Declassified materials Declassified documents about the first days of the Great Patriotic War. And what did Hitler explain to his comrades-in-arms?

During his speech, the Russian leader wondered if the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact was the only document signed by one of the European countries with Nazi Germany.

"It turns out that this is not at all the case. I will simply list them with your permission. So, "Declaration on the non-use of force between Germany and Poland"<…>Signed in 1934. In essence, this is a non-aggression pact," Putin began.

He went on to name the Anglo-German Naval Agreement of 1935. "Great Britain gave Hitler the opportunity to have his own navy, which was forbidden to him, in fact, or minimized as a result of the First World War. Then the Anglo-German Declaration of Chamberlain and Hitler, signed on September 30, 1938, agreed upon by them on the initiative of Chamberlain," the President pointed out.

Putin noted that this is not all. "The Franco-German Declaration. The declaration was signed on December 6, 1938 in Paris by the French and German Foreign Ministers Bonet and Ribbentrop. Finally, the treaty between the Republic of Lithuania and the German Reich. The treaty was signed on March 22, 1939 in Berlin<…>about the reunification of the Klaipeda region with the German Reich. And the non-aggression pact between the German Reich and Latvia of June 7, 1939," the Russian president said.

"Thus, the treaty between the USSR and Germany was the last in a series of those that were signed by other European countries, as if interested in maintaining peace in Europe. At the same time, I want to note that the USSR went to sign this document only after they had exhausted all possibilities, all proposals of the USSR on the creation of a unified security system were rejected<…>in Europe," he said.

Further, the president presented excerpts from some archival documents. Thus, he cited the words of the Prime Minister of France: "Not only can one not count on Polish support, but there is no certainty that Poland will not strike from the rear."

Further, Putin points out that French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier raised a number of questions with the Polish ambassador. “He asked him if the Poles would let the Soviet troops through. (Józef) Lukasiewicz answered in the negative. Daladier asked if they would let the Soviet airplanes through. Lukasiewicz said that the Poles would open fire on them. , if<…>Germany will declare war on France, the Polish representative replied no. Daladier replied that he sees no point in a Franco-Polish union," Putin said.

The President of Russia noted that this indicates that "the USSR was ready to provide assistance to Czechoslovakia, which Germany was going to rob." "But in the agreement between the USSR and Czechoslovakia, it was written that the USSR would do this only if France also fulfilled its obligations to Czechoslovakia. France tied its assistance to Czechoslovakia with support from Poland. Poland refused," he said.

Putin also presented data on what the Polish authorities did when Germany began to claim part of Czechoslovak territory. "They made a claim at the same time, just like Germany, for their share of the booty<…>demanded that they also be given certain part Czechoslovakia," Putin said.

He pointed out that the Poles were ready to use force as well. "There is also a specific document from the archive. From the report<…>about the preparation offensive operation to the Teshinskaya region and the training of troops. The Polish authorities prepared and sent militants to Czechoslovak territory to carry out sabotage and terrorist attacks, and were actively preparing for the division and occupation of Czechoslovakia," the Russian president said.

He then cited excerpts from a recording of a conversation between the German Ambassador to Poland and the Polish Foreign Minister. "In this document, the Polish Foreign Minister expressed the hope that, further quotation, "in the areas claimed by Poland, there will be no contradictions with German interests." That is, the division of Czechoslovak territory is taking place," Putin said.

"France and Great Britain did not support Czechoslovakia, which forced her to come to terms with this violence," the president added.

Putin also read out quotes from a September 22 report by the French Ambassador to Germany to French Foreign Minister Georges Bonnet. The document says that "the proposed secession of the territories would turn into a dismemberment" of Czechoslovakia, and notes that "this is exactly what the Reich needs."

"France and England, who tried to make concessions and, in every possible way to satisfy German demands, wanted to save the existence of the Czech state, find themselves in the face of a united front of three states seeking the partition of Czechoslovakia. The leaders of the Reich, who make no secret of the fact that their goal is to erase Czechoslovakia from the map of Europe, they immediately took advantage of the Polish and Hungarian demarches," Putin said.

He also drew attention to how the agreement between Hitler, Great Britain and France in 1938 was assessed by major world politicians at that time. "We can say that, with rare exceptions, they reacted very positively and optimistically. And only Winston Churchill honestly assessed the situation and called a spade a spade," he said.

Putin also quoted from the speech of People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Maxim Litvinov in the League of Nations in September 1938. "Avoiding war today and getting a sure and comprehensive war tomorrow, and even at the cost of the appetites of insatiable aggressors and the destruction of sovereign states, does not mean acting in the spirit of the League of Nations pact. That is, the Soviet Union condemned this event," the Russian president emphasized.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the signing of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in a special section on the agency's website "Fragile Peace on the Threshold of War". As follows from the annotations to the materials, they "reveal unknown details of world military policy on the eve of World War II." According to the wording of the authors of the project, the data presented "will allow visitors to get an idea of ​​how and why certain decisions were made in such a difficult military-political situation."

Among the documents laid out for public viewing are reports from the Deputy People's Commissar of Defense - Head of the Political Directorate of the Red Army to the Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated September 21 and 26, 1939, a memorandum from the Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army dated March 24, 1938 to the People's Commissar of Defense, as well as a description of the combat operations of the 2nd German Army Corps during the offensive against Poland in 1939, compiled by the captured Lieutenant General Hermann Boehme.

In the cipher telegrams of the head of the main political department of the Red Army, representatives of the country's leadership are informed about the "genuine enthusiasm" with which the Ukrainian population met the Soviet troops, about the disarmament of individual units of the Polish army by local residents, and their "great interest in the life of the USSR."

“The Ukrainian population welcomes our army as true liberators,” Mekhlis wrote to Joseph Stalin and Kliment from Proskurov (now Khmelnytsky. - "Gazeta.Ru"). - Even the advanced units, coming with a fight, are bombarded with flowers.

The population welcomes our fighters and commanders, takes out and tries to give our Red Army soldiers apples, pies, drinking water.

Many are crying for joy. The peasants of western Ukraine greet our units as liberators from the Polish lords and ask us not to let the Germans in.

Among other materials is a memo from the head of the Red Army Boris Shaposhnikov to People's Commissar Voroshilov dated March 24, 1938, concerning the current political situation in Europe and the Far East.

It contains an assessment of the military threat that various states could pose both independently and as part of military alliances and blocs.

The actions of the most probable adversary - the countries of the fascist bloc (Germany, Italy) and Japan and Poland supporting them are considered. It follows from the document that Poland was considered by Soviet military experts to be one of the main threats before the Second World War.

The Ministry of Defense emphasizes that the degree of importance and secrecy of the document is confirmed by the fact that "it does not resort to the help of a secretary-typist, but writes a 31-page report on its own."

In addition, the captured German General Boehme spoke in his testimony about the covert preparation of the Wehrmacht forces for the attack, which was disguised as exercises.

“The position of Great Britain and France in the pre-war period is described in Soviet military documents as vacillating. Such an approach, according to the top military leadership of the Red Army, allowed European countries to enter into agreements with the Nazis in the event of their war with the USSR and direct against Soviet Union even more military power.

Until August 1939, the USSR repeatedly sharply criticized Germany's aggression in Europe.

and offered a broad international coalition to counter this threat, as well as direct military assistance to a country that was subjected to a fascist invasion, ”such conclusions are given on the website of the Ministry of Defense based on published documents.

The department also presented in the thematic section the memoirs of the Soviet ambassador to London, Ivan Maisky, published in the Novoye Vremya magazine in 1966.

“Western diplomacy, Western politicians, historians and publicists in the post-war years made considerable efforts to conceal the real truth,” summed up the diplomat, who in early 1953 almost became a victim, who, under torture, forced Maisky to slander himself during interrogation and plead guilty to the infamous Article 58 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR.

In early June of this year, scans of the originals of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in Russian were made available to the public for the first time. In addition to the main document, a secret additional protocol dated August 23, 1939 and an explanation to the secret additional protocol dated August 28, 1939 were made public. Previously, only versions in German could be found on the Internet. At the same time, fragments of the Russian-language version of the secret protocols that accompanied the German-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Border of September 28, 1939 and corrected the spheres of interest of the two countries, agreed on August 23, were previously contained in the photobanks of Russian news agencies.

Last summer, declassified documents related to the liberation of Kaunas on August 1, 1944.

The fighting for the second largest city in Lithuania began on 31 July. The troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front under the command took part in the cleansing of Kaunas from the German invaders. The first battles began on the northeastern and eastern outskirts. The Kaunas operation was part of the Belarusian offensive operation "Bagration", which ended with the retreat of German troops from their positions.

Among other archival materials, the thematic section presents an act on the atrocities of the invaders and members of the Lithuanian organization "Smovchiki" ("Stranglers") in the town of Merech, Alytus district, Kaunas region, Lithuanian SSR, drawn up on July 17, 1944.

Sunday 22 June 1941 Nazi Germany and its allies attacked our country with an invasion army unprecedented in history: 190 divisions, more than 4,000 tanks, 47,000 guns and mortars, about 4,500 aircraft, up to 200 ships, a total of 5 million people.

The first blows were delivered by German aircraft at dawn. Hundreds of German bombers invaded the airspace of the Soviet Union. They bombarded airfields, areas where troops were stationed in the western border districts, railway junctions, communication lines and other important objects, as well as large cities in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova.

At the same time, Wehrmacht troops concentrated along the entire length of the State Border of the USSR opened heavy artillery fire on border outposts, fortified areas, formations and units of the Red Army stationed in its immediate vicinity. After artillery and aviation preparation, they crossed the State border of the USSR along its entire length - from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea. The Great Patriotic War began - the most difficult of all wars ever experienced by the country.

It is these events of the first day of the war that are illuminated by the documents presented at the exhibition "The Beginning of the Great Patriotic War".

Among them are orders, directives, operational reports, intelligence reports for June 22, 1941 of the top military leadership of the Soviet Union and the command of the fronts.

It is no less interesting to get acquainted with intelligence reports, reports and other documents of the German troops, reflecting the events of the first day of the war. Such two-sided coverage of the military situation at the beginning of the war will allow us to see the true picture, to feel its scale and tragedy.

Ministry of Defence Russian Federation during the days of the forum "Army-2019" for the first time presented archival documents from the times of the Great Patriotic War, which were previously kept under the heading "Top Secret". They completely refute the theories that have recently become popular in the West that the Soviet Union allegedly “occupied” the countries of Europe after the end of World War II.

Viktoria Kayaeva, deputy head of the research department of the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense, brought literally several suitcases of papers to the Zvezda studio, from which it was time to declassify, and now they are a real sensation. They documented that the Soviet Union, even at the time when the Great Patriotic War was going on, helped the inhabitants of Poland and Budapest with food.

“If we open this volume, we will see that there is a certificate on the implementation of the decision of the State Defense Committee of February 9, 1945 on sending grain products to the disposal of the provisional government of the Polish Republic. I note that the fighting is still ongoing. Here, directly in tons, it is indicated how much and what kind of material - cereals, flour, rye, that is, food - was sent to the Polish population. In March - 20 thousand tons, in April the same amount. There is an indication of those stations from where it was recovering. These are all stations in the depths of the Soviet Union,” says Victoria Kayaeva.

That is, even in those conditions when there was a famine in the Soviet Union, grain stocks and fields were destroyed, the country found funds to send food to Poland, which also survived the occupation.

Another document is dated May 29, 1945. It orders the provision of assistance to the Polish state in the organization of sowing work. It is documented that the population of Poland was supplied with seeds - so that the Poles could sow their fields and get a crop, which they themselves would then dispose of.

“Are there any other documents somewhere that testify that the “occupiers” bring seed material with them, provide food local population helping children. Do the "occupiers" act like this?" asks a representative of the archive of the Ministry of Defense.

The famous footage of Russian soldiers in Berlin drinking the milk of German children can now also be documented. At the Zvezda studio, Victoria Kayaeva presented a resolution of the military council of the 1st Belorussian Front, which carried out military operations in Berlin, on organizing the distribution of milk to the children of Berlin.

“At that time in Berlin in 1945 there were about a million children. And our servicemen provided milk for children up to 8 years old. That is, in this way, our military took care of the health and future of the nation of Germany. Decree "On the supply of milk to the children of the city of Berlin". Next comes a reference to the decision of the State Defense Committee of May 8, 1945. That is, the act of surrender has not yet been signed. And it is said that the supply of milk to children up to the age of 8 should be organized at the expense of: and then there is an indication of how this is all organized. The districts that will be responsible for the supply of milk have been assigned,” Victoria Kayaeva said.

Another archive volume declassified by the Ministry of Defense contains information about the assistance provided by the Soviet Union to almost all the liberated countries: Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia and Germany. So, on April 23, 1945, it was documented that Poland should be provided with assistance in the form of: cattle - 150 thousand heads, cotton - 20 thousand tons, unwashed wool - 2 thousand tons, large leather - 100 thousand to provide Poland's industry and organization jobs in the country.

Other documents deal with the provision of assistance by the Soviet Union to the countries of Eastern Europe. In particular, they contain a certificate from the headquarters of the rear of the Red Army and correspondence with the rear department of the fronts about the shipment of food to Budapest.

“It says that grain, sugar and meat were allocated in tons: grain - 15 tons, sugar - 2 tons, meat - 3 tons. At the same time, everything that was transferred and shipped was subject to the most severe control. This program could not be unfulfilled. Responsible for its implementation were appointed, and literally every kilogram transferred was under the personal responsibility of the persons who were responsible for it, ”explains the archive specialist.

With all these documents, according to Victoria Kayaeva, now every citizen of the Russian Federation or a foreigner will be able to get acquainted. This can be done upon request, coming to the reading room of the archive of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. According to the specialist, permission to declassify documents of the Great Patriotic War is given according to plan, as certain periods of time pass. So any attempts by the West to falsify the history of the war times will suffer a crushing defeat over and over again, and all accusations against Russia and doubts about its role in the Great Patriotic War will remain groundless.

Declassified documents about the first days of the war: directives of the People's Commissariat of Defense (NPO) of the USSR (including a copy of directive No. 1 of June 22, 1941), orders and reports from commanders of military units and formations, orders for awards, trophy maps and decrees of the country's leadership.

On June 22, 1941, a directive from the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR Semyon Timoshenko was handed over from Moscow. A few hours earlier, soldiers of the 90th border detachment of the Sokal commandant's office detained a German soldier of the 221st regiment of the 15th Wehrmacht infantry division, Alfred Liskov, who had swum across the border river Bug. He was taken to the city of Vladimir-Volynsky, where during interrogation he said that at dawn on June 22 german army will go over to the offensive along the entire length of the Soviet-German border. The information was passed on to the higher command. ​

Directive text:

“To the commanders of the 3rd, 4th, 10th armies I convey the order of the people's commissar of defense for immediate execution:

1. During June 22-23, 1941, a sudden attack by the Germans on the fronts of the LVO is possible (Leningrad military district. - RBC), PribOVO (Baltic Special Military District, transformed into the North-Western Front. - RBC), ZapOVO (Western Special Military District, transformed into the Western Front. - RBC), KOVO (Kiev Special Military District, transformed into the South-Western Front - RBC), OdVO (Odessa Military District - RBC). The attack may start with provocative actions.
2. The task of our troops is not to succumb to any provocative actions that could cause major complications.
3. I order:

• during the night of June 22, 1941, covertly occupy the firing points of fortified areas on the state border;
• before dawn on June 22, 1941, disperse all aviation, including military aviation, over field airfields, carefully disguise it;
• put all units on combat readiness without additional lifting of assigned staff. Prepare all measures to darken cities and objects.

Do not conduct any other activities without special orders.

The directive was signed by Dmitry Pavlov, Commander of the Western Front, Vladimir Klimovskikh, Chief of Staff of the Western Front, Alexander Fominykh, member of the Military Council of the Western Front.

In July, Pavlov, Klimovskikh, the chief of communications of the Western Front, Major General Andrei Grigoryev, and the commander of the 4th Army, Major General Alexander Korobkov, were accused of inaction and the collapse of command and control, which led to a breakthrough in the front, and were sentenced by the Supreme Court of the USSR to death. The sentence was put into effect in July 1941. After Stalin's death they were rehabilitated.

Order text:

“To the military councils of the LVO, PribOVO, ZapOVO, KOVO, OdVO.

On June 22, 1941, at 4 o'clock in the morning, German aviation, without any reason, raided our airfields along the western border and bombarded them. At the same time, German troops opened artillery fire in different places and crossed our border.

In connection with the unheard-of arrogance of the German attack on the Soviet Union, I order ... "<...>

<...>“The troops must use all their strength and means to attack the enemy forces and destroy them in areas where they have violated the Soviet border.

From now on, until further notice by the ground forces, do not cross the border.

Reconnaissance and combat aviation to establish the places of concentration of enemy aviation and the grouping of its ground forces.<...>

<...>“With powerful strikes by bomber and attack aircraft, destroy aircraft at enemy airfields and bomb the main groupings of his ground forces. Air strikes should be carried out to the depth of German territory up to 100-150 km.

Bomb Koenigsberg (today Kaliningrad. - RBC) and Memel (naval base and port in Lithuania. — RBC).

Do not make raids on the territory of Finland and Romania until special instructions.

Signatures: Timoshenko, Malenkov (Georgy Malenkov - member of the Main Military Council of the Red Army. - RBC), Zhukov (Georgy Zhukov - Chief of the General Staff of the Red Army, Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR. - RBC).

"Tov. Vatutin (Nikolai Vatutin - Zhukov's first deputy. - RBC). Bomb Romania.

Trophy card "Plan Barbarossa"

In 1940-1941. Germany developed a plan of attack on the USSR, involving a "blitzkrieg". The plan and operation were named after King Frederick I of Germany and Holy Roman Emperor "Barbarossa".

From a brief combat history of the 158th Fighter Aviation Regiment with a description of the exploits of junior lieutenants Kharitonov and Zdorovtsev

Pilots Pyotr Kharitonov and Stepan Zdorovtsev were the first soldiers to be awarded the titles of Heroes of the Soviet Union during the war. On June 28, on their I-16 fighters, for the first time during the defense of Leningrad, they used ramming strikes against German aircraft. On July 8, they were awarded the title.

Kharitonov's schemes of action

After the war, Pyotr Kharitonov continued to serve in the Air Force. In 1953 he graduated from the Air Force Academy, in 1955 he retired. He lived in Donetsk, where he worked at the headquarters of the city's Civil Defense.

Scheme of Zdorovtsev's action

After receiving the title of Hero of the Soviet Union on July 8, 1941, Zdorovtsev flew out on reconnaissance on July 9. On the way back in the Pskov region, he entered into battle with German fighters. His plane was shot down, Zdorovtsev died.

Western Special Military District. Intelligence Brief #2

On June 22, 1941, the 99th Rifle Division stood in the Polish city of Przemysl, which was one of the first to be captured by German troops. On June 23, units of the division managed to recapture part of the city and restore the border.

“Reconnaissance report No. 2 shtadiv (division headquarters. — RBC) 99 forest Boratyche (a village in the Lviv region. — RBC) 19:30 June 22, 1941

The enemy is forcing the San River (a tributary of the Vistula, flows through the territory of Ukraine and Poland. — RBC) in the Baric region, occupied Stubenko (a settlement in Poland. - RBC) to an infantry battalion. Up to the infantry battalion, it occupies Gurechko (a village on the territory of Ukraine. — RBC), small equestrian groups at 16:00 appeared in Kruvniki (a settlement in Poland. - RBC). At 13:20, the Przemysl hospital was occupied by an unidentified enemy.

Accumulation up to an infantry regiment on the opposite bank of the San River in the Vyshatse area. Accumulation of infantry / small groups / 1 km south of Gurechko.

16:00 to the artillery division fired from the Dusovce region (a village in Poland. — RBC). Up to three battalions of large-caliber artillery at 19:30 fired at Medyka m. (a village in Poland. — RBC) from Maykovce, Dunkovychky, Vypattse districts.

Conclusions: on the Grabovets-Przemysl front, more than one PD (infantry division. - RBC), reinforced by artillery / unspecified number.

Presumably the main enemy grouping on the right flank of the division.

It is necessary to establish: enemy action in front of the right [inaudible] division.

Printed in 5 copies.

Signatures: Colonel Gorokhov, Chief of Staff of the 99th Rifle Division, Captain Didkovsky, Head of the Intelligence Department.