During this period there was little tension between the government and the German population. In spite of this record the Soviets evidently questioned the loyalty of the Volga Germans after the Nazi invasion of Soviet Russia. The decree for their deportation was issued August 21. 1941. exactly 5 weeks after the German advance: According to trustworthy information received by military authorities. among the German population living in the Volga there are thousands and tens of thousands of diversionists and spies who on a signal being given from Germany are to carry out sabotage in the area inhabited by the Germans of the Volga.2 The ukase cited such vague destinations for the uprooted Germans as the Novosibirsk. Omsk. and Altai region. Of the roughly 480.000 Germans settled in the Ukraine. the Soviets evacuated about 200.000 while the Nazis deported the rest to Germany. The early relocation of this group was probably more a precaution against collaboration and irridentist claims than a punishment for uncommitted treason. Nevertheless. the Volga Germans have disappeared from all statistics of the ethnic composition of the U.S.S.R.
Identified stereotypes
Generalization about Volga Germans being diversionists and spies.