Marking the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Battle of Stalingrad: Exhibition “A Pass to Captivity” presented in Moscow Region

The exhibition A Pass to Captivity has opened in the Krasnogorsk Branch of the Victory Museum. The temporary exhibition is timed to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the defeat of the Nazis by Soviet troops in the Battle of Stalingrad.

“Guests of the exhibition will learn about the fate of the Wehrmacht officers who surrendered near Stalingrad and were taken to Krasnogorsk Operational Transfer Camp № 27. The museum exposition will tell not only about the fate of foreign prisoners of war after the defeat of their army in Stalingrad, but also in general about the course and historical significance of the Battle of Stalingrad, about the heroes of the battle – Soviet soldiers and officers”, Svetlana Lyubenkova, Head of the Krasnogorsk Branch of the Victory Museum, said.

Special attention at the exhibition is paid to the grandiose propaganda work carried out by Soviet special propaganda officers among the enemy troops. It was this work that helped to persuade tens of thousands of German soldiers and officers to surrender. Visitors will have an opportunity to see leaflets of the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army, which were distributed among enemy troops.

Overall, the exhibition features over 40 authentic items from the collections of the branch. Visitors will see photographs of Stalingrad from the archive of the editor-in-chief of the Krasnaya Zvezda (Red Star) newspaper, David Ortenberg, taken by him during the battle, the diary of a Red Army soldier of the 76th Separate Penal Battalion, which describes the events from July 1942 until February 1943, as well as personal belongings, awards, uniforms of Soviet fighters.

Trophies, rarities of the enemy’s army, are also of interest. Guests of the exhibition will have a chance to see personal belongings of Field Marshal Paulus, a copy of his personal file, a unique commemorative metal bracelet of a soldier of the 6th Army of the Wehrmacht with images of the sights of Paris, and other items.

Digitized materials, such as photographs, documents uploaded to the interactive table, will tell about the course of the Battle on the Volga. Guests will also be able to see photos of Red Army commanders.