The Struggle of Soviet Prisoners of War Against the Nazi Occupiers of Sevastopol in 1943–1944

Abstract

The paper deals with one of the little-studied issues in the history of the resistance movement during the Great Patriotic War, namely, the participation of Soviet prisoners of war in the anti-fascist struggle in the ranks of the Communist underground organization in occupied Sevastopol in 1943–1944. The purpose of this article was to study the formation and structure of the aforementioned organization, as well as the involvement in the antifascist struggle of Soviet prisoners of war, and to identify the effect of their activities on the general course of the anti-Hitler struggle in occupied Crimea. The objects of the research are the underground group headed by Nikolai Ignatyevich Tereshchenko (pseudonym Mikhailov), which was part of the Communist underground organization, and the places where it carried out its anti-fascist operations: camps for Soviet prisoners of war around Sevastopol and in the city itself, especially after Tereshchenko’s escape from German captivity. The study was performed within the framework of the large-scale All-Russian educational project “Without Statute of Limitations” aimed at preserving historical memory. Along with providing insights into the tragedy of the civilian population of the USSR during the Great Patriotic War, the paper highlights the heroic deeds of the anti-fascist resistance movement in the temporarily occupied territory of the Soviet Union and demonstrates the contribution of individuals and groups to the defeat of Nazi Germany and its satellites. The author used documents that were declassified in the course of this project by the Federal Security Service Office for the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol and transferred to the Sevastopol Archives. The analysis revealed a significant feature of the Sevastopol underground: prisoners of war were one of the most important components of the Communist underground organization, performing risky and dangerous tasks deep behind enemy lines. According to the plan, in the event of a Black Sea Fleet landing, it was the prisoners of war who were supposed to be the striking force and spark an armed uprising in the occupied city. Consequently, it is concluded that Soviet prisoners of war were one of the combat weapons teams of the Sevastopol underground movement, which carried out various operations: reconnaissance, agitation and propaganda, as well as sabotage and subversion deep behind enemy lines.