Scientific article

УДК 94(47)+930.25+94(470.323)

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2021-1-57-67

Sergey V. Bogdanov, Vladimir G. Ostapyuk, Valeria V. Zalyubovskaya

Belgorod National Research University, Belgorod, Russian Federation

Agent Assets of the Russian Auxiliary Police in the Territory of the Kursk Region Occupied by German Troops: Materials of the Archival Investigatory Records of the Territorial Directorates of the KGB of the USSR

Abstract

This article addresses one of the least studied issues of the Great Patriotic War — German special services and collaborative security agencies using their agent assets in the occupied territory of the Kursk region. The chronological frameworks of the study cover the period from the seizure of the Kursk region by German troops to its liberation by the Red Army units. The corpus of sources on the subject is extremely limited. The authors draw on the materials of archival investigatory records on former active accomplices of the German occupiers from among Soviet citizens, who throughout the post-war period were actively sought by the Soviet state security organs. Among the defendants in this category of cases were former leaders, their assistants, senior investigators of the city and district departments of the Russian auxiliary police, created under direct supervision of the German occupation authorities in the territory. Analysis of archival investigatory records shows that the vast majority of heads of collaborative repressive bodies (police, gendarmerie, prisons) joined of the German invaders consciously and voluntarily. This circumstance contributed to their zealous service to German invaders. In order to prove their allegiance to the German command and to avoid punishment for failure, these officials actively recruited secret informants — their agents. These agents were mostly recruited from local residents who, for various reasons, agreed to cooperate with the leaders of Russian police agencies. The tasks of the agents included timely information on the anti-Nazi underground, Soviet intelligence, leaders and participants in the partisan movement in the occupied territory of the Kursk region in 1941–43. Quite often, agents were used by the directors of city and district prisons, which were opened by the German occupational commandant's offices in the region. Information about secret agents was carefully guarded. All agents were on allowance from the territorial bodies of the Russian auxiliary police. Due to scope and activity levels of the partisan movement in the occupied territory of the Kursk region, pro-Nazi agents were most active in the Valuyki, Grayvoron, Dmitriev, Rylsk, Sudzha, Shchigry, Shebekino districts.

Keywords

Historical sources, archive, German occupation, Russian auxiliary police, agents of collaborators, Kursk region.

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References

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About the authors

Bogdanov Sergey Victorovich, PhD in History, professor, Belgorod State National Research University, professor, +7-472-230-11-57, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Ostapyuk Vladimir Grigorievich, PhD in Law, associate professor, Belgorod State National Research University, assistant professor, +7-472-230-11-57, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Zalyubovskaya Valeria Vladimirovna, Belgorod State National Research University, Assistant, +7-472-230-11-57, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Submitted 9.01.2020, published (for citation):

BOGDANOV, S. V., OSTAPYUK, V. G., ZALYUBOVSKAYA, V. V. Agentura russkoi vspomogatel'noi politsii na okkupirovannoi nemetskimi voiskami territorii Kurskoi oblasti. Po materialam arkhivno-sledstvennykh del territorial'nykh upravlenii KGB SSSR [Agent Assets of the Russian Auxiliary Police in the Territory of the Kursk Region Occupied by German Troops: Materials of the Archival Investigatory Records of the Territorial Directorates of the KGB of the USSR. In Russ.]. IN: Vestnik arhivista / Herald of an Archivist, 2021, no. 1, pp. 57-67. doi 10.28995/2073-0101-2021-1-57-67