SUMMARY OF OPERATION OSSAVAKIM

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP82-00457R000200570007-4
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: November 9, 2016
• Document Release Date: December 10, 1998
• Sequence Number: 7
• Publication Date: January 13, 1947
• Content Type: IR

Approved For Release 1999
COUNTM s (Russian zone)
SUBJECT Swmaary of Operation Osew
25X1A6a
W GIN
25X1X6
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13 Ja ary 1947
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the first reaction of the population of Berlin to the mass transfer of workers
to Russia was to the affect that the deportations constituted the Rassssseian a lksv-r
to the e4ectione of 20 October 1946, which the Ruseisnneponssscred BED lost do-
clsivegy. The scope of the Russian operation was so great, however, that it
becens obvious that the project must have been carefully planned by a large
staff over a long period. This has alms, been confirmed by reports that Operation
Ossevszcin was orgs asd by the 5Se'venth Administrative Bureau% which had been
set up for this purpose; the Berlin part of the operation was under the din
supervision of the Piret Operation Gro r r p of the 1 in Lulwe stra s., Berlin.
The preparations Included the hasty repair of many railroad cars.
2. The poin% most widely discussed. from the beginnia , was whether or not the
tray oortatton of the German workers to Russia was Toiunts . The first opinion
of the majority of Berliners was that the shipments were a mass deportation
in the manner of than late rrits l,. The Russian contention on the other
hoed. vas that all the w=orkers affected had voluntarily signed contracts to work
in Russia and that no force. pr=essure, or' compulsion of a any kind was used, In-
deed, the Russians contrasted uftat they called "humane transportation of worker;
for peaceful industries" with t =forced deportation by Britain and the Unit*d
States of hundreds of Nazis to work an secret atom-bomb projects=. Thls;s arge
was given streamer headlines and extensive write-up* in all the Soviet-controlled
air more cautious stories compari the Ossaasvaa project to the IJaa,ti. und.er9
wspapers, while the newspapers licensed by the western aal.lies continued with
s so strongly 4enossamoed at Nuremberg.
Ossavaklm project volunteered to move with their fa miliess to Russia. It
isquestio ably, a considerable number of the skilled German labor involved in
loved that a majority of the scientists and ex=ecutives who were evacuated
at volunte- ily. At the am* time, all sources agree that the deportation
the Soviet side, the actual shipments were made in an atmosphere of terror,
33 and 1945, and state that whether or not contracts wares signed, as claimed,
'h rriod out in a manner not experiences in Germany except between the years
ly in the very early mor:4ng hours. Personnel of the KM ware alerted an
Paint could not take personal ! p an the trip.
;Britiash and Aaarloan sectors of Berlin were also taken. The latter w=ere trane-
aorted to the railway station directly from their place of wssrk,, and as a re-
esided in the Russian sector or =nonce, although some persons residing in the
r homes to the railway station. The great ems arity of the workers involved
October, and *assssisted* the Germane in the transfer of their belongings from
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While in most. of the cases reported turd seems to hevo been ~no warning, one
subsource describes the following -orooedure At the Aslania Works in Berlin*
Wrieciriohsi agen, all the workers were aeootibled on the afternoon of 21 Octobers
and a meuber of the Trade Unipn Ooenctl road them a stthtement approj imt tely
as followsaa "Inasmuch as the .factory where you. are Working to to be trans
ferred to the Soviet Union, you are hereby inssstruoted to prepare yourselv9s
and ;our f milie for the, Journey to the U. s. S.I., You wtXl all travel in
cor;.Uaee, wnllee your belongings Vill be transported i,n freight-cars. Russian
sole.iers will assist you. Your new contracts will be stoned upon arrival in
the 4oviet Uniou. Your workix}, conditioue will be the same as those of skilled
nussian workers in similar positions. Your first contract will be for a period
of five yews, You grill be su))plied. with foots and clothing for the journey*
which will lust three or four weeks. iu ester hearing; this, the i>rif era ant aar
seated himself from his home in Prercalan r Barg; at 0300 hours that ni, hat two
Russian saoj ciorsa armed 'with suunachina-guua Called for him accompanied by C
Lermau who cla.iuerl to be a. rei resseutative of the t-iagistreit. They seeerched his
apartment, . kut left peaceaul swath. upon finding that he was not in,
5. Other persq s were injured while attempting to escape or to resist deportation,
In Taedorf: Mh, east of ilerlin), an engineer neze3d Vogesil in said to hive been
executed, 'together with his wife. and two sons.,, because they resit ted the attempt
to ship them to Russia.
6, in the *!iariean sector of i3erlin three civilians, described as Rt}esaiane, tried
to aUduct a textile en{;ineer, Heins Khouerer, living in 'Brits at ,Kdruerstrasee
37. he, re4lated, was severely beaten, and was saved . only loy the appearance{ of
the polices his att ,+al,era escaped., Uritish Publio Safety an.t torities rsyiorted
three kidite?-.p+,ing; attests in the British sector, one of whic=h wass successful,
`the eco; a of Operation Usssavakin Is difficult to estimate, but the r4nmbar of
' ecple afi'fected to probably in the hundreds of thousands,- A tentative British
estriatsate, made on 26 Ootobep, gave the nuaber as over 20,000, but later report*
su ested that this fide was much too low, especially if, as moored, the pro'
Jebt inCluted not oialy war to ustriee but also twenty -or cent of ";nos st ful"
axzautatrise
U. Source=s t ree Quit the deportation of worst ere from the Soviet zone was carried
out ,on a proportionately -auc h larger scale and more ruthlessly than. in Berlin.
It is repoa.?ted, for iiis'wcaacp, that over five thosxsand Individuals active in the
Marione Wo incttisstry in O1 t i Itz alone were taken. In Jena the Russian garri-
son was a .ertetd and faP- ?eao ing,; defensive measures were talent hirhwsyss leedd
in out of town were `olooked, railroad trensqportr Lion c4a to a standstill, and
te'leiahonu cou1,Iul.aicatiotae were out, Ill Halle Is tlebQ z, about 0200 hours on 26
October, a housing colox}y occupied by workers of tho Slebe3, aircraft factory
was surrrounued by a Ucvisst column lvwhich included err4ored ears,, and. the people
aoncerz}ed were given '?.aut threw hours to paid: their belongings, Here no one
had any previous notification, and conate erabl.o confusion resulted because there
were not onough interpret, to explain to the people what was Uappeuin#,,
The operatiof continued for some days or ,weeks, rasp one source has reported
that it will ultimately be extended to include doctors and nurses,
Approved For Release 1999/09/08 : CIA-RDP82-00457R000200570007-4