Here is something I always wondered about. Presumably towards the end of the war, when the Soviets raced through Poland and closed in on the pre-war border of the Reich, the Wehrmacht (beating a permanent and hasty retreat) captured much fewer Soviet POWs than they did on average throughout the whole war. But they still must have, on occasion, captured Soviet POWs. How were these POWs treated?
We know that Soviet POWs were treated terribly throughout the whole war. But most of the time they weren't murdered on the spot. Instead they were transferred to POW camps in the rear and subjected to a process which often included steps like interrogation, selection for slave work, execution or volunteering for service in collaborationist forces. In the last months or weeks this infrastructure for the processing of POWs surely must have broken down. How were Soviet POWs treated at that time? Was the majority killed on the spot? Did the Germans still make an effort to transfer them to the rear? What happened to them once they reached the rear? Did the situation got significantly worse for the POWs the closer the Soviets got to the Reichstag?
I suppose, the same questions could also be asked for Western Allied POWs on the West Front? Does anyone know good sources where these questions get answered? Thanks in advance!
Based on documentaries they seem to have been treated fairly decently. However, this depended on who you were. Western Allied forces were usually treated pretty nicely, warm cabins, letters, Red Cross visits(occasionally) and other Geneva convention required items. Polish POW's were more iffy. If you were a Jewish POW you were almost certainly going to the Chambers, whereas regular polish POW's ended up in work-concentration camps. So depends who you were. I did however see earlier today that US Jewish air personnel had avoided flying over Nazi-Occupied Europe with H(for Hebrew) on their dog tags out of fear that they would be end up in Gas Chambers.