A Woman Discovers Her Son among Returning POWs at the Friedland Transfer Camp (October 1, 1955) The Soviets appear to have seriously underestimated the emotional significance of the POW issue. The return of the last prisoners from the Soviet Union was an immense political success for Chancellor Adenauer that brought him added prestige - a success that eluded the unsuccessful SED regime. In a survey conducted just after Adenauer’s death in 1967, three-fourths of the respondents listed the return of the POWs as his greatest achievement. Photo by Robert Lebeck.