Digital resources in the Social Sciences and Humanities OpenEdition Our platforms OpenEdition Books OpenEdition Journals Hypotheses Calenda Libraries OpenEdition Freemium Follow us

Camp spoon

Written by Max Ribeiro

Who is Fjodor Bitschechwost?

Fjodor Bitschechwost (born in 1915), was a soviet prisoner of war, who got transferred to one of the few ARBED labor camps[1]. When Fjodor landed in Differdingen he only weighted 45 kg at 180 cm Body height. In the course of the war, soviet forced laborers and prisoners of war became more and more in touch with the local Luxemburgish population. When the Americans landed in Normandy in June 1944, optimism and hope began to raise in the Luxemburgish population. On the other hand side, the Soviet slave laborers also became more concerned when, in late summer, the occupying forces seized their troops and transported the prisoners out of Luxembourg.[2]

Picture taken from the article: Ganschow, Inna: „Lachen hat ja keinen Akzent“, in: Luxemburger Wort (4.05.2017), S. 20.

 

The Advance of the Russian forces

With the continuing advance of the Soviet red army, the camps in Luxembourg were about to be transferred to Germany. It was at this stage when “Jean Deibener” who had worked with Fjodor Bitschechwost knew, he had to act and rescue his Soviet friend before he was being deported back to Trier, Germany. Fjodor was hiding in one of the dressing rooms until his friend Deibener arrived, and equipped him with new clothes, and a false identity to pass the guards at the gates. Everything went fine until they sat in the tramway, where a group of German police officers entered. Jean saved the situation by telling Fjodor to just laugh while he made up a sort of joke. Fjodor didn’t really get the joke, but the fact that he laughed with Deibener, who was speaking in Luxemburgish saved the situation, and that is why we can conclude “Lachen hat ja keinen Akzent”[3].

 

Bitschechwost’s Spoon – More than a gift?

So how does the chosen object, “Bitschechwost’s spoon” fit into this personal story? Pierre, the son of Jean of Deibener who got in contact with Fjodor, while the soviet prisoner was hiding with another Luxemburgish recruit seemed to like the Soviet Lieutenant. But after a while and for safety reasons Fjodor had to move to another Luxemburgish family: the Flammang’s. Before leaving, Bitschechwost gifted Pierre his most expensive possession. His only spoon.[4] Tableware and cutlery were essential for the survival in these camps because the malnourished prisoners had to be ready to eat at any moment that the locals, despite bans, gave them.[5] 

But is the story already over? Not yet.

 

The Repatriation – The Luxemburgish government as a deliberately helper?

After the defeat of the Germans and the end of the Second World War, a wave of repatriation of the soviet workers and prisoners in Luxembourg started to take place. The first 2800 soviet citizens were transported from their camps in Differdingen, Esch, Schleifmühle, Hollenfels, and Ansemburg over Paris and the black sea back to the Soviet Union.[6] But some Soviet citizens had settled down in Luxembourg, created a family, and had started a new life. Nevertheless, in the attempt by the Luxemburgish government to improve their relationship with the Soviet Union, and by their wish to bring back their Luxemburgish Soldiers (= later famously designed with the term “Ons Jongen”) who were kept Prisoners in the Soviet Union a wave of “repatriation” started to happen.[7] In February 1946, René Blum the Luxemburgish ambassador in Moscow was asked by the Soviet authorities to put pressure on the remaining 100 soviets living in Luxembourg, who hadn’t turned themselves over to the Soviet repatriation officer “Potapow”.[8] It is important to note, that local authorities, and especially the Luxemburgish government did approve the use of force by the soviet agents, and were by this approval jointly responsible for the crimes done to the soviet citizens.

 

The Continuation of Bitschechwost’s Story

But what really happened to Fjodor, after the rescue and help by the Deibener’s and the Flammang’s?

Bitschechwost became later the right hand of the soviet Officer Potapow charged with the process of repatriation and was involved in the act of searching and collecting soviet citizens in Luxembourg, which occurred sometimes even by applying force.[9] He participated in this action mainly to save himself from persecution. For the Soviet Union working in an enemy’s armaments factory, which included ARBED, was seen as collaboration.[10] In addition, the soviet law defined the capture by the enemy as a capital crime, and of which someone could be sentenced to an educational camp, prison or labour camp and could even lead to an execution.[11]

 

Soviet forced laborers in Luxembourg

Ostarbeiter/Zwangsarbeiter

The historical context of the chosen objects is primarily linked to the “Ostarbeiter/Zwangsarbeiter”. The term defines those people taken from their homes during the Nazi invasion of Russia, Poland, France and forced into labor to boost the German war-economy which was on the point to collapse in the middle of the war in 1942. On the 20th February in 1942 Heinrich Himmler gave the declaration on the recruitment and use of Workers from the East, the so-called “Ostarbeiter-Erlasse”. For over 2 million “Ostarbeiter” this meant exploitation, exclusion, and humiliation.[12]

The group of “Ostarbeiter” was composed primarily out of Ukrainians, Belarusians, Poles, and Russians. The Eastern workers came to Luxembourg in November 1942 and were mainly employed in the steelworks and smelters as auxiliary and construction workers.[13] In May 1943 the Ministry of foreign affairs of the Luxemburgish regime, which was located in London notified Moscow, that 4000 soviet citizens had been brought to Luxembourg by the German occupation force to work Luxemburgish industries and agriculture.[14]

 

Concluding Remarks

To conclude we can say, that this “simple” spoon brought us a very deep personal story of the soviet forced labourer Fjodor Bitschechwost, his connection to Luxembourg, and his rescue by Jean Deibener, as well as the overall historical context attached to the story.

 

[1] These camps can be linked to Erving Goffman’s approach to “Total Institutions”. In Goffman’s “Asylums”, he defines a “Total institution” having a total character, which “is symbolized by the barrier to social intercourse with the outside and to departures that is often built right into the physical plant, such as locked doors, high walls, barbed wire, cliffs, water, forests, or moors.” (Goffman: Asylums, S. 4.); According to Goffman, the main aim of these types of institutions is to replace the “old” people with a “new”, obedient and unwilling one.

[2] Ganschow: 100 Jahre Russen in Luxemburg, S. 208.

[3] Translation: « Laughter doesn’t show an accent »; citation taken from: Ganschow: „Lachen hat ja keinen Akzent“, S. 20.

[4] Ganschow: 100 Jahre Russen in Luxemburg, S. 195.

[5] Ganschow: „Lachen hat ja keinen Akzent“, S. 20.

[6] Ganschow: „Alles Mögliche“, S. 61.

[7] Ebd., S. 61.

[8] Ganschow: „Alles Mögliche“, S. 62.

[9] Ganschow: 100 Jahre Russen in Luxemburg, S. 229.

[10] Ebd., S.229.

[11] Ebd., S. 229f.

[12] Klingenböck, Gerda / Pagenstecher, Cord: 20. Februar 1942. Die „Ostarbeiter“ – Erlasse, online unter URL: https://www.bpb.de/mediathek/227595/20-februar-1942-die-ostarbeiter-erlasse.

[13] Ganschow: „Lachen hat ja keinen Akzent“, S. 20.

[14] Ganschow : 100 Jahre Russen in Luxemburg, S. 157.



OpenEdition suggests that you cite this post as follows:
Guido Lessing (June 23, 2020). Camp spoon. Intersections of Luxembourgish-Russian History. Retrieved April 29, 2025 from https://doi.org/10.58079/ul9k


One thought on “Camp spoon”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.