Introduction _____________________________________________________________3
Chapter 1. Beginning of World War II and events in Belarus._______ 4
Chapter 2. The beginning of the Great Patriotic War._____________________
§one. Organization of the country's defense._________________________________
§2. Occupation regime.__________________________________________
Chapter 3. Partisan and underground struggle against German aggressors in the occupied territory of Belarus._____________________
Chapter 4. Liberation of Belarus from German invaders._________
§one. Belarusian offensive operation "Bagration".
Conclusion.______________________________________________________
Bibliographic list.______________________________________________
Introduction
The run of time is fleeting. Mankind has entered the 3rd millennium. Centuries have flown by. Man has gone from a primitive communal to a computer-information society.
In different eras there have always been contradictions, a struggle of opposites. In a primitive society, tribes fought among themselves in order to survive. With the advent of inequality, society split into rich and poor.
The great geographical discoveries gave the world colonial expansion. A system of domination - subordination reigned in the world. The industrial revolution, the scientific and technological revolution, along with the improvement of life, brought a new weapon that sows death and devastation, tears and deprivation.
Belarus is geographically located in such a way that all important routes from East to West, from North to South pass through its territory. Whoever did not pass through her long-suffering land: crusaders, Crimean khans, Tatar-Mongols, Poles, Germans.
History remembers different wars. But for the entire existence of mankind, only the 20th century shocked the world with two world wars, stained with the blood of millions of people. It was the contradictions, the struggle for profit that gave rise to the monster of humanity - fascism.
Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, Belarus has taken the blow of the aggressor. And from the first days of the war, the Belarusian people rose to fight against the invaders, young and old.
Neither the Gestapo dungeons, nor the chancery camp, nor the gallows, nor the villages burned with people, nor the genocide - nothing could subdue the freedom-loving Belarusian people.
The struggle against adversaries did not divide, but, on the contrary, rallied people of different nationalities. The contribution of Belarus to the victory over Nazi Germany appreciated by Europe and America, the Belarusian delegation was invited to a forum dedicated to the creation of the UN.
The contribution of Belarusians to the victory over Nazi Germany is enormous. The love of freedom, heroism, patriotism of the Belarusian people prompted me to write an essay on this topic.
Chapter 1. Beginning of the Second World War and events in Belarus.
Aggression against Poland was conceived by German strategists long before the signing of the German-Soviet non-aggression pact. While the German leadership was busy resolving problems with Austria and Czechoslovakia, it assured the Polish government of friendly relations. Thus, on February 16, 1937, while visiting Warsaw, G. Goering told the representatives of the Polish government that Germany “has no intention of depriving Poland of any part of its territory at all. Germany has completely reconciled herself to her present territorial condition. Germany will not attack and has no intention of capturing the Polish "corridor".
Already a week after the disappearance from the political map of Czechoslovakia, the attention of the Nazi leadership was directed to Poland. On April 11, 1939, A. Hitler approved the plan for the military seizure of Poland - the “Weiss Plan” (“White”), and on April 28, the German leadership announced the denunciation of the non-aggression pact concluded between Poland and Germany in 1934. By the end of August 1939 The preparations for the attack on Poland were completed. August 31, 1939 A. Hitler signed the directive on the attack on Poland. On the night of August 31 to September 1, 1939, when the German "war machine" was ready for aggression against Poland, the secret services carried out the provocative operation "Himmler".
Disguised in Polish military uniforms, SS men and concentration camp prisoners who spoke Polish staged the seizure of a radio station in the German city of Gleiwitz. After that, an appeal was broadcast in Polish to "unite and beat the Germans." In the morning, A. Hitler addressed the German people and placed all the blame for the outbreak of the military conflict on the Polish leadership. The direct executor of the operation was SS Navigator-Fuhrer A. Naujoks.
September 1, 1939 The German Wehrmacht brought down all its military power to Poland. The second World War. It involved 61 states (more than 80% of the world's population). Military operations took place on the territory of 40 states, as well as on the sea and ocean expanses. The political leadership of the Western countries and the USSR could not develop a joint position to contain the aggressive intentions of Germany. And the UK, France. Poland, and the Soviet Union as well, preferred compromise with the aggressor instead of confrontation, and in the end condemned themselves to severe military trials. The inconsistency of the actions of the European states led to the fact that the pre-war political contradictions between the largest countries escalated into a war. There is no doubt that the totalitarian regimes of Italy, Japan and, above all, Nazi Germany played a leading role in fomenting the military conflict.
In the first period of the war, the main events unfolded in the west of Europe. Great Britain and France, bound by an agreement on mutual assistance with Poland, declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. Australia declared war on Germany New Zealand, Canada, India, Union of South Africa. The war has taken on a global scale. However, all these countries did not provide the necessary military and economic assistance to Poland and did not start hostilities.
Despite the courageous resistance of Polish soldiers and officers, the German army, thanks to its great military superiority, until September 16, 1939 occupied most of the territory of Poland and entered the Curzon Line.
The Polish government left the country on September 16 and emigrated to Romania and then to London. Many Polish patriots remained true to their oath and continued to fight, fulfilling their military duty. The defenders of Warsaw fought heroically, capitulating only on September 27, as well as the defenders of the Brest Fortress, among whom there were many Belarusians. General state Polish troops proved disastrous. In the second half of September Polish army no longer existed as an organized whole. The armed forces of Poland suffered significant damage. About 65 thousand soldiers died, about 140 thousand were wounded, about 400 thousand Polish soldiers and officers, including 70 thousand Belarusians, fell into German captivity.
During the Polish campaign, German troops also suffered significant losses: 16.4 thousand people were killed. 27.6 thousand - wounded, 933 tanks and armored vehicles, 6046 vehicles, 360 guns and mortars were destroyed,
about 60 aircraft. Some analysts believe that as a result of the heavy losses of the German armed forces, the start of the offensive against France was delayed for a long time.
The entry of the Red Army troops into Western Belarus. The leadership of Germany not only closely followed the development of the situation in the USSR, but also pushed the Soviet government in every possible way to take active steps against Poland. Already on September 3, 1939, the German ambassador in Moscow, F. von Schulenburg, asked V. M. Molotov for the position of the USSR on the possible introduction of the Red Army troops into the zone of influence designated by the German-Soviet non-aggression pact.
The Soviet government was in no hurry to use force, so as not to be
blamed by the international community for direct support of the German aggressive policy. On September 5, V. M. Molotov declared that the USSR “believes that the time has not yet come ... Excessive haste can harm us and help unite our enemies.” However, Nazi leaders continued to push the Soviet Union into active military action.
Using diplomatic maneuvering, the Soviet government assured the German leadership that the Red Army troops needed training, that the USSR did not expect such a swift offensive from the Wehrmacht. The introduction of Soviet troops into Western Belarus and Western Ukraine was delayed in every possible way. At the next meeting with F. von Schulenburg on September 10, V. M. Molotov noted that “the Soviet government intends to take advantage of the further advance of the German troops in order to declare that Poland is falling apart, and as a result, the Soviet Union should come to the aid of Ukrainians and Belarusians threatened by Germany. This statement testified that the most important task of the fighting against the Polish army for the USSR was the reunification of ethnic territories, the majority of the population of which were Belarusians and Ukrainians.
The mass media of the USSR, the BSSR, the Ukrainian SSR launched a wide agitation and propaganda activity. The central newspapers Pravda and Izvestia, as well as the republican newspapers Zvyazda and Sovetskaya Belorussiya published materials about the plight of the Belarusians in the territory occupied by Poland. Thus, the population was prepared for the introduction of the Red Army troops into Western Belarus and Western Ukraine.
On September 11, the Belarusian and Ukrainian fronts were created, and the mobilization of reservists was announced. But these actions of the Soviet side did not satisfy the Nazi leadership. To force the USSR to comply with the agreements, the Nazi leaders used political blackmail. A message was sent to Moscow saying that Germany would suspend the offensive against Poland, and against her eastern lands buffer states (Belarusian, Ukrainian and Polish) will be created. In response, a statement was sent to Berlin emphasizing that if the German side made such a decision, the Soviet Union would not start hostilities at all.
The development of events forced the USSR to more active military operations Already on September 16, the armies of the Belorussian (commander - M.P. Kovalev) and Ukrainian (commander - S.K. Timoshenko) fronts were deployed and prepared for the liberation campaign. In total, over 466 thousand soldiers and officers of the Red Army were involved.
On September 17, 1939, the troops of the Red Army crossed the border of the Polish state and began a campaign in Western Belarus and Western Ukraine. On September 17, 1939, Baranovichi was liberated. September 18 - Novogrudok, Lida and Slonim, September 19 - Vilna and Pruzhany. September 20 - Grodno. September 21 - Pinsk, September 22 - Bialystok and Brest. Finally, after 20 years of occupation, social and national oppression, the working people of the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus got the opportunity to reunite.
The campaign of the Red Army lasted 12 days. Soviet troops occupied an area of approximately 190 thousand km² with a population of about 12 million people, mostly Ukrainians and Belarusians. The western border of the USSR was pushed to the west by 200-300 km. It almost coincided with the Curzon Line.
The territories annexed by Poland in 1920 were ceded to the Soviet Union. They were returned to Ukraine and Belarus. The reunification of the peoples of Ukraine and Belarus was an act of historical justice.
On September 28, 1939, the USSR signed the Treaty of Friendship and Border with Germany, according to which a demarcation line was established between the countries along the Narew, Western Bug and San rivers and changes in previous agreements on the division of spheres of influence were fixed. Poland as a state ceased to exist. Germany acquired a common border with the Soviet Union.
The inclusion of the western regions in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics put an end to the separation of the Belarusian and Ukrainian peoples and restored their territorial integrity.
World War II, which claimed every third inhabitant of Belarus, began 78 years ago. And left behind a lot of facts that today are remembered extremely rarely and reluctantly.
Fact 1. Death from the West - September 1
For the inhabitants of today's Belarus, the Second World War began 78 years ago - on September 1, 1939.
Why is that? Very simply - almost a third of the current territory of the republic at that time was part of Poland. Therefore, it is not surprising that the beginning of the war for them coincided with the ideas about this tragedy among the inhabitants of all of Poland.
Fact 2. Death from the East - September 17
In many cities western regions In Belarus, you can meet the squares and streets "September 17". What kind of date this is, not everyone will be able to tell. But this is the beginning of hostilities on the territory of Belarus, when, according to the results of the Molotov-Ribentropp Pact (a secret agreement between the USSR and Nazi Germany) were divided zones of political and military influence in Europe. Poland was on the dividing line. On September 17, the troops of the Red Army invaded the territory, today called Western Belarus. For the inhabitants of the occupied territories, this meant repressions, black "craters" and trucks taking people away for mass executions - all those "bonuses" that overtook the territories occupied by the Soviets much earlier - from 1926 to 1937.
Fact 3. The formation of the "liberation" army
The policy during the formation of the Red Army units sent to "protect the Belarusians living in the western territories" became indicative. Even despite solid preliminary cleansings in the army as a whole and in its Belarusian units, the national composition was carefully analyzed. Belarusians, Ukrainians and Poles were absent in the occupation units. Obviously, first of all, in order to exclude the manifestation of sympathy for fellow tribesmen, as well as the disclosure of truthful information about the real prospects for life under the Soviets. The unwarned Belarusians, who lived in Poland and were subjected to massive ideological soviet indoctrination in 1934-1939, found themselves under the hyped flywheel of Soviet repressions quite unexpectedly for themselves. This allowed the Soviets to reduce "banditry" and other forms of armed resistance.
Fact 4. The Soviet Union and Nazi Germany confirmed their alliance with a joint parade
On September 22, 1939, a military parade was held in Brest (Brest-Litovsky), in which the troops of the allies - the USSR and Germany - took part. Both powers, who considered themselves invincible, publicly swore eternal friendship and alliance. However, plans for a military confrontation with the "allies" were already prepared in the General Staffs of both.
Fact 5. Already in mid-September, "educational reform" begins on the "returned" lands. Belarusian schools and classes are massively translated into Russian as the language of instruction. And in order to “facilitate the reform”, old teachers, along with their programs, turn out to be prisoners of the system, and in the literal sense, they are taken away by the “funnel” to prisons, deportation, and often to death.
Fact 6. Treaty of Friendship and Borders between the USSR and Germany
An allied treaty with an officially designated new border between the USSR and Nazi Germany is signed on September 28, 1939. The invasion of Poland from both sides, previously sanctioned by the secret Molotov-Riebentropp pact, is becoming politically legalized. Criminal, but legalized.
Fact 7. The division of the world continues: the USSR attacked Finland
The independence of Finland from the very beginning was painfully perceived by the Soviet command. Under the guise of continuing the distribution of zones of influence, the Red Army violates Finnish borders and starts fighting with the formal aim of "liberating the working people". Soviet-Finnish War, planned as a "blitzkrieg", short-term military operation, continues from September 30, 1939 to March 12, 1940 without positive results for the USSR. Slow Finns stubbornly resist "happiness" to be accepted into the "Union of the indestructible republics of the free" (lines from the anthem of the USSR).
Fact 8. Until the autumn of 1941, the Brest Fortress was considered fallen in the first hours of the war
The fact that the garrison of the Brest Fortress resisted the enemy, on Soviet territory was unknown until the autumn of 1941. The reason is simple - there was no connection with the garrison, and the valiant Red Army commissars left the territories too briskly at the beginning of the war, which were attacked by their former allies. The first information about the defenders of the Brest Fortress came to the command of the Red Army ... from captured German military leaders.
Fact 9. Many Belarusian underground workers were from the families of the repressed
Surprisingly, but true - young people from families repressed during the war showed real miracles of selfless service to the country, which took away their loved ones. And it is not clear whether this stockholm syndrome”, described almost half a century later, or something else that we, the inhabitants of another space-time, do not even guess.
Fact 10. Partisans: heroes in question
Both underground workers and partisans - all people who, by the will of fate, found themselves in the territory occupied during the Second World War, were considered by the officialdom of the USSR as traitors. And many partisan formations, having joined the regular units after breaking the blockade and the advance of the Red Army, acquired the same status as the infamous penal battalions. Loyalty to Soviet power had to be proved by blood. Only after the death of Joseph Dzhugashvili, better known as Stalin, the situation began to gradually change. Not with formal slogans, but with an attitude towards people.
The "ceremonial" history looks different than the same events imprinted in the memory of the survivors. In memory, this black period will forever remain a tragedy, lost loved ones and relatives. And so today, remembering, it is important to wish that Never Again...
Katerina Sidoruk
Belarusian collaborationism- adopted in the Soviet and Russian historiography designation of political, economic and military cooperation with the occupying German authorities during the Second World War on the territory of Belarus.
The main reasons for Belarusian collaborationism are the dissatisfaction of part of the population Soviet power(including mass repression and violent sovietization in Western Belarus, annexed to the USSR in 1939) and the activities, first of all, of the figures of the Belarusian People's Republic, groups of supporters of the priest V. Godlevsky (he himself and some of his followers later became disillusioned with the Germans and switched to an underground struggle against them), etc.
The white-red-white flag is a symbol authorized for use by the German authorities and used by Belarusian collaborators
Preparation of the Belarusian collaboration before the start of the war
The training of Belarusian collaborators by the Third Reich began in the mid-late 1930s, when a Belarusian representative office was created under the German Ministry of the Interior - first in Berlin, and then in other cities of Germany. It was engaged in identifying and recruiting persons wishing to assist Germany in Belarusian issues. Thus, the third president of the BPR, Vasily Zakharka, wrote a detailed report on the political, economic and cultural situation in Belarus, and also addressed a memorandum to Hitler with assurances of support. In addition, the Belarusian Self-Help Committee was created, an organization that actively recruited members from Belarusians living in Germany. With the outbreak of World War II, the German command created bases in Warsaw and Byala Podlaska for the transfer of Belarusian patriotic agents to the territory of the USSR. In Berlin, in the Wustavu camp, courses of propagandists and translators were organized from among the Belarusian patriots to work in Belarus after the change of occupation power.
Collaborationism during the German occupation of Belarus
Together with the advancing units of the German army, the main figures of the Belarusian nationalist movement from emigration arrived in Belarus: Fabian Akinchits, Vladislav Kozlovsky, activists of the Belarusian National Socialist Party, Ivan Yermachenko, Radoslav Ostrovsky and others. In the initial period of the war, the development of political and military collaboration took place at an insignificant pace, which is explained by the successes of the Germans at the front and the lack of need for them to develop collaborationist structures. The German leadership hoped for a quick victory in the war and was skeptical about the ability of the Belarusian population to nation-state construction due to the weakness of ethnic self-consciousness. The activity of collaborators during this period was reduced mainly to the work of non-political structures, the largest of which was the Belarusian People's Self-Help, created on October 22, 1941, the purpose of which was proclaimed to be health care, education and culture.
Nazi demonstration at the Freedom Square in Minsk. 1943
With the help of Belarusian collaborators, the German authorities tried to use for their own purposes the scientific personnel who ended up in the occupied territory. In June 1942, they created the "Belarusian Scientific Association". Gauleiter of Belarus V. Kube became its honorary president. However, Belarusian scientists boycotted the work of the partnership, and it existed only on paper. Other non-political collaborationist structures were also created ("Women's League", trade unions, etc.). At the same time, attempts to create the Belarusian Free Self-Defense Corps were unsuccessful due to the opposition of the military authorities and the SS. Its creation was proclaimed in June 1942 in the amount of 3 divisions. However, about 20 battalions were created, which they did not dare to arm, and in the spring of 1943 it was disbanded. The attempt to create a Belarusian autocephaly with the aim of separating Belarusian believers from the Moscow Patriarchate was also unsuccessful.
The situation that had developed by 1943 forced the German command to reconsider its attitude towards the collaborationist movement. To a large extent, this happened due to the efforts of the Minister of the Eastern Occupied Territories A. Rosenberg, who was a supporter of the creation of collaborationist administrations. On June 22, 1943, the Union of Belarusian Youth (SBM) was formally created, which became an analogue of the Hitler Youth in Belarus (in fact, it existed since 1942). On the initiative of Cuba, on June 27, 1943, the creation of the Rada of Trust under the General Commissariat of Belarus was proclaimed. This body was an administrative commission, the only task of which was to work out and present to the occupying authorities the wishes and proposals from the population. On December 21, 1943, instead of the Rada of Trust, on the initiative of K. Gotberg (who became the General Commissar after the assassination of Cuba by partisans), the Belarusian Central Rada (BCR) was created, with R. Ostrovsky (1887-1976), head of the Minsk District Council, appointed as its president. The activities of the Rada were not effective, since the Rada did not have a real political power(only in matters of social care, culture and education had the right to relatively independent solutions), and its members adhered to different views on the future of Belarus and often did not know local conditions. In the eyes of the population, therefore, it could not have authority. The Rada was indirectly connected with war crimes - in particular, with ethnic cleansing against the Polish population.
Cover of the Belarusian police magazine "Belarus na vartsa" (Belarusian on guard) No. 6, 1944
In occupied Belarus, many collaborationist newspapers and magazines were published: Belorusskaya Gazeta, Pagonya (Pahonia), Biełaruski hołas (Belarusian Voice), Novy Shlyakh (Novy Path), etc. These publications were anti-Semitic, anti-Soviet and pro-fascist propaganda. In a special article published on September 25, 1943 after the destruction of Cuba in the Belorusskaya Gazeta, the editor of this newspaper, Vladislav Kozlovsky, wrote: “The heart is stricken with grief ... He (that is, Cuba - author) is no longer among us. General Commissar Wilhelm Kube was one of the best, most cordial friends… who thought and spoke like every Belarusian nationalist…”.
On February 23, 1944, K. Gotberg issued an order to create the Belarusian Regional Defense (BKO) - a military collaborationist formation, headed by Franz Kuschel, and instructed the BCR to mobilize. The 45 BKO battalions formed by the end of March were poorly armed. Their discipline gradually decreased, there were not enough officers. By the end of the occupation, the BKO was used to fight partisans, guard various facilities and do chores. The most important directions The activities of the BCR at the final stage of the war were the reorganization of the BKO units and the replenishment of Belarusian military formations by recruiting new soldiers, the creation of auxiliary contingents for use in the German defense system, the organization of anti-Soviet partisan movement on the territory of Belarus. Initially, it was supposed to reorganize the BKO into the Belarusian Legion. In preparation for this reorganization, in September 1944, the first personnel battalion of the BKO (422 people) was created in Berlin under the command of Captain Piotr Kasatsky, which became a reserve and officer school for future units. At the same time, from among those recruited by the "Union of Belarusian Youth" as "air defense assistants" (from 2.5 to 5 thousand people), groups were selected for training at the anti-aircraft artillery school. After completing the course of study, they were included in the units air defense Berlin.
The last event of the BCR on the territory of Belarus was the holding on June 27, 1944 (a week before the liberation of Minsk) in Minsk of the Second All-Belarusian Congress. The name of the congress was chosen to confirm the continuity with the First All-Belarusian Congress, which took place in 1918, also under German occupation. The congress delegates announced the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia, proclaimed the BCR the only representative of the Belarusian people and decided to send Hitler a statement of his support.
Demonstration in honor of the opening of the Second All-Belarusian Congress
Major collaborationist formations
V armed forces Germany
* 1st Belarusian assault platoon
* Belarusian Railway Guard Battalion
* 13th Belarusian Police Battalion SD
* Novogrudok squadron
* 1st Personnel Battalion of the Belarusian Regional Defense
* Brigade of the Auxiliary Police Order "Siegling"
* 30th SS Grenadier Division (1st Belarusian)
* Grenadier brigade of the SS troops (1st Belarusian)
* Corps of Belarusian Self-Defense (BSA). Head Ivan Ermachenko.
* Belarusian Central Rada (BCR). President Radoslav Ostrovsky.
* Belarusian Regional Defense (BKA). Commander Franz Kuschel.
* Union of Belarusian Youth (SBM). Leaders - Nadezhda Abramova (1942-1943), Mikhail Ganko (since 1943).
* Belarusian People's Self-Help (BNS) - the occupation police. Head Yuri Sobolevsky.
* Belarusian Council of Trust. Chairman Vatslav Ivanovsky.
* Dahlwitz Battalion.
* 38th SS Grenadier Division "Niebelungen"
Schuma Battalions
Shuma (German: Schuma) is the Belarusian auxiliary order police. Data on battalions from 1942 to 1944 are given.
Battalion No. ↓ Formed ↓ Location ↓ Subordination ↓ Number 1943-1944 ↓
No. 45 (security) September 1943 Baranovichi Chief of Police of the order of "Belarus" -
No. 46 (security) summer 1943 Novogrudok Police chief of the order of "Belarus" -
No. 47 (security) summer 1943 Minsk Head of the security police "Minsk" -
No. 48 (front-line) summer 1943 Slonim Chief of police of the order of "Belarus" 592-(615) 590
No. 49 (security) summer 1943 Minsk Head of the security police "Minsk" 327-314
No. 56 (artillery) 04.1943 Minsk Head of the security police "Minsk"?
No. 60 (front-line) 01.1944 Snov - Baranovchi Chief of Police of the order of "Belarus" 562-526
No. 64 (front-line, and since May, 1944 storage) 02.1944 Glubokoye Police chief of the order of "Belarus"? -65
No. 65 (front-line) 02.1944 Novogrudok Head of the Police of the order of "Belarus"? - 477
No. 66 (front-line) 02.1944 Slutsk Head of the Police of the Order of "Belarus"? - 172
No. 67 (guard) 02-03.1944 Vileyka Head of the Police of the order of "Belarus"? −23
No. 68 (front-line) 03/15/1944 Novogrudok Police chief of the "Belarus" order 150 - 600
No. 69 (front-line) 03.1944 Mogilev Fuhrer of the SS and police "Minsk"
Collaborators after the liberation of Belarus
Immediately after the II All-Belarusian Congress, the leadership and formations of collaborators were evacuated to Germany, where they continued their activities. In July-August 1944, the Abwehr training center in Dahlwitz was placed at the disposal of the BCR ( East Prussia), which received a large replenishment from the evacuated BKO battalions. In early April 1945, an agreement was reached with representatives of the secret services of the Third Reich under the leadership of SS-Sturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny on the deployment of a special Dahlwitz battalion of up to 700-800 people on the basis of this center. In addition, on the orders of SS Rechsführer Himmler, a new 30th SS division (Belarusian No. 1) was created, also called the SS assault brigade "Belarus". Yazep Sazhich (who became the sixth "president" of the Belarusian People's Republic in 1982) played an active part in the formation of these units, transferring the cadet of the school of junior officers he had trained to the SS brigade 101. On April 30, 1945, the division surrendered to American forces.
After the end of the war, most of the leaders of the collaborationist movement moved to the United States (including Radoslav Ostrovsky), countries Western Europe and Australia, where they created Belarusian nationalist organizations or joined the ranks of existing ones that were used to fight against the USSR. It is known about the cooperation of some representatives of the Belarusian movement with the CIA, which organized anti-Soviet sabotage detachments, in which some former collaborators also participated, such as Mikhail Vitushka or Ivan Filistovich.
Personalities and fates
* Radoslav Ostrovsky - President of the BCR, emigrated.
* Nikolai Shkelyonok - 1st Vice-President of the BCR, executed.
* Vaclav Ivanovsky - mayor of Minsk (1942-1943), killed by partisans.
* Vitovt Tumash - mayor of Minsk (1941-1942), emigrated.
* Vatslav (Vladislav) Kozlovsky - editor of the Belorusskaya Gazeta, killed by partisans.
* Vasily Zakharka - President of the BPR in exile, died (died?) in Prague in 1943.
* Adam Demidovich-Demidetsky - Deputy Mayor of Minsk.
* Nikolai Abramchik - President of the BPR in exile after the death of V. Zakharka, lived in exile.
* Olekhnovich, Frantisek - playwright, killed by partisans.
* Konstantin Ezovitov - leader of the armed formations, executed in the USSR.
* Franz Kuschel - head of the Belarusian Regional Defense, emigrated to the United States.
* Fabian Akinchits - journalist, killed by partisans.
* Vladimir Syabura - editor of the magazine "Novy Shlyakh", emigrated to the United States.
* Ivan Ermachenko - emigrated.
* Mikhail Ganko - the head of the Security Council, emigrated to the West, perhaps later illegally entered Belarus and died.
* Nadezhda Abramova - former head SBM, emigrated, died in the late 1970s in West Germany.
* Yuri Sobolevsky - chief of police at the BCR, emigrated, died under unclear circumstances in Munich.
* Peter Kasatsky
* Yazep Sazhich - emigrated, headed the BNR government in exile.
* Stanislav Stankevich - burgomaster of Borisov, journalist, after the war - an active figure in the Belarusian emigration.
* Gelda, Ivan - commander of the Dahlwitz battalion, executed.
(he himself and some of his followers later became disillusioned with the Germans and switched to an underground struggle against them), etc.
Encyclopedic YouTube
1 / 5
✪ Collaborators - accomplices of the Third Reich
✪ World War II collaborators. Belarus.
✪ BELARUSIAN POST-WAR ANTI-SOVIET RESISTANCE 1944 1957
✪ Myths about the Second World War: Film No. 3 "Militias and collaborators"
✪ Policemen. How citizens of the USSR entered the service of Hitler
Subtitles
Preparation of the Belarusian collaboration before the start of the war
The training of Belarusian collaborators by the Third Reich began in the mid to late 1990s, when a Belarusian representative office was created under the German Ministry of the Interior - first in Berlin, and then in other cities of Germany. It was engaged in identifying and recruiting persons wishing to assist Germany in Belarusian issues. Thus, the third president of the Belarusian People’s Republic, Vasily Zakharka, wrote a detailed report on the political, economic and cultural situation in Belarus, and also addressed a memorandum to Hitler with assurances of support. In addition, the Belarusian Self-Help Committee was created, an organization that actively recruited members from Belarusians living in Germany. With the outbreak of the Second World War, the German command created bases in Warsaw and Byala Podlaska for the transfer of Belarusian nationalist agents to the territory of the USSR. In Berlin, in the Wustavu camp, courses of propagandists and translators were organized from among the Belarusian nationalists to work in Belarus after the change of power.
Before the attack on the USSR
In 1940, the leadership of the “right-wing Belarusian emigration” offered the German leadership to organize the activities of the Belarusian National Socialists, including training sabotage personnel from among the captured military personnel of the Polish Army in order to bring them to the territory of the USSR.
In the spring of 1941, the formation of the first Belarusian unit began. As part of the Brandenburg 800 regiment, the 1st assault platoon was trained in the amount of 50 people. Similarly, the Germans trained the paratroopers of the Warsaw-Belarusian Committee, which included captured Belarusian volunteers of the former Polish army. Once formed, these two units were placed under the operational control of the Wally headquarters.
The tasks of the saboteurs were to carry out sabotage in the near Soviet rear, the physical destruction of the command and command staff of the Red Army, and the transmission of intelligence information by radio.
During the German occupation of Belarus
Together with the advancing units of the German army, the main figures of the Belarusian nationalist movement from emigration arrived in Belarus: Fabian Akinchits, Vladislav Kozlovsky, activists of the Belarusian National Socialist Party, Ivan Yermachenko, Radoslav Ostrovsky and others. In the initial period of the war, the development of political and military collaboration took place at an insignificant pace, which is explained by the successes of the Germans at the front and the lack of need for them to develop collaborationist structures. The German leadership hoped for a quick victory in the war and was skeptical about the ability of the Belarusian population to nation-state construction due to the weakness of ethnic self-consciousness. The activity of collaborators during this period was reduced mainly to the work of non-political structures, the largest of which was created on October 22, 1941, the purpose of which was proclaimed to be health care, education and culture.
With the help of Belarusian collaborators, the German authorities tried to use for their own purposes the scientific personnel who ended up in the occupied territory. In June 1942, they created the "Belarusian Scientific Association". Gauleiter of Belarus Wilhelm Kube became its honorary president. However, Belarusian scientists boycotted the work of the partnership, and it existed only on paper. Other non-political collaborationist structures were also created ("Women's League", trade unions, etc.). At the same time, attempts to create the Belarusian Free Self-Defense Corps were unsuccessful due to the opposition of the military authorities and the SS. Its creation was proclaimed in June 1942 in the amount of 3 divisions. However, about 20 battalions were created, which they did not dare to arm, and in the spring of 1943 it was disbanded. The attempt to create a Belarusian autocephaly with the aim of separating the Belarusian believers from the Moscow Patriarchate was also unsuccessful.
In occupied Belarus, many collaborationist newspapers and magazines were published: "Belarusskaya Gazeta", "Pagonya" ( Chase), "Biełaruski holas" ( Belarusian voice), "Novy Shlyakh" ( New way ), etc. These publications carried out anti-Semitic, anti-Soviet and pro-fascist propaganda. In a special article published on September 25, 1943 after the destruction of Cuba in the Belorusskaya Gazeta, the editor of this newspaper, Vladislav Kozlovsky, wrote: “The heart is gripped by grief ... He (that is, Cuba - author) is no longer among us. General Commissar Wilhelm Kube was one of the best, most cordial friends ... who thought and spoke like every Belarusian nationalist ... ".
The invincibility of Belarus and the Belarusian national idea was witnessed in the meantime by the Second World War. From 1941 to 1944, central Belarus (where the German civil administration headed by V. Kube operated) experienced a powerful national upsurge. This completely puzzled the Bolsheviks and infuriated Moscow. With the return of the Soviets to Belarus, hundreds of thousands of conscious Belarusians emigrated to the West.
Belarusian collaborationist organizations and formations
Major organizations
- Belarusian rada of confidence. Chairman Vaclav Ivanovsky.
- Belarusian Central Rada (BCR). President Radoslav Ostrovsky.
- Belarusian People's Self-Help (BNS) Head Yury Sobolevsky.
- Belarusian Independence Party (BNP)[remove template]
- Union Belarusian youth (SBM). Leaders - Nadezhda Abramova (1942−1943), Mikhail Ganko (since 1943)
Belarusian armed formations
- Belarusian corps self-defense[remove template] (BSA). - Occupation Police. Leader Ivan Ermachenko.
- Belarusian Regional Defense (BKA). Commander Franz Kuschel.
- 1st personnel battalion of the Belarusian Regional Defense
- Belarusian Liberation Army
Belarusian Schutzmannschaft
Some Schutzmannschaft battalions were later also directly transferred to the SD and SS troops.
In the German armed forces
- 1st Belarusian assault platoon
- Belarusian railway guard battalion
- 13th Belarusian Police Battalion SD
Collaborators after the liberation of Belarus
Immediately after the II All-Belarusian Congress, the leadership and formations of collaborators were evacuated to Germany, where they continued their activities. In July-August, the Abwehr training center in Dahlwitz (East Prussia) was transferred to the BCR, which received a large replenishment from the evacuated BKO battalions. In early April, an agreement was reached with representatives of the secret services of the Third Reich under the leadership of SS Sturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny on the deployment of a special Dahlwitz battalion of up to 700-800 people on the basis of this center. In addition, on the orders of SS Rechsführer Himmler, a new 30th SS division (Belarusian No. 1) was created, also called the SS assault brigade "Belarus". Active participation in the formation of these units was played by Yazep Sazhich (who became the sixth "president" of the Belarusian People's Republic in 1982), who transferred 101 cadets of the junior officer school he had trained to the SS brigade. On April 30, 1945, the division surrendered to American troops.
After the end of the war, most of the leaders of the collaborationist movement moved to the USA (including Radoslav Ostrovsky), the countries of Western Europe and Australia, where they created Belarusian national organizations or joined the ranks of existing ones used to fight the USSR. It is known about the cooperation of some representatives of the Belarusian movement with the CIA, which organized anti-Soviet sabotage detachments, in which some former collaborators also participated, for example, Mikhail Vitushka or Ivan Filistovich.
Personalities and fates
- Radoslav Ostrovsky - President of the BCR, emigrated.
- Nikolay Shkelyonok - 1st Vice-President of the BCR, executed, according to other sources, died in battle [ ] .
- Vatslav Ivanovsky - mayor of Minsk (1942-1943), killed by partisans.
- Vitovt Tumash - mayor of Minsk (1941−1942), emigrated.
- Vatslav (Vladislav) Kozlovsky - editor of the Belorusskaya Gazeta, killed by partisans.
- Vasily Zakharka - President of the BPR in exile, died (died?) in Prague in 1943.
- Adam Demidovich-Demidetsky - Deputy Mayor of Minsk.
- Nikolai Abramchik - President of the BPR in exile after the death of V. Zakharka, lived in exile.
- Olekhnovich, Frantishek - playwright, killed by partisans.
- Konstantin Ezovitov - leader of the armed formations, executed in the USSR.
Belarus during World War II.
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………3
1. The beginning of the Second World War. Reunification of Western Belarus with the BSSR…………………………………………………………………………..4-7
2. Belarus in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War………8-11
3.Liberation of Belarus from fascist invaders…………………..12-13
Conclusion ………………………………………………………………………14
Literature ……………………………………………………………………….15
Introduction
Since the mid 30s. the world began to be drawn into a new war. The Spanish Civil War, Italy's aggression against Ethiopia, Japan against China, the annexation of Austria to Germany, then the Munich Agreement, as a result of which Czechoslovakia disappeared from the map of Europe. At the end of 1938, Germany launched a diplomatic offensive against Poland, creating the Danzig crisis. On March 22, 1939, the Nazis occupied the Klaipeda region. Germany signed "friendly treaties" on non-aggression with Lithuania and Estonia. Negotiations on collective security in Moscow failed. Events at Lake Khasan and Khalkhin Gol.
Under these conditions, on August 23, 1939, a non-aggression pact between the USSR and Germany was signed in Moscow. A secret protocol was attached to it, which delimited the spheres of influence of Germany and the USSR. Western Belarus and part of Poland to the east of the rivers Narva, Vistula, San, as well as Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Bessarabia entered the sphere of influence of the USSR. The relevance of this historical issue still attracts many modern historians, such as Brigadin P.I., Kovkel I.I., Yarmusik E.S., Chigrinov P.G. and many others. The purpose of our work is to study the issue related to the topic "Belarus during the Second World War". To achieve this goal, we set ourselves the following tasks: to analyze the literature on this topic, to describe the beginning of the Second World War, the reunification of Western Belarus with the BSSR, the liberation of Belarus from the fascist invaders. This is what the following paragraphs are devoted to.
- Beginning of World War II. Reunification of Western Belarus with the BSSR.
On September 17, the Red Army crossed the Soviet-Polish border. The Belorussian front consisted of more than 200 thousand soldiers and officers. He was opposed by 45 thousand Polish soldiers and officers. There were almost no hostilities between Polish and Soviet troops. About 40 cases of resistance by border patrols were recorded, as well as battles near Kobrin, Vilna, Sopotskin. The most stubborn battles unfolded near Grodno. The losses of the Byelorussian Front amounted to 316 people killed and 642 wounded.
By September 25, Western Belarus was completely occupied by the Red Army. Already on September 22, General Guderian and brigade commander Krivoshein took the parade of German and Soviet troops on the main street of Brest, then the Soviet troops were withdrawn beyond the Bug. On September 28, an agreement between the USSR and Germany on friendship and borders was signed in Moscow, according to which a new Western border of the Soviet Union was established along the so-called "Curzon Line". In a secret additional protocol, an agreement was recorded on the entry of the territory of Lithuania into the sphere of influence of the USSR in exchange for Lublin and part of the Warsaw voivodeships, which fell into the sphere of influence of Germany. On October 10, 1939, by decision of the government of the USSR, Vilna and the Vilna Voivodeship were transferred to Lithuania, and in the summer of 1940 - the Sventyansky and Gadutishsky regions, part of the Ostrovetsky, Oshmyansky and Svirsky regions.
Most of the peasants, workers, artisans, intelligentsia of Western Belarus met the Red Army as a liberator. On September 20, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Belarus compiled lists of workers for temporary departments, party, Soviet and economic personnel were selected for leadership positions. In total, until October 1940, 12396 people were sent to the Bialystok region, 5989 people to the Brest region. These people did not know the local way of life, customs, language, and therefore were not trusted. local population. Provisional administrations were set up in all cities and povets, and peasant committees made up of local activists, representatives of the Red Army, and communists and Komsomol members sent from the eastern regions were created in the villages. They established the work of industrial enterprises, medical care for the population, opened schools.
On October 1, 1939, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted a resolution “Issues of Western Belarus and Western Ukraine”, which obliged them to convene the Ukrainian and Belarusian People's Assemblies. On October 22, 1939, elections to the People's Assembly were held in Western Belarus, in which 929 deputies were elected. On October 28-30, the People's Assembly of Western Belarus was held in Bialystok. It adopted a declaration on the establishment of Soviet power throughout Western Belarus, the confiscation of landed estates, the nationalization of banks and large-scale industry. The meeting adopted a declaration on the entry of Western Belarus into the USSR and the BSSR and elected a plenipotentiary commission, which was instructed to transfer Supreme Council USSR and the Supreme Council of the BSSR of its decision. On November 2, 1939, the session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR and on November 12, the session of the Supreme Soviet of the BSSR adopted laws on the inclusion of Western Belarus into the USSR and its reunification with the BSSR.
As a result, the territory of the BSSR increased from 125.5 thousand square meters. km to 225.7 thousand sq. km, and the population increased - 2 times and amounted to 10 million 200 thousand people. December 1939 - January 1940. a new administrative-territorial division was introduced, the Baranovichi, Bialystok, Brest, Vileika and Pinsk regions and 101 districts were created. In February-March, party and Komsomol organizations, local authorities in the Western regions were included in the Stalinist command and administrative system, became its integral part. This was reflected in the methods of work and the course of socio-economic transformations.
In November-December 1939, not only large and medium-sized enterprises, but also some small ones were nationalized, which contradicted the decisions of the People's Assembly of Western Belarus. Industrial enterprises were updated and reconstructed, new factories and factories were built. By the end of 1940, 392 industrial enterprises, which employed about 40 thousand people. The volume of industrial output has doubled since 1938. Before the war, 1115 collective farms were created, which united 6.7% of farms and 7.8% of the land. A policy of restriction was pursued with respect to the kulaks. Part of the prosperous peasantry was evicted from the Western regions by the NKVD to the eastern regions. But in most areas, evictions were not carried out. In April 1941, land use norms were established in the amount of 10, 12, 15 hectares of land, depending on local conditions.
In the Western regions, a Soviet social security system was created, free medical care was introduced for the population, and many polyclinics and hospitals were opened. In the 1940-1941 academic year, there were 5958 general education schools, 5 institutes, 25 secondary specialized educational institutions. By the beginning of 1940, there were 5 drama theatres, 100 cinemas, 92 houses of culture, 220 libraries. P. Pestrak, M. Tank, V. Tavlai and others joined the family of Belarusian writers.
Simultaneously with the expansion social base In the new government, the repressive apparatus of the Stalinist dictatorship intensively "cleansed out the enemies of the people", "eradicated the remnants and dissent among the population." At the end of September 1939 a number of Belarusian figures of the national liberation movement were arrested and then repressed - A. Lutskevich, V. Bogdanovich, A. Stankevich, I. Poznyak and others. According to a secret decree of the NKVD of the USSR, forest guards and siege workers were subject to eviction from Western Belarus. From February 1940 to June 20, 1941, more than 125 thousand people were repressed.
In 1939-1941. Polish underground organizations such as the Union of Struggle for the Independence of Poland, the Union of Armed Struggle, the Union of Polish Patriots, Streltsy, and others operated on the territory of the Western Regions. They conducted anti-Soviet propaganda and created secret weapon storage facilities. The reunification of Western Belarus with the BSSR was an act of historical justice. It put an end to the division of Belarus, restored its territorial integrity, united the Belarusian people into one family.
2. Belarus in the initial period of the Great Patriotic War.
Preparing for an attack on the USSR, the Nazis at the end of 1940 developed the Barbarossa plan, according to which they expected to defeat the main forces of the Red Army before the onset of winter and victoriously end the war. Germany gradually transferred its troops to the territory of Poland, closer to the border of the USSR. By the beginning of the war, the German military command had concentrated the most powerful army grouping "Center" on the border with Belarus, which consisted of 50 divisions, 1800 tanks, 14300 guns and mortars, 1680 combat aircraft, 820 thousand soldiers and officers. On the Soviet side, these forces were opposed by the troops of the Western Special Military District, which from June 22, 1941 became known as the Western Front. It consisted of 44 divisions, 3 brigades, 8 fortified areas and the Pinsk military flotilla, 2202 tanks, 10087 guns and mortars, 1909 combat aircraft. Total number of troops Western Front was 672 thousand soldiers and officers.
Intelligence officers and defectors warned about Hitler's intentions to attack the Soviet Union, who named the exact date of the fascist attack. All the more surprising was the announcement by TASS on June 14, 1921 that the rumors about the upcoming attack on the USSR were false and provocative. It was on this day that Hitler gathered in Berlin all the commanders of the army groups to listen to their reports on the completion of preparations for war. At this meeting G. Guderian stated that it would take him 5-6 days to reach Minsk.
At dawn on June 22, 1941, German troops crossed the border of the USSR. Taking advantage of the carelessness of the railway workers, the command of the Brest garrison, the Germans transferred from behind the Bug a train with sealed wagons, in which there were armed soldiers and officers, to the Brest-Zapadny station. They occupied the station and part of the city, leaving behind the frontier guards and the military in the fortress.
The inability of the command to foresee the course of hostilities was also manifested in the deployment of military units of the Western Front in the Bialystok ledge. Of the 26 divisions of the first echelon, 19 were concentrated here, including all tank and motorized. The 10th Army was supposed to keep the defense in the center - the strongest. On the flanks were the 3rd and 4th armies - weaker ones. The Germans were well aware of this and the offensive began from the flanks. On the first day of the war, the 4th Goppner Group broke through the front of the 3rd Army and Manstein's corps burst into the gap, by the evening of June 22, 3 divisions of the Red Army were dispersed, and 5 others suffered losses of up to 70% of their personnel. The 14th mechanized corps in the area of Pruzhany - Kobrin was almost completely destroyed on the same day. About 14 thousand Soviet soldiers died here.
On the night of June 22-23, Front Commander Pavlov tried to organize a counteroffensive, but this led to huge losses in manpower and equipment. On June 23 and 24, the 6th and 11th mechanized corps were killed. The front command made attempts to delay the German offensive in the Polotsk-Vitebsk region. And this attempt was unsuccessful.
On June 25, northeast of Slonim, the tanks of Guderian and Goth completed the encirclement of the units that were retreating from Bialystok. On June 26, the Germans captured Baranovichi, and on June 27, most units of the Western Front fell into a new encirclement in the Novogrudok area. 11 divisions of the 3rd and 10th armies were destroyed.
On June 26, 1941, German mechanized units approached Minsk. The troops of the 13th army held the lines until June 28. The troops of the 100th Infantry Division of Major General I.M. fought heroically. Rusiyanov near Ostroshitsky town. By the evening of June 28, German troops occupied Minsk. Retreating to the east, units of the Red Army fought heavy defensive battles. All the hardships of the country's defense were placed on the shoulders of ordinary soldiers. Only on June 29 was a directive issued by the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to party and Soviet organizations in the front-line regions, in accordance with which additional mobilization into the Red Army was carried out. Over 500,000 residents of Belarus were mobilized in June-August.
Fighter detachments were created to fight enemy saboteurs and paratroopers. In mid-July, 78 destroyer battalions were created. More than 200 people's militia formations were created to help the army. More than 1.5 million people were evacuated to the eastern regions of the USSR, the equipment of 124 enterprises, 5 thousand tractors, 674 thousand heads of cattle were taken out. Collectives of 60 research institutes and laboratories, 6 theaters, more than 20 higher and secondary specialized institutions, 190 children's institutions were evacuated to the eastern regions of the country.
In early July 1941, the Soviet command attempted to create a defensive line along the Western Dvina and the Dnieper. Three days of fighting went on in Borisov. On July 14, rocket mortars were used for the first time near Orsha. Fierce fighting unfolded in the area of Bobruisk. From July 3 to July 28, the defense of Mogilev continued. Only during the 14-hour battle on the Buynitsky field, 39 enemy tanks and armored personnel carriers were destroyed. Heavy fighting on August 12-19 went for Gomel. By the beginning of September 1941, the entire territory of Belarus was occupied by German troops.
During the defensive battles, the Red Army lost 1.5 million men, 10,000 guns and mortars, 5,000 tanks and 2,000 aircraft. Despite heavy losses, Soviet soldiers fought selflessly and performed unprecedented feats. In the Grodno region, the outpost of the border guards repulsed the attacks of the Nazis for ten hours. Until the end of June 1941, the garrison fought steadfastly Brest Fortress. In the first days of the war, the crew of Captain N.D. Gastello sent his wrecked aircraft to the accumulation of enemy equipment and manpower. Pilots P.S. rammed enemy planes in the first hours of the war. Ryabtsev over Brest, A.S. Danilov in the Grodno region, S.M. Gudimov in the Pruzhany area, D.V. Kokarev.
The catastrophe of the Red Army at the beginning of the war was a consequence of the existence of a rigid totalitarian regime in the country. One of the reasons for this catastrophe was the incompetence and self-confidence of the party and state apparatus in the center and in the localities. The leadership of the BSSR in the first days of the war urged the population to remain calm, convinced people that the enemy would not pass. Decisions were made to combat the "alarmists". At the same time, trains were being prepared for the evacuation of employees of the Central Committee and state bodies. Three days before the occupation, in a tragic period for the people, the leaders of the republic, without declaring a general evacuation, secretly left the city on the night of June 24-25. The defense of the western military districts turned out to be unprepared. As a result of the repression of military personnel in the second half of the 30s. about 40% of the most trained, experienced officers, generals, marshals were destroyed. Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky subsequently stated that without the repressions of 1937, perhaps the war of 1941 would not have happened at all.
3.Liberation of Belarus from fascist invaders.
As a result of the strategic offensive of the Red Army in 1943, the front approached Belarus. On September 23, the first regional center of Komarin was liberated. Twenty soldiers who distinguished themselves while crossing the Dnieper in the Komarin region were awarded the title of Hero Soviet Union. At the end of September, Khotimsk, Mstislavl, Klimovichi, Krichev were liberated. On November 23, 1943, Gomel was liberated, where the Central Committee of the CP (b) B, the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR and the BSPD immediately moved. In January-March, the Kalinkovichi-Mozyr operation was carried out with the participation of the Gomel, Polessky and Minsk partisan formations, as a result of which Mozyr and Kalinkovichi were liberated.
One of the largest operations at the final stage of the Great Patriotic War was the Belarusian one, which went down in history under the code name "Bagration". The Germans created a defense in depth in Belarus. It was held by the army group "Center", two army groups "North" and "Northern Ukraine". They had 63 divisions, 3 brigades, 1.2 million people, 9.5 thousand guns and mortars, 900 tanks and assault guns, 1350 aircraft. From the Soviet side, the troops of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd Belorussian Fronts (commanded by Marshal of the Soviet Union K.K. Rokossovsky, General of the Army G.F. Zakharov and Colonel General I.I. D. Chernyakhovsky), as well as the troops of the 1st Baltic Front (commander - General of the Army I.Kh. Bagramyan). The total number of Soviet troops was 2.4 million soldiers and officers, 36,400 guns and mortars, 5,200 tanks and self-propelled artillery, 5,300 aircraft. Important role in the liberation of the republic, the squadron "Normandie-Niemen" was assigned to Belarusian partisans.
On the morning of June 23, 1944, Operation Bagration began. On June 24, the defensive line of the German troops was broken through. On June 25, the Vitebsk enemy grouping consisting of 5 divisions was surrounded and then liquidated. On June 27, Orsha was liberated, and on June 29, the encircled Bobruisk grouping of the enemy was defeated. Here the Nazis lost 50 thousand people. On July 1, the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front liberated Borisov. In the Minsk "cauldron" to the east of the city, a 105,000-strong enemy group was surrounded. On July 3, 1944, tankers and infantrymen of the 1st and 2nd Belorussian fronts liberated the capital of Belarus - Minsk.
As a result of the first stage of Operation Bagration, the enemy army grouping Center suffered a complete defeat, its main forces were defeated. During the second stage of the Belarusian operation in July 1944, Molodechno, Smorgon, Baranovichi, Novogrudok, Pinsk, Grodno were liberated. The liberation of Brest on July 28 completed the expulsion of the Nazi invaders from the territory of Belarus. In the end of August Soviet troops went to Riga, to the border with East Prussia, to Narva and V
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