Price of six hundred thousand lives 75 years ago the Red Army liberated Warsaw

the Ministry of defence has published documents dealing with the liberation of Warsaw from Nazi forces. The compilation includes, as previously declassified materials, and documents which have never before been published. The operation of the red Army ended 75 years ago — January 17, 1945.

Hundreds of documents – from the front and rear. The atrocities of the concentration camps and the unbearable hardships at the front. The red Army’s losses, victories and awards, help for the liberated Poland. On each sheet of fate.

“the incident that occurred in the town of Sudova Vyshnia. The Germans gathered in June 43, the year of all the remaining surviving Jews – about 1500 people. They robbed them. Women and children forced to dig their own graves, buried alive, and all the men had been shot,” says Victoria Kaaawa, Deputy head of the research Department of the Central archive of the Ministry of defense of Russia.

Not surprisingly, the poles greeted the red army with undisguised joy. Behind five years of horror, the Nazis destroyed more than five and a half million citizens of Poland. This data is the Institute of national remembrance. The number of victims — about 3 million Jews.

“the Residents pelted our soldiers and officers with flowers. Carried to the road beer, milk, water,” — says Victoria Kaaawa, Deputy head of the research Department of the Central archive of the Ministry of defense of Russia.

the Famous Vistula-Oder operation. On 12 January 1945. Two weeks ahead of schedule — this Stalin requested Churchill: on the Western front of the allies are not going well. The operation involved more than two million red army soldiers. At the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives, they will sweep away German front. The declassified reports, one after another, the victory of the red Army. “The 61st army, in cooperation with other parts of the front during the 3 days, breaking through heavily fortified defensive zone opponent, flanking maneuver came on the enemy’s communications West varshavy…”

the Soviet soldiers just kicked the Nazis from Poland, troops were tasked to provide urgent assistance to the population. Declassified archives – amazing figures. From August 1944 to may 1945, the Red Army gave the people of Poland, as we would say, humanitarian aid — 138 thousand tons of grain, four thousand tons of flour. Meat, sugar, potatoes. A separate order of Stalin and equipment, including agricultural. And even clothing, underwear, shoes. The restored Railways, roads, bridges.

“we Have a starving population, we can supply the Red Army, and we sent seed grain, flour, only one Warsaw — 60 thousand tons”, — said Mikhail Myagkov, scientific Director of the Russian military historical society.

the Vistula-Oder operation was preceded by the Warsaw uprising, which was led from London, the so-called immigrant government. Main goal was to seize Warsaw before the arrival of the red Army. A hastily prepared operation was doomed to failure. Victims of political adventure began almost 200 thousand poles.

“Only ten percent had a weapon, and that is mainly improvised. The Germans were aware of all the plans. They repulsed all institutions. Including strategic locations such as railway stations and bridges over the Vistula. And the worst thing is – no one warned the Soviet command to begin the operation. In Moscow learned of the uprising from the reports of Reuters,” — says Alexey Denisov, chief editor of the TV channel “History”.

While the Polish government in London, clumsily played the politics, the Red Army repulsed powerful counter-attacks three armored divisions near Warsaw, thus finding the strength to send food, arms to rebels, support them with artillery. At the same time the home Army were active in anti-Soviet propaganda. Here is an excerpt from the declassified interrogation report Soviet spy. “Propaganda of the home Army claimed that the Red Army will hold the mass removal of poles from Poland to Siberia and the colonization of the Polish areas of the Russian.”

However, according to the documents, was on account of the home Army in quotes “exploits” and more serious. “All the Ukrainian people who remained in the city, were cut or shot. Forces Polish corps security was also destroyed the remnants of the Jews who did not manage to destroy the Germans”.

as for the plans, it was just the opposite. Official Warsaw in the 30-ies were shared with Germany the USSR. “The Minister of foreign Affairs of Poland Jozef Beck was one of the key figures in the communication and discussion of behind-the-scenes plans by the division of Europe and the Soviet Union with the leadership of Nazi Germany. In 1939, he says Ribbentrop, “if war breaks out, we expect the Ukraine and access to the Black sea”, — says Alexey Denisov, chief editor of the TV channel “History”

the outcome is known. The red Army lost in the battles for Poland, 600 thousand soldiers, and now in this country, the demolition of the monuments to the red army and the poles, who fought with the Nazis. And in the Museum of the war in liberated Warsaw, the red army called the occupier.