Mauthausen-Studien 14: Reinhard Otto und Rolf Keller

Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) made up one of the largest victim groups of Nazi tyranny. While their deaths in the millions in thecamps of the Wehrmacht has now been studied, to date there has been no comprehensive analysis of the more than 100,000 Soviet POWs who were transferred to the SS concentration camps either to work or for execution. Several very different groups of POWs – from victims of the selections that targeted ‘ideologically unbearable’ soldiers to women serving in the Red Army and members of resistance groups – were handed over by the Wehrmacht to SS control. The Mauthausen-Gusen concentration camp complex played an important role in this context.

This study is the first to carry out an overarching analysis of the fate of Soviet POWs within the system of Nazi concentration camps and describes the background to their transfer to the SS. Using surviving sources from the Wehrmacht, Gestapo and SS, the study demonstrates the forms of cooperation between these institutions. There is also a comparative look at POWs from other states delivered up to the SS by the Wehrmacht, for example Spanish Republican fighters.

Reinhard Otto studied history, geography and English in Münster. He has published numerous works on Soviet POWs and led various projects at memorial sites with a focus on this victim group of the National Socialists. Rolf Keller studied history and German at the University of Hannover. He is a department head at the Stiftung Niedersächsiche Gedenkstätten and author of numerous publications on Nazi history, in particular on the POWs of the Wehrmacht.