The activity of the Plenipotentiary Board of the Council of People’s Commissioners/Council of Ministers of USSR for Repatriation, 1944–1953

The Plenipotentiary Board of the Council of People’s Commissioners for Repatriation was established by the Council of Peoples’ Commissioners on 23 October 1944 to oversee the repatriation of Soviet and Allied citizens freed from German captivity. It was also dealt with citizens of the Axis countries who found themselves in Soviet captivity, but were not sent to special prison camps in the interior either due to poor health or low military rank. In 1947, the Board was also entrusted with the task of repatriating POWs and internees freed from labour camps and the special labour battalions of the Soviet Interior Ministry. The Board cooperated closely with the Military Councils on all fronts as well as the Ministries of Domestic Affairs, Foreign Affairs and Security of USSR. It was also obliged to cooperate with the state organs of each country to which freed prisoners were repatriated. The Board had an extensive network of camps and reception points that were based in various European states and in USSR itself. During its existence, the Board repatriated 5,352,963 Soviet citizens, 3,413,290 citizens of Allied and Axis countries, and about 1,200,000 POWs and internees released from Soviet prison institutions. The board was liquidated by the Soviet Council of Ministers on 29 December 1952, having carried out the aforementioned repatriations. Its activities ceased on 1 March 1953