That sucks.
Soviet POWs freed from german camps received 10-15 year prison terms for treason. You see - soviet soldiers were not supposed to surrender, ever.
Along with them went the actual traitors - soviet soldiers who either for ideological reasons or to escape the hardships of the prison camp joined one of the russian forces fighting on the side of Germany - like the army of general Vlasov.
Those surrendered to the western powers and were mostly handed over to the soviets at the end of war - quite a shamefull move on the part of the democratic countries considering some were real anti-communists and freedom-fighters from soviet-occupied countries.
Anyway, some soldiers (not officers, of course) were handed over with soviet's assurance that they would be treated humanely - Stalin was probably in a good mood - and they got 5 years, which is nothing to sneer at in siberian camp.
So after 5 years the traitors who were released from prison and who did not want to return to their native places - for obvious reasons - or anywhere else where they would live with a stigma, many signed on to serve as camp guards in siberia and ended up guarding, among the other inmates, the soldiers who stayed true, survived the horrors of german prison and had 5-10 years more to go in Siberia.
Fortunately for many, Stalin died in 1953 and many came home before serving full terms, just 8 years.
When my son grows up and I urge him to go serve in USMC (or whatever), I will make sure he does not expect much in return - otherwise one can feel like a fool afterwards.
miko
