Rare Photo Report Excecution in Russia / Crime of War ?

[eldenwaff]

The last pic showing an apparently deceased man on a sloping hill is mysterious.

No shrapnel wounds, torn/burnt clothing. No blood/gore nor any signs of violence around him, suggesting he was killed somewhere else and dragged there ,, Though there are no signs of dragging either.
Perhaps he suffered a concussive blast, but again, one would expect the body or clothing to show signs of a blast lethal enough to kill. Not suggesting this is staged, though that is a possibility.

The lone nicely dressed and healthy woman pic is also intriguing, would suggest an early 1941 photo of a woman trapped in a combat zone, sure doesn't look like a peasant woman, so perhaps it was in the vicinity of a major urban center.

[compressore]

Respect...

[QUOTE=eldenwaff;7483187
And how much organization would you think it takes to shoot a couple of captured bandits ? [/QUOTE]

Your posts are clearly showing how much respect you have for a human, dead or alive.....none.

[eldenwaff]

You have a vivid imagination compressore, not necessarily a good thing for [presumed] adults discussing a war related topic.

[Ulcha]

Is Belarus. The Brest fortified area No. 62. OPPC, "Gorki".
Link http://relicfinder.info/forum/viewto...p=60394#p60394
[IMG]Фотографии в альбоме «ОППК "Горки",опорник Слохи Аннопольские», автор [url[/IMG]

[FrenchVolunteer]

Hi,

now i'm pretty sure that some Soviet forces were in the bunker, with German troops encircling the area.
It is not known if the fight took minutes/hours or days (probably hours).
The Soviet soldiers didn't want to surrender.
The Germans are now on the bunker and around.
Then the Germans are blowing the door.
The Soviet soldiers are taken POWs... with the exception of the commanding officer, maybe a politrouk.
One soldier with the tissue is maybenot crying but maybe the explosion put some gas or dust in the bunker, irritating his eyes.
It seemed that only the "officer" is officially shoot.
The other soldiers would have been killed with the "officer" if they really wanted to eliminate everyone.
The fact that a "civilian woman" is also here shows that the Germans tried to avoid to be too 'naughty" (killing everyone).
I'm pretty sure that the bunker date of capture can be found, and we may identify the high ranking officer.

See You

Vince

[Lionel H.]

Thank you Ulcha and Vince for your great Imput ! By my side, I have discovered that the Unit could also be the 2nd Company/Aufklärungs-Abteilung 178 (78.I.D., later Sturmdivision)

I have to be cautious, but, considering the other - all classical - Pictures found together, it seems very possible. Then : A.A.178 or I.R.35....

[Lionel H.]

This great Information received for a few Days. The MEMORIAL COMPLEX "BREST HERO-FORTRESS" deserves for sure to be saluted for their great Labour of Remembrance !

My name is Alex, I'm from Belarus. I represent the Memorial Complex "Brest Hero-Fortress" which covers the events of the Brest Fortress siege by the Wehrmacht 45 ID in June, 1941 just when Germany invaded the USSR.
We are engaged in research work on the establishing the identities of the perished soviet soldiers and their relatives during the siege of the Fortress. But also we investigate the battles at the Brest Fortified Area (the so-called Molotov Line built in 1940-1941 along the soviet borders).
Surfing through the thematical forums I came across your thread here: http://dev.wehrmacht-awards.com/foru...ht=stalinlinie
In it you posted a number of photos of unknown origin, where Wehrmacht troops execute soviet soldiers after the assault on one of the bunkers.
It was identified that the bunker shown on the photos is very likely the artillery and machine-gun semicaponier named "Gorny" on Molotov Line to the south from Siemiatycze city in the present day Eastern Poland.
In this forrest: https://www.google.by/maps/@52.38632.../data=!3m1!1e3 You can check some photos from it in the right bottom corner of the map.
This group of bunkers was protected by the 3rd company, 17th detached machine-gun and artillery battalion of the Red Army. They were assaulted by the Wehrmacht 512 IR, 293 ID with the decisive attack on June 29, 1941.
As we can judge the first photos from the collection show the attack on the "Gorny" bunker, which had 45mm anti-tank gun and 7,62 Maxim machine-gun inside.
According to the 293 ID War Diary, the bunkers were damaged by the assault groups. They took POWs in the "Gorny" bunker: 1 politruk, 2 officers and 9 or 10 privates.
As it was written in the report, the politruk was shot after being interrogated.
We have several recollections of those who survived that war (servicemen and civilians). They state that the Red Army soldiers who were defending the bunkers in this forrest were headed by politruk V.K.Loktev. Some of them were the witnesses of his execution. However officially he is still listed as MIA.
I looked through your posted photos and compared them with politruk Loktev's pre-war ones we have in the museum.
We are 90% sure that politruk Loktev and the soviet POW shot in front of the bunker on your photos is the same man.
Next week we are going to criminal examination experts office so they could prove our assumptions.
If we are right, with your help we could sent the docs to Russian Military Forces Archieve in Podolsk to list V.K.Loktev as KIA on June 29, 1941. And later on to negotiate with the Polish authorities on organizing excavation works.
According the reminiscences, he was buried 50 meters next to the bunker. Loktev's wife, whom he forced to leave the fortification not long before the assault, survived the war, but never found her husband.
I clearly understand the rarity of the photos you have, and actually they become even rarer after this background story, but still, is there any possibility for our memorial to receive their scanned copies for the research work and mainly - for listing V.K.Loktev as a perished soviet soldier, not MIA?
From the recollections of the survived we know some other names as well, but can not identify these POWs at the moment.

[Sonderkommando]

Absolutely fantastic news!

The truth of the photo series is revealed, truly amazing stuff!

[byterock]

Well that solves that.

Obviously 1 war crime here 'The Commissar Order ' and now linked to an exact spot and time.

For the the other executions It could be argued that the 'No Quarter' tradition was in effect.

If the occupants of the bunker where given the opportunity to surrender, when all hope is lost, and didn't, any that survived the assault would be given 'No Quarter'.

Nothing in the Hague conventions of the time banning the above though by this time it was not really a tradition anymore.

[FrenchVolunteer]

Hi,

wow, amazing news !

Unfortunately it confirm the war crime...

Is it possible that Loktev get some additional awards for his heroism ?

And what about the girl standing outside ?

Could she be the wife of Loktev ?

If yes, it was just horrible to be in the same location as her murdered husband...

See You

Vince

[kevin john]

What a remarkable but sad story that came from a few old photos, the old addage if they could only speak ,well they did and what a story they told ,loved reading the story and seeing the photos thanks kevin.

[FrenchVolunteer]

Hi,

i think this is a very positive topic, with the help of a militaria picture collector, a war crime and the fate of an hero is now fully known.

Could this topic be pinned down ?

See You

Vince

[Max Wünsche]

Fascinating that they were able to deduce the location and the Political Officer who was executed all from these photos...

Yet another reason why forums such as these are priceless...!!!

[Lionel H.]

Fascinating that they were able to deduce the location and the Political Officer who was executed all from these photos...

Yet another reason why forums such as these are priceless...!!!

I share 100% this Point of View and other expressed before. Unbelievabe how such a Forum can bring together people sharing an enormous quantity of Informations, everybody in his Matter. Just Great !!

[mufasa]

they give me 2 Bielorusse FDC on Brest Fortress and browsing the site I found this extraordinary photos and their extraordinary identification....

Morover the the soldier oldier remembered in the stamp on the top right of the FDC he is the Political Comissar of the Fortness Yefim Moiseevich Fomin ,
even him k lled immediately after the capture

thanks! Oriano