The headquarters of the Russian Security Corps in Belgrade on the street of the Unknown Hero. The photo was taken a few days before the storming of the city by the Red Army and the People’s Liberation Army of Yugoslavia. A sign in German and Russian (in spelling before 1918) languages.
The Russian Security Corps (ROK) was formed in September 1941 from volunteer former White Guards who settled in Yugoslavia. Initially, he submitted to the ruler of Yugoslavia, General Nedich, and from May 1942 he became part of the Wehrmacht. In addition to the White Guards, later Soviet prisoners taken prisoner in Moldavia and near Odessa entered the corps. He actively participated in the battles with the partisans of Tito, and since September 1944 – and with the Red Army. In total, a little more than 17 thousand people passed through the corps. From 1941 to 1945, official corps casualties of killed and wounded amounted to 6,700 people. According to German generals, the corps is “the most combat-ready non-German unit in the Wehrmacht.” It was ROK who covered the German withdrawal from Belgrade.
Location: Belgrade, Yugoslavia
Date of the photo: October 12, 1944