union," Putin said.

The President of Russia noted that this indicates that "the USSR was ready to provide assistance to Czechoslovakia, which Germany was going to rob." "But in the agreement between the USSR and Czechoslovakia, it was written that the USSR would do this only if France also fulfilled its obligations to Czechoslovakia. France tied its assistance to Czechoslovakia with support from Poland. Poland refused," he said.

Putin also presented data on what the Polish authorities did when Germany began to claim part of Czechoslovak territory. "They made a claim at the same time, just like Germany, for their share of the booty<…>demanded that a certain part of Czechoslovakia be handed over to them," Putin said.

He pointed out that the Poles were ready to use force as well. "There is also a specific document from the archive. From the report<…>about the preparation offensive operation to the Teshinskaya region and the training of troops. The Polish authorities prepared and sent militants to Czechoslovak territory to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks, and were actively preparing for the division and occupation of Czechoslovakia," the Russian president said.

He then cited excerpts from a recording of a conversation between the German Ambassador to Poland and the Polish Foreign Minister. "In this document, the Polish Foreign Minister expressed the hope that, further quotation, "in the areas claimed by Poland, there will be no contradictions with German interests." That is, the division of Czechoslovak territory is taking place," Putin said.

"France and Great Britain did not support Czechoslovakia, which forced her to come to terms with this violence," the president added.

Putin also read out quotes from a September 22 report by the French Ambassador to Germany to French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet. The document says that "the proposed secession of the territories would turn into a dismemberment" of Czechoslovakia, and notes that "this is exactly what the Reich needs."

"France and England, who tried to make concessions and, in every possible way to satisfy German demands, wanted to save the existence of the Czech state, find themselves in the face of a united front of three states seeking the partition of Czechoslovakia. The leaders of the Reich, who make no secret of the fact that their goal is to erase Czechoslovakia from the map of Europe, they immediately took advantage of the Polish and Hungarian demarches," Putin said.

He also drew attention to how the agreement between Hitler, Great Britain and France in 1938 was assessed by major world politicians at that time. "We can say that, with rare exceptions, they reacted very positively and optimistically. And only Winston Churchill honestly assessed the situation and called a spade a spade," he said.

Putin also quoted from the speech of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Litvinov in the League of Nations in September 1938. "Avoid war today and get a sure and comprehensive war tomorrow, and even at the cost of the appetites of insatiable aggressors and destruction sovereign states does not mean acting in the spirit of the League of Nations pact. That is, the Soviet Union condemned this event," the Russian President stressed.

Ministry of Defence Russian Federation during the days of the forum "Army-2019" for the first time presented archival documents from the times of the Great Patriotic War, which were previously kept under the heading "Top Secret". They completely refute the theories that have recently become popular in the West that the Soviet Union allegedly “occupied” the countries of Europe after the end of World War II.

Viktoria Kayaeva, deputy head of the research department of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense, brought literally several suitcases of papers to the Zvezda studio, from which it was time to declassify, and now they are a real sensation. They documented that the Soviet Union, even at the time when the Great Patriotic War was going on, helped the inhabitants of Poland and Budapest with food.

“If we open this volume, we will see that there is a certificate on the implementation of the decision of the State Defense Committee of February 9, 1945 on sending grain products to the disposal of the provisional government of the Polish Republic. I note that fighting are still underway. Here, directly in tons, it is indicated how much and what kind of material - cereals, flour, rye, that is, food - was sent to the Polish population. In March - 20 thousand tons, in April the same amount. There is an indication of those stations from where it was recovering. These are all stations in the depths of the Soviet Union,” says Victoria Kayaeva.

That is, even in those conditions when there was a famine in the Soviet Union, grain stocks and fields were destroyed, the country found funds to send food to Poland, which also survived the occupation.

Another document is dated May 29, 1945. It orders the provision of assistance to the Polish state in the organization of sowing work. It is documented that the population of Poland was supplied with seeds - so that the Poles could sow their fields and get a crop, which they themselves would then dispose of.

“Are there any other documents somewhere that testify that the “occupiers” bring seed material with them, provide food for the local population, and help children. Do the "occupiers" act like this?" asks a representative of the archive of the Ministry of Defense.

The famous footage of Russian soldiers in Berlin drinking the milk of German children can now also be documented. At the Zvezda studio, Victoria Kayaeva presented a resolution of the military council of the 1st Belorussian Front, which carried out military operations in Berlin, on organizing the distribution of milk to the children of Berlin.

“At that time in Berlin in 1945 there were about a million children. And our servicemen provided milk for children up to 8 years old. That is, in this way, our military took care of the health and future of the nation of Germany. Decree "On the supply of milk to the children of the city of Berlin". Next comes a reference to the decision of the State Defense Committee of May 8, 1945. That is, the act of surrender has not yet been signed. And it is said that the supply of milk to children up to the age of 8 should be organized at the expense of: and then there is an indication of how this is all organized. The districts that will be responsible for the supply of milk have been assigned,” Victoria Kayaeva said.

Another archive volume declassified by the Ministry of Defense contains information about the assistance provided by the Soviet Union to almost all the liberated countries: Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Germany. So, on April 23, 1945, it was documented that Poland should be provided with assistance in the form of: cattle - 150 thousand heads, cotton - 20 thousand tons, unwashed wool - 2 thousand tons, large leather - 100 thousand to provide Poland's industry and organization jobs in the country.

In other documents we are talking already about the provision of assistance by the Soviet Union to the countries of Eastern Europe. In particular, they contain a certificate from the headquarters of the rear of the Red Army and correspondence with the rear department of the fronts about the shipment of food to Budapest.

“It says that grain, sugar and meat were allocated in tons: grain - 15 tons, sugar - 2 tons, meat - 3 tons. At the same time, everything that was transferred and shipped was subject to the most severe control. This program could not be unfulfilled. Responsible for its implementation were appointed, and literally every kilogram transferred was under the personal responsibility of the persons who were responsible for it, ”explains the archive specialist.

With all these documents, according to Victoria Kayaeva, now every citizen of the Russian Federation or a foreigner will be able to get acquainted. This can be done upon request, coming to the reading room of the archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. According to the specialist, permission to declassify documents of the Great Patriotic War is given according to plan, as certain periods of time pass. So any attempts by the West to falsify the history of the war times will suffer a crushing defeat over and over again, and all accusations against Russia and doubts about its role in the Great Patriotic War will remain groundless.

Sunday 22 June 1941 Nazi Germany and its allies attacked our country with an invasion army unprecedented in history: 190 divisions, more than 4 thousand tanks, 47 thousand guns and mortars, about 4.5 thousand aircraft, up to 200 ships, only 5 million people.

The first blows were delivered by German aircraft at dawn. Hundreds of German bombers invaded the airspace of the Soviet Union. They bombarded airfields, areas where the troops of the western border districts were stationed, railway junctions, communication lines and other important objects, as well as big cities Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova.

At the same time, Wehrmacht troops concentrated along the entire length of the State Border of the USSR opened heavy artillery fire on border outposts, fortified areas, formations and units of the Red Army stationed in its immediate vicinity. After artillery and aviation training they moved state border USSR throughout - from the Baltic Sea to the Black. The Great Patriotic War began - the most difficult of all wars ever experienced by the country.

It is these events of the first day of the war that are illuminated by the documents presented at the exhibition "The Beginning of the Great Patriotic War".

Among them are orders, directives, operational reports, intelligence reports for June 22, 1941 of the top military leadership of the Soviet Union and the command of the fronts.

It is no less interesting to get acquainted with intelligence reports, reports and other documents of the German troops, reflecting the events of the first day of the war. Such two-sided coverage of the military situation at the beginning of the war will allow us to see the true picture, to feel its scale and tragedy.

The Ministry of Defense has declassified unique documents that tell about the events of the eve and the initial period of World War II, which, in particular, talk about the threat from Poland. Materials published in the new multimedia section"A Fragile Peace on the Threshold of War".

As noted in the military department, the declassified documents give an idea of ​​\u200b\u200b"why certain decisions were made in such a difficult military-political situation." The new section is also designed to fight against attempts to falsify history and revise the results of the Great Patriotic War and World War II.

Among the declassified documents - memo Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army Boris Shaposhnikov People's Commissar Defense of the USSR Kliment Voroshilov. It contains military threat assessment which can be represented by various states both independently and as part of military alliances and blocs.

The degree of importance and secrecy of the document is emphasized by the fact that Shaposhnikov did not resort to the help of a secretary-typist, but wrote a 31-page report on his own. According to Soviet military experts, the most likely threat to the USSR during this period was not only the military alliance of Germany and Italy, but also Poland, which was "in the orbit" of the fascist bloc.

As Shaposhnikov noted, “The Soviet Union needs to be ready to fight on two fronts: in the west against Germany-Poland and partly against Italy, with the possible accession of limitrophes to them, and in the east against Japan.”

It follows from the document that Germany and Poland on the eve of the war could together expose more than 160 infantry divisions, more than 7 thousand tanks and 4.5 thousand aircraft. For comparison, the People's Commissar of Defense, Voroshilov, at the talks with the British and French military delegations in May 1939, said that Moscow was capable of fielding 136 divisions and 5,000 aircraft.

The materials also describe the combat operations of the 2nd German Army Corps during the offensive against Poland in 1939, compiled in 1949 by a prisoner of war, Lieutenant General of the former German army, Hermann Boehme, who during the period of the described hostilities held the position of head of the operational department of the unit. In them, he describes in detail how secretly, under the guise of exercises, the German troops were preparing for an attack, and also reveals the sequence of actions of the corps troops during the offensive. The testimonies of the German general testify to the fierce resistance of the Poles, the tense course of the battles for Warsaw and the Modlin fortress are described.

Second World War lasted six years from September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945. Her last fights were on Far East . On September 2, 1945, an act was signed aboard the USS Missouri. unconditional surrender Japan is an ally of Germany.

61 states with a population of 1.7 billion people were drawn into the war, military operations were conducted on the territory of 40 states, as well as in maritime and ocean theaters. The Second World War was the most destructive and bloody of the wars. More than 55 million people died in it. Biggest casualties suffered by the Soviet Union, which lost 27 million people.