Extraordinary State Commission
Encyclopedia
The Extraordinary State Commission – fully: "Extraordinary State Commission for ascertaining and investigating crimes perpetrated by the German–Fascist invaders and their accomplices, and the damage inflicted by them on citizens, collective farms, social organisations, State enterprises and institutions of the U.S.S.R.“ , was a commission
formed by the Soviet authorities, officially aiming at "investigating and punishing for the Crimes of the German–Fascist Aggressors" and their allies. The commission was established on 2 November 1942, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
. The commission had the responsibility to investigate the Nazi war crimes and collect materials which would confirm crimes and losses caused by the invaders. According to its own data, 32,000 organization men took part in the work of ChGK and around 7,000,000 Soviet citizens had participated the collection of materials and evidence.
The 27 reports of the ChGK were the lion's share of Soviet evidentiary material in Nuremberg process and the Japanese war criminals' process. The reports appeared in English in the daily publication Soviet War News issued by the Press Department of the Soviet Embassy in London. The first report, Protocol on the plunder by the German–Fascist invaders of Rostov Museum at Pyatigorsk, was published on June 28, 1943 and the last report, Statement on "Material Damage caused by the German-Fascist invaders to state enterprises and institutions, collective farms, public bodies and citizens of the U.S.S.R" was published on September 18, 1945 A complete collection of the 27 communiqués issued by the commission appears in the Soviet Government publication, Soviet Government Statement on Nazi Atrocities.
Only one of these reports, USSR-54 (in German) concerning the Katyn massacre, appears in the English version of the NMT "Blue Series" collection of exhibits. An editor's note states that "the absence of a Soviet editorial staff [made] it impossible to publish any documents in Russian". As a result, of the 51 Soviet prosecution exhibits included in the document collection all are written in either English or German.
had put the whole Soviet population of the occupied territories into Concentration camps in East Karelia
during the Continuation War
, where 40% had died according to the commission's data.
Another falsification concerns the 24 January 1944 communiqué about the Katyń massacre
, published under the title "The Truth about Katyn". This lengthy document affirmed with "irrefutable clarity" that the mass shootings of the Polish prisoners had been done by the Germans (see article here). In fact, the crime was committed by the Soviets.
Government agency
A government or state agency is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an intelligence agency. There is a notable variety of agency types...
formed by the Soviet authorities, officially aiming at "investigating and punishing for the Crimes of the German–Fascist Aggressors" and their allies. The commission was established on 2 November 1942, by a decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
Presidium of the Supreme Soviet
The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet was a Soviet governmental institution – a permanent body of the Supreme Soviets . This body was of the all-Union level , as well as in all Soviet republics and autonomous republics...
. The commission had the responsibility to investigate the Nazi war crimes and collect materials which would confirm crimes and losses caused by the invaders. According to its own data, 32,000 organization men took part in the work of ChGK and around 7,000,000 Soviet citizens had participated the collection of materials and evidence.
The 27 reports of the ChGK were the lion's share of Soviet evidentiary material in Nuremberg process and the Japanese war criminals' process. The reports appeared in English in the daily publication Soviet War News issued by the Press Department of the Soviet Embassy in London. The first report, Protocol on the plunder by the German–Fascist invaders of Rostov Museum at Pyatigorsk, was published on June 28, 1943 and the last report, Statement on "Material Damage caused by the German-Fascist invaders to state enterprises and institutions, collective farms, public bodies and citizens of the U.S.S.R" was published on September 18, 1945 A complete collection of the 27 communiqués issued by the commission appears in the Soviet Government publication, Soviet Government Statement on Nazi Atrocities.
Members of the Commission
The decree issued by the Supreme Soviet of the U.S.S.R on 2 November 1942 confirmed the appointment of the following members of the commission:- Nikolai Mikhailovich Shvernik (1888–1970) Chairman
- Academician Nikolai Nilovitsch BurdenkoNikolai BurdenkoNikolay Nilovich Burdenko was a Russian and Soviet surgeon, the founder of the Russian neurosurgery. He was Surgeon-General of the Red Army , an academician of the USSR Academy of Sciences , an academician and the first director of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR , a Hero of Socialist...
(1876–1946) - Academician Boris Yevgenyevich Vedenyev (1884–1946)
- Valentina Stepanovna GrizodubovaValentina GrizodubovaValentina Stepanovna Grizodubova , 1993 in Moscow) was a one of the first female pilots in the Soviet Union and was awarded titles Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labour.-Early life and pre-war career:...
(1910–1993) - Andrei Alexandrovich ZhdanovAndrei ZhdanovAndrei Alexandrovich Zhdanov was a Soviet politician.-Life:Zhdanov enlisted with the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1915 and was promoted through the party ranks, becoming the All-Union Communist Party manager in Leningrad after the assassination of Sergei Kirov in 1934...
(1896–1948) - Nikolai - Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia (1892–1961)
- Academician Trofim Denisovitch LysenkoTrofim LysenkoTrofim Denisovich Lysenko was a Soviet agronomist of Ukrainian origin, who was director of Soviet biology under Joseph Stalin. Lysenko rejected Mendelian genetics in favor of the hybridization theories of Russian horticulturist Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, and adopted them into a powerful...
(1898–1976) - Academician Yevgeni Viktorovich TarleYevgeny TarleYevgeny Viktorovich Tarle was a Soviet historian and academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He is known for his books about Napoleon's invasion of Russia and on the Crimean War, and many other works...
(1875–1955) - Alexei Nikolayevich Tolstoi (1882–1945)
- Academician Ilya Pavlovich Trainin (1886–1949)
Reports submitted at Nuremberg
The Soviet prosecution introduced 31 reports from the Extraordinary State Commission as Exhibits for the prosecution at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg.- USSR-1 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on atrocities in the Stavropol region
- USSR-2 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on the destruction of industry, etc. in the Stalino region
- USSR-2(a) Report of a special commission on crimes in Stalino
- USSR-4 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on causing death by spreading epidemic of typhus
- USSR-5 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on the "Gross-lazarett" in the town of Slavuta
- USSR-6 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in the Lvov region
- USSR-7 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on atrocities in Lithuania
- USSR-9 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on atrocities in Kiev
- USSR-29 Joint Polish and Soviet report of the Extraordinary State Commission
- USSR-35 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on losses sustained by State enterprises and establishments
- USSR-37 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in the city of Kupiansk
- USSR-38 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on German crimes in the city of Minsk
- USSR-39 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on atrocities in Estonia
- USSR-40 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission concerning destruction and atrocities in the Pushkin Reservation of the U.S.S.R. Academy of Science
- USSR-41 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in Latvia
- USSR-42 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in the town of Krasnodar and vicinity
- USSR-43 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in Kharkov and vicinity
- USSR-45 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in the town of Rovno and vicinity
- USSR-46 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in Ore1 and vicinity
- USSR-47 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on atrocities in the city of Odessa and vicinity
- USSR-49 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission dated 13 September 1944: destruction of works of art and art treasures
- USSR-50 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on the destruction of monuments in Novgorod
- USSR-54 Report by a special Soviet commission, 24 January 1944, concerning the shooting of Polish officer prisoners of war in the forest of Katyn
- USSR-55 Report of special Soviet commission on crimes in the city of Krasnodar and vicinity
- USSR-56 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on atrocities committed in Smolensk and vicinity
- USSR-63 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in Sevastopol and other cities
- USSR-246 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission of the Soviet Union concerning destruction of ecclesiastical buildings
- USSR-248 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission concerning the destruction of Kiev's Psychopathic Institute
- USSR-249 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on German atrocities in Kiev
- USSR-279 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes in the city of Viazma and others in the Smolensk region
- USSR-415 Report of the Extraordinary State Commission on crimes committed against Soviet prisoners of war in the camp of Lamsdorf
Only one of these reports, USSR-54 (in German) concerning the Katyn massacre, appears in the English version of the NMT "Blue Series" collection of exhibits. An editor's note states that "the absence of a Soviet editorial staff [made] it impossible to publish any documents in Russian". As a result, of the 51 Soviet prosecution exhibits included in the document collection all are written in either English or German.
Controversial communiqués
Some of the reports prepared by the commission are now considered erroneous, or falsifications. Particularly, the first report of the commission was published on 24 August 1944 with the title "Finland demasked“. This report claimed that FinlandFinland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
had put the whole Soviet population of the occupied territories into Concentration camps in East Karelia
East Karelia
East Karelia , also rendered as Eastern Karelia or Russian Karelia, is a name for the part of Karelia that since the Treaty of Stolbova in 1617 has remained Christian Orthodox under Russian supremacy. It is separated from the western part of Karelia, called Finnish Karelia or historically Swedish...
during the Continuation War
Continuation War
The Continuation War was the second of two wars fought between Finland and the Soviet Union during World War II.At the time of the war, the Finnish side used the name to make clear its perceived relationship to the preceding Winter War...
, where 40% had died according to the commission's data.
Another falsification concerns the 24 January 1944 communiqué about the Katyń massacre
Katyn massacre
The Katyn massacre, also known as the Katyn Forest massacre , was a mass execution of Polish nationals carried out by the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs , the Soviet secret police, in April and May 1940. The massacre was prompted by Lavrentiy Beria's proposal to execute all members of...
, published under the title "The Truth about Katyn". This lengthy document affirmed with "irrefutable clarity" that the mass shootings of the Polish prisoners had been done by the Germans (see article here). In fact, the crime was committed by the Soviets.
Literature
- Alexander E. Epifanow: Die Außerordentliche Staatliche Kommission. Stöcker, Wien 1997.
- Stefan Karner: Zum Umgang mit der historischen Wahrheit in der Sowjetunion. Die "Außerordentliche Staatliche Kommission" 1942 bis 1951. In: W. Wadl (Hg.): Kärntner Landesgeschichte und Archivwissenschaft. Festschrift für Alfred Ogris. Klagenfurt 2001, Seite 508-523.
- Marina Sorokina, People and Procedures. Toward a History of the Investigation of Nazi Crimes in the USSR. In: Kritika. Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History 6, 4 (Fall 2005), 797 - 831.
- Joachim HoffmannJoachim HoffmannJoachim Hoffmann was a German historian and scientific director of the German Armed Forces Military History Research Office.-Life:...
, Stalins Vernichtungskrieg 1941-1945. Ch.8 Sowjetischen Untaten werden den Deutschen zugeschrieben.