When the loss of the city was inevitable, the Germans prepared to blast its infrastructure with aviation bombs and by laying mines and explosives on bridges, warehouses and other facilities.
Finally the Soviets entered the city
The Red Army sappers had to clear German mines all over the city
Nikolai Church in the background
The silhouette of the cathedral, in the distance.
The entire rear of the central Army group was the field of action for partisan units.
General Max von Schenckendorff (1875 – 1943) was the commander of Army Group Rear Area behind Army Group Centre from March 1941 until his death.
He is best known for organising the Mogilev conference, in which Wehrmacht and SS officers discussed "bandit fighting" tactics, meaning the mass murder of real or perceived enemies.
The German occupation of Smolensk and its area was relentless. Tens of thousands of its inhabitants were executed during the two long years of occupation
So it was time for revenge....
Ten were the military men accused of committing crimes in the trial in the city of Smolensk:
Kirschfeld, Robert, born 1905, German, translator for the Smolensk military commander's office, noncommissioned officer.
Modish, Rudolf, born 1912, from Berlin, German, non-party member, medical assistant at the 551 German military hospital stationed in the city of Smolensk, 1st Corporal
Weiss, Wili, born 1899, German, native of Butenbock, Oberharz district (Germany), non-party member, non-commissioned officer of the 335th security battalion.
Gagudian Kurt, born 1912, German, native of the city of Poznan, non-party member, corporal of the 335th security battalion.
Genchke Fritz, born 1917, German, from the town of Miseritz (East Germany), corporal of the 335th security battalion.
Müller Erich, born 1910, German, from Berlin, non-party member, corporal of the 335th battalion.
Krause Willy, born 1913, German, from Berlin, non-party member, corporal of the 335th security battalion.
Winkler Heinz, born 1914, German, native of the city of Milzau (Saxony), non-party member, corporal of the 335th security battalion
Everst Erich, born 1907, German, native of the city of Cologne, non-party member, architect by profession, squad leader of the 490th security battalion.
Reischmann Joseph, born 1910, German, originally from Lindau (Germany), soldier of the 350th Infantry Regiment of the 14th Infantry Division.
Only ordinary performers were brought to court. The military leadership of the Third Reich at that time was on trial in the city of Nuremberg. However, the main inspirer of the crimes committed in the land of Smolensk, General von Schenkendorf, commander of the rear of the Army Group Center, managed to escape punishment. At the time of the trial, he was not found.
All of these people were brought to the Military District Court. The trial was presided by Major General of Justice A.D. Goryachev. The state prosecution was supported by Senior Justice Counsel L.N. Smirnov. The defense of the accused was in charge of four lawyers, members of the Moscow Bar Association, as ordered by the court.
In the morning session of December 15, 1945, the prosecution was announced, which made specific points of impeachment against ten former German military personnel and their actions were legally evaluated.
After the indictment was announced, the court proceeded to examine the evidence. The defendants, victims, witnesses were questioned, the material of the case was heard.
In total, the reading of the accusation and the interrogation of the accused lasted little more than two days. On December 17, the military court began examining the materials of the case: questioning witnesses, announcing the content of the documents. In the evening session of December 18 and 19, 1945, the court heard the speeches of the state attorney, the defenders of the defendants, the last words of the defendants in which they begged for mercy and expressed remorse, after which he withdrew. to the meeting. On the night of December 19, the military court announced the verdict.
Kirschfelt Roman-Robert; Modish Rudolph; Weiss Wili; Gaudnyan Kurt; Genchke Fritz; Müller Erich; Krause Wili, on the basis of Article 1 of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 19, 1943, a military court condemned to death by hanging.
Raishman Josepf to 20 years of forced labor; Everts Erich to 15 years of forced labor; Winkler Heinz to 12 years of forced labor.
The verdict is not subject to appeal.
The next day, December 20, 1945, with a large concentration of people in Kolkhoznaya Square, the sentence was carried out against those sentenced to death.
Rebuilding the city. Then and now
Now we will see how over the years the city was rebuilt in general and how some of the most iconic places we have known were then and are now, almost eighty years later.
For reconstruction tasks in the early years, even during the war, several thousand German POWs were employed.
Well into the 1950s, the enormous task of rebuilding the city continued
The first building we will look at rebuilding is the old synagogue, converted into the Soldaten Kino.
We observe in the following two images that it was severely damaged in 1943, after the German withdrawal.
We see that the structure of the building was used, although the new plant ceased to be of Arabic inspiration (we see how the striking original windows have been covered with bricks and cement)
And was rebuilt in a neoclassical style, so much to the Soviet liking: a facade with four cylindrical columns with Corinthian capitals and a classical pediment.
As we have said previously, it is now a University Telecommunications Faculty
Another building that we have seen is that of the Soviet Haus, the headquarters of the communist party in the city, which as we remember was blown up by the Germans and functioned as a prison for the German POWs, after the liberation of the city.
Just after liberation
POW prison in 1946
The building was demolished and on the same site the prewar constructivist style was changed to Soviet Neoclassicism of the 1950s
Postcard showing the new building under construction.
The buildings in front were subsequently demolished to create an even larger plaza
This is the result
More recent building demolitions got the image of the square today
Right next to it, the facade of the Dramatic theater is almost the same
tabstabs collection
The building of the Savings Bank
Then.
Now. Sberbank building
The Noble Assembly building, seat of the German City Council
Then.
Now. The Philarmonic Concert Hall
Smolensk Hauptbahnhof
Pravda building en smirnova Platz
Or the editorial office of the newspaper krasnoarmeyskaya Pravda
The clock house, at the intersection of Bolshaya Sovetskaya and Lenina streets
During the occupation in 1941.
After liberation in 1943.
Two views at present
The teapot building
The department store building
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