Battle of Stalingrad issued on 5 February 1943, 22:00 said, The condition of the troops that surrendered was pitiful. British war correspondent Alexander Werth described the following scene in his "Russia at War" book, based on a first-hand account of his visit to Stalingrad from 3–5 February 1943, Out of the nearly 91,000 German prisoners captured in Stalingrad, only about 5,000 returned. Weakened by disease, starvation and lack of medical care during the encirclement, they were sent on foot marches to prisoner camps and later to labour camps all over the Soviet Union. Some 35,000 were eventually sent on transports, of which 17,000
Battle of Stalingrad Hitler believed that Paulus would either fight to the last man or commit suicide. On the next day, the southern pocket in Stalingrad collapsed. Soviet forces reached the entrance to the German headquarters in the ruined GUM department store. General Schmidt negotiated a surrender of the headquarters while Paulus was unaware in another room. When interrogated by the Soviets, Paulus claimed that he had not surrendered. He said that he had been taken by surprise. He denied that he was the commander of the remaining northern pocket in Stalingrad and refused to issue an order in his name for them