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Summary: 2
This report is the Executive Summary of a seven-part report to DPMO describing the findings of the year-long project, POW/MIA Research in Ukraine, Lithuania. Latvia, Estonia, and Germany (MDA903-93-C-0209). The final report consists of six substantive volumes and an Executive Summary.

• Executive Summary
• Volume 1: Moscow
• Volume 2: Ukraine
• Volume 3: Lithuania
• Volume 4: Latvia
• Volume 5: Estonia
• Volume 6: Germany

A summary or each of the six country reports is presented here. The magnitude and content of each summary varies.

Background
Approximately nine months following the creation of the US-Russian Joint Commission on POW/MIAs, it was clear to the American side that the Russian side was not providing full access to Soviet archives. Thus, DPMO's predecessor organization (Task Force Russia) concluded that a search of Soviet archives, particularly the KGB and security service archives located in the former republics of the Soviet Union and the former GDR, would complement the Commission's efforts and could possibly shed light on the content of records which were not made available for research in Russia.

Purpose
The purpose of the archive research in Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia was to locate, identify, and obtain access to previously classified files (particularly KGB archives) and other records in order to determine whether information concerning American citizens in general and American POW/MIAs in particular is stored in Soviet era archives located in the former republics of the Soviet Union. The purpose of DFI's research in Russia was to sustain an on-going archive research effort which had begun four months before the creation of the US-Russian Joint Commission on POW/MIAs.

In addition to archives located in former Soviet republics, DPMO determined that archives located in nations which were once members of the Warsaw Pact could possibly yield data relevant to the effort to resolve American POW/MIA issues. In 1992 the principal investigator for this project began negotiations with the Foreign Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany in order to obtain access to records of the GDR which at the time had not been made available for research by nongovernmental specialists.

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Underlying DPMO's interest in archive research in Germany was the hypotheses that American POW/MIAs had been relocated to the territory of the former German democratic Republic (GDR) during and after the Korean War. (1) As shown previously, during World War II Soviet forces transported to third countries under Soviet occupation American POWs who had been obtained from German POW camps. (2)

The purpose of DFI's research in Germany, therefore, was to test the hypothesis that if American POW/MIAs survived captured and transport by Soviet forces, then perhaps some of them has been relocated to the territory of the GDR during the Cold War. If so, it was assumed that this would have been a joint Soviet-GDR operation, thus the presence of these Americans would be reflected in records of the military intelligence or state security (Stasi) organizations.

Significant Findings
DFI International successfully organized and conducted research into a wide range of archives in six different countries. With the exception of Russia, in each of the former republics of the Soviet Union, full access was obtained for research into KGB records, with the sole exception of records pertaining to on-going criminal investigations which have been retained by prosecutors. In addition, researchers in each of the former republics had access to other holdings from the Communist Party, border police, filtration camp records, and Central Committee files.

In Moscow, DFI's researchers produced material of direct relevance to the work of the US-Russian Joint Commission on POW/MIAs until this effort was suspended at DPMO's request in March 1994. The Joint Commission Support Branch has characterized DFI's archive findings as some of the most significant documents obtained by the Commission since its creation in March 1992.

In Germany, DFI's research team conducted unprecedented research into a number of record groups which have not been made available for research before. Research into the files of east German secret police (Stasi) was a singular event, exceptional in German law, and in light of the movement to seal these archives for two decades, not likely to be repeated.

Each of the following findings is developed fully in the final report. A more complete summary of each of the individual reports follows this summary. Some of these findings are concern methodology, others are more relevant to substantive questions.

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NOTE 1: The source of these claims was never considered to be particulalry credible. Some of the newspaper account which link American POW/MIAs to the GDR were written by the same person who claimed, and was subsequently proven wrong, that American World War II POW/MIAs had been "abandoned" in a graveyard in Odessa, Ukraine. Task Force Russia concluded that these assertions, regardless of their dubious credibility, had to be investigated. See, Mark Sauter, "Documents point to U.S. POWs in East Germany," Tacoma (Washington) News Tribune , December 5, 1992.
NOTE 2: Paul M. Cole, POW/MIA Issues: Volume I, World War II and the Early Cold War (Santa Monica, CA: RAND, MR-351/1-USDP, 1993), passim.

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Methodological Findings

1. Of the five former republics of the Soviet Union where DFI has conducted archive research, Russia has been the most problematic and difficult. The central problem in russia is the lack of access to archives, excessive political interference in research, and a lack of proper document accountability. Russia is the only former republic where it is almost impossible to obtain an archive citation for documents relating to Soviet involvement in the Cold War and Korean War.

2. With the exception of Russia, researchers have no problem locating in the archives of the former Soviet republics documentation concerning the presence of American citizens on Soviet territory during the Cold War. If properly organized, research into these questions can resolve or at least shed light on the fate of dozens if not hundreds of American citizens.

3. With the exception of Russia, the KGB archives in the former republics are available for research which for the most part is unrestricted.

4. With the exception of Russia, the military records of the Soviet era are available for research in the former Soviet republics.

5. With the exception of Russia, research in the archives of the former republics is greatly complicated by the fact that Russians destroyed or transferred unknown thousands of documents to Russia in the late 1980s. Many of these documents are relevant to this project. The Russian government has repeatedly refused to return documents or even, in the case of Estonia and Latvia, even to respond to requests for the return of documents taken from national archives.

6. With the exception of Russia, copies of archive material obtained from the former Soviet republics may be taken out of the country with no concern for confiscation.

7. With the exception of Russia, copies of archive material obtained by the former Soviet republics are available in their entirety, with no unexplained deletions, missing pages, or redactions.

8. research into the archives of the former German Democratic Republic was methodical, productive, and subject to clear administrative guidelines.

Substantive Findings

1. Evidence of direct, systematic contact between Soviet forces and American POW/MIAs during the Korean War is sufficient to conclude that this reflected Soviet policy. This evidence is both archival and derived from eyewitness testimony, primarily from Russian sources. Claims of incidental or unplanned contact are false.

2. DFI has recommended the change of casualty status for 28 American POW/MIAs from the Korean War. In these recommendations, there is at least one case of an American listed as KIA who the Soviets claim to have captured alive. There are also two cases of Americans who died in captivity after direct interrogation by Soviet forces.

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3. If proper research is permitted in Russia's archives, the fate of many more American POW/MIAs from the Korean War may be determined with a high degree of certainty. Russian claims that the "answers are in China and North Korea" are misleading.

4. Soviet Air Force records located in Russia have been shown to be particularly useful in the effort to determine the fate of American air crews lost over the People's Republic of China during the Korean War.

5. The archives located in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia contain information about American citizens on Soviet territory during the Cold War, but thus far there is no evidence of POW/MIAs. There are no barriers to research in these countries.

6. Archives located in Ukraine contain information which shows that American servicemen in Poltava were under Soviet surveillance during World War II. These archives may be of particular value in the effort to resolve the fate of American POWs who were liberated by Soviet forces but not repatriated. The Ukrainian research team estimates the possible field of Americans in this category to be between 1,000-2,000.

7. Archival evidence located in Germany demonstrates Soviet involvement in the transport of German POWs from Vietnam to GDR territory in the 1950s. The methods and transport routes for this transfer, which required Soviet and Chinese cooperation, are clearly documented.

8. Eyewitnesses have placed American POW/MIAs from the Korean War on GDR territory. These servicemen were allegedly transported from Korea to the GDR.

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Volume 1: Moscow

Summary
From October 1993 until March 31, 1994, DFI International sustained a modest archive research effort in Moscow. (3) This parallel research, which was commissioned by DPMO to complement its support of the US-Russian Joint Commission on POW/MIAs (USRJC), was also motivated by the lack of cooperation from Russian authorities. (4)

In accordance with DPMO's guidance, DFI's research was suspended on MArch 31, 1994 and all documents accumulated (ca. 200 pages) were turned over by DFI to DPMO on March 17, April 7, and June 18, 1994.

Documents of Particular Interest
The results of DFI's research in Moscow were positive in a number of areas. The Moscow research produced Soviet era documentation of great interest to DPMO and the USRJC.

Documents located by DFI's archive research team in Moscow are considered by DPMO and Joint Commission sources to be among the most significant obtained to date. Among the many documents obtained by DFI from Soviet-era archives, two documents nd one record group attracted particular attention:

• The so-called "262' document which is the final unit history of the Soviet 64th Air Corps' activities during the Korean War. (5)


• Two complete documents from the Soviet archives were obtained which pertain directly to Soviet reporting concerning the death of a USAF pilot (current casualty status MIA) during the Korean War; and

• Approximately one hundred pages of handwritten daily logs of the Soviet 64th Fighter Corps detailing combat operations in Korea.

Some of DFI's documents were presented the Russian side or referred to at the Tenth Plenum Session of the USRJC.

The DFI team in Moscow obtained daily operational summaries of the Soviet 64th Fighter Aviation Corps (IAK). Daily Operational Summary reports fr the Headquarters of the 64th IAK in Andung, China, which were obtained by DFI cover the 24 hours periods

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NOTE 3: Though travel to Moscow was included in this project, DFI's principal investigator was not permitted to visit Moscow as planned in December 1993. According to the American Embassy Office in Berlin, the cale traffic said that DFI's country clearance was denied by the head of Task Force Russia because "the Department of Defense has an exclsuive right to research" on POW/MIA issues. DFI was asked by DPMO not to request country clearance for Moscow for subsequent research visits.
NOTE 4: DFI's research team in Moscow narrowly avoided severe punishment by Russian authorities after DPMO made available to the Russian side of the USRJC documents obtained by DFI.
NOTE 5: This documnet, which was used as Talking Point #1 at the Tenth Plenum, is also referred to by the American side of the USRJC as Telegram No. 307717/Sh, December 21, 1954. See Tenth Plenum, p.53 and p.82.

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for twenty-one days. Nearly three months after DFI delivered the 64th IAK records to DPMO, the American side of the USRJC twice asked the Russian side to provide daily operational records of the Soviet 64th IAK.

The American view, that there are valuable data points in the daily operational summaries, was not shared by the Russian side of USRJC. This report shows that Orlov's claim is not accurate.

Significant Findings
According to DPMO, most of the 200-plus pages of Soviet era archive material submitted by DFI to DPMO had not been analyzed or assessed by DPMO as of October 1994. In light of this, DFI reviewed the minutes of the Eight, Ninth and Tenth USRJC Plenum Sessions in order to assess the degree to which data contained in archival material obtained in Moscow compare to positions taken by the Russian side of the USRJC. In order to be comprehensive, documents obtained by the current project, plus other documents obtained previously from Soviet era archives and submitted to DPMO, are discussed or referred to in this report

Among the significant findings deriving from the comparison between Soviet era documents and the record of the Eight, Ninth and Tenth Plenum Sessions are the following:

1. Soviet records obtained by DFI contain information which is apparently sufficient for a change of casualty recommendation for 29 Korean War POW/MIA cases.

2. Soviet Air Force records contradict the summary of Korean War shoot downs summarized, allegedly from primary source material, and presented as fact by the Russian side of the USRJC. (6)

3. The Russian side of the USRJC claims to be unable to locate information in the 64th IAK files concerning any USAF personnel on the USAF list of 187 MIA/POWs from the Korean War (AFM 200-25). (7) DFI's research in 64th IAK files located information by name concerning at least one USAF MIA from the 200-25 list and could link one other name from the 200-25 list to Soviet Records.

4. Col. Alexander Orlov claims that Soviet forces involved in interrogating American POW/MIAs in Korea, when reporting results of the interrogation of American POWs in Korea, "we never listed source. We would just go ahead and say, according to testimony provided by prisoners of war, the following information was acquired." (8)The records of the 64th IAK demonstrate that Orlov's claim is incorrect.

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NOTE 6: See TFR 180.
NOTE 7: At the Ninth Plenum of USRJC, Col. Orlov stated, "We have looked at all the files regarding 64th Fighter Aviation Corps." Col. Mukhin, when asked by Congressman Johnson, "Nothing on the 187 names?" replied, "No nothing." Ninth Plenum, p.17.
NOTE 8: Ninth Plenum, p.37.

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5. Many Soviet records, including the 64th IAK operational summaries, refer by name to American POW/MIAs and to specific USAF aircraft registration numbers. The fates of individuals may be determined from these primary source data.

6. Though Soviet reporting refers by name and date to many interrogations of American POWs, records of these interrogations have not been provided by the Russian side of the USRJC.

7. Some of the interrogation records of American POW/MIAs during the Korean War obtained by DFI were not provided by the Russian side of the USRJC to the American side. The existence of these records contradicts statements such as those by Cols. Mukhin and Orlov who explain the discrepancy between the large number of USAF POWs who passed through a Soviet interrogation point (262) and the small number of interrogation records provided (ca. 56). Mukhin and Orlov claim additional interrogation records do not exist because they were never forwarded to headquarters. This is not true.

8. Col. Orlov claims that the Russian side could only locate interrogation records from 1952-1953 because this is when the interrogation process became more “formalized. (9) Yet the eleven page Soviet interrogation of USAF Capt. Lawrence Bach, whose F-86 was shot down in December 1950, has been in the public domain for over two years. This interrogation record, which was circulated to the entire Soviet Politburo, including Stalin, resulted from an interrogation conducted “by a representative of Comrade Mironov.” A four-page December 30 Soviet interrogation summary of further interrogations of Bach was sent to Moscow on December 31, 1950. Orlov is aware of the Bach interrogation, since it is included in a RAND report Orlov referred to more than one half dozen times at the Tenth Plenum. (10)

9. At the Ninth Plenum, Col. Mukhin claimed, “I don't believe that our military command structure allowed the MGB access to the [USAF] pilots in China, or in Korea. On the basis of documents, we have nothing at all regarding this issue.” (11) At the Tenth Plenum, Mukhin dropped all references to the lack of MGB activity on Chinese territory. Documents obtained by DFl show that the Soviet command structure not only permitted MGB access to USAF POW/MIAs, but in some cases requested MGB participation in interrogations in China. This

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NOTE 9: Ninth Plenum, p. 36.
NOTE 10: The first page from Bach's interrogation record, which clearly shows the December 1950 date, appears in POW/MIA Issues: Volume I (RAND, MR-351/1USDP, 1992), p.168. Orlov, who was compensated fro an interview which appears in the RAND volume, read from it at the Tenth Plenum session. In October 1994, Orlov received thousands of dollars from the BBC for participation in a documentary concerning Soviet involvement in the Korean War. Orlov had previously denounced Professor Gavril Korotkov's views on the transfer of American POWs to USSR on the grounds that, "He gets paid for these interviews." Ninth Plenum, p. 16.
NOTE 11: Ninth Plenum, p. 35.

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may explain the difference between Mukhin’s beliefs expressed at the Ninth and Tenth Plenum sessions.

10. Col. Mazurov claims ‘there are no documents which provide evidence that recruitment attempts were made on American POWs” by Soviet forces. The evidence that Soviet forces recruited ten US POWs in Vietnam and followed up the contacts years later has been provided to DPMO twice. The evidence that Army G2 uncovered over 20 American POWs who had been recruited for “sabotage and espionage missions” while in captivity in Korea was provided to TFR/DPMO two years ago. Air Force G2 and Army G2 were particularly concerned about POWs “who might have received assignment by the Soviets or Chinese Communist(s). This evidence, which is contained in the RAND report referred to by Orlov at the Tenth Plenum, clearly contradicts Col. Mazurov's statement.

11. Col. Vyacheslav P. Mazurov stated that as a result of an order signed by Stalin in 1949 which banned Soviet intelligence operations, “the proposal from the intelligence leadership to set up operations targeting American POWs in Korea did not receive any support from our political circles. . . Both the Koreans and Chinese refused to allow the Soviet intelligence service to conduct these types of activities on the territory of Korea. (12) The Soviet intelligence organizations did so anyway. As previously documented, Soviet intelligence organs made efforts to recruit agents among prisoners held in POW camps in North Korea. Soviet MVD specialists were summoned by the Soviet armed forces to interrogate American POWs in China.

12. Col. Mazurov asserts that George Blake said, “he knows of incidents where the KGB worked with POWs.” Blake never said such a thing and this statement does not appear in any report, including the one referred to by Mazurov.

13. Col. Mazurov asserts that the individuals on the 510 list “have no connection with the foreign intelligence service. We did not deal with these people.” (13) In fact, the KGB dealt with many of the people on the 510 as a cover for talking with Blake. This has been thoroughly documented elsewhere.

14. Col. Mazurov claims that the names on the so-called 510 list were produced by more than one search group from my service,” and that the list is complete. Yet the 510 list, allegedly derived from KGB files, does not contain the name of George Blake, though Blake's office clerk and the name of every other civilian captured with Blake is included. Mazurov should be asked why the only person known by name to have had direct contact with the KGB - indeed, Blake was recruited by the KGB while in a POW camp - is missing from the 510. (14)

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NOTE 12: Tenth Plenum, p. 26.
NOTE 13: Tenth Plenum, p. 29.
NOTE 14: Mazurov said that Bake was "the well-known British agent," when in fact Blake was a Soviet agent. Tenth Plenum, p. 27.

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15. Mr. K.S. Nikishin claims “there are no documents in the Navy files” concerning the shoot down of the USAF RB-50 on July 29, 1953. (15) A July 1953 telegram from Admiral N. Kuznetsov, counter-signed by Rear-Admiral Yakovlev, Director of Operations of the Navy General Staff, was sent to the Navy Commander-in-Chief and to the USSR Minister of Defense Marshal of the Soviet Union Comrade N.A. Bulganin. Another telegram was sent by Admiral Kuznetsov to USSR Minister of Foreign Affairs Comrade V. M. Molotov on July 29, 1953. Another telegram was sent from Admiral Kuznetsov to Marshal Bulganin on July 29. All of these telegrams concerned the shoot down of the RB-50 on July 29, 1953.(16)

16. Col. Sergei Osipov asserted, in reference to the July 29, 1953 shoot down of a USAF RB-50, “among those documents which have been discovered to date there is no documentary evidence that there were any survivors in the case.” (17) In fact, at least three reports from N. Kuznetsov, Admiral of the Soviet Navy, to Marshal A. Bulganin, Minister of Defense of the Soviet Union and V. M. Molotov, USSR Minister of Foreign Affairs, describe in great detail the downing of the RB-50. On July 29, 1953, Admiral Kuznetsov reported to Minister Molotov, “The US SB-29 plane flew out to the area of the proposed fall of the B-50 plane and at 20:29 hours reported to base about locating the B-50 wreckage, a rescue boat and seven men floating near the boat.”

17. Col. Orlov continues to assert that Soviet forces were forbidden to have direct contact with American POWs during the Korean War. (18) Col. Orlov should be asked to explain why the Soviet officer, a Buryat Mongol named Kolya Monkuyev who impersonated a Chinese, systematically interrogated American POWs. Col. Orlov should be asked how his version of the ban on direct contact squares with the testimony of Col. Valentin S. Golobov who said, “According to Air Force traditions, the pilot who was shot down meets the pilot who shot him down. " (19) How does this systematic, direct contact fit into the alleged "no contact” policy?

18. Col. Orlov claims there was no contact between “foreigners and any of our people.” Orlov cites the experience at Poltava during World War II as evidence of this policy. (20) Col. Orlov should be asked to explain why the Soviet security services maintained surveillance of over 700 American servicemen at Poltava, with special attention given to Americans with Russian, Jewish, or otherwise “suspicious” surnames. (21)

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NOTE 15: Ninth Plenum, p. 18.
NOTE 16: The telegram cited here, which were all transferred to DPMO in the original Russian and English translation in 1993, are not duplicated in this report. According to Soviet intercepts of US Pacific Fleet communications, a US SB-29 search plane "reported to base about locating B-50 wreck, a rescue boat and seven men floating near the boat."
NOTE 17: Tenth Plenum, p. 119.
NOTE 18: Tenth Plenum, passim and p. 35.
NOTE 19: Tenth Plenum, p. 62.
NOTE 20: Tenth Plenum, p. 44.
NOTE 21: The KGB surveillance list of over 700 American servicemen is included in DFI'S report on Ukraine.

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19. Col. Orlov said, “The RAND report cites General Lobov's remark that 70 investigative groups had been created. Lobov didn't say investigative groups, but search groups." (22)Orlov's observation is incorrect on two counts. First, how would Orlov know what the now-deceased general said in an interview where Orlov was not present? Second, the report in question does not cite a “remark,” rather, it cites a telegram that the commander of the 64th Air Corps, General Lobov, sent to Moscow in 1952. (23) In this telegram, Lobov referred to “search-group expeditions... On the average, 70 Soviet servicemen participate daily in our search groups.” (24)
20. The Russian side of the USRJC suggested it would be useful to find a veteran who participated in the Soviet search teams in Korea. DFI located and interviewed a veteran who was a member of such a search group during the Korean War.

21. Lt. Col. Sergei I. Chuvashin stated that Corps-level operational summaries which were forwarded to the Command directorate “as a rule, these reports covered 10- day and 1-month periods.” (25)In contrast to this claim, both Corps and Division-level reporting occurred on a daily basis. Chuvashin further stated that these reports would therefore refer only to “aircraft types.” In fact, the daily reports contain registration numbers of US aircraft and the names of USAF POW/MIAs.

22. Col. Orlov claims that US records are confused concerning Albert G. Tenney's rank. (26) This is not true. Tenney was a First Lieutenant when he was shot down on May 3, 1952. Tenney, whose casualty status has been MIA since May 3, 1952, was promoted to Captain, per Special Order 62, on April 1, 1953. Thus Tenney is referred to as First Lieutenant in contemporary casualty reports and as a Captain in current POW/MIA lists, such as the CILHI data base. What Orlov cannot explain is why Tenney, who was a First Lieutenant when the Soviet report on Tenney was written, is referred to as Captain in the Soviet records dated May 3, 1952. In other words, Soviet records refer to First Lieutenant Tenney as CaptainTenney one year before Tenney was promoted to Captain. (27)

23. Col. Orlov claims, “There is not a single document signed by Razuvaev that concerns POWs, that have [sic] been found in the military archives. (28)Two documents obtained by DFI, signed by Razuvaev, refer directly to Major General William Dean, the highest-ranking American POW captured during the Korean

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NOTE 22: Tenth Plenum, p. 55.
NOTE 23: Decoded Telegram Number 501817/sh (Top Secret), Lobov to Comrades A.M. Vasilevskij, P.F. Kigarev, and S.A. Krasovskij, May 7, 1952. This telegram is fully cited and the correct terminology used in the document referred to by Orlov.
NOTE 24: The American side of the USRJC has also referred incorrectly to "70 search groups," rather than 70 servicemen. Ninth Plenum, p. 29.
NOTE 25: Tenth Plenum, p. 70.
NOTE 26: Tenth Plenum, p. 79.
NOTE 27: TFR 76-37.
NOTE 28: Tenth Plenum, p.85.

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War. (29) Razuvaev not only signed these documents, he sent one of them to the entire Politburo, including Stalin.

24. Col. Orlov asserts that “Amirov, who said that he saw a rail car with prisoners in Alma-Ata, repudiated his testimony, saying that he was misunderstood.” (30) Major Valerie Amirov neither said this nor ever retracted such a comment.

Photographs
DFI's research team searched Tass records for photographs relating to POW/MIAs. On April 21, 1994, DFI forwarded to DPMO the original of 23 photographs obtained from Tass photo archives. These photographs clearly show American POW/MIAs from the Korean and Vietnam Wars. (Photos of POW/MIAs were also obtained by the Ukraine research team. See Volume 2 of this report.)

The provenance of these photographs, which was once in doubt, is now clearly established to be Russian. Copies of these photographs are attached to the end of Volume I in Appendix C.

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NOTE 29: TFP 148-3 and TFR 148-8.
NOTE 30: Tenth Plenum, p. 91.

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Volume 2: Ukraine

Methodology
DFI's research team was the first independent group ever permitted to conduct research in the Ukrainian KGB archives. Research in Ukraine began with an examination of the Central State Archive of the Public Organizations (former Archive of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Ukraine).

The Ukrainian team also searched the Republic Photo and Film Archives.

Documents Obtained
Documents obtained from archives in Ukraine were delivered to DPMO in three groups. At DPMO's request, KGB documents were produced in order to demonstrate that research was possible, thus some of the documents reflect the success of the methodology rather than association with issues relevant to this project.

• The first group of 71 pages of documents, forwarded to DPMO on May 6, 1994, was in response to a request to demonstrate that research in KGB archives was possible. These records, which include reports from Ukraine to Moscow during the latter states of World War II, translated by DFI. All of the documents show a registration stamp from the relevant Ukrainian archive.

• A second group of 183 pages of archive documents, similar to those delivered on May 6, was delivered to DPMO on June 18, 1994. Even though these documents were not of direct relevance to the research subject of this project, the acquisition of properly declassified documents which bear the registration mark of the Ukrainian KGB demonstrates the fact that independent, in depth research was underway. A sample of this material, which was turned over to DPMO, follows this section.

• A third group of documents obtained from the Ukrainian KGB archives is a list of over 700 American servicemen who were under NKVD surveillance while stationed at the Poltava air base in Ukraine during World War II.

Interviews
DFI's original research plan for Ukraine included a significant publicity campaign and interview schedule. This activity was continued by the Ukrainian research team with less intensity following DPMO's guidance to stop interviews and instead to focus on archive research. As a result, the bulk of the leads and information derived from the outreach and interview portion of the research effort in Ukraine have not been assessed or reviewed by DFI. For the most part, therefore, this section consists of a “raw data dump.”

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Significant Findings

NKVD Surveillance of American Servicemen
Soviet intelligence organs maintained files on over 700 American servicemen who served at the USAF base at Poltava, Ukraine during World War II. Until these records are analyzed, one should be cautious about agreeing to Gen. Volkogonov's view that “the fate of all US MIAs from World War II has been made clear.” (31)
Attached to Volume 2 are 52 pages of NKVD documents which list the names of 740 American servicemen who were associated in some way with the USA Air Corps Poltava air base (Operation Frantyk) during World War II.

Additional directed research in the Ukrainian KGB archives is possible.

No Evidence of 23,000 “Abandoned” POWs
The Ukraine research team found no evidence to support claims made by various Americans that approximately 23,000 American POWs who had been liberated from German POW camps by Soviet forces were subsequently transferred to the Soviet Union. Using records from the Agency for the Repatriation of the Council of People's Commissars, the Politburo of the All-Union Communist Party's Central Committee, organs of the state defense-industrial complex, the USSR Academy of Sciences, and the NKVD, the Ukraine team determined that a significant number of American servicemen were not registered in Soviet records. This number, however, is estimated to be in the range of 1,000 - 2,000 Americans.

The leader of the Ukraine team concluded that the allegation that 23,000 Americans were transported through Ukrainian territory in order to be imprisoned in other parts of the USSR is “tendentious and detrimental to our nation's efforts to overcome Cold War legacies.”

Photographs
The Ukrainian research team also located several photographs concerning Vietnam and Korean War POW/MIAs. The originals of these photographs were submitted to DPMO previously. Copies are attached to this report in Appendix 1 of Volume 2.

The Ukrainian team concluded that the photo of the dead American draped across the wreckage of an aircraft in Vietnam was part of the All-Ukrainian Information Agency (RATAU), though the reorganization of RATAU in 1990 scattered both records and information concerning the provenance of archive materials. The photograph apparently came through RATAU in 1960.

According to DPMO, Dod's analysis of the photographs located by DFI's research team contributed to the further resolution of an American casualty case from the Vietnam War.

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NOTE 31: Tenth Plenum, p. 11.

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Volume 3: Lithuania

Structure and Access
DFI's archive research teams in Lithuania obtained access to an unprecedented variety of archive holdings, including KGB archives. Much of the material reviewed has not yet been made available to the general public or other researchers. DFI-sponsored researchers reviewed over 15,000 pages of material from the archives of the KGB First Main Directorate. Working with Lithuanian archive authorities, the head of the security services, and other officials, DFI obtained access to every relevant archive collection in Lithuania.

Archive Material Destroyed or Transferred to Russia
DFI's first research team determined that a great deal of archive material was taken to Russia in and around 1991. Thousands of documents were also destroyed. In some cases the shredded material was left on the floor of the storage facilities. (See Appendix 1 of Volume 3.)

Interviews
No interviews were conducted in Lithuania prior to or subsequent to DPMO's guidance to drop this effort.

Significant Findings

Files of American Citizens Located
During the initial stage of research, the second team was able to determine that in 1941, a total of 41 American citizens were living legally in Lithuania. These people, who were registered by the NKVD, were characterized as individuals "in support of a foreign intelligence service.” (32) Of these cases, only two appeared to have actually been citizens of the United States Alfonsas Antanas Milukas and Cecil Stoner. There is no reason to expect further information concerning American citizens to be located in the KGB criminal files. A summary of the cases of the two Americans follows.

Aircraft Incidents
An intense search was made for any evidence concerning the shoot down of American aircraft in or near Lithuania. In particular, a search was made for evidence concerning the Privateer incident, which took place between Palanga, Lithuania and Liepoja, Latvia, in 1950.

The search was complicated by the fact that neither the inventories of the operational files nor the card catalogue survived the Russian destruction and transfer. Nonetheless,

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NOTE 32: KGB ADS. F. 10. Inventory 1. Case 3, pps. 333-334.

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all files dated April 1, 1950 through May 1, 1950 were searched. No information concerning the Privateer incident was located.

The MGB Klaipeda region file (F.3. Case 40/34, Volume 2, p.38) contains only one document concerning the intensive activities of US planes on April 14, 1950. It seems as the aircraft referred to were searching for the Privateer.

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Volume 4: Latvia

Structure and Access
DFI's research team in Riga, Latvia experienced no difficulty in obtaining access to archives relevant to this project. This research project was approved and supported by the director of the Latvian State Archives, Dr. Daina Klavina. The lead researcher was Dr. Aivars Beika, Professor of History, Latvian State University and Director of the Latvian State Library. For nearly two years Dr. Beika was the director of the department of the Latvian State Archive which was responsible for dealing with KGB archives.

Files which were either unavailable for research, transferred to Russia or presumably destroyed are described in this report.

Methodology
The Latvian archive research team focused on five groups of documents: 1) Latvian Communist Party archive; 2) LSSR Council of Ministers correspondence; 3) LSSR Ministry for Foreign Affairs archives; 4) KGB documents; and 5) LSSR Presidium of the Supreme Soviet correspondence with the LSSR Ministry of Home Affairs.

Sample materials collected from various Latvian archives are attached to Volume 4.

POW Files Transferred to Russia
Records which were transferred to Moscow during the Soviet era have not been returned to Latvia. In addition, when the first sign of political activism occurred in Latvia in 1991, large portions of the KGB archives were transferred to Moscow. These records have not been recovered either.

Some records relevant to this project, such as POW camp files, were not available for research because they were either destroyed or transferred to Moscow in 1965. The stock of documents of the Directorate for Prisoner of War and Internee Affairs of the Ministry (People's Commissariat) of Internal Affairs of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic and a number of its subordinate organizations were partly destroyed and partly transferred from Latvia to the Special Archives of the Chieve Archives Directorate of the Council of Ministers of the USSR and the Archives of the Ministry of Preservation of Public Order of the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic. A list of the transferred documents is included in Volume 4.

Interviews
In keeping with DPMO's guidance, research in Latvia focused on archives rather than interviews or contacts with Soviet military veterans, retired intelligence officers or survivors of the GULAG. The Latvian research team conducted limited interviews independent of DFI's overall effort after DPMO instructed DFI to stop the interview effort.

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The Latvian team made Announcements on various Latvian radio stations in Latvian and Russian, placed requests with Gulag survivor organizations, sought out former members of the Latvian SSR KGB, met with over 100 survivors of the 1942 Vidzemskii deportation, sought out former KGb officers from Russia now living in Latvia, and interviewed many victims of political oppression. This effort produced little information concerning people who claimed to be American citizens.

Significant Findings

• Based on extensive research conducted by DFI's team in Latvia, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that American POW/MIAs were transferred to Latvian territory or that records associated with POW/MlAs or the transfer of them to other destinations were stored in Latvia

• The research director, Dr. Beika. stated that after ten months of research, he is "95 per cent certain no American POW/MIAs had been on Latvian territory.” In the "very remote,"’ possibility that or more American POW/MIAs had been transported through Latvia, the KGB or Soviet Army would have been the escort. and command of the Baltic Military District would have been informed, if anyone were informed at all. Documents associated with such a transfer would he stored in Moscow.

• Information concerning at least two American citizens has been located in the records examined in the Latvian State Archives, but these were criminal cases concerning dual citizens who were denied exit visas. In 1949 two Americans applied for Latvian citizenship: Herman Carlsson and Emile Pauling, both of whom had been American citizens.

• There is information concerning Latvian citizens who had contact with American organizations in some fashion. For example, Mikelis Bugatskis served as a volunteer in the US Merchant Marine in World War II during which he was wounded in 1944 in Africa. After the war he worked in various merchant marine services around the world. In 1949 he visited Latvia and was arrested. He was sentenced to lime in the Gulag, and spent seven years at the prison camp in Norilsk. Bugatskis returned to live in Latvia after his release.

• Records relating to a man named Leonid Bromberg were located in KGB files. Bromberg, who is listed as a stateless person was arrested in 1954 in Latvia and charged with being an American spy who studied in the US “‘spy school” in Washington, DC from 1952 to 1954. Bromberg sent a coded message to Washington saying he was under KGB control. was re-arrested in 1956. sentenced to death but the trail documents sheds no light on Bromberg's ultimate fate.

• A Latvian citizen told Dr. Beika that an American, Simon Schultz, was in the Karaganda, Churbainura prison camp in 1954 or 1955. According to this source Schultz, who was born about 1922 or 1924, about 1.55 meters tall. dark hair, said he

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had fought in Korea There is no Simon Schultz on the Battle Memorial list of BNR cases.

• DFI's team searched for information concerning the 1950 shootdown of the Privateer but had no success.

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Volume 5: Estonia

Structure and Access
The DFI sponsored research team In Estonia had unrestricted access to a wide range of holdings. A new law introduced in Estonia at the end of March I994 pertains to KGB archives and materials from other Soviet security organs. According to this new law, anyone has the right to see materials related to the individual's own case or that of a family member. There is a provision which states that these documents are to be released for scientific research purposes as well. DFI's research fell into the latter category, so within the framework of this project there were no barriers to the archives.

Three collections., Investigative Files, KGB Letters and Memoranda, and KGB Special Reports. proved to be of particular value for the purposes of this project.

Files Examined
The largest holding in the Estonian National Archives is the so-called Collection of Investigation files. These are the same as the files known as the File of Closed Trial Cases. All together, this collection includes 30,000 items, most from the 1940s and I 1950s, though there are recent items. Each item may be either an individual tile or a file for a group of people. The documents are mostly arrest orders. prisoner questionnaires, protocols of interrogation, interrogation of witnesses, trial materials, and verdict texts.

There is also a large collection of KGB letters and memoranda in Estonia. In this collection there is a finding aide and a large catalogue consisting of two boxes of index cards.

The third holding of particular interest to this project, a collection of KGB Special Reports, which has not been given to the National Archives yet. is in the custody of the Political Police. Nonetheless. DFI's researchers had a chance to review this collection which consists of detailed reports on Soviet anti-partisan efforts. There are also counterintelligence materials, detailed reports from the Second Directorate and Fourth Directorate. This includes the KGB's work in Moscow, operational information and special reports. These materials include files through 1959.

While no holdings or files were off-limits to the Estonian researchers, a large number of records transferred to Russia in 1991 have never been recovered by the Estonian government. Many records, particularly from the KGB files from the l960s. 1970s and I 1980s, were removed. The Russians destroyed or evacuated recent operational files, for example, in addition to historical materials. As in the case of Latvia where the Russians have ignored over 400 requests for the return of Latvian records, repeated requests from the Estonian Government for the return of this material have been rebuffed or have gone unanswered by the Russian government.

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Methodology’
In order to determine whether there is evidence that American citizens, including POW/MIAs, were on the territory of Estonia during the Cold War, materials of the Estonian National Archives and the filial of the Estonian National Archives (also known as the Party Archives) were searched by DFI's research team. Of particular interest were the Estonian KGB archival materials thai arrived in the Party Archives in 1993.å

The research methodology derived and applied by the Estonian team began with an assessment of the German occupation of Estonia, 1941-1944. The records of the Nazi Security Service (Sicherheitsdienst) which contain information about the citizens of countries at war with Germany, are located in the Estonian National Archives. The Germans, under orders from the local Obersturmbahnfuehrer, compiled lists of citizens of countries at war with Germany. These lists contain the names of Americans. British, French and other citizens of Allied countries, many of whom were dual citizens. Some of the American citizens who were Jewish were deported to Germany by 1943.

Using these lists, the Estonian team identified 24 American citizens who were in Estonia during that time. This step enabled the researchers to determine whether these Americans were in Estonia during the Soviet occupation. This guided the research team to files which concerned American citizens. Documents concerning American citizens were also located in the archives of the military prosecutor's office of the Ministry of the Interior of the ESSR.

The research methodology resulted in the identification of many American citizens who were held against their will in Estonia during the German and Soviet occupation. Since German records were used by Soviet authorities as a means to locate and arrest people. the index of American citizens deriving from German and Soviet records were relevant to the search for American POW/MlAs.

Interviews
Preliminary interviews with Gulag survivors were conducted before DPMO's guidance to drop this effort. The Gulag survivor organization in Estonia indicated that its members could provide first-hand accounts of alleged American citizens in the Soviet GULAG. In light of DPMO's guidance, plans to follow-up the preliminary contacts with formal interviews were canceled.

Significant Findings

American Citizens In Estonia During The Cold War

Information pertaining to American Citizens on Estonian territory following World War II has been located in the Party Archives which is a branch of the Estonian National Archives. This collection contains KGB documents and records of the Estonian Communist Party.

After checking the list of US citizens who lived in Estonia in 1941-1944, with the help of card files, against records in archive Fonds 129 and 130, DFI's team was able to

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find the InvestIgation file of Alf Varjas (PA. f 129,1.1., .i4778). Alf Varjas. who was born on February’, 8.1927 in New York. obtained a passport in 1936 from the American Embassy Tallinn. His father, Mihkel Varjas. was also an American citizen. When the German army retreated. they both stayed in Estonia but after the end of the war they wanted to return to the United States. This is why they visited the American Embassy tn Moscow. Soviet authorities did not allow Alf Varjas to leave. According to the ukase of September, 7 1940 of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, AIf Varjas was treated as a Soviet Citizen (at that period he was not of age yet); in other words, Soviet citizenship was forced upon him.

On May. 12 1952, the Military tribunal of the Ministry of Security of the ESSR sentenced AIf Varjas to 25 years of labor and reform camp (ispravitelno-trudovoi lager) The military tribunal of the Navy commuted the sentence to 10 years. On October, 26. 1955 the Military College of the Supreme Court of the USSR released Alf Varjas on the basis of the amnesty ukase of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the USSR issued on March, 27,1953 (the same information is confirmed by the two supervision files (nabijudatelnoje proizvodstvo) of Alf Varjas); ENA, f. R-2276, 1. 1, i.639 and 640.

The arrests of the former employees of the American Embassy (which operated until 1940) in Tallinn, Alekandra Landsberg and Aadu Liivik, are also connected to the cases of Alf Varjas and Vaike Sepp (Aipuk) Landsberg and Liivik, who were arrested in 1951 and 1949, were both citizens of Estonia who had remained in Estonia after the World War II. The KGB began to take an active interest in them and in 1948, obviously under the strong pressure, they became KGB agents (PA, f.129, 1.1. i.13619, p.49.,167,i.10138, p.234). To their credit, they fulfilled their agent's tasks reluctantly and badly. Liivik and Landsberg were sentenced in 1950 and 1952 to 25 years of forced labor. They were released during the so-called Khruschev "thaw" in 1956.

• Evidence of CIA Agents Arrested and One Executed by KGB

There are some material about the activities and the arrest of two CIA agents, Kalju Kukk and Hans Toomla, in Estonia in Fond 131 and in the report of the 2nd department of the Estonian KGB dated April, I, 1954 (f .131,1.1, i.319, p.12-16). Kalju Kukk and Hans Toomla, who were born in Estonia, were not American citizens. Although the activities of CIA agents who were not citizens of United States is not the subject of the current project, it Is still of interest to observe how it is reflected in KGB documents. The KGB's methodology may shed additIonal light on how other IndivIduals who were of particular Interest were treated.

There is a voluminous Investigation file on Kalju Kukk and his accomplices Robert Hamburg. Helgi Norma and Erna Hamburg which encompasses eight large files (PA f. 129.1.1, i. 18379). These files contain cross-examination and interrogation records. The seventh volume contains photographs of the material evidence, such as an analysis of Kukk’s faked documents. weapons. and special equipment dropped by parachute. The MVD army-tribunal sentenced Kalju Kukk to death by shooting, Robert Hamburg to 25 years. Helgi Norma to 10 years and Erna Hamburg to three years of forced labor. Kalju Kukk was executed in the special department of the Butyrka prison in Moscow on

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August 27.1955 (PA. f. 129. I. I. i. 1 8379, 8th volume (Ilitsnoje delo). p 142 a). No Evidence of American Kortari War POW/MlAs In Estonia

• No Evidence of Korean War Of Vietnam War POW/MIAs

An exhaustive search of the Estonian archives turned up no evidence that American POW/MIAs from the Korean War or from any other conflict, were transferred to Estonia. If it had been the case, there would have been some note in the KGB fond of special reports. DFI's team did rot find any information about imprisoned US citizens in the annual reports from the 2nd and 4th department of the Estonian KGB to the USSR KGB in Moscow.

The search for Vietnam War POW/MlAs was as Thorough as possible, but the absence of relevant KGB archive materials where there could be some information, made the search inconclusive. The materials in Estonia end with the year 959. The materials about later years have been either destroyed or taken to Russia (probably to Ulyanovsk).

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Volume 6: Germany

Purpose
The purpose of DFI's research was to determine whether there is evidence concerning American prisoners-of-war (POW) or missing-in-action (MIA) from the Korean War, the Cold War, or the Vietnam War, in the archives of the former GDR. Of particular interest was the search for any information concerning the possible presence on GDR territory of any American POW/MIAs at any time during the Cold War.

Research Sites
DFI organized and carried out research in ten archives and research centers located in various parts of Germany. In most cases, access to these archives would not have been possible without the support of the sponsor of this project, the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Office (DPMO) and the support and cooperation of the government of the Federal Republic of German (FRG).

Research took place in the following archives of the former GDR:

* Bundesarchiv IV, Potsdam. Research focused on three archives of the former GDR:

Ministry of the Interior.

Ministry of Security.

Nationale Volksarmee (National People’s Army, or NVA)

Of particular interest were any records relating to Korea, the Korean War, prisoners-of-war, cases of citizens of “capitalist” or “imperialist” nations seeking asylum in the GDR. and reporting from the GDR embassy in Pyongyang.

Milltärisches Zwischenarchiv (GDR Military Archive), Potsdam. Research focused on any records relating to the Korean War, North Korea, reporting from the GDR embassy in Pyongyang, and prisoners-of-war.

GDR Military Archive, Freiburg. Research focused on any records relating to the Korean War, North Korea, reporting from the GDR embassy in Pyongyang, or prisoners-of-war.

* Bundesarchiv, Koblenz. Research focused on the following records:

National People's Army (Nationale Voiksarmee, or NVA).

Research focused on any records relating to the Korean War, North Korea, reporting from the GDR embassy in Pyongyang, and prisoners-of-war.

* SED Party and Mass Organizations Archive, Berlin. Research focused on the personal papers of prominent GDR officials, SED Politburo meetings, bilateral GDR-North Korean files, official visits, subject files on Korea, bilateral assistance programs, and prisoners-of-war.

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Politisches Archiv des Auswärtigen Amt [ im Ministerium füjr Auswärtige Angelengenheiten ] (Political Archive of the GDR Foreign Ministry), Berlin. Research focused on the personal papers of prominent GDR officials, SED Politburo meetings, bilateral GDR-North Korean files,

Staatssicherheitsdienste (Stasi) Archive, Berlin. Research focused on the location and search of records relating to American military deserters who lived in the GDR at one time during the Cold War. The purpose was to determine whether these files contained information concerning other American servicemen whose presence in the GDR has not been previously demonstrated.

FRG Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Bonn. Research focused on a follow-up of the FRG MFA report to Secretary of State James Baker.

Inner-German Institute, Bonn. Research focused on a literature search, research into prominent GDR figures, and a search for any extant scholarly work.

Saxonia State Archive, Dresden. Research focused on regional records concerning areas where American military deserters were known to have lived in the GDR.

Interview Effort Halted
In light of DPMO's guidance to DFl to stop work on the effort to locate and interview individuals who have direct knowledge of POW/MIA issues, DFl did not organize an extensive interview effort in Germany. Prior to the cessation of this effort, DFl's research team located and interviewed American military deserters and also located individuals who have direct, first-hand experience with at least one American servicemen who was allegedly taken from Korea to GDR territory in the 1950s.

Significant Findings
DFl's research team located direct evidence, both archival and from interviews, concerning the following:

• Archival information concerning methods for transporting GDR POWs from Vietnam to GDR territory in the 1950s. The transport method required both Soviet and Chinese coordination and cooperation.

• Interview data describing the involvement of Soviet forces in transporting American deserters from third countries to GDR territory in the 1950s.

• Interview information concerning Soviet responsibility for assigning new identities to American deserters in the GDR.

• Interview and archival data demonstrating the direct involvement of Soviet intelligence services in the organization and surveillance of American deserters located on GDR territory in the 1950s.

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• Interview information describing American servicemen allegedly transported from Korea to GDR territory in the I 950s.

• Interview information asserting that no American servicemen from Vietnam had been transported to GDR territory.

These findings, while credible, are not definitive. Additional research in Germany that may contribute to a more complete understanding of these findings has been proposed by DFI to DPMO.