ABOUT THE FATE OF THE TURKESTAN PRISONERS OF WAR IN WORLD WAR II
Abstract
It is known that until the end of the 1930s, the population of Central Asia was not conscripted for military service for various reasons. At the beginning of World War II, national divisions were formed in Tashkent, Samarkand, Karshi and Termez, but in reality there were no conditions for full-fledged military training. In this regard, when the Red Army, as a result of defeats in the summer and autumn of 1941, began to need to replenish its ranks, the Turkestanis went to the front without proper military training, unfamiliar with the latest military equipment and weapons. In 1941, more than 4,847,775 Turkestanis (Uzbeks, Kazakhs, Turkmens, Kyrgyz and Tajiks) were immediately drafted into the Red Army. Unfortunately, most of them died or were captured in battles