Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 until he died in 1953. He
oversaw the Red Army and governed during World War 2, and celebrated the victory over Nazism
and Adolf Hitler. He was initially tied to Germany in the Molotov Ribbentrop Pact, when
it looked likely that peace would exist between the Soviets and NAzis. However this quickly
changed, and the two were engaged in some of the most ferocious and brutal battles that
the world has ever seen. However what isn’t as well known is that Hitler did manage to
capture one of Stalin’s sons during the Second World War, and that Joseph Stalin’s
son was killed inside of a concentration camp, a place which great suffering occurred. Today
we look at the Brutal Execution Of Stalin’s Son, Yakov Dzhugashvilli, remember to support
our channel, please make sure to subscribe.
Born on the 31st March 1907, Yakov Dzhugasvilli was born to Kato Svanidze, and Josef Dzhugashvilli,
later Joseph Stalin. His father nicknamed him Patsana after birth, however months after
Yakov’s birth his father was caught up in a bank robbery and the family left to Baku
to seek refuge and avoid arrest. They rented a small house, and later returned however
his mother died from typhus on the 5th December 1907. This left Stalin and his son alone,
however he then left his son to be raised with his wife’s family, and would be a rather
distant father. Yakov spent 14 years being raised by his aunts before he was sent to
Moscow to live with his father. He did not understand Russian and his father shunned
him, banning him from adopting the name Stalin. He slept in the dining room of Stalin’s
apartments, and Yakov was described as kind.
He later attended university graduating from the Institute of Transport before working
as an engineer in an electric plant factory. However in 1937, he began training in the
Artillery Academy. Things had been very tense between Yakov and his father for some time.
In 1928, Yakov asked to marry a daughter of a priest named Zoya Gunina, however Stalin
refused this and because of this Yakov tried to take his own life, only missing his heart
with a gunshot by centimetres. He did then have a number of girlfriends, before getting
married.
Now as the Second World War broke out, it was clear that Adolf Hitler would eventually
turn his attention towards the Soviet Union. The Nazis saw the Soviets as their enemies
and wished to rid Europe of Communism, however the invasion of the Soviet Union came in June
1941 with Operation Barbarossa. Wehrmacht tanks flew into Soviet territory, and Stalin
was forced with the reality that the German war machine could take his territory. Stalin
forced Yakov along with his adopted son to the front lines. Yakov was a Leftenant in
a battery of an artillery division, the 14th Howitzer Regiment of the 14th Tank Division.
However things did not go well.
Within a month of the Nazi invasion, he had been captured during the Battle of Smolensk.
The Germans surrounded the battery where Yakov was, and the order was given to retreat however
Yakov disobeyed the order. He said, ‘I am the Son of Stalin, and I do not allow the
battery to retreat.’ Some sources claim that Yakov’s position was passed to the
Germans as they had become hostile to Stalin’s regime, whilst others say he surrendered of
his own accord.
What isn’t disputed is the huge propaganda value that the son of Stalin’s capture had
in Germany. On the 19th July 1941 the capture was announced, and Stalin was furious seeing
his son as a disgrace. He ordered no soldiers to surrender and to fight to the death, and
the fact his own son did this was seen as shocking. He was fuming, and wished his son
had killed himself instead of being captured. Initially Yakov Dzhugashvilli tried to take
off his officers badges, however he was recognised and then interrogated by the Abwehr. Whilst
being interviewed he spoke about how he believed the Red Army were ill prepared for war, and
that military leaders were acting terribly. He also saw the British as weak, and said
they never helped the Soviets, and instead praised Germany.
As the Germans had confirmed his identity, the propaganda wheel flew into motion, with
leaflets of his picture being dropped over Soviet soldiers. Images were shown of him
smiling with the enemy, and it also said ‘Dear father, I have been taken prisoner, I am in
good health, I will soon be sent to a camp for officers in Germany. I am being treated
well, I wish you good health.’ The Soviet’s responded awarding Yakov with the Order of
the Red Banner for his actions during battle, however Stalin’s son was then taken deep
into the heart of the Nazi Empire, to Berlin. It was planned that Goebbels himself would
make him broadcast over the radio, but this never occurred and instead he was taken to
Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp.
Sachsenhausen itself was a concentration camp established in 1936, and it held mostly political
prisoners. Around 200,000 prisoners passed through the barbed wire fences during its
time, however dozens of thousands were killed there. It was a labour camp, however was fitted
with gas chambers and also medical experimentation facilities. The prisoners there were treated
terribly, forced to work incredibly hard on very little food, and were openly executed
in front of other prisoners. Yakov was taken here, and then was treated almost like a celebrity
at the camp.
Visitors tried to see him, but he argued with British prisoners and would often get into
fights with them. As the tide of the Second World War began to swing back in the favour
of the Soviet Red Army, following the German surrender at Stalingrad, an offer was made
to exchange Stalin’s son for General Paulus, which was refused by Stalin. He refused to
exchange his son for a prize asset, and with this he practically signed his own sons death
warrant.
Now things inside of the concentration camp declined for Yakov Dzhugashvilli, and on the
14th December he died however how he died remains partly disputed. It was clear Stalin
did not want anything to do with him and felt disgraced by him, however different accounts
tell us different stories of his death. One account states how he was killed after he
took his own life by running into the high voltage electric fence that surrounded the
camp. Often prisoners would do this when they had been completely broken, and bodies were
left out for days once this happened.
Another account states how he was in fact executed by the Germans after he was deemed
no use when Stalin declined the offer to exchange him for Paulus. However after the war, the
British found records in Sachsenhausen that pointed towards both of the theories being
partly true. After the German archives were analysed, the records stated that Yakov Dzhugashvilli
ran into an electric fence after he had been arguing with British Prisoners. It’s alleged
that to get away from them he ran into the fence, possibly by accident or on purpose.
However after this, a Germann officer then went over to his body and delivered a coup
de grace, shooting the Son of Stalin four times to ensure he was dead.
Despite being disgraced by his son, Stalin allegedly was greatly upset by the news of
the death of his son. His opinion changed of his son, and he believed that Yakov was
in fact a real man, and he said that life had been unfair to him. It was said Stalin
repeatedly stared at Yakov Dzhugashvilli’s picture for hours after his death. Had things
have been very different then it’s believed he could have been more senior within Stalin’s
government, how the leader of the Soviet Union was reminded too much of the tragic death
of his first wife by his eldest son. The life of Yakov Dzhugashvilli is a sad one, dominated
by the neglect of his father, an incredibly powerful man who should have cared more than
he did.
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