davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1951-02-11

which accompanies the transcript
of the Interrogation.
"At approximately 10 am, he
writes, II received a telephone call
from Maj. Helmdach, army intel
ligence officer, who bade me to
report to his H. @. Crossing the
garden, I arrived there within a
few minutes. He met me with the
words: Sd Mot (the Sd Motorized
Army Corps just reported that
the 18th Armored Division has
captured the son of Stain. What
do you say to that?'
Well replied, let's first have
a closer look at this chap. I'll
have him brought up
An old hand around head
quarters, Mai. Holters knew he
would have to move fast to as
sure himself of a role in the his
toric incident that was develop
ing.
while we were talking" he
reports, "I quickly pondered how
to take the best advantage of this
situation In the teeth Of my col
leagues from the army. so that
I myself would not have to forgo
this sensational interrogatory."
Luck was with the major. 1t so
happened that only the day be-
fore a company of correspondents
had been attached to the air
force command at Tolotshin.
Their equipment included sound
recording truck. which Holters
considered a requisite" of any
successful interrogation.
The major made a deal with
the officer in charge of the cor
respondents, one. Capt. Renschle,
who agreed to contribute the serv-
ices of the sound truck in ex-
change for the privilege of himself
taking part in the interview. Hol-
ters next sped to his command
ing officer and got permission to
dispatch a light plane to pick up
the prisoner. He set his men to
cleaning up little house which
had been taken over as headquar-
ters Of the air force unit. Here
Yacha could be interrogated while
his words were preserved on sound
tape in the truck nearby.
Holters describes the scene:
Everything was prepared for his
arrival. The house being clean
by now, headquarters with its
various departments could move
in and get to work. Large drawing
tables covered with strategic maps
were arranged in my room. A
large map was spread on one Ia
Evening star., 1951-02-11
Russio and the Jews

@. Do you know the attitude
of National-Socialist Germany
toward the Jews? Are you aware
of the fact that Jews hold the key
positions of the present-day Red
Government? And what do you
think will be the attitude of the
Russian people towards the Jews
in the long run?
A. All that is nonsense, gossip.
They have no influence at all; to
the contrary. I can state myself,
If you like, that hatred toward the
Jews has at all times been in
herent in the Russian people.
@. And why should there be
such hatred against the !. Jews
in all the villages and towns we
have passed so far? Over and
over again, the idea is expressed
that the Jews are bringing misery
to Red Russia.
A. What do you expect me to
answer. :. AS to the Jews, all
can say is that they cannot work
that the Jews are like the gypsies
They don't want to work. Business
is what they like. Some Jews
in Russia even maintain that they
would be better on In Germany
since their deals are allowed
there. -. Trafficking Of that sort
Evening star., 1951-02-11
Was Ponic"

The Germans asked where
Yacha got his civilian clothes, and
drew a more detailed explanation
Of the circumstances of his cap
ture. q classic description Of the
terror and confusion Of the battle
field on q crumbling front:
"On the 18TH" Yacha said,
your troops encircled Ljasnovo
We found ourselves surrounded.
There was a panic. The gunners
fired back as long as they could.
Then. all Of q sudden. they van
ished. I don't know where. they
ran. I left them to join the
division commander, waiting for
him In his car. He was not
there. ...
Your troops started their bonn
bardment. Red Army soldiers
gathered around my car-people
Of the service corps. They all
begged me: Commander /. lead
us into the attack I assumed
command over them, leading the
attack. Then they certainly got
frightened. for when I turned
around, I was alone.
There was no way back to my
Evening star., 1951-02-11
The Story Behind This Story

In the s4S United Stotes Government Official ovens
through the British Western Gmony struck
Wmaeht who hod succeeded getting
himself officially "denozifed" and looking for job
The Waer oer oimd have INTERCEPTED Stoins
captured by Htrs World War H. He d
o the entire ho the
the Gemon He produced
the
with unpublished Of the and the
This moteo acquired by the American who the United
July 948 For half years the
trunk his house. Washington The other coy eod The
mystery Jacob Deoshys fate He The
telling the his trunk And that how this story
careful check hos ed evidence which does
cod the conclusion tho this mool wholly There doubt
ho the the pictures the Jo Dusosh
viii whom authentic photographs already have been published
Moi oters tronsenp Gemon although the old
SPOKE his Russon through The
reveal who asked each oulor question Moi Hte indicated
he asked most of them The English onot Of the onipt which this
bod checked for ouoy by Dr. Steon Horn
professor Georgetown Une Languages
Evening star., 1951-02-11
Interview With Stains Ashamed He Told Captos

a Georgian Of descent. the second
Russian, that's all.
@. Isn't his second wife nee
Kaganowitch?
A. No, no. Nothing but rumors.
Nonsense.
@. With whom Is your father
married at the present time?
A. Who? No. he -. His wife
died In 1884. Alliluieva. She was
q Russian, q genuine Russian, a
Russian woman from the Don
district. No, but no. The man Is
81 years Of age. He was married; /;
at present he is not. BY no means.
In his memorandum accompany
ing the transcript, Maj. Holters
said he learned that Yacha was
Stains "only true" son; that
Stains other children were
adopted. This startling statement.
which runs counter to the opinion
of all Stain biographers. is no.
where explained. It is not backed
up by anything in the text of the
Interrogation.
Evening star., 1951-02-11

them, and you will see what they
answer.
c. Well. during that long peri
cd, Infinitely more could have been
achievel than has been done. Just
compare it with the respective
period in Germany. which is much
shorter. :.
A. Perfect; here is the answer.
In Russia. a self-supplying indus
try has been built up. Russia is
dependent on almost nobody.
Maybe all that was >. at the
expense of the peasants, at the
expense of the workmen-and q
Evening star., 1951-02-11
Question and Answer

The interrogation began:
@. May I ask your name?
A. Jacob.
@. And your second name?
A. Djugashvili.
@. Are you a relative to the
president of the Council Of the
Peoples Commissars?
A. I am his eldest son.
Yacha said he could speak prac-
tically no German. He said at one
time he had been promised trip
to Germany, ''but somehow it did
not materialize.
@. What is your rank in the
Soviet Army. and in which unit
did you serve? -
A. First lieutenant in the 4th
Howitzer Regiment, attached to
the 14th Armored Division-the
artillery regiment with the 14th
Division.
@. And how did you then come
to us?
A. I-that is properly speaking
not I. but the relics Of this divi-
sion-had been broken up on July
n. and these leftovers of the divi-
sion were surrounded near a place
called Ljasnovo.
Q. Did you come over volun-
tarily or were you captured in ac-
ton?
A. Not voluntarily. I was forced.
@. We're you captured alone, or
along with some of your COM
rades-and, If so. how many were
you?
A. Unfortunately, your sur
rounding movement caused such
a panic that the whole unit dis
integrated. You see. we hao been
surrounded - everybody ran his
own way. d. ran to join my
men, but at this very moment I
was called by a group Of Red
Army soldiers who were trying to
force their way out and wanted me
to lead them and to attack your
units. I did so,, but the Red Army
soldiers obviously lost their cour-
age. I found myself alone and
separated from my gunners. I
don't know where they went, and
never again came across one of
them.
@. And how were you treated
by our soldiers?
A. Now, was just stripped of
my boots. but otherwise not badly
on the whole, I should say. Incl
dentally, I may say that your
prisoners are not maltreated
either. I witnessed it myself
not even the parachutists.
Evening star., 1951-02-11
For Once, q Bieshot

Probably never in his life had
he made as big splash as he did
that day when news of his capture
reached Field Marshal Won Kluge's
4th Army headquarters at Tolot-
shin. A Luftwaffe intelligence Of
flcer, Maj. Walter Holters-who
turned out to be one of Yacha S
inquisitors-described the scene in
a sort of personal memorandum
Evening star., 1951-02-11
Everything Was Disorderly"

@. Don't ofncers nave maps
either?
A. Everything was so disorderly
with us. Ill = organized. Our
marches-the order of march
the whole of our organization was
disorderly.
@. What do you mean by that?
A. The division which I
joined - which was considered
good-was thoroughly unprepared
for practical fighting, except for
the artillery. =. The marches
we're carried out improperly. with
an all-embracing disorder no
system, nothing. That's one thing.
Secondly, our armored cars were
annihilated by you. piecemeal.
@. How. does that become mani
fest in the command?
A. They do not like to 80 TO
the front. -.
@. What about the army equip
ment? The weapons, for in
stance?
A. I consider our weapons are
very good. but the people didn't
know how to handle them. :.
@. And what accounts for the
failure of your army?
A. The German dive-bombers
are responsible for it-and the
lack of reason in our commanding
officers. Their silly actions
idiotic, one should say. The for
nations being exposed to fire.
They were ordered into the fire.
Yacha told his questioners that.
once a Red Army unit went into
action, 1t was the military COM
mander rather than the political
eommissar who gave the orders.
Since the war, these Communist
Party representatives assigned to
Russian military formations no
longer are called "commissars. !"
But now as then, their function
is, as Yacha put it, ito raise the
fighting spirit and administer po-
litical education"
The Nazi officers asserted that
they had a hard time keeping
captured commissars from being
killed by other Russian prisoners
in the POW camps. These troops.
Yacha thought. must be newly
drafted conscripts. "They are il
literates." he said. Almost all
Of them"
The discussion turned to the
Kulaks, the more well-to-do peas
ants of Czarist days, whose land
was appropriated by the Com
munists and whose "extermina-
ton" as a class Stain decreed in
the early 1930s. Yacha said those
remaining were the ''most unre-
liable" Of the Red Army's troops.
"They have to be isolated" he
admitted.
@. Are they dissatisfied with
the present constitutional system?
A. OF course they are dissatis-
@. Do you get the impression
that the new era in Soviet Russia
placed the working class and the
peasants in a more favorable po-
sition as compared with former
times?
A. Certainly it did.
@. Well, but we have not seen
any settlements here for the farm
ers and for the workmen-no
factories with fine workshops. !. (.
A. Ask them how things were
previously under the Cars. Ask
Evening star., 1951-02-11

is not allowed in our country.
You can learn If you want to.
You can work. if you like. But
they dislike working. The Jew
goes in for the trade. or he makes
up his mind to become an
engineer, but he does not like
being workman, or q technician,
or a farmer, or a laborer. That's
why people are so contenptuous
of them.
@. Do you know that in Ger
many the Jews have been elm
mated from all branches of
trades, science, arts. medicine.
and so on, which they had appro-
priated for themselves?
A. Yes, do know. do. And
here is another fact I want to let
you know. Have you ever heard
of Birobidjan, a Jewish territory
within the Soviet Union? There
is such an autonomous Jewish
territory at the border between
Manchukuo and the u. S. S. r. MOI
single Jew would stay there.
Only Russians have stayed. The
Jews do not understand. They
don't want to work.
When the Germans got around
to asking Yacha about the rela-
tionship between Stain and Ross
Kaganovitch. they confused the
issue by proceeding on the as.
sumption that she was the second
wife of Stain, who In fact hac
long since buried two wives.
@. Do you know that your ia.
theirs second wife Is a Jewess:
The Kaganovitches are Jews
aren't they?
A. Nothing of the kind. A Rus
sian woman she was. Yes, Kagano.
witch is a Jew, all right. MY
fathers wife? What you are say
ing Is just rumor. There was
nothing in common. Never. No
no, nothing in common. What
are you saying? Never-not fol
the life of me. aIs nrst wife is
Evening star., 1951-02-11
I'D Shoot Myself"

Yacha's use of the words mot
even the parachutists" got him
in wrong with his inquisitors, who
led him into a long and stammer-
ing explanation as to why he
thought parachute troops should
be considered in a different cate
CORY from other prisoners. Yacha
said it was an undeniable fact that
German parachutists had been
captured in Red Army uniforms.
He said a Russian woman had
been caught carrying a bottle of
"pestilence germs" with which she
poisoned wells for the Germans.
He said another woman spy had
been captured on a streetcar in
Smolensk in the uniform of the
Russian militia.
"She bought a ticket" Yacha
volunteered, "and there she made
a mistake. She should not have
bought ticket, since our militia
never do on the streetcars.
The Germans wanted to know
why the Red Army command was
finding 1t necessary to tell the
Russian troops they would be shot
by the Germans if they were cap
tured. Didn't the story use to
be that the Russians would rather
shoot themselves than surrender?
Honestly" said Yacha, "if my
Red Army troops should with
draw-if should see my division
fall back-I would shoot myself.
because one may not fall back. .
The troops that let him down
on this occasion were not his
regular Red Army men, he ex-
planned.
The Germans asked whether
Yacha realized that a soldier
captured in civilian clothes loses
his rights under international law.
Evening star., 1951-02-11

outfit. Heavy fire from mortars
pinned me down. An isolated
man in the field is not a warrior.
Dawn was coming on.
II proceeded. came across small
parties, elements from the mech
anized divisions, service corps
personnel and vagabonds. ! had
no option but to follow them,
which I did. They all began to
change clothes. I decided not to
do this. proceeded in my
uniform. And then they asked me
to keep clear Of them. since fight
ers were likely to ground-strafe
me, and consequently they would
be machine-gunned, too. I parted
with them.
There was a village near the
railway line where men were
changing clothes, too. I made up
my mind to join one group, and
having been urged by those men
I went into the house of a farmer
and changed my shirt and trou-
sers. deciding to join my men at
night. :. made up my mind to
force my way back together with
the others. Then I suddenly
noticed that I was surrounded,
and no way out. I drove up, de-
claring: I surrender That's ALL"
@. Now, I should like to learn
something about you personally.
Are you married or single?
A. !. I am married.
@. Where does your wife live? 4
A. In Moscow ~
@. Do you think that your wife
will be notified that you are a
POW? +T
A. No need for that. II you can
do me a favor, there is no need
for that.
@. Do you have a family, Chit
dren? z
A. One daughter. &
@. How old is your daughter?
A. Three years. =.
@. Why shouldn't they be
notified that you have been cap
tured? Do you believe that might
involve difficulties for your fam
lily?
A. Honestly. I don't think any,
thing at all. If you like, well,
notify them-if you don't, just
leave it. What can be said in such
a case? ;. It's all the same to me,
Evening star., 1951-02-11
u am Ashamed"

@. I cannot understand. Is Ii
then shame for a soldier to be
captured? Or do you figure your
family to get into difficulties?
A. No. no difficulties. But I
am ashamed, I. n
@. All right. but you will return
home after the war. If so, YOU
would have to be ashamed for
your whole life.
A. I am ashamed because of nv
father-that I should have sur
vived. =.
@. All right, you are ashamed
because Of your father, but are
you also ashamed because of your
wife?
A. My wife? Well, it doesn't
matter.
Q. Aren't you worried that your
wife should fear for you? Or is
family life in Russia something
so unimportant that you don't
even wish to notify your next Of
kin that you have been captured.
as would German soldier?
A. No. am not Indifferent to-
ward her; I keep her in high
esteem, and I love her sincerely.
Q. If you do not notify her.
your wife is bound to think that
you were dead. Would that make
no difference to you?
A. Well. tell me, why. should
that be OF such interest to you?
Q. Yes. as soldiers we are inter.
ested in it. for if we as soldiers
come to be captured, we wish to
be allowed to notify our families,
since family life plays an impor-
tant part in Germany.
A. They know by this time that
am either dead or a prisoner.
OF course. they cannot know
which is true. but they do know
that my division was smashed
and that I am either dead or a
prisoner of war.
@. Don't you intend to write
home?
A. Gong break. Certainly. I
have the desire. I won't dis
pute 1t.
The thought that he had been
coward. which seems eventually
to have driven him to his death.
already was uppermost in Yacha's
mind. Haltingly, he tried to ex:
plain again why he had surren+
dered. The peasants in the house
where he had changed his clothes
had realized he was some one Of
Importance and had threatened
to betray him. He blamed them
and the soldiers who deserted
him.
tits their fault" he said.
They assisted the peasants. Ths
peasants shouted: Go away from
here! But I just went to the
hut. They said: Get out Of here, !,
lest we should give you away
-. Then there was q panic. Z
suggested that they should leave
also. but 1t was too late. I would
be taken prisoner one way or am
other. There was no way out.
WELL" Yacha said. "a man
should fight so long as he has the
slightest possibility to do so, ana
when the game is up. then
"The farmers wife even cried.
arguing that their children would
be slain and their house burned.
(Copyright. 1951)
Evening star., 1951-02-11

our lines and were subsequently
surrounded and annihilated.
@. Though knowing that the
whole world, the whole European
world, Is against Russia, do you
still nurse any hope for a turn
of the tide?
A. T can frankly state what
think. I don't like to figure it
out. It causes an uneasy feeling
to me to think about it. You
say all Europe. Well, all Europe
is not worth a penny but for
Germany.
Evening star., 1951-02-11

certain measure Of discomfort may
well be possible.
@. But nothing has been done
for the working class. Your army
is all the time referred to as the
army of the peasants and the
workers.
A. Yes, but look-this self-suf-
ficiency is for their benefit. In
dependence means self owned
industry. The self-owned indus
try is all and everything. 1t is
being built up for them. The
fruit Of all this is partially being
reaped as early as now.
Evening star., 1951-02-11

Bile, covering some files piled up
loosely to provide an incon-
spicuous hiding place for the
microphone. :"
There was a storm that after
noon and the aftermath was dim
and chilly. 1t was 6 o'clock when
Holters received word that Yacha
had arrived at the airfield and
was on his way to headquarters in
a car.
A few minutes later Yacha and
his questioners were seated
around the table. sizing each other
up by the light of a Pickering
kerosene lamp. In addition to
Holters and Renschle there was a
Capt. Braeunlich-and at least
two interpreters, Idol and Man
goldt by name. Other officers of
the headquarters staff appear to
have joined the group from time
to time as the evening wore on.
Evening star., 1951-02-11
I'VE Are Enemies"

YaCQA WdS asked ADOuC Tile ft6Q
Army's scorched-earth policy.
How did the Russians feel about
the burning Of food stocks. which
was bound to produce famine and
great misery" for the civilian
population?
"You see." Yacha said. II am
not the Soviet Union. More ex-
actly, I am one citizen OF the
Soviet Union. Are you inter-
ested In my personal views? When
invaded Russia, the
same methods were practiced."
@. Do you think that's right?
A. Uong breakD Honestly, I
consider it to be right.
@. Why?
A. Well, Idon't see why the issue
be discussed. Because
we are just enemies. That's o
fact which cannot be denied. An
other fact is that enemies should
fight one another. And to fight one
another, any means are good. j..
@. But such a measure is pri-
directed against the people.
A. That I do not contest.
@. Do you believe that your gov
ernment is likely to do the same
with Moscow as they did in Ma
poleon's time?
A. I cannot say. I am not in
formed. ! don't know.
@. Would you consider it right
if the Red government set Moscow
on fire. burning all the industries
that have been built up?
A. In my opinion, any means
are good when you are fighting.
War is war. That's what I think.
@. All right, but isn't that self
annihilation all along the line?
A.. Why should 1t be so natural
that you will take Moscow? How
can you be so sure that you will
take Moscow on any assumption? /?
You are so sure! Well, then! !.
@. What were your fathers last
words when he parted with you on
June 90?
A. Go and fight.
The Germans showed Yacha a
captured letter supposedly reveal
ing that the Russians were already
planning an excursion to Berlin
when Hitler attacked. Yacha said
he did not think the record sup
ported this theory. He said Rus
sia's war preparations were de-
fensive.
isn't 1t striking" he was asked,
"that all insignia of the Soviet
Union show q globe covered by
the hammer and sickle? Did you
ever see National Socialist Ger
many issue globe covered by the
swastika? The swastika and ma
tional socialism were German
and were to, be applied
to Germany only. Why did the
Soviet Union display the globe
with the hammer and sickle over
and over again? Wasn't it to
allude to domination of the world
by the Red government"
STILL" Yacha unused, "it has
made its way everywhere, and is
making its way. This Is an un-
deniable fact.
"You were the first to attack,
weren't you?" he added. "It Is
not the Soviet Union that at
tackled Germany"
Evening star., 1951-02-11


Why had he removed lis uni
form?
"I'll tell you why" Yacha said.
II meant to rejoin my people"
His thought was that his in
ability to speak German would
protect him against being accused
as a spy if he were captured.
The questioning took another
turn:
@. What was your first action?
A. I forget the name of the
place, Twenty-Five or 80 kill
ometers from Vitebsk. I had no
map. We hadn't any maps at all.
No maps.