Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
⭐️ On this day in 1945, over 400 Soviet prisoners of war daringly escaped from #Mauthausen concentration camp in Upper Austria. This rebellion was among the biggest in World War II history.
The largest groups of prisoners at the camp were citizens of the USSR, Poland and Hungary. Soviet POWs who were earlier suspected of resistance activities, were held under the most unbearable conditions in Block 20. The prisoners were beaten, often to death, for the slightest infraction.
On the night of February 3, 1945, 419 prisoners of “Death Block” made an escape. All local units of the SA, the Wehrmacht, the Gendarmerie as well as groups of volunteers joined in their hunt. Overall, 300 escapees were caught and only 57 of them were returned alive to the camp where they were subsequently brutally tortured to death.
Former Mauthausen prisoner Nikolai Parshin wrote after the war, “The prisoners of Death Block stood up against their henchmen and escaped from the hell on earth the Nazis had made. They died with honour as warriors should. And they are not gone, they are heroes that will remain eternally alive. The memory of them will live on in our hearts forever.”
🕯 The total number of prisoners in Mauthausen was 335,000 of which 122,000 were either executed or worked, tortured or starved to death. Over 32,000 of the dead were citizens of our country.
Among those who were savagely tortured to death by the Nazis was Lieutenant General Dmitry Karbyshev. The Nazis did their worst to get him to become a collaborator, as he was an outstanding commander and an unrivalled expert in fortifications, but they failed. Dmitry Karbyhev was 64 when he died.
#Victory77 #WeRemember #FacesOfVictory
The largest groups of prisoners at the camp were citizens of the USSR, Poland and Hungary. Soviet POWs who were earlier suspected of resistance activities, were held under the most unbearable conditions in Block 20. The prisoners were beaten, often to death, for the slightest infraction.
On the night of February 3, 1945, 419 prisoners of “Death Block” made an escape. All local units of the SA, the Wehrmacht, the Gendarmerie as well as groups of volunteers joined in their hunt. Overall, 300 escapees were caught and only 57 of them were returned alive to the camp where they were subsequently brutally tortured to death.
Former Mauthausen prisoner Nikolai Parshin wrote after the war, “The prisoners of Death Block stood up against their henchmen and escaped from the hell on earth the Nazis had made. They died with honour as warriors should. And they are not gone, they are heroes that will remain eternally alive. The memory of them will live on in our hearts forever.”
🕯 The total number of prisoners in Mauthausen was 335,000 of which 122,000 were either executed or worked, tortured or starved to death. Over 32,000 of the dead were citizens of our country.
Among those who were savagely tortured to death by the Nazis was Lieutenant General Dmitry Karbyshev. The Nazis did their worst to get him to become a collaborator, as he was an outstanding commander and an unrivalled expert in fortifications, but they failed. Dmitry Karbyhev was 64 when he died.
#Victory77 #WeRemember #FacesOfVictory
Forwarded from Russian MFA 🇷🇺
🕯 Doctor of Military Science, Lieutenant General of the Red Army Dmitry Karbyshev was brutally murdered by the Nazis in the Mauthausen concentration camp in the early hours of February 18, 1945.
Dmitry Karbyshev was a military professional who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. He served in the Red Army from 1918 and was considered to be one of the best military engineers. During the Winter War against Finland, he played an important role in the operation to break through the Mannerheim Line.
During the Great Patriotic War, he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Nazis while he was unconscious. Dmitry Karbyshev was imprisoned in many concentration camps during his time in captivity, including Majdanek, Auschwitz, Flossenbürg, Hammelburg, Sachsenhausen and Mauthausen.
☝️ The Nazis tried to persuade the Soviet general to cooperate. According to some data, originally the Germans wanted to place Karbyshev in command of the Russian Liberation Army. He was brought to Berlin in late 1942, where Chief of the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces Wilhelm Keitel personally tried to entice Dmitry Karbyshev to side with Nazi Germany, but the Soviet officer remained steadfast: “I do not trade my conscience and my Motherland!”
While he was a prisoner of war, the Soviet officer organised anti-Nazi resistance groups, thus continuing the fight against the enemy. In early 1944 Karbyshev was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was tortured and brutally murdered. The Nazis poured cold water on him in the freezing cold until he turned into an ice pillar. The concentration camp survivors, who witnessed Karbyshev’s death, said his last words were: “Stay strong, comrades! Think of the Motherland and courage will not leave you!”
🎖 The steadfast Soviet commander, whose feat went down in history, was posthumously awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for his courage and heroism.
#FacesOfVictory
Dmitry Karbyshev was a military professional who fought in the Russo-Japanese War and the First World War. He served in the Red Army from 1918 and was considered to be one of the best military engineers. During the Winter War against Finland, he played an important role in the operation to break through the Mannerheim Line.
During the Great Patriotic War, he was wounded and taken prisoner by the Nazis while he was unconscious. Dmitry Karbyshev was imprisoned in many concentration camps during his time in captivity, including Majdanek, Auschwitz, Flossenbürg, Hammelburg, Sachsenhausen and Mauthausen.
☝️ The Nazis tried to persuade the Soviet general to cooperate. According to some data, originally the Germans wanted to place Karbyshev in command of the Russian Liberation Army. He was brought to Berlin in late 1942, where Chief of the Supreme Command of the German Armed Forces Wilhelm Keitel personally tried to entice Dmitry Karbyshev to side with Nazi Germany, but the Soviet officer remained steadfast: “I do not trade my conscience and my Motherland!”
While he was a prisoner of war, the Soviet officer organised anti-Nazi resistance groups, thus continuing the fight against the enemy. In early 1944 Karbyshev was sent to the Mauthausen concentration camp, where he was tortured and brutally murdered. The Nazis poured cold water on him in the freezing cold until he turned into an ice pillar. The concentration camp survivors, who witnessed Karbyshev’s death, said his last words were: “Stay strong, comrades! Think of the Motherland and courage will not leave you!”
🎖 The steadfast Soviet commander, whose feat went down in history, was posthumously awarded the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union for his courage and heroism.
#FacesOfVictory