Liveblogging World War II: January 23, 1942
The Red Army encircles its first (small) group of Nazi soldiers in the Kholm pocket:
Kholm Pocket - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: The Kholm Pocket (German: Kessel von Cholm; Russian: Холмский котёл) was the name given for the encirclement of German troops by the Red Army around Kholm south of Leningrad, during World War II on the Eastern Front. The pocket existed from 23 January 1942 until 5 May 1942. A much larger pocket was simultaneously surrounded in Demyansk, about 100 km (62 mi) to the northeast. These were the results of German retreat following their defeat during the Battle of Moscow. At the small Kholm pocket, 5,500 German soldiers held out for 105 days. The pocket was supplied by air but too small for planes to land and supplies had therefore to be dropped in and recovered by the German defenders…. Hauptmann Albert Biecker was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 20 March 1942 for his command of the defence…. in Cholm, four days before the pocket was relieved by German forces….
Members of the Reserve-Polizei-Bataillon 65, a police unit from Gelsenkirchen, were questioned after the war by the state prosecuter in Dortmund for their involvement in ethnic cleansing in Eastern Europe. The unit was found to have taken part in a minimum of 5,000 executions and a large number of deportations to concentration camps. Among them was also the hanging of a young girl in Kholm during the siege.
