MEDICAL FACILITIES AT PW CAMPS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-00810A003900730008-1
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 4
• Document Creation Date: December 22, 2016
• Document Release Date: January 21, 2010
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: September 28, 1954
• Content Type: REPORT

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CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
INFORMATION REPORT
CONFIDENTIAL
COUNTRY USSR (Voroshilovgrad Oblast) 'REPORT
SUBJECT Medical Facilities at PW Camps DATE DISTR. 28 Sept. 1954
THE SOURCE EVALUATIONS IN THIS REPORT ARE DEFINITIVE.
THE APPRAISAL OF CONTENT IS TENTATIVE.
(FOR KEY SEE REVERSE)
1. Many mines were located. in the area around Krasnopole (N 50-47, ] 35-15) in
Voroshilovgrad Oblast. In September 1949, a, large group of German Pests was
sent to Krasnopole to construct a settlement for the miners and also to build,
a PW Camp at Bryanka, five kilometers from Krasnopole. The P,d camps at
Bryanka and Krasnopole each contained approximately 2,000 prisoners, and each
had a hospital with 60-75 beds. Other camps in the area, with fewer prisoners,
had h.ospi.tal f-, with about 15 beds. In addition to the individual c i.np hospitals,
there was a special hospital which moved from one PZ?1 camp to another. This
hospital always had 75 beds, deteriiiined by an IIiVD order. The hospital was
originally located in Kadiyevka (N 4-34, L 3-40) and subsequontly in the
following cities: Stalino (1949), Dnepropetrovsk (1950), Shakhty (early 1951),
and, finally, Sverdlovsk in late 1951.
Hospital Facilities
2. The PW hospital in Krasnopole was a two-story, stone building, located at the
edge of the miners' housing settlement. The building was designed like a
barracks with a hall dorm the middle and single rooms on each side. Toilets
and washing facilities were located at each end. The building was approximately
80 meters long and 12 meters wide.
3. The PW hospital in Bryanka was located in the center of the town. It was in a
rro r:,r building built on the slope of a hill so that there were three different
levels with three separate entrances. The hospital contained about 65 beds and
also housed some of the staff. The hospital had a surgical section and an
internal medicine section, within which was an infectious disease section consist-
ing of one or two rooms and also a dispensary with two rooms. The out-patient
section had 15 beds and was used'to house patients for three or four d:.?ys while
they were awaiting final diagnosis. Except for surgery, which was in charge of
a Soviet surgeon, the German physicians took care of most of the patients. Case
histories were dictated in German and translated into Russian for the records.
STATE X ARMY 1X NAVY x AIR X I FBI AEC SI E X
(NOTE: Washington distribution indicated by "X", Fleild distribution by "#'".)
This material contains information affecting the Na-
tional Defense of the United States within the mean-
ing of the Espionage Laws. Title 18. U.S.C. Secs. 793
and 794, the transmission or revelation of which in
any manner to an unauthorized person is prohibited
by law.
NO. OF PAGES 4
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Medical Personalities at Bryanka Hospital
The following is a list; of Soviets at Bryanka Hospital:
a. Major Goldshteyn (fnu), a medical doctor
of medical administration.
b. Captain Marya Dmitreyevna Noiman
internist and chief physician.
in charge
c. -Captain Usov (fnu) I was chief surgeon until August 1950,
when he was replaced by Lt. Kortelenets.
lst Lieutenant Lena Feodorevna Kortelenets became
chief surgeon and physician at the camp in 1950.
the physician in charge of the dispensary.
1st Lieutenant Tatyana Viktorevna Nikolayevnal Iwas
In addition to the staff of Soviet physicians, six German physicians and two
German dentists worked at the Bryanka camp hospital. Dr. Gross fnu a
surgeon, arrived in 1950.
erman oc ors included: Dr. Herman fnu,, an internis
Dr. Christiansen (fnu), a neuropathologist and psychiatrist
Dr. Statzebach (fnu), in charge of physical therapy; Dr. Schieck
in charge of ENT; and Dr. Wagner (fnu).
Drugs and Pharmaceuticals
fnu),
6. Many PW camps were in the area, and the MVD had established a large medical
supply dump in Kadiyevka for the use of the nfs. Most of these supplies were
captured war materiel and included Hungarian, German. and
medical equipment. Four
times a year medical supplies were ordered from Soviet MUD supply dumps in
Voroshilovgrad, Kiev, and Kharkov. There were always shortages, but these
increased noticeably after the start of the Korean War. The PWs were not able
to get any drugs Even when they were included in packages, they
were often stolen by sovie s before the packages were delivered. Some of the
Soviet medical staff conscientiously attempted to recover these drugs for use
in the hospital, but even when. they were able to trace them it was usually
impossible to get all of-them back.
7. Very little sulfa was available even to thA SniriMts
en e stocks o foreign sulfa drugs became very low, the Soviets
apparently were still not able to provide any for the PW hospital. The
Soviet product d, ulfan was usually used to treat dysentery. This product
was extremely toxic. The Soviets stated that they had a new sulfa preparation
released for use in 1953. The product was called phthalazol and was to be
used only for treating dysentery. A supply was available for treatment of any
German PWs who might contract dysentery during their repatriation in September
1953. However, the product was so new that the Soviets were not sure of the
required dosage, and, consequently, patients were treated with amounts varying
from three to six grams Per day, depending on the patient's condition.
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8. Soviet penicillin became available in 1949. This was a crystalline type
which had to be dissolved in water prior to use. No depot-type penicillin
was ever available in the PW camps, nor were there any combined penicillin
products. When it was necessary to administer penicillin with novocain, the
two had to be combined by hand prior to injection. Supplies of penicillin
were always short, even in 1953. Penicillin was obtained from the main
pharmacy in Kadiyevka.
9. Except for one occasion, no streptomycin was ever used in the PW hospital.
In 1952, a case of testicle tuberculosis occurred in one of the prisoners.
This was treated for one week with Soviet streptonqcin which was purchased
on the market by one of the Soviet physicians. Enough streptomycin for
one week's treatment cost 1,000 rubles. The Soviet physician who had
purchased the drug had utilized a special fund which, prior to 1951, had
been set up to purchase rare drugs for treatment of Ne. When this fund
was dissolved, either the Soviet physicians or the Germans were obliged to
pay, out of their own pockets, for any non-issue drug items.
10. In 1952,PAS (para-amino-salicylic acid) became available on the Soviet
market and, when needed, was bought and paid for by the camp physicians.
11. Ether, ethyl chloride, and morphine were supplied in ampules and were of
Soviet manufacture. A ,plentiful supply of aspirin existed, but very little
pyramidon or phenacetin was available. Some caffein and codeine were avail-
able in bulk and had to be mixed before use. However, a prepared product
was on sale in the Soviet pharmacies. Luminal was used as a hypnotic.
Some phanodorm and noctal were available from old German stocks. The Soviets
had a preparation called br mil. A Hungarian drug called zebenon (phonetic)
was also available.
12. A r'khin in tablet or powdered form was used for treatment of malaria,but
no injectable material was availabl
O
e.
ne of the German physicians, who
had formerly been in Baku,where malaria was a serious problem, had tried to
dissolve the powdered akrikhin in order to make an injectable form. However
this preparation was not successful, and its use led to the formation of
abscesses at the site of injection. Other drugs used in the treatment of
malaria included plasmocid, bigumal, and a mixture of akrikhin and plasmocid
which came in the form of a green tablet. In addition, all the captured
stocks of atebrin had been dumped together by the Soviets without regard to
tablet size. Unfortunately, each pharmaceutical company
had made tablAtA
---o -- w.,~~ -11"1uo v.L aLeorln as required by
e German Armed Forces. After the su
li
pp
es were mixed, there was no way
to determine the exact amount in the tablets. Some quinine hydrochloride of
German manufacture was available. The Soviets also had quinine but were
reluctant to furnish it to the PWs as their own supply was always short.
Other Medical Su plies
13. No X-ray instruments, cystoscopes,or catheters were available. Most of the
surgical instruments were of German Army origin and were obtained from the
AND supply dump. Some of the simple surgical instruments, such as those
used for tonsillectomies, were of Soviet manufacture.
14. Soviet physicians were well aware of the advantages of blood transfusion.
In 1949-1950, they recommended the use of blood transfusions in the treat-
ment of dystrophy. In the PW hospitalssapparatus for the administration of
citrated blood was available, but none existed for direct transfusion,
Some captured stocks of Periston and Vetran were used for treatment of the
PWasbut the Soviets themselves never employed any blood substitute or
extender other than saline. Sera L'or blood typing were very difficult
to obtain.
CONFIDENTIAL
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15. From 1945 through 1947, when a crop failure occurred in the Ukraine, the
supply of food was very short. The situation improved in 1948, but food
became scarce again in 1950 at the start of the Korean War. During one
of the famine periods, the FWs dug roots which they ate. These roots
produced symptoms of atropine intoxication, but there were no deaths. In
the Pskov area, the native population ate what appeared to be a poisonous
mushroom. They claimed this mushroom became edible if it was boiled twice
and the water discarded after each cooking.
Comment: Vetran
is a liver extract rather
than a blood substitute.
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