It is estimated that the German army lost between 3.7 million and 5.3 million soldiers wounded and killed during World War II (1939-1945). Likewise, the number of German prisoners of war can also be estimated in the millions. The German soldier who was captured by the Soviets could not be too sure of his fate. It is estimated that in the period 1941-1945 about 3.5 million soldiers from the Axis countries were captured by the Soviets (about 2.7 million were probably Germans), of which about 1 million died in captivity. It is also worth mentioning that in 1943, as a result of the Battle of Stalingrad, 91,000 Germans were captured by the Soviets, of which only 5,000 returned home in the mid-1950s. It is worth adding that, symbolically, the hunting ace Erich Hartmann, who returned to Germany in 1955, is considered to be the last German prisoner of war remaining in Soviet captivity. On the other hand, however, it should be remembered that in the years 1941-1945, about 5.7 million Red Army soldiers were captured by the German army, of which about 3.3 million died in captivity. The fate of German prisoners of war sent to Allied captivity was different, where they were most often treated humanely and in accordance with international conventions, and the death rate among them was much lower than in Soviet POW camps. However, there were also executions of German prisoners of war, carried out, for example, by French or American soldiers. However, these were - compared to Soviet standards - incidental cases.
Afrika Korps (full German name: Deutsches Afrikakorps, abbreviated as DAK) is colloquially understood as the collective name of German land units fighting in North Africa in 1941-1943. The Afrika Korps was formed in February 1941, as a result of the painful defeats suffered by the Italian army during the battles with the British in Africa at the turn of 1940/1941. His main task was to come to the aid of the Italian ally and stop the advance of British troops in Libya. The commander of the unit was a general, and later a field marshal, Erwin Rommel. Initially, the DAK consisted of only the 5th Light Division (later transformed into the 21st Armored Division), in May 1941 it was joined by the 15th Armored Division, and at the end of 1941 - the 90th Light Division. It is worth adding that already in the middle of 1941 the Panzergruppe Afrika was founded, headed by Erwin Rommel, and it was joined by Afrika Korps. Despite the defensive tasks, the DAK (or more broadly the Panzergruppe Afrika) very quickly after landing - on the initiative of its commander - went into strictly offensive operations, inflicting a series of defeats in the desert on the British in 1941-1942. However, it was then that its commander was nicknamed the Desert Fox. At the same time, however, from the very beginning, DAK was troubled by supply problems, which had a negative impact on its ability to conduct offensive actions. He suffered a significant defeat during the Second Battle of El Alamein (October-November 1942), which forced the DAK to retreat as far as Tunisia, in which he fought until May 1943.