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The German authorities are handing over archival documents regarding Soviet prisoners of war and people, who were driven to Germany to work during the Great Patriotic War, to Russian historians. According to the Ambassador of Germany to Russia, Geza Andreas von Geyr, the materials are stored in the federal archive located in Koblenz, according to Zvezda TV Channel.
The senior diplomat explained that the documents contain the information about the fate of more than half a million citizens of the Soviet Union.
The diplomat recalled that the post-war situation was such that these documents were never sorted and put in order. This is a very important point for scholars, historians, archival staff.
The document transfer is a two-way procedure: Moscow and Berlin opened their previously closed archives, von Geyr added.
The ambassador said that Germany had gained vast experience in work aimed at maintaining and protecting memorial sites and burials. The country is ready to cooperate with Russia in this area, he assured. Germany wants information about the fate of people to come directly to their descendants. The data transfer mechanism has not yet been fully developed, but it is already known that it will work through the central archive.
The opening of the archives, according to the ambassador, is an important step in the reconciliation process between Moscow and Berlin, which has been going on for 75 years. He expressed hope that joint work with archives will allow to develop a similar assessment of the history of World War II.
Russkiy Mir
