My Grandfather fought in the German 6th Army and took active part in the battle of Stalingrad. As far as I know he was the driver of an artillery truck or something of the like. He survived but was taken as POW and imprisoned until late 1947 (EDIT: I don't really know when he was taken captive, probably early 1943). Sadly he passed away long before I was even born. He never talked much about the war or his years in captivity, according to my father. When he returned home he proceeded to work the same job he did before the war as a mine worker. He died in 1985, at the age of 69.
I would like to get to know more about what these men went through. Where were the soldiers of the 6th Army brought to? How were their living conditions? They certainly had to do slave-like work every day, what did they do? Why did it take several years after the war ended until the prisoners were released? I've read somewhere that the very last German soldiers were released in 1955?! As far as I know my grandfather had to walk or hitchhike the whole way from Russia to Germany, was that usually the case?
My grandmother died in 2008 and I regret not having an interest in WWII back then, she might have had some stories to tell. During the war she worked as a nurse in some sort of military hospital in Cologne.
The fact that my grandfather refused to talk much about the war for more than 30 years tells its very own tale, but I’d really appreciate any insight about what he might have experienced.
I remember reading a book called Die Gefagne by Guido Knopp from 2006, which had many facts and interviews with German WW2 POW's, and I'd recommend looking that book up if you can.
According to Knopp, most POW's had to stay in Soviet Russia after the war as forced labor in order to rebuild the damages caused by the warfare, but most were sent home by the late 40's. The soldiers who weren't released until 1955 were often members of the ss whom had been convicted for war crimes, and their prolonged imprisonment considered punishment for their crimes.
As for living conditions, they varied but were in general very poor. Captured soldiers had to deal with cold, lice and meager food rations and many succumbed to either illness or cold during the war, but living conditions were slightly improved as the Soviets were able to rebuild and resupply during the end of the war. The Soviets also had an interest in keeping the POW's alive in order to use them as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the newly formed Western Germany.
I'd also recommend looking at The notes of a Japanese soldier in USSR, which has several notes and illustrations by Kiuchi Nobuo, who was a Japanese POW living alongside many German POW's during his captivity in the Soviet union.
I think your best bet for semi-primary accounts would be journalism of the time, reporting on German POWs during those years. There were a lot of them. East Germany was established only in 49. Before that time, Germany would have been under allied "occupation" as they figured out what to do next, which would have included refugees.
My Grandmother's family fled from western Poland to the Soviet border in 38 (Jewish, turned out to be a good idea). They spent most of the war in greater Siberia in a gulag-esque refugee/work camp, harvesting timber. When they were released (though technically not POWs), they basically closed the camp and told everyone to go home. They walked back to Europe, and hitched rides on river rafts over several months.
Not exactly the same thing, but the "hitchhiked" part seems standard. Not talking was standard too, particularly in Germany and particularly among ex military.
Anyway... journalism... George Orwell (was a journalist too) wrote an account of british camps for German POWs. Not a Soviet camp, but part of the context. You will probably find articles similar to this, which you can use to piece together a mental picture. http://orwell.ru/library/articles/revenge/english/e_revso
Watch your mindset as you pursue this. Your grandfather went through spirit breaking experiences, almost certainly. Life for a soldier (or civilian) on the losing side of that war was bad. Hardship and humiliation. Those were years of bad blood, and cruelty. The jailers had blood debts to pay, or so they thought. Orwell is a good place to start. He saw the cruelty of it all.
I have a similar question as OP, but this is for my wife's father and he returned to Germany in 1950. He passed away a few years ago and did not talk much about his experiences. She found a Red Cross letter he wrote and it was sent from Sssr lager 7864. Does anyone know here lager 7864 was located? Thank you in advance!