Igor Petrov - “at least not right before our eyes” (extracts from the GA North Military Log)
Below are, in my translations, extracts from the combat logs of the GA Sever from the end of August to the beginning of November 1941 of the year regarding plans for Leningrad.
Microfilms with these KTBs are in NARA (T311 Roll 51, Roll 53, Roll 54), I used scanned materials posted on the site maparchive.ru (which I thank). If someone for some conspiracy reasons is not satisfied with the copies on this site, he, of course, has the right to order his own in NARA.
It should be noted that the main content of KTB is the planning and implementation of military operations, so political questions fall on its pages rarely and, of course, are considered through, so to speak, a military monocle. A rather active discussion of the issue of the fate of Leningrad in the KTB data should probably be linked to the personality of the Northern Fleet Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Leeb. The documents show some fronde regarding the instructions of the OKW and Hitler, however, the choice against the direct physical extermination of the civilian population of Leningrad, but in favor of his death by starvation is unlikely to put the field marshal in the ranks of major humanists. A few months later Leeb was removed from his post as commander in chief.
original 28.08
translation
OKH regarding operational plans of GA Sever
2) The complete encirclement of the city of Leningrad as the ultimate goal must be achieved through a ring, which is compressed as close as possible around the city and thereby saves power. To avoid their own major losses, the city itself should not be attacked by infantry; after the destruction of the air defense and enemy fighters, the city should be deprived of all viability and defenses through the destruction of hydraulic structures, warehouses, light sources and electricity; military structures and enemy defense forces must be destroyed by fire and shelling.
OKH will agree with the Finnish army, which should take the environment from the north and north-east, to act on the basis of the same principles.
02.09 original
translation
Order Army Group Command 16 Army
In order to cut off all the supply routes to Leningrad from the outside and in the end by means of starvation to make the city surrender, it is necessary for the Schmidt group to break through the Mga station to Lake Ladoga.
03.09 original
translation
Keitel's message to the chief of staff
The Fuhrer and OKW do not see any obstacles to the shelling and bombardment of Leningrad.
05.09 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
Regarding the treatment of the city of Leningrad, it is stipulated that Leningrad should not be taken, but only surrounded. I expressed the opinion that if Leningrad, possibly driven by famine, surrenders, then at least [it should be] deprived of the opportunity to defend itself again, i.e. all soldiers and military service must be taken prisoner, and all weapon handed over. Then at Leningrad it will be possible to leave only a small part of the forces, the remaining forces will be freed.
15.09 original
translation
Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group - OKH
He asks to give an indication of what should be done in the case of a proposal to surrender Leningrad. In his opinion, it is necessary at least to deprive the city of all its means of protection. The best situation will be ensured by the military occupation of the city (1 army corps of two divisions, one SS police division, until further instructions, an external military cordon around the city), it is also urgently needed from military and economic considerations: most of the 18 army will be freed.
17.09 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
Ostensibly Leningrad is overflowing with refugees from Krasnogvardeisk, Krasnoe Selo and Kolpina. It seems that bread rates are already decreasing. I cannot exclude that after regrouping, when the front line is re-formed, we will quickly move in the direction of Leningrad. What to do with the city itself, whether to accept its surrender, whether to destroy it with fire, or starve it — unfortunately, there are no decisions of the Fuhrer on this score.
18.09 original
translation
Chief of General Staff Chief of Staff of Army Group
He, like the High Command of the Ground Forces, is aware of the difficulties facing the Army Group North. They believe that cleaning Leningrad will succeed only through starvation, and not by force of arms.
18.09 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
During the visit of Field Marshal Keitel, it was discussed: the Finns will only make significant progress when we attack that bank of the Neva. What should happen to Leningrad in the case of surrender, the Führer keeps to himself, he will inform about it only when the surrender occurs.
18.09 original
translation
From the conversation of the liaison officer of the OKH with the Chief of the General Staff
Surrounding Leningrad and possible surrender.
Colonel-General Halder recommends using all means to protect the ring around the city from breakthrough attempts (mines, barriers), since undoubtedly serious attempts to break through should be considered.
In no case should the capitulation of Leningrad be accepted without the knowledge of the OKH. If there is a proposal for delivery, you should only find out: who offers what he offers, what are his powers?
Based on these materials, the OKH should make a decision as soon as possible.
In addition to surrounding Leningrad, the destruction of the remnants of 8 of the Russian army in the area west of Leningrad is urgent.
20.09 original
translation
Report of the Chief of Staff
Regarding the city of Leningrad, the same principle remains: we do not enter the city and cannot feed the city. But Field Marshal Keitel thinks he has found a way to expel women and children to the east1. No final decisions have been made yet.
25.09 original
translation
Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group - OKH
Army Group North with its remaining forces is no longer able to fully continue the attack on Leningrad. Thus, systematic artillery bombardment of the city is eliminated. To force the city to surrender, only bombing and starvation remain.
The experience of other large cities says that one should not expect that the bombardment will produce a significant impact, besides the forces of the Luftwaffe after the announced withdrawal [of parts to another front] are very weak, and their tasks remain multilateral.
Izmor has been called into question, as the steamboat traffic on Lake Ladoga operates, besides, outside the city north of the Neva to the former Russian-Finnish border there are land areas up to 75 km in depth suitable for harvesting potatoes and grain.
If starvation should bring results, the seizure of these squares and harbors on Lake Ladoga is necessary. Due to lack of strength, Army Group North is not capable of this. Only advancing the Finns against the now weakened enemy will allow them to take land from the Russians outside the city and the shore of Lake Ladoga.
12.10 original
translation
Order OKV (3)
The Fuhrer decided that the capitulation of Leningrad, even if offered by the enemy, would not be accepted. The moral grounds of such a measure are clear to the whole world. In Kiev, the bombings with a clockwork represented a tremendous danger to the troops, in Leningrad this should be considered on a much larger scale. The fact that Leningrad is mined and will be defended to the last person, the Soviet-Russian radio reported itself. We should expect major epidemics.
No German soldier should enter the city. Those who want to leave the city through our front line, drive back by fire. Small unclosed holes [in a cordon], which will allow the flow of the population to get deeper into Russia, on the contrary should only be welcomed. And for all other cities, the rule applies that before taking them they must be destroyed by artillery fire and attacks aviation, and the population should be forced to flee. It is irresponsible to put the life of German soldiers at stake to save Russian cities from the danger of fires or to feed their population at the expense of the German homeland. The chaos in Russia will become greater, our management and exploitation of the occupied territories the easier, the larger the population of Soviet-Russian cities will take flight into the depths of Russia. This will of the Führer should be brought to the attention of all commanders.
Adding the OKH: In order to make it easier for the troops to hold these events, the current environment of Leningrad should be narrowed down to places where it is absolutely necessary for tactical reasons.
24.10 original
translation
Memo on the trip of the first officer of the General Staff (Ia) to the location of the 18 armyи
2) In all the units visited, the question was asked how to behave if the city of Leningrad offered its surrender and how to behave in relation to the flow of hungry people who would rush out of the city. It seemed that the troops were very concerned about this issue. The commander of the 58 Infantry Division emphasized that he had passed an order to his division, which he received from above and which complies with the instructions that such attempts to break through should open fire to strangle them in the bud. From his point of view, the division will execute this order. But will she not lose her temper, when, with repeated breakthroughs, she will have to shoot at women, children, and defenseless old men, he doubts. It is worth noting his remark that the general situation in the sector of the front, which is increasingly aggravated on its flank in Uritsk, is less feared than in the situation with the civilian population. Such is the mood not only of him, but of his subordinates. The troops are fully aware that we cannot provide food for millions of people surrounded in Leningrad without this worsening the food situation in our own country. For this reason, the German soldier must prevent such breakthroughs, including with the use of weapons. Well, this can easily lead to the fact that the German soldier loses his stability, i.e. and after the war, such acts of violence will not frighten him.
The command and the troops are trying in every way to find a different solution to the issue, but no suitable option has yet been found.
3) The civilian population still living there is evacuated from the fighting areas both on the ring around Leningrad and on the coast south of Kronstadt. This is necessary because the population there cannot be provided with food. The conclusion is that the civilian population in groups moves into the rear area and there it is distributed among the villages. Despite this, a large part of the civilian population went south on their own to find new homes and opportunities for existence. Along the highway from Krasnogvardeisk to Pskov there is a stream of thousands of refugees, mainly women, children and the elderly. It is impossible to establish where they go, what they eat. It seems that these people must die of starvation sooner or later. And this picture makes a depressing impression on the German soldiers, leading construction work on this road.
The 18 army command draws attention to the fact that leaflets are still being dropped on Leningrad, including those calling for desertion. This is not consistent with the indication that defectors should no longer be accepted. While defectors-soldiers (this is 100-120 people per day) are still being accepted. But the content of the leaflets should be changed.
27.10 original
translation
Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group to the Commander of the 18 Army
The question of Leningrad and especially of the local civilian population is strongly occupied by the commander in chief. The Ground Forces Command offered to arrange minefields in front of their own positions in order to save the troops from direct combat with the civilian population. If the red troops near Leningrad and Kronstadt surrender, surrender their weapons and will be taken prisoner, the commander-in-chief does not see any further need to maintain the encirclement of the city. Troops will be deployed to the quartering areas. And in this case, most of the population will die, but at least not right before our eyes. The opportunity to bring part of the population onto the road to Volkhovstroy should be deliberated.
09.11 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
After the capture of Tikhvin, the waterway through Lake Ladoga was cut for Leningrad. The enemy has the ability to communicate with the outside world only through aviation and radio. In any case, the further supply of supplies in large quantities is impossible, since the only area through which it can still pass - the area between Tikhvin and Sviryu - does not have major highways and railways. Tikhvin was taken two months after Shlisselburg, thus, after the cutting of supply routes by land, which occurred then, the supply routes through Lake Ladoga are now cut.
There are no changes in the operational plans.
1 - Wed
Reporting Leningrad.
Features:
1. occupy the city, i.e. behave as with other Russian major cities.
Reject, since we will then be responsible for the food [of the population]
2. To surround the city with a dense ring, preferably a fence, through which electricity is fired, and which will be guarded by machine-gunners.
Disadvantages: out of two million people, the weak will die of starvation in the foreseeable time, while the strong will take possession of the food and stay alive. The danger of epidemics that spread to our front. In addition, the question is whether it is possible to demand from our soldiers to shoot at women and children trying to escape.
3. Women, children, old people, lead out through the gate in the ring of the environment, the rest leave to die of hunger.
a) The transfer of Volkhov for the enemy front line is a theoretically good solution, but practically hardly feasible. Who should hold and direct hundreds of thousands? Where then is the Russian front?
b) If we refuse to withdraw from the Russian front, then those released will be distributed over the [occupied] territory.
In any case, the disadvantage is that the starving population of Leningrad is a hotbed of epidemics and that the strongest will live in the city for a long time.
4. After moving forward the Finns and the complete encirclement of the city, again go beyond the Neva and transfer the terrain to the north of this site to the Finns.
The Finns unofficially stated that they would like to have the Neva as a state border, but Leningrad should disappear. As a political decision is good. But the question of the population of Leningrad through the Finns can not be solved. We must do this.
Outcome and proposal:
There is no satisfactory solution. Army Group North must, however, in its time receive an order that we will actually fulfill.
Offered
a) We state to the whole world that Stalin defends Leningrad as a fortress. Thus, we are forced to treat the city and its entire population as a military facility. Nevertheless, we are taking a step towards: letting a friend of the people of Roosevelt after the capitulation of Leningrad supply the residents who were not captured with food through neutral ships under the supervision of the Red Cross and allow these ships free navigation (the proposal cannot be accepted, of course, only from a propaganda point of view)
b) We hermetically cordon off Leningrad and destroy the city as far as possible with the help of artillery and aviation (initially aviation is weak!)
c) when the city is ripe due to the terror and the beginning famine, separate gates will open and unarmed ones will be released. As far as possible, pushing deep into Russia. The rest is forced to be distributed across the [occupied] territory.
d) the rest of the "garrison of the fortress" for the whole winter is left to itself. In the spring, we then enter the city (if the Finns enter earlier, there are no objections), we deduce everything that exists, deep into Russia or into captivity, leveled Leningrad with the earth with the help of explosives and transfer the territory north of the Neva to the Finns.
(Report from the L Department of OKW / WFSt from 21.09., Cited by W.Wette / G.Ueberschär "Unternehmen Barbarossa")
2 - The message corresponds to paragraph 3 of the order of the Chief of Staff of the Navy.
3 - In the original order of Jodl from 07.10. (Nuremberg document 123-C) says about the "capitulation of Leningrad, and later of Moscow"
A few comments.
1. Obviously, the bombings in Kiev are used by Hitler as an excuse, but not as a reason. He repeatedly expressed his intention to level Leningrad to the ground, even when Kiev was deep in the Soviet rear (see, for example, an entry in KTB OKW from 08.07.1941)
2. With all the fluctuations in tactical issues (what to do with prisoners of war and the population and the related discord), the three main points of the program remain virtually unchanged.
a) Leningrad hermetically cordoned off, but not to enter the city
b) there is no interest in preserving the city
c) the civilian population will not be supplied with food
3. The technical implementation of plans to push the civilian population out of the city to the east and even "inland" is questioned by the authors themselves. In any case, it is clear that at the end of the fall / winter for hundreds of thousands of hungry people it would be a death march.
Microfilms with these KTBs are in NARA (T311 Roll 51, Roll 53, Roll 54), I used scanned materials posted on the site maparchive.ru (which I thank). If someone for some conspiracy reasons is not satisfied with the copies on this site, he, of course, has the right to order his own in NARA.
It should be noted that the main content of KTB is the planning and implementation of military operations, so political questions fall on its pages rarely and, of course, are considered through, so to speak, a military monocle. A rather active discussion of the issue of the fate of Leningrad in the KTB data should probably be linked to the personality of the Northern Fleet Commander-in-Chief Field Marshal Leeb. The documents show some fronde regarding the instructions of the OKW and Hitler, however, the choice against the direct physical extermination of the civilian population of Leningrad, but in favor of his death by starvation is unlikely to put the field marshal in the ranks of major humanists. A few months later Leeb was removed from his post as commander in chief.
original 28.08
translation
OKH regarding operational plans of GA Sever
2) The complete encirclement of the city of Leningrad as the ultimate goal must be achieved through a ring, which is compressed as close as possible around the city and thereby saves power. To avoid their own major losses, the city itself should not be attacked by infantry; after the destruction of the air defense and enemy fighters, the city should be deprived of all viability and defenses through the destruction of hydraulic structures, warehouses, light sources and electricity; military structures and enemy defense forces must be destroyed by fire and shelling.
OKH will agree with the Finnish army, which should take the environment from the north and north-east, to act on the basis of the same principles.
***
02.09 original
translation
Order Army Group Command 16 Army
In order to cut off all the supply routes to Leningrad from the outside and in the end by means of starvation to make the city surrender, it is necessary for the Schmidt group to break through the Mga station to Lake Ladoga.
***
03.09 original
translation
Keitel's message to the chief of staff
The Fuhrer and OKW do not see any obstacles to the shelling and bombardment of Leningrad.
***
05.09 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
Regarding the treatment of the city of Leningrad, it is stipulated that Leningrad should not be taken, but only surrounded. I expressed the opinion that if Leningrad, possibly driven by famine, surrenders, then at least [it should be] deprived of the opportunity to defend itself again, i.e. all soldiers and military service must be taken prisoner, and all weapon handed over. Then at Leningrad it will be possible to leave only a small part of the forces, the remaining forces will be freed.
***
15.09 original
translation
Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group - OKH
He asks to give an indication of what should be done in the case of a proposal to surrender Leningrad. In his opinion, it is necessary at least to deprive the city of all its means of protection. The best situation will be ensured by the military occupation of the city (1 army corps of two divisions, one SS police division, until further instructions, an external military cordon around the city), it is also urgently needed from military and economic considerations: most of the 18 army will be freed.
***
17.09 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
Ostensibly Leningrad is overflowing with refugees from Krasnogvardeisk, Krasnoe Selo and Kolpina. It seems that bread rates are already decreasing. I cannot exclude that after regrouping, when the front line is re-formed, we will quickly move in the direction of Leningrad. What to do with the city itself, whether to accept its surrender, whether to destroy it with fire, or starve it — unfortunately, there are no decisions of the Fuhrer on this score.
***
18.09 original
translation
Chief of General Staff Chief of Staff of Army Group
He, like the High Command of the Ground Forces, is aware of the difficulties facing the Army Group North. They believe that cleaning Leningrad will succeed only through starvation, and not by force of arms.
***
18.09 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
During the visit of Field Marshal Keitel, it was discussed: the Finns will only make significant progress when we attack that bank of the Neva. What should happen to Leningrad in the case of surrender, the Führer keeps to himself, he will inform about it only when the surrender occurs.
***
18.09 original
translation
From the conversation of the liaison officer of the OKH with the Chief of the General Staff
Surrounding Leningrad and possible surrender.
Colonel-General Halder recommends using all means to protect the ring around the city from breakthrough attempts (mines, barriers), since undoubtedly serious attempts to break through should be considered.
In no case should the capitulation of Leningrad be accepted without the knowledge of the OKH. If there is a proposal for delivery, you should only find out: who offers what he offers, what are his powers?
Based on these materials, the OKH should make a decision as soon as possible.
In addition to surrounding Leningrad, the destruction of the remnants of 8 of the Russian army in the area west of Leningrad is urgent.
***
20.09 original
translation
Report of the Chief of Staff
Regarding the city of Leningrad, the same principle remains: we do not enter the city and cannot feed the city. But Field Marshal Keitel thinks he has found a way to expel women and children to the east1. No final decisions have been made yet.
***
25.09 original
translation
Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group - OKH
Army Group North with its remaining forces is no longer able to fully continue the attack on Leningrad. Thus, systematic artillery bombardment of the city is eliminated. To force the city to surrender, only bombing and starvation remain.
The experience of other large cities says that one should not expect that the bombardment will produce a significant impact, besides the forces of the Luftwaffe after the announced withdrawal [of parts to another front] are very weak, and their tasks remain multilateral.
Izmor has been called into question, as the steamboat traffic on Lake Ladoga operates, besides, outside the city north of the Neva to the former Russian-Finnish border there are land areas up to 75 km in depth suitable for harvesting potatoes and grain.
If starvation should bring results, the seizure of these squares and harbors on Lake Ladoga is necessary. Due to lack of strength, Army Group North is not capable of this. Only advancing the Finns against the now weakened enemy will allow them to take land from the Russians outside the city and the shore of Lake Ladoga.
***
12.10 original
translation
Order OKV (3)
The Fuhrer decided that the capitulation of Leningrad, even if offered by the enemy, would not be accepted. The moral grounds of such a measure are clear to the whole world. In Kiev, the bombings with a clockwork represented a tremendous danger to the troops, in Leningrad this should be considered on a much larger scale. The fact that Leningrad is mined and will be defended to the last person, the Soviet-Russian radio reported itself. We should expect major epidemics.
No German soldier should enter the city. Those who want to leave the city through our front line, drive back by fire. Small unclosed holes [in a cordon], which will allow the flow of the population to get deeper into Russia, on the contrary should only be welcomed. And for all other cities, the rule applies that before taking them they must be destroyed by artillery fire and attacks aviation, and the population should be forced to flee. It is irresponsible to put the life of German soldiers at stake to save Russian cities from the danger of fires or to feed their population at the expense of the German homeland. The chaos in Russia will become greater, our management and exploitation of the occupied territories the easier, the larger the population of Soviet-Russian cities will take flight into the depths of Russia. This will of the Führer should be brought to the attention of all commanders.
Adding the OKH: In order to make it easier for the troops to hold these events, the current environment of Leningrad should be narrowed down to places where it is absolutely necessary for tactical reasons.
***
24.10 original
translation
Memo on the trip of the first officer of the General Staff (Ia) to the location of the 18 armyи
2) In all the units visited, the question was asked how to behave if the city of Leningrad offered its surrender and how to behave in relation to the flow of hungry people who would rush out of the city. It seemed that the troops were very concerned about this issue. The commander of the 58 Infantry Division emphasized that he had passed an order to his division, which he received from above and which complies with the instructions that such attempts to break through should open fire to strangle them in the bud. From his point of view, the division will execute this order. But will she not lose her temper, when, with repeated breakthroughs, she will have to shoot at women, children, and defenseless old men, he doubts. It is worth noting his remark that the general situation in the sector of the front, which is increasingly aggravated on its flank in Uritsk, is less feared than in the situation with the civilian population. Such is the mood not only of him, but of his subordinates. The troops are fully aware that we cannot provide food for millions of people surrounded in Leningrad without this worsening the food situation in our own country. For this reason, the German soldier must prevent such breakthroughs, including with the use of weapons. Well, this can easily lead to the fact that the German soldier loses his stability, i.e. and after the war, such acts of violence will not frighten him.
The command and the troops are trying in every way to find a different solution to the issue, but no suitable option has yet been found.
3) The civilian population still living there is evacuated from the fighting areas both on the ring around Leningrad and on the coast south of Kronstadt. This is necessary because the population there cannot be provided with food. The conclusion is that the civilian population in groups moves into the rear area and there it is distributed among the villages. Despite this, a large part of the civilian population went south on their own to find new homes and opportunities for existence. Along the highway from Krasnogvardeisk to Pskov there is a stream of thousands of refugees, mainly women, children and the elderly. It is impossible to establish where they go, what they eat. It seems that these people must die of starvation sooner or later. And this picture makes a depressing impression on the German soldiers, leading construction work on this road.
The 18 army command draws attention to the fact that leaflets are still being dropped on Leningrad, including those calling for desertion. This is not consistent with the indication that defectors should no longer be accepted. While defectors-soldiers (this is 100-120 people per day) are still being accepted. But the content of the leaflets should be changed.
***
27.10 original
translation
Commander-in-Chief of the Army Group to the Commander of the 18 Army
The question of Leningrad and especially of the local civilian population is strongly occupied by the commander in chief. The Ground Forces Command offered to arrange minefields in front of their own positions in order to save the troops from direct combat with the civilian population. If the red troops near Leningrad and Kronstadt surrender, surrender their weapons and will be taken prisoner, the commander-in-chief does not see any further need to maintain the encirclement of the city. Troops will be deployed to the quartering areas. And in this case, most of the population will die, but at least not right before our eyes. The opportunity to bring part of the population onto the road to Volkhovstroy should be deliberated.
***
09.11 original
translation
Assessment of the situation by the commander-in-chief of a group of armies
After the capture of Tikhvin, the waterway through Lake Ladoga was cut for Leningrad. The enemy has the ability to communicate with the outside world only through aviation and radio. In any case, the further supply of supplies in large quantities is impossible, since the only area through which it can still pass - the area between Tikhvin and Sviryu - does not have major highways and railways. Tikhvin was taken two months after Shlisselburg, thus, after the cutting of supply routes by land, which occurred then, the supply routes through Lake Ladoga are now cut.
There are no changes in the operational plans.
1 - Wed
Reporting Leningrad.
Features:
1. occupy the city, i.e. behave as with other Russian major cities.
Reject, since we will then be responsible for the food [of the population]
2. To surround the city with a dense ring, preferably a fence, through which electricity is fired, and which will be guarded by machine-gunners.
Disadvantages: out of two million people, the weak will die of starvation in the foreseeable time, while the strong will take possession of the food and stay alive. The danger of epidemics that spread to our front. In addition, the question is whether it is possible to demand from our soldiers to shoot at women and children trying to escape.
3. Women, children, old people, lead out through the gate in the ring of the environment, the rest leave to die of hunger.
a) The transfer of Volkhov for the enemy front line is a theoretically good solution, but practically hardly feasible. Who should hold and direct hundreds of thousands? Where then is the Russian front?
b) If we refuse to withdraw from the Russian front, then those released will be distributed over the [occupied] territory.
In any case, the disadvantage is that the starving population of Leningrad is a hotbed of epidemics and that the strongest will live in the city for a long time.
4. After moving forward the Finns and the complete encirclement of the city, again go beyond the Neva and transfer the terrain to the north of this site to the Finns.
The Finns unofficially stated that they would like to have the Neva as a state border, but Leningrad should disappear. As a political decision is good. But the question of the population of Leningrad through the Finns can not be solved. We must do this.
Outcome and proposal:
There is no satisfactory solution. Army Group North must, however, in its time receive an order that we will actually fulfill.
Offered
a) We state to the whole world that Stalin defends Leningrad as a fortress. Thus, we are forced to treat the city and its entire population as a military facility. Nevertheless, we are taking a step towards: letting a friend of the people of Roosevelt after the capitulation of Leningrad supply the residents who were not captured with food through neutral ships under the supervision of the Red Cross and allow these ships free navigation (the proposal cannot be accepted, of course, only from a propaganda point of view)
b) We hermetically cordon off Leningrad and destroy the city as far as possible with the help of artillery and aviation (initially aviation is weak!)
c) when the city is ripe due to the terror and the beginning famine, separate gates will open and unarmed ones will be released. As far as possible, pushing deep into Russia. The rest is forced to be distributed across the [occupied] territory.
d) the rest of the "garrison of the fortress" for the whole winter is left to itself. In the spring, we then enter the city (if the Finns enter earlier, there are no objections), we deduce everything that exists, deep into Russia or into captivity, leveled Leningrad with the earth with the help of explosives and transfer the territory north of the Neva to the Finns.
(Report from the L Department of OKW / WFSt from 21.09., Cited by W.Wette / G.Ueberschär "Unternehmen Barbarossa")
2 - The message corresponds to paragraph 3 of the order of the Chief of Staff of the Navy.
3 - In the original order of Jodl from 07.10. (Nuremberg document 123-C) says about the "capitulation of Leningrad, and later of Moscow"
A few comments.
1. Obviously, the bombings in Kiev are used by Hitler as an excuse, but not as a reason. He repeatedly expressed his intention to level Leningrad to the ground, even when Kiev was deep in the Soviet rear (see, for example, an entry in KTB OKW from 08.07.1941)
2. With all the fluctuations in tactical issues (what to do with prisoners of war and the population and the related discord), the three main points of the program remain virtually unchanged.
a) Leningrad hermetically cordoned off, but not to enter the city
b) there is no interest in preserving the city
c) the civilian population will not be supplied with food
3. The technical implementation of plans to push the civilian population out of the city to the east and even "inland" is questioned by the authors themselves. In any case, it is clear that at the end of the fall / winter for hundreds of thousands of hungry people it would be a death march.
Information