To Flee or Not to Flee? Soviet Jews Face the German Invasion
Jews as a group were never mentioned in Soviet evacuation orders, which prioritized withdrawal of the Party, Soviet and security agency functionaries, as well as those employed in defense industries. During the Cold War, this led to allegations of Soviet indifference to the fate of the Jews; accusations that they were deliberately abandoned to their fate under German rule. The reality, so it seems, was more complex. In the first months of the war, the Soviet regime was on the verge of military defeat and total collapse. In fact, with the exception of the aforementioned groups, critically nece...
Source: harvard.edu