East Prussia was the deployment area of the German Wehrmacht both during its invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939 and of the Soviet Union on 22nd June 1941. Hitler moved into his "Führer Headquarters" in the "Wolfsschanze" (Wolf’s Lair) near Rastenburg (today Kętrzyn). The so-called Eastern Campaign was a declared war of extermination, which was supposed to create "living space in the East" and provided for the death of millions of "Slavs", such as Poles and Russians. After the occupation of the Polish and Lithuanian border regions, East Prussian Gestapo and police units also took part in crimes against civilians there, especially Jews. The aim was to exterminate the entire Jewish population in the conquered territories.
The East Prussian civilian population was initially spared from acts of war. Food was rationed. The absence of most men of military age was attempted to compensate for by deploying thousands of prisoners of war particularly in agriculture.
It was not until the end of August 1944 that Königsberg was severely destroyed by British air raids. In October the Red Army made its first advance across the border, and from January 1945 the province was quickly occupied. The conquest was accompanied by acts of violence against the civilian population, who had been forbidden to evacuate in time. Königsberg (today Kaliningrad) capitulated after long and devastating fighting on 9th April 1945.
Illustrations:
1.) Polish prisoners of war in East Prussia in September 1939. The German propaganda selected the photo for use abroad. The depicted mountains of bread were supposed to make it seem that the prisoners were well fed. In actual fact, however, the conditions were catastrophic. In the Stalag I camp near Hohenstein (today Olsztynek) in the Osterode (today’s Ostróda) district alone, about 55,000 prisoners of war lost their lives.
Photo: German Federal Archives
2.) Burning Königsberg, photo by Fritz Krauskopf, August 1944
During the nights before 27th and 30th August 1944 hundreds of British Royal Air Force bombers attacked the East Prussian capital. The densely built historical centre was almost completely destroyed by explosive and incendiary bombs. The castle, the cathedral, many other churches, the old and the new university, as well as the picturesque Speicherviertel (granary district), fell victim to the flames. Approximately 200,000 residents were made homeless by the bombing raids, presumably more than 5,000 lost their lives.
Photo: German Federal Archives