ABSTRACT
Only recently has the tragic fate of Soviet soldiers taken prisoner by the enemy during the Great Patriotic War (1941–45) begun to attract the attention it so richly deserves. While there are compelling reasons why military historians in Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) should investigate this matter, the peoples of these states too should demand an explanation of their soldiers’ fate, since virtually everyone lost close relatives in the bloody war. Academics and historians have an obligation to investigate this topic, both because of its enforced obscurity and intrinsic interest and because Soviet authorities imposed a draconian silence about the subject for decades after the war’s end. In fact, throughout the ensuing 50 years, official Soviet historiography simply ignored and even failed to recognize the many millions of Red Army soldiers taken captive during the war, many of whom fell into German hands during the disastrous initial days and weeks of the war.
