Belarusian resistance during World War II
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The Belarusian resistance during World War II opposed Nazi Germany from 1941 until 1944. Belarus was one of the Soviet republics occupied during Operation Barbarossa. The term Belarusian partisans may refer to Soviet-formed irregular military groups fighting Germany, but has also been used to refer to the disparate independent groups who also fought as guerrillas at the time, including Jewish groups (such as the Bielski partisans and Fareynikte Partizaner Organisatsye), Polish groups (such as the Home Army), and nationalist Belarusian forces opposed to Germany.
Pro-Soviet resistance
After the victories of the
Already in July 1941, an underground group in the Vesnitsky village council of the Ushachsky district was created by the head of the Lesinsky outpost of the 13th Berezinsky border detachment (Russian: 13-го Березинского погранотряда), Lieutenant Kudryavtsev. Underground workers established relations with the population, conducted oral campaigns among them, calling for a struggle against the invaders, and helped unite the locals. Soon it was decided to create a partisan detachment and begin an open armed struggle. The Nazis tracked down Kudryavtsev and one night surrounded the house where he was resting and killed him.
The first partisan detachments were composed mostly of Red Army personnel, but also included local people. They were commanded by officers of the Red Army, the Soviet secret police
Throughout 1941, the core of the partisan movement consisted of the straggling remains of the
Organization
As a controlling body, a network of underground Communist structures was actively developed on German-occupied territories, and it received an influx of specially picked Communist activists. By the end of 1941, more than two thousand partisan detachments (with more than 90,000 personnel) operated in German-occupied territories.[7] However, the activities of the partisan forces weren't centrally coordinated or logistically provided for until spring of 1942. In order to coordinate partisan operations, the Central Headquarters of the Partisan Movement, headed by Panteleimon Ponomarenko, the Russian-born former head of the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, was organised on May 30, 1942. The Staff had its liaisons in the Military Councils of the fronts and armies. The territorial Staffs were subsequently created, dealing with the partisan movement in the respective Soviet Republics and in the occupied provinces of the Soviet Russia.
Later, the
Logistics difficulties
The Soviet authorities considered Belarus to be of the utmost importance to the development of the Soviet partisan war from the very beginning. The main factors were its geography, with many dense forests and swamps, and its strategic position on the communications going from West to Moscow. In fact, Belorussian Communist bodies in the Eastern provinces of Belarus began to organize and facilitate organization of the partisan units on the day after the first directive issuing (directives No.1 of 1941-07-30 and No.2 of 1941-07-01). By the Soviet estimates, in August 1941 about 231
One outstanding difficulty was the lack of radio communication, which wasn't addressed until April 1942. The support of the local people was also insufficient.[9] So, for several months, partisan units in Belarus were virtually left to themselves. Especially difficult for the partisans was the winter of 1941–1942, with severe shortages in ammunition, medicine and supplies. The actions of partisans were generally uncoordinated. In the circumstances, the German pacification operations in Summer and Fall 1941 were able to curb the partisan activity significantly. Many units went underground, and generally, in the late Fall 1941—early 1942, the partisan units weren't undertaking the significant military operations, limiting themselves to sorting out the organizational problems, building up the logistics support and gaining influence with the local people.[9] By the incomplete data, in the end of the 1941, 99 partisan detachments and about 100 partisan groups operated in Belarus.[10] In Winter 1941–1942, 50 partisan detachments and about 50 underground organization and groups operated in Belarus.[11][12] By the incomplete Russian data, in the end of the 1941, 99 partisan detachments and about 100 partisan groups operated in Soviet Belarus.[10] In Winter 1941–1942, 50 partisan detachments and about 50 underground organisations and groups operated there.[11][13] In the period (1941-12-01), the German guard forces in the Army Group "Centre" rear comprised 4 security divisions, 2 SS brigades, 260 companies of different branches of service.[14] In August 1941, about 231 partisan detachments were operating in the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. The units totalled 437 by the end of the 1941, comprising more than 7,200 personnel.[8]
In the period of December 1941, the German guard forces in the Army Group "Centre" rear comprised 4 security divisions, 2 SS brigades, 260 companies of different branches of service.[14]
The Moscow Battle turned the tide in the morale of the partisans and of the local people in general. However, the real turning point in the development of the partisan movement in Belarus, and, in fact, on the German-occupied territories in general, came in the course of the Soviet Winter 1942 offensive.
1942, Vitebsk Gate
The Germans treated the local population abysmally (with the notable exception of the fraction of the civil administration headed by Wilhelm Kube), maintained kolkhozes in East and restored land possessions in West, collecting heavy food taxes, rounded up and sent young people to work in Germany.[15] Overwhelmingly, Jews and even small-scale Soviet activists would feel more secure in the partisan ranks. The direct boost to the partisan numbers were the Red Army POWs of the local origin, who were let out "to the homes" in Fall 1941, but ordered by Germans to return to the concentration camps in March 1942.[16]
In the Spring 1942, the aggregation of the
In 1942, the terror campaign against the territorial administration, which was manned by the local people ("collaborators and traitors") was additionally emphasized.[18] This resulted, however, in the definite split of the local people's sympathies, resulting in the beginning of the organisation of the anti-partisan units with native personnel in 1942. By the November 1942, Soviet partisan units in Belarus numbered about 47,000 personnel.[16]
The turning point in the development of the Soviet partisan movement came with the opening of the Vitsyebsk gate in February 1942. The partisan units were included in the overall Soviet strategical developments shortly after that, and the centralized organizational and logistical support had been organized, with Gate's existence being the very important facilitating factor.
See also:
By the November 1942, Soviet partisan units in Belarus numbered about 47.3 thousand personnel.[16]
1943
In January 1943, out of 56,000 partisan personnel, 11,000 were operating in the West Belarus, which was 3.5 less per 10 thousand local people than in the East, and even more so (up to 5–6 factor) if accounting for the much more efficient evacuation measures in the East in 1941.
The build-up of the Soviet partisan force in the
Soviet victory at the Battle of Stalingrad, certain curbing of the terror campaign (actually since December 1942, formally in February 1943) and amnesty promised to repenting collaborators were a significant factors in the 1943 growth of the Soviet partisan forces. Desertions from the ranks of the German-controlled Hilfspolizei and military formations strengthened, with sometimes whole units coming over to Soviet partisan side – Volga Tartars battalion (900 personnel, February 1943), Gil-Rodionov 1st Russian People's brigade of the SS (2500 personnel, August 1943). Summarily, about 7 thousand people of miscellaneous anti-Soviet formations joined the Soviet partisan force. About 1.9 thousand specialists and commanders were inserted in the Belarusian lands in 1943. However, the local people comprised the core of the personnel influx in the Soviet partisan force.
In late May 1943,
In July 1943 the Uderzeniowe Bataliony Kadrowe units, active in Bezirk Bialystok, consisted of five Battalions. Altogether, there were 200 fighters, and during a number of skirmishes with the Germans (including the
By autumn 1943, the partisan force in BSSR totalled about 153,700, and by the end 1943 about 122,000, with about 30,800 put behind the frontline in the course of liberation of eastern parts of BSSR (in the end of 1943). After the liberation of BSSR, about 180,000 partisans joined the Soviet Army in 1944.
During the 1941—1944 period, the turnaround in the Soviet partisan force in Belarus was about 374,000, about 70,000 in urban underground, and about 400,000 in the reserve of the partisan force.
Among Soviet partisans in Belarus were people of 45 different ethnic backgrounds and 4,000 foreigners (including 3,000 Poles, 400
On September 22, 1943, Kube was assassinated in his Minsk home by a bomb as part of Operation Blow-Up; the bomb was placed by a Soviet partisan Yelena Mazanik, a Belarusian woman who had managed to find employment in Kube's household as a maid and presumably became his mistress[26] in order to assassinate him.[27]
1943–1944
The partisan movement was so strong that by 1943–44 there were entire regions in occupied Belarus, where Soviet authority was re-established deep inside the German held territories. There were even partisan
The build-up of the Soviet partisan force in the West Belarus was ordered and implemented during 1943, with nine brigades, 10 detachments and 15 operational groups transferred from the Eastern to Western lands, effectively tripling the Partisan force there (to 36,000 in December 1943). It is estimated that c. 10,000–12,000 personnel were transferred, and about same number came from the local volunteers. The build-up of the military force was complemented by the ensuing reconstruction of underground Communist Party structures and propaganda activity.[25]
The Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad, certain curbing of the terror campaign (actually since December 1942, formally in February 1943) and amnesty promised to repenting collaborators were a significant factors in the 1943 growth of the Soviet partisan forces. Desertions from the ranks of the German-controlled police and military formations strengthened, with sometimes whole units coming over to Soviet partisan side, including the Volga Tatars battalion (900 personnel, February 1943), and the Gil-Rodionov's 1st Russian People's brigade of the SS (2,500 personnel, August 1943). Summarily, about 7,000 people of miscellaneous anti-Soviet formations joined the Soviet partisan force, while about 1,900 specialists and commanders were inserted in the Belarusian lands in 1943. However, the local people comprised the core of the personnel influx in the Soviet partisan force.
In the Fall 1943, the partisan force in BSSR totalled about 153,000, and by the end 1943 about 122,000, with about 30,000 put behind the front line in the course of liberation of eastern parts of BSSR (end 1943). The partisan movement was so strong that by 1943–1944 there were entire regions in occupied Belarus, where Soviet authority was re-established deep inside the German held territories. There were even partisan kolkhozes that were raising crops and livestock to produce food for the partisans.[28]
The
During the process of reorganization of the
The 5th Wileńska Brigade of the Home Army, commanded by
On June 12, 1944, General
On June 23, two squads of the 5th Wileńska Brigade, commanded by "Maks" and "Rakoczy", attacked the
The starting date was set to July 7. Approximately 12,500 Home Army soldiers attacked the German garrison and managed to seize most of the city centre. Heavy street fighting in the outskirts lasted until July 14. In Wilno's eastern suburbs, the Home Army units cooperated with reconnaissance groups of the Soviet 3rd Belorussian Front.[29]
Soviets enter
General Krzyżanowski wanted to group all of the partisan units into a re-created
In August the commander of all Home Army units in the Wilno area, Gen. Aleksander Krzyżanowski "Wilk" ordered all six brigades under his command to prepare for the Operation Tempest – a plan for an all-national uprising against the German forces occupying Poland. In what became known as the Operation Ostra Brama, the V Brigade was to attack the Wilno suburb of Zwierzyniec in cooperation with the advancing units of the 3rd Belorussian Front. However, for fear of being arrested with his units by the NKVD and killed on the spot, Zygmunt Szendzielarz – Łupaszko – decided to disobey the orders and instead moved his unit to central Poland. The Operation Ostra Brama was a success and the city was liberated by Polish soldiers, but the Polish commander was then arrested by the Soviets and the majority of his soldiers were sent to Gulags and sites of detention in the Soviet Union.
It is uncertain why Szendzielarz was not court-martialled for desertion. It is highly probable that in fact his unit was moved out of the battlefield by Gen. "Wilk" himself, due to the fact that Łupaszka's unit has been long involved in fights with the Soviet partisans and he did not want to provoke the Red Army. Regardless, after crossing into
After the governments of the United Kingdom and United States broke the pacts with Poland and accepted the
During the battles for liberation of Belarus, partisans considered the fourth Byelorussian front. After the liberation of BSSR, about 180,000 partisans joined the Soviet Army in 1944.
During the 1941–1944 period, the turnaround in the Soviet partisan force in Belarus was about 374,000, about 70,000 in urban underground, and about 400,000 in the reserve of the partisan force. Among Soviet partisans in Belarus were people of 45 different ethnic backgrounds and 4,000 foreigners (including 3,000 Poles, 400
As part of the Nazis' effort to combat the enormous Belarusian resistance during World War II, special units of local
Partisan operations
- Pińsk Woblastof Belarus.
- Battle of Briańsk forests, May 1942. Partisan battle against the Nazi punitive expedition that included 5 infantry divisions, military police, 120 tanks and aviation.
- The destruction of the German garrison in Lenin, September 12, 1942.
- Raid of Sydor Kowpak, October 26 – November 29, 1942. Raid in Briańsk forests and Eastern Ukraine.
- Battle of Briańsk forests, May–June 1943. Partisan battle in the Briańsk forests with German punitive expeditions.
- Battle of Smolensk.[30][31] It involved concentrated actions by more than 100,000 partisan fighters from Belarus, the Leningrad Oblast, the Kalinin Oblast, the Smolensk Oblast, the Oryol Oblastand Ukraine within an area 1000 km along the front and 750 km wide. Reportedly, more than 230,000 rails were destroyed, along with many bridges, trains and other railroad infrastructure. The operation seriously incapacitated German logistics and was instrumental in the Soviet victory in Kursk battle.
- Soviet historiography, Axis losses totaled more than 53,000 soldiers.
- Battle of Połock-Lepel, April 1944. Major battle between Belarusian partisans and German punitive expeditions.
- Battle of Borysów-Begoml, April 22 – May 15, 1944. Major battle between Belarusian partisans and German punitive expeditions.
- Operation Bagration, June 22 – August 19, 1944. Belarusian partisans took major part in the Operation Bagration. They were often considered the fifth front (along with the 1st Baltic Front, 1st Belorussian Front, 2nd Belorussian Front and 3rd Belorussian Front). Upwards of 300,000 partisans took part in the operation.
Pro-independence resistance
In 1941, a significant part of the Belarusian pro-independence movement chose to collaborate with the Nazis following mass Soviet repressions in Belarus and discrimination of Belarusians in the Second Polish Republic throughout the preceding decades. However, as the war progressed, parts of the collaboration movement became less loyal to the Germans.
Germans reacted with repressions. The Catholic priest
Jewish forces
During the same period, Jewish residents of Belarus also took part in partisan activities. The units, based on family camps, was devised by
Polish forces
The
June 22, 1943, Central Committee of the Belarusian Communist Party received orders in Moscow to destroy the Home Army in Belarus. From then, the number of conflicts between Soviet and non-communist Polish partisans intensified. One Polish unit was arrested December 1, 1943, some Polish officers were executed, the commander major Wacław Pełka transported to Moscow.[35]
Resistance fighters
Soviet
- Ales Adamovich
- Yitzhak Arad
- Masha Bruskina
- Janka Bryl
- Vassili Kononov
- Pyotr Masherov
- Kirill Mazurov
- Panteleimon Ponomarenko
- Zinaida Portnova
- Ivan Sergeychik
- Petr Shelokhonov
- Arturs Sproģis
Polish
- Zygmunt Andruszkiewicz
- Stanisław Bułak-Bałachowicz[a]
- Maria Fedecka
- Henryk Krajewski
- Aleksander Krzyżanowski
- Władysław Liniarski
- Sergiusz Piasecki
- Janusz Szlaski
- Zygmunt Szendzielarz
Jewish
Resistance units
- 19th Infantry Division (Poland)
- 29th Infantry Division (Poland)
- Anti-Fascist Military Organisation
- Home Army in Belarus
- Bataliony Chłopskie
- Bielski partisans
- Fareynikte Partizaner Organizatsye
- Leśni
- National Armed Forces
- Polish 30th Infantry Division
- Soviet partisan regiment 1941–1944
- Soviet partisan united formation 1941–1944
- Szare Szeregi
- Uderzeniowe Bataliony Kadrowe
In popular culture
The Belarusian partisans had a large impact on the culture of Belarus. Many partisans, such as Ales Adamovich and Vasil Bykaŭ, later went on to become prolific writers as well as active members of the pro-independence Belarusian Popular Front. Pyotr Masherov, in his position as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia, also sought to increase public awareness of Belarusian partisan activities across the Soviet Union.[36]
The Belarusian partisan movement was depicted in the film Come and See, which was written by Adamovich alongside Elem Klimov, and got through Soviet censors with the assistance of Masherov.
In the post-Soviet period, the partisan movement has been evoked both by the government of Alexander Lukashenko and the Belarusian opposition. Lukashenko has drawn comparisons between the opposition and Byelorussian collaborators, who also used pro-independence symbolism.[37] Likewise, the opposition has sought to compare themselves to the partisan movement while comparing pro-government forces to collaborators and German military forces. Most significantly has been the hacktivist group Cyber Partisans, who took their name from the wartime partisans.[38]
Multiple locations in Belarus have been named after the partisans, including
See also
- Anti-fascism
- Białowieża Forest
- German occupation of Byelorussia during World War II
- Byelorussian collaboration with Nazi Germany
- The Holocaust in Belarus
- Resistance during World War II
Notes
- Belarusian People's Republic, but served in the Polish Army during the Second World War.
References
- ^ "Министерство обороны РБ - Партизанское движение в Белоруссии".
- ^ Andrew Wilson (2011). "The Traumatic Twentieth Century" (PDF). Belarus: the last European dictatorship. Yale University Press. pp. 109–110. Archived from the original (PDF file, direct download 16.4 MB) on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 10, 2014.
- ^ "Shoah in Belarus". Death Squads, Massacres, Ghettos. Geni.com. 2015. Retrieved February 17, 2015.
- ^ a b "Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II". www.belarusguide.com.
- ISBN 985-469-149-7. p.492.
- ^ Nik (2002). "ПИНСК В ГОДЫ ВЕЛИКОЙ ОТЕЧЕСТВЕННОЙ... (Pinsk during the Great Patriotic...)". Istoria Pinska (History of Pinsk) (in Russian). Archived from the original on June 21, 2006. Retrieved August 24, 2006.
- ISBN 985-11-0198-2(т.12).
- ^ ISBN 985-469-149-7. p.491.
- ^ a b Turonek, P.76.
- ^ a b (All-people struggle...) V.1. p.107., as cited in (HistB5) p.493.
- ^ a b (HistB5) p.493.
- ^ To the end of 1941 only in Minsk area there were at least 50 partisan groups having more than 2,000 fighters.
- ^ To the end of 1941 only in the Minsk area there were at least 50 partisan groups having more than 2,000 fighters. [citation needed]
- ^ a b Turonek, P.78.
- slave labour force. By Summer 1942 all the illusions some Belarusians might have had about the Nazi rule, even compared to the brutal Stalinistregime, were lost and the anti-fascist resistance rose dramatically.
- ^ a b c Turonek, p.78.
- ^ By the German sources. Turonek, p.79. Also noted is that this result, while in itself spectacular, was of lesser relevance than expected, as the German offensive in 1942 came out in South.
- ^ Mentioned as primary in the report of the HQ of partisan movement on November 9, 1942. Turonek, p.79.
- ^ "Holocaust in Belorussia". Jewishgen.org. October 30, 2007. pp. 427–428. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
- ^ Turonek, pp.83,86.
- ^ Turonek, p.83.
- ^ In fact, small land-owners in West showed "surprising" sympathies to the Partisans. Turonek, p.83.
- ^ Turonek, p.84.
- ^ To a certain surprise of Germans, Turonek, p.84.
- ^ a b Turonek, pp.84,85.
- ^ Vasiliy Tsvetkov. "A BOMB FOR GAULEITER". De Bello. Retrieved October 22, 2016.
- ^ Vasiliy Tsvetkov. "A BOMB FOR GAULEITER". De Bello. Archived from the original on August 21, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- ^ "Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II". Belarusguide.com. Retrieved September 3, 2012.
- ISBN 0-415-05347-1.
- ^ "Аллея Славы". glory.rin.ru.
- ^ http://slonimtown.nm.ru/rels.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Аллея Славы". glory.rin.ru.
- ^ http://slonimtown.nm.ru/konc.htm[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Holocaust in Belorussia [Page 119]". www.jewishgen.org.
- ^ http://www.iwieniec.plewako.pl/AK/Iwieniecka%20AK.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ Ioffe, Emmanuel (2008). From Myasnikov to Malofeyev: the Rulers of the BSSR. Minsk. pp. 140–141.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Fletcher-Sandersjöö, Christopher (December 17, 2021). "How the Belarusian identity became subservient to Lukashenko". The Perspective. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ Ciobanu, Claudia (October 26, 2021). "Belarusians in Poland reflect on ebb of anti-Lukashenko revolution". Balkan Insight. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^ "Partizansky". Belarusian Hinterland. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
External links
- Partisan Resistance in Belarus during World War II
- Interviews from the Underground: Eyewitness accounts of Russia's Jewish resistance during World War II' Archived February 6, 2012, at the Wayback Machine documentary film and website