FRATERNIZATION OF SAF PERSONNEL WITH GERMAN WOMEN

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00809A000600040264-5
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: July 19, 2011
• Sequence Number: 264
• Publication Date: July 31, 1953
• Content Type: REPORT

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CLASSIFICATION SECRET
CENTRAL INTELLIGEWCE 'AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
c0UNiR'Y Germany (Soviet Zone)
SUBJECT Fraternization of SAY Personnel with
German Women
PLACE
ACQUIRED
DATE
ACQUIRED BY SOURC
DATE OF INFORMATION
DATE DISTR. Jul 1953
NO OF PAGES
NO.. OF ENCLS.
(LISTED BELOW)
SUPPLEMENT TO
REPORT NO.
THIS IS UNEVALUATED INFORMATION
1o answer his question properly, it is necessary to divide the occupation forces
into two classes, or categories. In one of these tall EM and NCO's; the other
category is co!npcsed officer personnel, Ncturally, the EM and NCO's are under
the control of th.e officers, In the 24th Air Army this control was constant and
complete; during working hours at the Airdrome and during off hours at the living
quarters, Also, military installations are surrounded by high fences with barbed
wire on the tep. NCO's or privates,-are never permitted to leave the military
installations. In cases of euergemsy (like going to the hospi al, etc.), when a
=~gaant or a Private has to leave this military installation, an officer is
assigned to, see to it that said- enliated.man ramakm,bis destination safely without
getting involved in fraternization? For exsmie !r an-en
'S azzy in
~. i
onsed oayuad a few haura,.S comslissioned officer takes him to
his unit. When the men is ready to be cites :aged from said hospital, the hospital
autnrrities notify his commanding officer w1w assigns some commissioned officer to
go and escort the enlisted men back to his unit. When an-enlisted man is ready
to be discharged from the hospital and at the saw time there is an officer from a
nearby unit also ready to be dischatged from this hosnit+Al; the hospital t:..ns the
enlisted mL-. to said officer, and it p_~ oO the
paenins this officer s responsibility to see
to it that the enlisted man goes directly to his unit. ( the basis of the above,
it can be seen that sergeants and privates have no
unite
with German naa?icmls. However, s end ~ a~ secret contacts ret nttz t
V1ASSIC)CATJONN __ with
Ti
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German girls, despite all the strict measures imposed by the authorities. These con-
tacts are effected by the following means: NCO's and privates lire periodically sche-
duled fox guard duty all around the military installation. 'While on this duty, they
have the right to stop any German national who might be passing by. Besides the guard
duty, there is also a patrol duty which involves moving about and examining identifi-
cation papers of any national in the vicinity. At times, personnel on such a guard or
patrol duty, stop German nationals not with the idea of examining their-papers but
rather with the idea of engaging them in a conversation and getting acquainted with
them. During such duty hours guard and patrol personnel have ample opportunity to dis-
cover safe places to meet new acquaintances as well as to find a hol
, i
th
y
n
e fence or
some other weak spot where they would not be noticed sneaking out at night. Each
patrol or guard is periodically relieved and given a couple of hours rest. Instead of
resting, however, they crawl through or climb over the fence in order to keep pre-
arranged dates with German girls for an hour or so of their rest period. When absence
of an individual is discovered and the absence is over a period of more than two hours,
the guilty individual is apprehended and charged with desertion, or at least a willful
unauthorized absence. He is then court-martialed by a military tribunal. However,
the resulting sentence depends on the mans previous record and on his commanding
officer - mostly on the CO. In most cases, however, whenever an NCO or a private has
a date with a German national, he tells his closest friends where he can be found in
the event his superiors begin a search for his. Immediately after such a search begins,
the missing man'E friends get a word at to him so that in most cares he manages to
turn up somewhere within the military installation and thereby escapes punishment.
The NCO's and the privates usually develop very close comradeship and are always will-
ing to cover up for-one another.
Officer personnel are allowed more freedom than the EM, however, they too are not
allowed to leave the military installation without specific permission front their
superiors. Such permissions are granted-only w)en it is necessary to leave the mili-
a bank,e hospitall,, visiting i other business during insllahmws. For exemore: ga oing to
o or .on n tpthe.
Under above indicated circumstances, officers take the installations, going on to `
selves with German nationals, particularly women, and mane arrangementsttomeet again.
Also officers' quarters are-oared for by German maids. These maids-work during the
day only. During lunch period officers often see these women, talk with them and make
dates for later meetings. These conversations as well as the dates are held in secret.
Each officer with a rank of a Captain Bind above has a private room. TTe three ranks
of lieutenants usually share one room between two or three nffin rc wi.o b_.co ve
close riende and often go out on double dates together. Whenever -the political or
counter intelligence sectioU gets wind of such goings on, the officer suspected of like
violations is kept under surveillance until he is caught entering a hotel with a Ger-
man girl, or visiting her in her own home. Within 24 hours, the guilty officer is
trrnsferred to a Special VVS Cadre which makes immediate' arrangements to send this
officer out of the occupation zone back to the Soviet Union. This same Cadre provides
an escort, consisting of an officer of equal or-one grade higher than the accused. All
of the documents belonging to the accused are carried by the escort until they reach
the Soviet Union border a: which time the papers are turned over to the accused who
is then allowed to proceed to Moscow alone while the escorting offie.:r returns to his
unit in Germany or Austria?
All military personnel of the 24th Air Army have their quarters within military in-
stallations which are fenced in all- the way around. The difference between the offi-
cer and enlisted personnel is that officer personnel are not requira9 to have an offi-
cial escort, whereas the enlisted personnel do nave to have ar, c.ficer escort whenever
it is necessart to leave the military installation. Besides military personnel,
sections of the 24th Air Army employed a considerable numl sr of civilians (Soviet
Citizens) who also were forbidden to leave the military installation without spenifin
parmiasioii. All military personnel of the 24th Air Army are categorically' forbidden
to enter any German night clubs, restaurants, theaters, playhouses or any other places
of recreation or amusement. All managers of such eatahl.tahments were nrde,?ad t., _
iuce a,;-;-lance tv all uOvi.*i,military personnel. In cases when a Soviet soldier or
an officer insists on being admitted and served the local Commander of the Metropoli-
tan Military Koraaandatura is to be notified at once. Failure t.c fol"pow these direc-
tives will result in a heavy fine for the first offense.. If it happens the second
time, his business establishment will be closed,
The Snvi
the the ,it, i a.._
Commander of the 24th Air Arm ytak Commander aLi Iouscupation forces in Germany and
Civilians who establish contacts German Nationals and adopted strong g s measures y to vieve of an3r Soviet y or
prevent the establishme!nr of sr-1h contacts. Th eovi n ic:r +~Ct3, ~ .r.?..rav Government and the YiAiS~Tj Gf
Armed Forces have issued a-whole string of directives and orders prohibiting all Soviet -
citizens on occupation duty from fraternizing in any way with'German Nationals. Vio-
lators of these directives are tried-by the Military tribunal and apverrly 1,,,..iohea
Gu:;i directives, or oraert, are read to a`i occupation forces
-. T.i1 i?&,: y Spa'. aim v i1:S:, All ufficera attending such a reading have to sign a roster which shows the purpose
for which the meeting was called. Other personnel are not required to sign any docu-
ment -but the Personnel Section keeps track of all those present at the reading so
that no one can claim that he was not aware that such a regulation was in existence.
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Officers are tried under a unique system called "Court of Officers' Honor". This courr
is composed of a chairman and several officers, All of therm,, including the chairman, are
suboxdiaateto the commanding officer, which means that the Commanding Officer can and
often does influence the court's decision even though he never sits in on the session.
This court has power to demote a guilty officer one grade for a specific period of time
a
fter which an officer reverts to his old rank, or it can delay the promotion of such an
off
officer~foreaespecificeperiodiof tme. At times, instead of demoting an officer in grade,
in the unit. The court ma gnment, ie, gives him a less responsible assignment
In hse y give the accused an official reprimand and let it go at that.
s of more serious violation such as repetition of fraternization or the slightest
evidence of disclosure of military information like revealing one's unit number, the trials
are conducted by a Military Tribunal and the sentences are-from 10 to 25 years of hard
labor. In order to further cut down on fraternization, the SAF officers are given two
furloughs per year of 45 days each, plus travelling time.. Both of these furloughs have to
be spent in the USSR. Tour of occupation duty, for SAF officers, is four years, but be-
cause of the two 45 day furloughs the actual time spent in Germany is only three years.
There is no time limit on tour of duty for civilians. ',).so the p-ivates and NCO's %o not
have "ny specific time limit of occupation duty but they do have specific tours of stili-
tary service.
JRnenever a civilian is caught fraternizing with a German national, he is immediately ship-
ped, under guard, to the Soviet Union. His personal record is also fixed to indicate the
reason why he is being returned from Germany, ie, he is undesirable , a factor which re-
lects on his character. One who receives such a character rating is very seldom able
to find a good job in the Soviet Uriion. At times such a civilian violator of regulations
is tried by a military tribunal (because there are no civil courts in the occupation zone)
and sentenced to bard labor for a period of time de
endi
p
ng on the seriousness of his
crime. Regarding privates and NCO's, the authorities take a very serious view of any
fraternization. Whenever it is established that fraternization existed between any of
these personnel and the German national, a thorough investigation follows resulting in a
severe punishment by the local commander. For first offense, the man is reduced one
grade for a period of time, and in case'of a private, the guilty person can not be promo-
ted for six months. For second offense, the accused is tried by a military tribune', and
is given a minimum sentence of three years,, while the maximum depended on the serious-
ness of the crime. Besides the above, Soviet Commanders can institute tighter control
by means of conducting inspection tours of officer's quarters during the evenings to see
how the officers are spending their spare time. Privates and NCO's also have similar
inspection in addition to which the?, have bed-oh''cks a?d h-d yn+- du
rno the night by
to enlist the helr ofJCrJ Lust method used by 1GB to catch regulation violators is
who are employed on the m fitter-v installation. gAt times the W .B and nips
German girl to tempt a Soviet citizen and then uses st'oh a contract ac evidence against sends a
the, offender. said sends him to the Soviet Union. The M B also enlists, for like purpose,
the aid of agents, through German Police, who reside within a settlement of German nition-
als and =an readily observe any strangers who might visit the settlement near the mili-
' ry installation. In spite of all these precautions, members of Soviet occupation forces
continue their illicit fraterniz-tion with r--- -`-
The The morale of the personnel in the 24th Air Army is generally good because of the follow-
ing factors
Officer rer-nnrel of th^ 24th Aix Army, like all other officers )n fine VVS receive much
mare money than officers in any other branch of the military service. Officers of the
24th Air A Zy receive more and better quality, personal equipment than SAF officers who
are stationed with' the Soviet Union. Officer personnel in the 24th Air e_
n'5-dal furlo gn per year ((-rot counting travelling time), while officers of the~VVSl.lo-ova
sated in the USSR receive only one 45-day furlough per year and those on flying stations
receive two
ecei 1 are, 30-day furloughs per year. Food in the SAF is r or h b tier
,.rr..: '' . ?`.:. ; s a-vaii ble to the fo f
F are provided with better li ground forces e pereo el are. Force
rce
cers Of the VVS are held in a much higher esteem then officers of rotherbranches of thefi-
military Jervice, Consequently, VV,S personnel enjoy much more cordial relationship with
citizenry in the USSR than do the personnel of other branches of military service. It is
necessary to keep in mind that food, clothing and rail travel is free to all Soviet Mili-
tary personnel.
ns='-
~de from occasional exceptions, good discipline among VVS personnel prevails. Officers
of the 24th Air Army understand t _bat +heit
tYme 1:,C j &iav UttotrOtand that it Is a r~..;-
w..M -earn at the salve t duration of their tour of occupation duty (three toof~on which Thl last side for the
are important factors in prompting officers to conduct the lu.e These considerati ons
sloop A A
_J.?_v=_ -e'ricops among all military par.;nr,~e r_g.diem,; .,
..
tall,,- %pici, t2vtc of -t,.,~- _
.e.,.jtar, 1M*sonnet ?l so have a
very sir `
example: people back home may be working on a collective Earn', aafaccor orr tpla F,?.
while their relative is an officer in the military, t or be a plant,
have to work as hard as they do and yet his liviservice. They know that he not
er than theirs.
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Conseq;. they urge him to be a good boy, stay out of trouble and make military service
a career .,o that not only hA himself will have a better life but at the same time he will
bee in a position. to help them mdteriaZly. Also, people who have relatives in the military
service are themselves looked upon by local authorities as contributors to a good cause.
Unlisted personnel of the WS also enjoy a better standard of living than do personnel o:'
otter branches of military service inasmuch as WS personnel receive three times as such
pay as others do. For ^xample, A sergeant with mechanic; 'MOS" : ^ceives 375 i?ables
($94.00) per month. A private in the lowest pay occupation ("MOSS"), a vehicle driver, re-,.
ceives 150 rubles ($38.00) per month. In the infantry unit the highest pay bracket for a
sergeant, assistant platoon commander or a company 1st sergeant is only 175 rubles ($44.00),
and the lowest pay rate for a private is only 25 rubles ($6.0)) per month. Working condi-
tions for a sergeant in the VVS are much more pleasant than are working conditions for a
sebroeant in the infantry, One of the most important reasons for this difference is the
fact that relations between NCO's and officers in the Air Force are very cordial while in
the infantry they are not. Enlisted personnel in the 24th Air Army, besides receiving their
regular pay in rubles which they can Either send-home to their relatives or put in the bank,
also receive an equal number of German marks for their spending money. That is to say that r'
for every ruble of their regular pay they also receive one mark as additional compensation.
The7 also know that their stay in Germany is only temporary. They are constantly reminded
of this fact at their lectures which are conducted by the. Political Service Officers. Rn-
travelis-
ted perso e1, after one year of occupation duty, receive a 30 day furlough (including time ' all branches of militarysservice.the Soviet Union. This applies to enlisted personnel of
Discipline among enlisted personnel is generally good with occasional minor exceptions.
For example: in a Air Fighter Regiment there are 215 enlisted personnel, and out of that
number there would be only 10 or slightly more violators. The authorities conduct an ex-
tensive campaign designed to maintain good military discipline aid good moral conduct of
military personnel. Whenever an enlisted man spends 30 or 60 minutes with a German girl
and does not do anything wrong, his punishment consists of an extension of military ser-
vice upon return to the Soviet Union. Under these circumstances he does not face the mili-
tary tribunal. Most of the so-called serious violators were.oommitted during the war, and
most of those people have already been demobi]ized, and replaced by new contingents. Vio-
lators of directives and regulations by these replacements occur very seldom,. Of course,
among enlisted personnel, there are many who ara secretly dissatisfied with conditions im-
posed upon them by the Soviet government and their ledders. Also, though few, there are
those who. are diasatisfien with their a litsr_r `te r?_er xi,-.Td- ... political:
counter-~rteiij Ilce officers.are always distrusted and disliked, JHoever,man'slmraland
behavior is not influenced by these secret dissatisfactions. General high morale of the
Soviet military personnel can be attributed to some ill-conceived US radio broadcasts which
are beamed to countries behind tie iron curtain. As a matter of fact, some of those
broadcasts were interpreted to be directed against the general population of the Soviet
Union, However, it is not my intention to cover that problem in this report.
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