About the work of the Stalag 309 in Lapland in 1941

The article reveals the topic of the Stalag 309, which was established in 1941 in the band of the German army "Norwegen", and subsequently had dozens of branches. It became the only German Stalag located entirely on the territory of Finland, as well as in the areas of two modern subjects of the Russian Federation. Despite the large camp network that has been created, Russian historical science has not yet identified the specifics of its work in the Arctic. Based on German documents, stored in Bundesarchiv, the article for the first time dynamically characterizes the general activity and structure of the Stalag 309 in 1941. The paper presents chronological changes in the structure of the Stalag. The conditions of detention of Soviet prisoners of war and their evolution are characterized, and the provision of the German Stalag is compared with Soviet prisoner-of-war camps. An attempt is being made to determine the number of prisoners held in Stalag 309. The deterioration of conditions of detention of prisoners is shown, especially in the autumn and winter of 1941. The author characterizes the reasons for the deterioration of the prisoners' situation: hostility and criminal attitude based on the ideas of Nazism, the resulting formal refusals to follow the Geneva Convention of 1929, also sharp deterioration in the supply of the Norwegian army and the onset of cold weather in the uninhabited Arctic. Separately, the author dwells on the issue of crimes against prisoners committed by the camp's leadership and other military personnel of the Wehrmacht or the Finnish army. A range of complex issues requiring further investigation is being determined. The article will be useful for studying the events of the Great Patriotic War in the Arctic, as well as for clarifying the history of crimes committed by Nazi Germany.

The Great Patriotic War, Polar region, Prisoners of war, Concentration camps, Karelo-Finnish SSR, Army, War crimes, Finland, Lapland, Murmansk