740.00119 Control
(Italy)/7–2345
No. 1164
The Secretary of the Soviet
Delegation (Novikov) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Dunn)
[Translation]
Dear Mr. Dunn: In connection with the question
concerning the British camp for Soviet citizens in the region of
Cesenatico (Italy), regarding which the statement was made by
the Soviet Delegation at
[Page 1163]
the meeting of the Heads of the Three
Governments on July 22,1 I am sending you herewith, under
instructions of the People’s Commissar, an aide-mémoire. I would appreciate it if you would
acknowledge the receipt of the attached aide-mémoire.
Sincerely yours,
[Attachment—Translation]
Aide-Mémoire
The Soviet Reparation [Repatriation]
Authorities have received the following information from
their representatives in Italy.
On July 10, 1945 Lieutenant
Colonel Levels informed the Soviet
representative, Colonel
Yakovlev, that there were 150 Soviet
citizens in the British camp in the region of the city
of Cesenatico. On July 16 the Soviet representative,
Colonel
Podobed, together with the English Brigadier Denny—the
commanding officer of the zone of POW camps—had occasion to
visit the camp in the Cesenatico area. It was thereupon
revealed that 150 persons were not held in this camp but
10,000 who were in general Ukrainians. One division of
approximately 10,000 men had been formed from these
Ukrainians. The division consisted of twelve regiments,
including a communications regiment and an engineer
regiment. The Officer Corps of this division was chosen
from persons who occupied command positions in
corresponding units of the German army. It also appeared
that the persons who expressed the desire to return to
their homeland had been badly treated and were even
beaten up.2
[Babelsberg,] July 23, 1945.
