a week after Hitler’s attack, June 29, 1941, near Murmansk was shot down by the squadron commander of the Luftwaffe captain Alfred Levski. 31-year-old pilot with the 77th fighter squadron in the course of the interrogation cited as important evidence that the people’s Commissar of internal Affairs USSR L. P. Beria on August 12 announced it in t-bills to Stalin and other top leaders of the country1. A native Lutzen born in 1910 was an experienced pilot, in 1937 went as a volunteer to Spain on the side of Franco, from 1939 fought against Poland, Norway, France and England and had in its account 160 combat missions and shot down 22 aircraft. His “Messerschmitt-109” from June 24 to three times accompanied by German bombers bombed objects on Soviet territory, but the fourth flight was interrupted by machine-gun fire over the sea at a height of 50 meters.
Levski gave very candid testimony regarding the airfield under the Norwegian Kirkenes, where his squadron on 15 June 1941 were transferred from Brest in France. Beria reported according to a downed pilot that “the airport in Kirkenes has an area of 3 square kilometers, clearly visible from the air. At the airport located about 100 planes “Messerschmitt-109” and “Ju-88”. The airfield is guarded by a significant number of soldiers, 6 batteries of antiaircraft artillery and fighter aircraft duty in the amount of 10 cars “Messerschmitt-109″. On the airfield in 10 points located 50 tanks of fuel weighing 2 tons each. Approaching the airfield the aircraft are identified with the help of special instruments available to the gunners”2.
attached to the note by Beria excerpts from the transcript of the interrogation Luisago find a few more details that might facilitate the Soviet air force an effective attack on the Norwegian airfield. According to the prisoner Aviator, “the airfield is located approximately 30 kilometres South-West of Kirkenes […], concrete playgrounds no. The airfield is clearly visible, as fits in the hollow between the mountains. It is not masked. Planes camouflaged with twigs, branches and trees”3.
did our aircraft these explicit testimony? Beria sent in GKO materials Luisago interrogation of 3 August 1941, while two of the successful RAID of the air force of the Northern fleet on the airfield Gebuchten under Kirkenes, which said the informant, took place on 7 and 27 July. Most likely, there is no contradiction here: the primary evidence from the downed pilot was received after his capture. During the attack on 7 July had been made the effect of surprise: 9 Soviet SB bombers flew to Chebucto unnoticed and managed without loss bombed, the Germans lost 19 men killed and 16 wounded, two fighters from the 77th squadron, and one bomber4. Presumably, Frank account Luisago helped to plan the RAID vulnerable on the airfield of the enemy.
Cases of flight pilots of the enemy on the Soviet side during the war were isolated. But among those who fought on Hitler’s side Croatian pilots such excesses occurred not as uncommon from may 1942 to September 1944 they recorded six. One such incident, according to the chronology of the first, desertion is not considered. 27 APR 1942 captain Berislav Supek, as reported to Beria to Stalin on may 2, “in the area’she-Krepinskaya Rostov region flew to the side of the red army […] on the German aircraft ME-109-e”5.
It was the first sortie 32-year-old Croat in the ranks of the Croatian special units of the German air force. Promptly delivered to Moscow Supek called this version of the act: according to Beria, “among Croatian pilots in Mariupol are in the mood to move to the side of the red army and in particular his three pilots Croats – officers of Hembrant, erkovich and Starks – it was agreed to move to the side of the red army, and they were only waiting for the right moment to implement this”6.
the Case turned up almost immediately: April 27, Spec off “in a group of 4 planes, three of which were piloted by Germans. The objective of the mission was to recon the front edge location of red army troops in the area Taganrog – Pokrovskoe. Approaching the area, the group met the clouds at a height of 800 metres. The flight lasted over the cloud. Calculating that is above the location of Soviet troops, he made a coup and disappeared into the clouds, leaping out of her at the height of 200 meters. Seeing a convoy of wagons and other vehicles, became convinced that the Soviet troops landed without landing gear and surrendered. The aircraft’s bent propeller, otherwise it is in perfect condition and had enough fuel”7.
Lee Said the truth Supek or he simply got lost, especially since, according to him, he went in flight without even having maps of the area: “… the request for a map said that for navigation will be watched by the Germans and only gave him a clipping from the map”8? The further fate of Croatian pilots in the Luftwaffe convinced of the sincerity of his declarations about the “mood transition” to the Soviet side. Mentioned one of his comrades, Lieutenant Albin of Starts (aka Starks in the note, Beria), 14 may 1943 consciously flew on his “Messerschmitt” in the area of the Kuban Cossack village of Krymskaya9. And the note of Beria with the words of SPECA correctly asserts that “the aircraft of the Croatian squad old […], departures one the Croats, the Germans did not trust […]. German pilots carefully concealed from Horvath the location of airfields, the numbering of aircraft parts and the number of aircraft”10.
Born in a small Bosnian town, the Hotel is Spec (1909 – 1989) started SL��of IBU still in the air force Nazi-occupied Royal Yugoslavia and during the war he no longer share the position of the loyal allies of the Nazis in Croatia – ustashe Ante Pavelic. In addition to shipping in the red army serviceable, but obsolete model of “Messerschmitt” the defector told that knew about the “material part of the air force of the German army”, as well as about his impressions from held in January 1942 in Zagreb 15-day sick leave: “… in Yugoslavia, highly developed guerrilla movement. The guerrillas not only in points, where are located the German garrison”11.
However, he returned after the war from the Soviet Union, where he remained in captivity and was used as a radio telegraphist, Berislav not found common language and with the very same guerrillas, the leader of which Marshal Tito came to power in the new Yugoslavia. April 19, 1949, at the height of Tito’s conflict with Stalin, the commander of the 119th regiment, Colonel Supek became a turncoat the second time, having flown to Romania on the Soviet military-transport aircraft Sche-2. Receiving soon from the main party newspaper “Borba” of charges that he was simultaneously an agent of the ustashe, the Gestapo and the NKVD12, Aviator-adventurer managed to return home after the improvement of Soviet-Yugoslav relations after 1955 and died in Zagreb.
a year after the Victory, 16 may 1946, the Minister of internal Affairs of the USSR S. N. Kruglov reported to Stalin about the appeal to the Soviet government of German prisoners of war the Krupp Gunther and Hans römer. It was about intensive contacts lost in the history of Nazi Germany with remaining in power by the Spanish dictator Franco. Former Lieutenant-General of the Krupp (1893 – 1981) was a military attache in Madrid from 1 October 1941 to 30 November 1942, a former Colonel Remer – military attache of the Moroccan Tangier from March 1, 1942 to June 1, 1944 Both of the recent attache possessed evidence of “participation of Spain on Germany’s side in the war against the United Nations.”13.
Prisoners are set out in detail the details of the plan “Isabella-Felix”, developed in 1940, the German and Spanish General staffs. According to Kruglov, “on the plan was held a number of preparatory activities for the capture of the fortress of Gibraltar and the expansion of the possessions of Spain in Africa on the river Cebu city Oran”14, i.e. the Spaniards at the expense of conquered France, Hitler promised the territory in Algeria and Morocco. Scheduled for January 10, 1941, the implementation of this plan (simultaneously with the operation “Sea lion” the invasion of England) broke “in the beginning of the preparation of the German attack on the USSR,”15.
the Prisoners gave convincing evidence of how Spain was involved in the war “on the side of Germany, under the guise of neutrality.” In particular, Roemer got in advance in Tangier from the Spaniards quite reliable data about the landing soutnof ICA to Northwest Africa in early November 1942, in Sicily in September 1943, it was the Spanish exploration and mistakes: “At the end of may 1944, Lieutenant Colonel CEA announced the Römer about the upcoming invasion of the Anglo-American troops in mid-June 1944 on the coast of the English channel”16, whereas in reality the allies landed in Normandy on June 6th.
the Spanish-German cooperation during the war was exceptionally close and the Canary Islands: “In the port of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria was organized a base for submarines operating in the Atlantic. Spare parts warehouse of this base was on the territory of the German firm “Blom and Voss” and repair of submarines was carried out at the port under the guise of the dormant ship. On the island of Teneriffa (as in the text. – Ed.) 8-9 km South of the port of Santa Kruts (as in the text .- Ed.) was a stock of torpedoes, spare parts and tools for German submarines. The warehouse was organized in the wine cellar of the house the German merchant the Wound with the knowledge and consent of the Spanish authorities. Remer personally inspected the warehouse in August 1942,”17.
The captured Germans extensive information was enough to force “the United Nations” to create the Franco regime, the big geopolitical issues. But the Spanish Caudillo worry was not: in may 1946 between the former allies had already begun the cold war.
At this very war, on 14 March 1946 gathered staying in a comfortable “General’s” camp N 48 “voykove” 28 kilometers from Ivanovo, a former Lieutenant General of the Wehrmacht, Erich Max Reuter (1904-1989). 42-year-old prisoner, who commanded on the Eastern front, the 46th infantry division, was inspired by made on 13 March by Stalin’s statement on the occasion of Churchill’s Fulton speech, which became the signal for the beginning of the cold war. Reuter the next day he wrote inspired a petition to the Soviet authorities, begins with the words: “…please, if necessary, to use me in the service of the Soviet Union against England – the old enemy of Germany,”18. Captured on 11 may 1945 in Czechoslovakia, the General is clearly not navoyevat and enthusiastically leads first eight grounds for this decision, and then another six motives to him.
Reuter remembers his childhood and a popular slogan of the First world war: “God punish England”. “We, as disciples, every day chorus repeated this slogan.” Now he calls to punish Churchill and says that “personally, since childhood, he had a deep hatred of Germany. I grew up and was educated in East Germany (Danzig, Pomerania, East Prussia) and was always for cooperation with neighboring Russia, not to mention the fact that in this war, during a RAID by British aircraft I lost my apartment in Berlin and almost deprive��smiling family”19.
Prisoner General tells not only of his debourguignon origin and that he “was not a member of the national socialist party”, but that “read excerpts from the works of Lenin and Stalin and […] Russia today (Soviet Union) his position of great power are bound to these two people.” But “Churchill wants now to impose the Soviet Union’s war just as he, unfortunately, managed to do with Germany”20.
the Enthusiasm of Reuter in the conditions of the cold war, the Soviet leadership she could not share – at war with Churchill the Germans never had a chance, but the Minister Kruglov April 6, 1946, reported his note to Stalin.
Thus, the documents show that our competent authorities throughout the great war possessed the difficult art of obtaining from the prisoners of the enemy of important and useful data that can contribute to strengthening state security.
1. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 58. D. 514. L. 27-28.
2. Ibid. L. 27.
3. Ibid. L. 30.
4. Zablotskiy A., R. Larintsev Goal – Kirkenes // http://www.airwar.ru/history/av2ww/soviet/kirkines/kirkines.html.
5. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 58. D. 514. L. 131.
6. Ibid. L. 131-132.
7. Ibid. L. 132.
8. Ibid.
9. Nijemci su bili u ][oku: Ustaki prebjegli piloti su Sovjetima // https://express.24sata.hr/life/nijemci-su-bili-u-soku-ustaski-piloti-prebjegli-su-sovjetima. 2019. 02. XI.
10. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 58. D. 514. L. 132-133.
11. Ibid.
12. I. Banac, With Stalin Against Tito: Cominformist Splits in Yugoslav Communism. Cornell University Press, 1988. P. 162. Thank you for the information about the biography of SPECA Professor, University of Belgrade Alexey Timofeev.
13. RGANI. F. 3. Op. 58. D. 514. L. 52.
14. Ibid.
15. Ibid. L. 53.
16. Ibid.
17. Ibid. L. 54-55.
18. Ibid. L. 2.
19. Ibid. L. 2-3.
20. Ibid. L. 4.
