Text taken from an item post at istmat.org
Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] A characteristic document from 1945 showing the real attitude of the Red Army command to the topic of rape and looting on German territory.
The guilty, regardless of rank or position, should be arrested and strictly judged
April 30, 1945.
CIPHER Message #872
From: 47th Army
TO CORPS COMMANDERS, CHIEF OF TROOPS, CHIEF OF POLITICAL DEPARTMENT, MILITARY PROSECUTOR, CHIEF OF ARMY OKR "SMERSH".
I am transmitting for management and strict execution the directive of the Military Council of the 1st Belorussian Front #254 of April 30, 1945.
Receipt of the directive and its dissemination to personnel are to be conveyed.
"Several cases of outrages by front-line servicemen against representatives of foreign states not allied with us /embassies/, trade missions, journalists, correspondents/ of Japan, Switzerland, Ireland and others, located on the territory of Germany, have been noted.
Thus, complaints were received from representatives of the Japanese and Irish embassies about the looting of their property, the rape of the wife of a Japanese correspondent, etc.
All these phenomena could have occurred due to the connivance of senior commanders and political workers, military prosecutors, who are not truly fighting for the implementation of the directive of the Front Military Council No. 0143 and the manifestation of political short-sightedness on their part.
The Front Military Council demands:
I. Immediately bring to the attention of all personnel that diplomatic and trade representatives, correspondents, journalists of foreign states not at war with us, located on the territory of Germany, their property enjoy the right of inviolability and any attempt at arbitrariness against them may entail serious complications in the relations of their states with our state. Any serviceman, officer first of all, in case of detection of such missions or persons in his area, is obliged to take measures to protect them and their property and immediately report on command, not leaving them unattended until the arrival of senior commanders.
2. Only officers from the regiment commander and above, heads of the counterintelligence agencies "SMERSH" may personally inspect the premises of missions of foreign states, check documents. Other persons are strictly prohibited from doing this.
The seizure may be carried out only with the permission of the Military Council of the Front.
3. The Military Council of the 47th Army, the Military Prosecutor of the Front immediately and thoroughly investigate the case of the rape of the wife of the Japanese correspondent, the guilty, regardless of rank, position, - arrest and strictly judge.
4. Henceforth establish that for such cases of arbitrariness against representatives of foreign states not at war with us, unauthorized seizure of their property, along with the culprits, the unit commander and his deputy for the political department, whose subordinates are to be removed from office and brought to trial committed this crime, and the commander of the unit and the head of the political agency must be severely punished along administrative and party lines, up to and including removal from office.
Report the time of receipt of the directive and measures to bring it to the attention of personnel.
Report immediately all foreign missions discovered in their zones, as well as persons guarding their property.
â„–254 ZHUKOV TELEGIN".
TROOPS COMMANDER MEMBER OF THE MILITARY COUNCIL OF THE 47TH ARMY /PERKHOROVICH/
GUARDS LIEUTENANT GENERAL MAJOR GENERAL OF THE 47TH ARMY /KOROLEV/
CHIEF OF STAFF OF THE ARMY LIEUTENANT GENERAL /LUKYANCHENKO/
Archives of the Central Archives of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. F. 1021. Op. 1. D. 225. L. 311-313.
Similar draconian orders were issued regarding looting, rape and other crimes committed by individual soldiers and commanders of the Red Army in Poland and Germany. Punishments there were also harsh - from demotion in rank and deprivation of state awards to sending to camps. Zhukov acted here as a conductor of Stalin's policy, which he carried out in the liberated territories of Eastern Europe, where it was necessary to suppress any outrages at the grassroots level.Which, of course, did not prevent Nazi and Western propaganda from then cultivating myths about "raped Germany" and "rape policy".