Diary of a German prisoner of war, Captain Max Greft, 1916

Document publication

DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2026-2-545-563

For citation

Nazemtseva, E. N. (2026). Diary of a German prisoner of war, Captain Max Greft, 1916, Herald of an Archivist, no. 2, pp. 545-563. DOI 10.28995/2073-0101-2026-2-545-563

Nazemtseva, E. N.

Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Diary of a German prisoner of war, Captain Max Greft, 1916

Abstract

This publication contains previously unknown documents about the escape of the First World War prisoners of war from the Far Eastern and Siberian regions of the Russian Empire to China. These include the diary of Captain Max Greft, a captain in the German service, and a report from a Russian diplomatic agent in Mongolia addressed to the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Empire. The materials illustrate the situation of German and Austro-Hungarian prisoners of war in the Russian Empire, the Russian authorities' policies toward them, the prisoners' emotional state, their living conditions, and their attitude toward foreign cultures. Of particular importance are the reasons and methods for escaping from prisoner-of-war camps, their routes to China, as well as the Chinese authorities' policies toward them and their interactions with Russian representatives on this issue. The circumstances of captivity in Russia were more difficult for the German, Austro-Hungarian, and Turkish soldiers and officers who found themselves there than in other countries. This was due to specific geographic conditions (large territory, harsh climate, etc.), the limited capacity of Russian authorities to organize prisoner-of-war detention, the number of prisoners of war exceeding what was feasible for Russia, the complex domestic political situation in Russia during the First World War, the length of captivity, etc. These factors forced prisoners to escape. For those captured in Siberia, the Central Asian regions, and the Far East, the only possible destination was China, which, until 1917, maintained strict neutrality in the Great War. China's actions were consistent with international law, according to which Chinese authorities were obligated to intern prisoners of war but had the right not to extradite them to the country from which they had escaped, and they inspired the fugitives with hope of rescue and return to their homeland. The published documents made it possible to establish the reasons for the escape, the organization of assistance to the fugitives on both Russian and Chinese territory, the sympathetic attitude of the Chinese authorities toward the prisoners of war, despite their neutrality, and the facts of their assistance to them. At the same time, the documents describe the Russian authorities' actions regarding escaped prisoners of war, specifically their efforts to combat escapes. Furthermore, the documents provide a more objective picture of the complex Russian-Chinese relations of this period. Both sides were addressing their primary concerns and striving to achieve their goals: Russia was seeking to prevent a disruption to the relative stability along the entire Russian-Chinese border and in Mongolian territories, while China was hoping to restore previously lost positions in Manchuria and Mongolia.

Keywords

First World War of 1914–1918, prisoners of war, Russian Empire, Republic of China, Outer Mongolia, Russian-Chinese relations.

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About authors

Nazemtseva Elena Nikolaevna, Doctor of Historical Sciences, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, China Department, leading scientific researcher, Moscow, Russia, +7-985-297-15-54, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The article was received in the editorial office on 06.03.2025, recommended for publication on 20.03.2026