Were the Soviet soldiers marauders?

I write down the words of my 90-year-old grandmother Alexandra Samoilenko. We sit in the kitchen in her apartment in Lviv, drink tea and talk about life. We say that a person must preserve his dignity not only for his own sake, but also for the sake of his children and all his descendants, so that they can later remember their ancestors, if not with pride, but at least not with shame. In addition, grandmother believes that the descendants have to pay for their sins in varying degrees.

Great Patriotic War, my grandmother graduated from the 4 of the Ukrainian Front with the rank of senior sergeant. During the war, she met and married my grandfather, a colonel in the staffing and combat service department of the troops.

The grandfather was an important person; in the liberated cities of Europe, he was provided with rooms in good houses and “decent” families. Grandmother told me that not all Poles and Czechs were happy to host Soviet soldiers. Although the majority of the population was very friendly and open, there were those who were afraid of Russians, behaved “wildly”, hid valuable things and hid themselves. But these measures, according to my grandmother, were in vain, since none of the Soviet servicemen dared “lay hands” on other people's property. Such actions were punished by execution in the Soviet army. Yes, and hide the stolen property of the Soviet soldier, returning from Europe, it was impossible. Therefore, no one took anything. Even in abandoned or bombed apartments.

Grandma recalls how in one broken, half-burnt Polish apartment she saw a Singer sewing machine. For her, it was like seeing a miracle that she had once heard, but did not even want to see. She very much asked her grandfather to take this car with her, but her grandfather did not allow it. He said: “We are not thieves, the owners can return. And if not the owners, then the neighbors can see how we take someone else's. It is unacceptable!"

The quartering of the military was carried out by a special unit, which revealed “safe” places to live. In these houses and apartments, the military settled not permanently, but permanently. It so happened that after the end of the war, the grandmother and grandfather returning by the same route were housed in the apartment of the old polka, in which they had already stood at the offensive. The grandmother noticed that in this apartment all things remained in their places: the expensive service, tablecloths and paintings, and even a staple dressing gown continued to hang in the bathroom.

Soviet soldiers left Europe with a much more valuable cargo - the joy of victory. And let most of them have nothing left after the German defeats in their native land, no one had any thought to compensate for these losses with other people's property.

Soviet people - the liberators of Europe were inspired by the feeling of incredible delight and responsibility for everything that happens around. The concept of honor was raised to the highest degree and rang like a taut string. When my grandmother tells me about it, it seems to me that all of them were then under the influence of a strong dose of adrenaline and, perhaps, in part, they overtook the complex of God as people who saved the world from death.

Well, so be it. I think it was not even a complex. They really were gods - great, strong and just. And for us they are now like gods - unattainable, and more and more are turning into a legend.

Comments

[Ivan]

Then another owner beat in Russia, and now the toilets are stealing,

[Vilnius]

I was born on the border with Prussia. Surely, for violence and robbery the Red Army men were sometimes shot in the wrong place with ostentatious reprisals. I heard a curse on a girl who complained that "this one" wanted to rape her. mass robbery and rape of women. Lithuania was filled with German children. Because of hunger and "I take revenge", the Germans took their children out on the road and showed "nach Litauen". Whenever the Germans will remember this ... ...

[d.gksueyjd]

A soldier in battle has no time for "tsatzok": cartridges, water, food, you can't put a lot in a duffel bag. Only those who could be taken out and who were not checked could be engaged in looting.

[rocketman]

but some marshals stole trophies in wagons. Read from Bushkov ..

[Aleksandr1971]

I believe that it was right to properly clean the countries occupied by the Red Army from property (except for Czechoslovakia and Bulgaria). And without that, the poor people of the USSR lost a lot of property and had to compensate for the losses by the right of the winner and moral. And first of all, this is about soldiers - those who risked their lives. History teaches that smart trophies inspire an army, and a victorious army fights better when its commander generously endows it with captured good. What would be the successes of Alexander the Great, Caesar, the prophet Muhammad, Genghis Khan or the conquistadors if their soldiers would fight for food? Their hikes failed in from the start. Disorder and disorganized robbery, on the other hand, weaken the army. So, at the Battle of Megiddo, Thutmose III could not finish off the enemy because the Egyptian army, instead of organizing the pursuit of a broken coalition, began to rob the enemy camp. Napoleon's army decomposed in Moscow. From this the conclusion is - every trophy business should be conducted on a rational basis - firstly, it is necessary to thoroughly clean the enemy, his lands and population, so that he could not rise for a long time or even rise (as the Assyrians did not rise after the defeat by Medes and Babylon) , on the other hand, combat units should be engaged in military operations instead of robbery and at the same time know that when sharing trophies they will not be deprived. This is what the Romans did during their heyday. As for the Red Army, its soldiers received the right to send one parcel per month 5 kg, and officers 10 kg. In fact, the generals sent entire trucks home. But still it’s not enough. Is it for a devastated soldier's family 5 kg. trophies per month will improve something? Of course not, unless the package contains precious metals. Antiques. Therefore, do not brag about the fact that our veterans brought home almost nothing. On the contrary, this must be regretted.