“Their crime, some had served the Germans.”
Well that’s a pretty serious crime I’d say. But that nothing beats that old world retardedness of arresting everyone, even soldiers in the army.
The Nazi Germans had a similar mentality. It didn’t matter how much someone had served Germany in WWI, or what medals they were awarded. If they were Jewish, they were murdered.
The Kalmyks had suffered brutal repression and massive deportations since the Bolshevik takeover. So many of them undoubtedly saw the Germans as liberators--that is, until Nazi attitudes about race began to be implemented.