Where to look for the missing in WWII 1941-1945? Search for missing persons in the Great Patriotic War by name

"Disappeared without a trace" - many people received notices with such a phrase during the war years. They were millions, and the fate of these defenders of the homeland remained unknown for a long time. In most cases, it remains unknown today, but there are still some progress in clarifying the circumstances of the disappearance of the soldiers. This is facilitated by several circumstances. First, new technological opportunities have appeared to automate the search for the required documents. Secondly, search teams are useful and necessary work. Thirdly, the archives of the Ministry of Defense became more accessible. But ordinary citizens still do not know where to look for missing people in the Great Patriotic War in the overwhelming majority of cases. This article, perhaps, will help someone to know the fate of loved ones.

Difficulties of search

In addition to factors contributing to success, there are those that make it difficult to search for missing persons in the Second World War. It's been too long, and there is less material evidence of the events. People who are able to confirm this or that fact, too, no longer becomes. In addition, the missing was considered during and after the war as a suspicious fact. It was believed that a soldier or officer could be captured, which in those years was considered almost a betrayal. A serviceman of the Red Army could go over to the side of the enemy, and this happened, unfortunately, quite often. The fate of traitors is mostly known. Collaborators, caught and identified, were convicted and either executed or received long terms. Others took refuge in distant lands. Those of them who have lived up to our days do not usually want to be found.

Where to find missing in WWII prisoners of war

The fate of many Soviet prisoners of war developed after the war in different ways. Some Stalin's punitive machine was merciful, and they returned home safely, although they did not feel themselves full veterans for the rest of their lives and felt some kind of guilt before the "normal" participants in the fighting. Another was prepared for a long road to the places of detention, camps and prisons, where they were most often found on unproven charges. Some of the soldiers released from captivity found themselves in the American, French or English occupation zones. These, as a rule, were issued by the Allies to the Soviet troops, but there were exceptions. Most of our warriors wanted to go home, to families, but rare realists understood what awaited them, and asked for asylum. Not all of them were traitors - many simply did not want to cut wood in the Far North or dig channels. In some cases, they are themselves, contact their relatives and even write off foreign legacies to them. However, in this case, the search for missing persons in the Second World War 1941-1945 is difficult, especially if such a former prisoner has changed his name and does not want to remember his homeland. Well, people are different, like their destinies, and condemn those who ate bitter bread in a foreign country, hard.

Documentary track

However, in the overwhelming majority of cases, the situation was much simpler and more tragic. In the initial period of the war, soldiers simply died in unknown boilers, sometimes along with their commanders, and there were no reports of irretrievable losses. Sometimes there were no bodies, or it was impossible to identify the remains. It would seem, where to look for the missing in World War II with such confusion?

But there is always one thread, pulling at it, you can at least somehow unravel the history of the person of interest. The fact is that any person, and especially a military man, leaves behind a "paper" trace. His whole life is accompanied by a documentary revolution: a soldier or an officer is issued clothing and food certificates, he is included in the lists of personnel. In case of injury in the hospital, a medical card is put on the soldier. That's the answer to the question of where to look for the missing. The Great Patriotic War has long since ended, and the documents are kept. Where? In the Central Archive of the Ministry of Defense, in Podolsk.

Central Archive of the MO

The procedure for filing an application is simple, in addition, it is free. For the search for missing persons in WWII 1941-1945, the MO archive does not require money, and the cost of sending the answer takes over. In order to make a request, you need to collect as much personal information as you need to find. The more it is available, it will be easier for Central Asian employees to determine where to look for missing persons in the Great Patriotic War, in what storehouse and on what shelf the coveted document may lie.

First of all you need a surname, first name and patronymic, place and date of birth, information about where it is called from, where it is directed and when. If any documentary evidence, notices or even personal letters are preserved, then, if possible, they should be attached (copies). Information on government awards, incentives, injuries and any other related to service in the Armed Forces of the USSR will also not be superfluous. If the army is known , in which the missing person served, the number in / part and the rank, then this should be reported. In general, everything that is possible, but only reliable. It remains to put all this on paper, send a letter to the Archive address and wait for an answer. It will not be soon, but certainly. Work in CA MO people are obligatory and responsible.

Foreign archives

Search for missing persons in the Second World War 1941-1945 with a negative response from Podolsk should continue abroad. Wherever the roads of the Soviet soldiers who were languishing in captivity did not enter the roads. Their traces are found in Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Austria, Holland, Norway and, of course, in Germany. The Germans conducted the documentation pedantically, a card was equipped for each prisoner, equipped with a photo and personal data, and if the documents were not damaged during the fighting or bombing, there will be an answer. The information concerns not only prisoners of war, but also those who were involved in forced labor. The search for missing persons in the Second World War sometimes allows one to learn about the heroic behavior of a relative in a concentration camp, and if not, at least clarity will be brought about his fate.

Content of the response to the request

The answer, as a rule, is laconic. The archives report on the settlement in the area where the soldier of the Red or Soviet Army took his last fight. Confirmed information about the place of pre-war residence, the date from which the soldier was removed from all types of allowance, and the place of his burial. This is due to the fact that the search for missing persons in the Great Patriotic War by name, and even by name and patronymic can lead to mixed results. Additional evidence can serve as data of relatives to whom a notice should be sent. If the place of burial is indicated as unknown, it is usually a mass grave located near the specified settlement. It is important to remember that reports of losses were often drawn up on the battlefields, and they were written in a not very legible handwriting. The search for missing persons in the Second World War 1941-1945 may be difficult because the letter "a" resembles "o", or something like that.

Search Engines

In recent decades, the search movement has become widespread. Enthusiasts wishing to clarify the fate of the millions of soldiers who lay their heads for their Motherland are engaged in a noble cause: they find the remains of fallen soldiers, determine by many attributes their belonging to this or that part, and do everything to find out their names. No one knows better than these people where to look for the missing in WWII. In the forests near Yelnya, in the swamps of the Leningrad Region, near Rzhev, where fierce battles were fought, they conduct careful excavations, handing over to the native land of its defenders with military honors. The search groups send information to representatives of the authorities and military, who update their databases.

Electronic means

Today, everyone who wants to find out the fate of their glorious ancestors has the opportunity to look into the commander's reports from the battlefields. And you can do it without leaving home. On the site of the archive of the Ministry of Defense you can get acquainted with unique documents and make sure of the truthfulness of the information provided. From these pages it breathes a living history, they seem to create a bridge between the ages. The search for missing persons in the Great Patriotic War by name is simple, the interface is convenient and accessible to everyone, including the elderly. It is necessary to start in any case with the lists of the dead. After all, "funeral" could simply not reach, and for many decades the soldier was considered missing.