Soviet repressions against former prisoners of war

During and after World War II, the Soviet Union implemented strict policies toward its prisoners of war (POWs), treating their capture or encirclement by enemy forces as an act of treason. Issued in August 1941, Order No. 270 classified commanders and political officers who surrendered as deserters, subjecting them to execution and punitive measures against their families. As the war progressed, Soviet authorities reassessed their stance, distinguishing between voluntary collaborators and those captured involuntarily. By late 1944, repatriation policies dictated that freed POWs would either be returned to military service or handed over to the NKVD. At the Yalta Conference, the Western Allies agreed to repatriate Soviet citizens, regardless of their wishes.

After the war, former POWs underwent screening in NKVD filtration camps, where most were cleared, but many faced forced labor or imprisonment. Official Soviet records indicate that the majority were reintegrated into society, while a significant minority—particularly those accused of collaboration—were sentenced to forced labor camps or penal military units. In 1955, an amnesty released most remaining collaborators, though former POWs were denied veteran status and benefits for decades. Historians debate the full extent of Soviet reprisals against repatriated soldiers, with some arguing that nearly all returning POWs were subjected to forced labor or imprisonment. In 1995, Russia formally recognized former Soviet POWs as veterans, granting them equal rights with other war participants.