Soviet Arrests and German Society

In the face of the extent of the Nazi crimes, the Allies agreed during the war to imprison those responsible and bring them to justice. The occupying troops encountered a population that, for the most part, denied their involvement in Nazi crimes. The Allies viewed many Germans as a threat to their occupying forces.

Nazi Party officials, employees of local administrations, police officers and prison staff were interned. The Allies arrested other people as a preventative measure because they believed they still belonged to Nazi organizations that were willing to fight.

Different regulations applied to arrests in each of the occupation zones. The Soviet secret service had been following “Order 00315” since April 1945. The list of groups which were to be arrested was formulated quite vaguely As a result, uninvolved persons and numerous young people were arrested. The Soviet occupying power interned a total of around 130,000 Germans.