ps: 4000 in this chapter, there are 1000 series to make up for yesterday, and there is another update today, which will be released in the early hours of the morning.

The breath of early winter also descended on the Red Army's prisoner of war camp No. 289 on the outskirts of Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine.

Prisoner of War Camp 289, which has been in existence for more than a year, is a masterpiece of the Kyiv encirclement, as is the surrounding series of prisoner of war camps, after which more than 600,000 Red Army troops were forced to lay down their arms and become prisoners of war. When the prisoners learned about the number of captured soldiers from the mouths of the German guards, everyone could not believe their ears, thinking that this was just a rumor spread by the fascists, but the reality was stronger than people, and groups of dejected comrades-in-arms poured into the prisoner camp, with all the troops and all the numbers, and the people accepted the reality that they were not only defeated, but also became shameful prisoners.

In the beginning, everyone was miserable, and they were taught from the day they joined the army that Soviet soldiers would rather die in battle than be taken prisoner, but how could it be so simple to die on the battlefield? Being hit by a shell or being hit by a bullet and dying is the simplest and least burdensome way to die, but if you don't die in the first place, the moaning and wailing after being wounded, especially after a serious injury, is the most painful and painful torture. People who are not sick or injured, only because they are not mentally prepared or have the determination to commit suicide will become prisoners in a daze. It's as simple as dying, just throw yourself on the power grid around the POW camp or deliberately provoke the guards, and death is a matter of course. But the vast majority of people do not have the courage, and those who have not died after the pain, remorse, and uneasiness have only one thought to sustain them - to live no matter what.

At first, the POWs were counting on the Red Army to come and rescue them as soon as possible. But everyone was soon disappointed, one day, two days. One week, two weeks, one month, two months...... When the second winter came, it became clear to everyone that the Red Army would not be able to counterattack, at least temporarily. Many people are speculating about where the Germans are now occupying, and some say that they have already occupied Moscow. Some say that they have advanced to the Urals, others say that they have already reached Siberia - the only thing that is certain is that Stalin and the Red Army have not yet surrendered, otherwise the Germans would have been jubilant long ago. They are desperate for their future. The shame of being captured itself has long since become numb, and every day is just a walking corpse, a mechanical life—the more time passes, the more this and the feeling becomes.

Among these people, there were some who did not think of dying when they first became prisoners, including Lieutenant Colonel Kononov, the former commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 160th Infantry Division of the 37th Army of the Red Army. At this moment, he was listening carefully to the loud loud horns that sounded again in the concentration camp. When there was no radio, no radio, no newspapers, no even slogans and blackboards. The sound of these loudspeakers around the camp was his only source of information from the outside world. No matter what the Germans tried to promote, he was able to analyze something of value from it, and even relied on reports on the German army to deduce a general line of battle between the two sides, and this judgment and analytical ability was clearly demonstrated in his graduation thesis on the German question - "If one studies the economic and political system of Germany, one can come to a very certain conclusion: war is as inevitable between the Soviet Union and Germany as between two uncompromising enemies." ”

All the prisoners of war were very respectful to him, and they all consciously lowered their voices as he pricked up his ears and listened carefully to the loudspeakers. lest it interfere with his thinking and judgment. As a mid-level officer who had been in a prisoner of war camp for more than a year, he keenly felt that the last month or so had been unusual. He believed that the situation mentioned on the loudspeaker would change the fate and direction of the future prisoner of war camps. Kononov was initially captured after a failed breakout with his own guards, in other words, no one in the camp recognized him, except for a few close guards who were also captured. Because the officers above the middle level were held in solitary confinement, he did not know what the Germans would do with the Red Army officers, so he decided to hide his true identity and only hide with the rank of lieutenant. Fortunately, he has always cared for and cared for his guards, who not only refused to betray Kononov, but protected him very tightly, and there has been no accident in the past year. He was pleased with the situation and was determined to continue to hide it, a true identity that was not revealed until he saw with his own eyes that the Luftwaffe units replaced the field army as prisoner of war camp guards and were given additional food supplies, and it had only been more than a month later.

Kononov judged from his experience that most of these guards were recruits who had never been on the battlefield, because although they tried very hard to put on a serious, fanatical, and vicious appearance, there was no murder in their eyes, and they were completely different from the old guards who were like to shoot and kill people at every turn. Kononov had thought about using this opportunity to organize an escape, but after a few days he dismissed the idea on his own, as he noticed that the prisoners' treatment had improved. As a Red Army officer who had received a systematic education at the Frunze Military Academy and graduated with honors, he knew that the Soviet Union had not acceded to the Geneva Conventions, and naturally could not ask the Germans to treat themselves in accordance with the Conventions and prisoners of war, and he dared to swear that if any Germans were taken prisoner, they would never be treated any better than himself.

After the first day of food supply, all the prisoners of war eagerly devoured it, and Kononov knew the dangers of a long-starving person suddenly eating in large quantities, and he tried his best to persuade the captives not to do so, despite the danger of revealing his identity, and even had his own guards join the persuasion team. But no one listened to him, and all who saw him stared at him with wary eyes, and at the same time clung their food tightly to the ground, lest the latter pounce on him and rob him.

By evening, the unfortunate event had happened: many of the captives had died of food because they were too weak to eat—they had been strangled to death by food. But the other captives did not know this, and they thought that the Germans had poisoned their food and were going to send them on their way. They were clamoring as they received their dinner, making sounds like wild beasts, and he saw that the faces of the camp guards had changed. More than a dozen MG42 machine guns on one side had been completely erected, and as long as there was a spark, these nervous guards would pull the trigger, and in less than 5-10 minutes, under the astonishing speed of MG42's strafing fire, there was nothing left in this prisoner camp of more than 1,000 people, and it also heard similar angry shouts from other prisoner of war camps in the distance, he knew that this kind of thing must happen.

Now he can no longer sit idly by and watch - in fact, he can't stand idly by. He himself was crammed into a pile of prisoners, and it was impossible for him to escape once the Germans opened fire.

Perhaps he hadn't spoken German for a long time after graduating, and he rushed to the head of the guard with a quick and urgent German. The pronunciation was also a bit strange, and after saying it three times in a row, the guards of the prisoner camp realized that the unremarkable Russian prisoner in front of him turned out to be a lieutenant colonel, who not only knew German, but also offered to help them calm the emotions of the prisoners of war.

If it is a caretaker of an army field unit. They will surely be glad of this Russian officer who has concealed his identity. It might even come up with a rifle butt, but the current head of the guard was obviously inexperienced, and he agreed repeatedly: "Okay, Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, if you can calm them down and calm them down, we will let you enjoy treatment commensurate with your rank......"

Kononov smiled bitterly, he didn't want anything commensurate with his rank—who knew if it was a death or another level of abuse.

"Soldiers, brothers. Be quiet...... I am Lieutenant Colonel Kononov, the former commander of the 2nd Regiment of the 160th Infantry Division. ”

"Be quiet, be quiet." Several of the guards accompanying him shouted. Their boss is finally going to speak out after more than a year of hibernation, and although it is not known why he is like this, at least they will try to maintain his dignity, just as Kononov, who was famous for his protection in the army, has always taken care of them.

Under the deterrence of the black pressure muzzle, in the hoarse persuasion of Kononov and the guards, the commotion of the crowd decreased, and then everyone craned their necks to see this big man who came out of nowhere, and the prisoner camp guards were very smart, and gave Kononov a large microphone surrounded by iron sheets, and motioned for him to stand on the table and speak.

"The Germans didn't poison the food." Kononov first made his judgment straightforward, "We eat the same thing as these dead brothers, and if the food is poisonous, then at least we will be poisoned too, at least we will feel sick and vomit now." ”

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then nodded, which was right, except for the fallen brothers, and everyone did not feel any other discomfort.

"But why did they die?" Someone asked aloud.

"Because they're eating too much." Kononov's voice was low, "Think about it, when I got food today, I advised you not to eat too much, so as not to cause bad results, but unfortunately not many people are willing to listen to me." ”

The captives thought about it for a while, and then recalled the process, and they couldn't help but believe more than half of it, but some people reluctantly said, "We have eaten so much, why are we okay?" ”

"Because the brothers who died were the weakest."

"Did the Germans know this and deliberately send more food to harm us?"

There is no need for Kononov to refute this kind of remark, and someone next to him naturally refutes it: "You idiot...... As long as the Germans don't give us food, they starve us to death, and they still use the stupid method of multi-distribution of food? ”

Kononov ignored this kind of nonsense and said: "Let me tell you one thing, the Germans who have been guarding us recently have been replaced by air force units, and they have not participated in the Eastern Front, nor are they the German Army that fought with us to the death, so as long as we do not violate the regulations of the prisoner of war camps, the Germans will not deliberately harm us." ”

"I don't believe that the noble Air Force master will come to be a prisoner camp guard?"

"Uh......" Kononov was speechless for a moment, so he had to turn his head and ask the head of the guard, "Mr. Captain, which part of the Luftwaffe are you?" I'm not asking questions, I'm ......"

"Oh, you still recognize us as part of the Air Force?" The captain on the other side was happy, nodded and said, "It's okay to tell you, we are the 7th Field Division of the Air Force, you are all under my control, give me honesty in the future." ”

"Air Force Field Division? It's such a weird name. Kononov only muttered this in his heart but did not say it, and the prisoners below looked at the relaxed conversation between the Germans and Kononov, thinking that what he said was not a lie, and the scene suddenly fell silent.

"The Germans have recognized them as air force units, and you can also look at the air force emblems on their chests and cuffs." He finally said in a sad tone, "Pull these brothers out and bury them, everyone pay a little attention, don't eat too much, the food the Germans give us may always remain at this level." ”

After the food incident was satisfactorily resolved, Kononov's prestige in the prisoner of war camp was greatly enhanced, and even the Germans, believing that the officer could control the situation and knew German, simply appointed him the captain of the prisoners, gave him better treatment, and allowed several guards to stay with him in a separate barracks.

After the Air Force took over the guards of the prisoner camp, in addition to the additional food, Kononov noticed that other things were also changing.

First of all, the all-pervasive SS and Gestapo began to retreat, and at the beginning they indiscriminately dragged out the political commissars of the captured troops, whether at the division level or at the battalion level, and the continuous gunfire frightened the prisoners, which was also a trigger for Kononov's concealment of his identity, and now it seems that the Germans have abandoned this order.

Again, the number of captives began to change, and the number of captives was constantly increasing and decreasing, but the perceptive Kononov found that the recent quantitative changes were marked by ethnicity, to be precise, the proportion of captives of the Russian nation has increased, while the proportion of captives of ethnic minorities has decreased sharply. He had been following this process, and he found that first the soldiers of the three former republics of Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia were released one after another, and then the prisoners of the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Cossack, Kalmyk and other nationalities were released one after another.

As a mid-level officer with the ability to make decisions and judgments, he had been speculating about what had happened, but he had never been able to grasp the essentials. It wasn't until the propaganda horn sounded in the camp that it dawned on him that they were already cooperating with the Germans. (To be continued.) )