Liberation of Belarus:
on the way to the Great Victory

People all over the world are going to celebrate the 60^th - anniversary of the Great Victory over fascism this year.

When preparing to celebrate this epoch-making event in the history Belarus commemorates its heroes. We bow down to our survivors and lavish them with our everyday care, attention and support; we honour every one of them: veterans, partisans, members of underground organizations and workers of the rear. Beyond all doubts we’ll never forget millions of war victims, those who sacrificed their lives to the Victory, those who under the most severe and harsh conditions fought and strived for our Future over arduous 1418 war days and nights.

Bloody and fierce deffensive and offensive battles of the Soviet Army, unprecedented firmness and heroism of partisans, self-denying labour of women, teenagers and even little children in the rear are accounted for the Radical Turn in the Great Patriotic War and in WWII. Among the most significant landmarks on a rough way to the Victory stand the Defence of Brest, Mogilev, Moscow and Stalingrad, the Victory at Orlovsk-Kursk arch, and, of course, the Belorussian Strategic Offensive Operation.

Belarus suffered from fascist enslavement for 3 years. Among the chief methods that the fascists used to implement their “new order” in Belarus were genocide and mass and bloody terror. Hitler’s soldiers committed unheard atrocities here, regardless of whom they were killing: women, men, old people or children. Concentration camps, prisons and ghettos functioned practically in every region of Belarus. All in all there were 260 death camps and 70 ghettos in the Republic. Only in Trostenz concentration camp about 206.5 thousand people were killed.

Irrespective of the barbaric repressive measures of the fascists against the Belorussians they couldn’t crush the National will for Liberation. On the territory of Belarus there appeared a mass Resistance Movement against the invaders.

From the first days of aggressive invasion into the country many underground partisan organizations sprang up encompassing all districts, areas and regions. Among the most well-known were the “Partisan group of Pinsk” led by Korzh, the “Red October” group headed by Bumazhkov and Pavlovskii of October district in Polesskii region, and the “Troop of Shmirev” which started to operate in 1941 in Suruzhskii district of Vitebsk region.

An outstanding underground work was performed by the partisans of Minsk region with their first leader Kovalev. The group estimated at about 9 thousand members including people of 25 nationalities of the former USSR, antifascists from 9 foreign countries, about 3000 workers, 2235 soldiers and 1860 former military men, 1700 students. They prepared and disseminated hand-written leaflets with the information from the Soviet Information Bureau, gathered and transmitted weapons to guerilla groups as well as medical supplies and committed diversions in fascist establishments.

The Liberation of Belarus from the German aggressors began in autumn 1943. On the 26^th of November the Troops of the Belorussian front headed by General Rokossovkii liberated Gomel (the major city of Gomelsk region) and the Belorussian Government re-evacuated there at once. Numerous Belorussian cities were freed in summer 1944 during the prominent military operation called “Bagration”. In the course of the opetation the troops of the 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd Belorussian and 1^st Baltic fronts in cooperation with partisan groups and brigades defeated the armies of the German group “Center”. 17 German divisions and 3 brigades were annihilated completely and what is more 50 fascist divisions lost over 50% of their soldiers over there. It was a disaster for Germany and even its Army Chiefs had to acknowledge the fact. Over 1600 generals, officers and soldiers were awarded the honourable title of the Hero of the USSR for courage and heroism revealed in the battles with the Germans on the Belorussian land. Besides more than 400 thousand military men and guerillas were honoured with special orders and medals; they were people of all natinalities of the former USSR: Belorussians, Russians, Tatars, Ukranians, Kazachs and others.

As a result of the offensive operation “Bagration” the whole territory of Belarus, the greatest part of Lithuania, a considerable part of Latvia, East Poland were liberated from the aggressors, the Red Army approached the border of Eastern Prussia. But even after its Liberation our country did everything to win a glorious Victory over the enemy. At the restored plants and factories workers completed military orders before terms, fallow citizens gave their money, obligations and even products (bread, potatoes) to special Funds to help soldiers on front.

After the Red Army had driven away the enemy from the Soviet territory in the second half of 1944 it rendered its help to the people of Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania to free their lands from the Nazi invaders. In January 1945 our troops passed to offensive on a vast territory from the Baltic Sea to the Carpathians.

The Berlin operation (April 16 – May 8) had a decisive meaning in crushing the fascist tyranny. The 1^st and 2^nd Belarusian fronts, 1^st Ukranian, Baltic navy, air forces, forces of the Dnepr Navy, and also 1^st and 2^nd Troops of the Polish Army participated in this operation. On May 2, 1945 the Soviet soldiers completely smashed the German Army Forces under Berlin and captured Berlin. On May 8 in Karlhorst (the suburb of Berlin) the representatives of defeated Germany signed an Act of Unconditional Surrender in the presence of the Soviet, American, British and French Army Chiefs. Consequenly, May 9, 1945 was declared a Victory Day.

Since that day peace established in Europe, but in the countries of South-East Asia, in the Far East and in the basin of the Pacific Ocean the war unleashed by military Japan was still going on. Within 11 days the Soviet Troops beated the Kwantun Army. And on September 2, 1945 Japan also signed an Act of Unconditional Capitulation. On behalf of the Antihitler Coalition the Act was signed by the delegates of the USSR, USA, Britain, France, China, Canada, Australia, New Zeland and the Netherlands. That was the end of the Second World War.

This glorious Victory was gained due to the joint actions of states of the Antihitler Coalition and heroic participation of fighters of Antifascist Resistance Movement. However, it’s important to emphasize that a great contribution to the Victory was made by the peoples of the USSR. There are objective historical materials and facts which testify that from the beginning of the war up to the middle of 1944 on the Soviet-German front there fought 190 from 270 German divisions simultaneously while only 9 from 20 German divisions withstood American and English Armies in the North Africa, and 7 to 26 divisions in Italy. Even after the opening of the second front in Europe there were 2.5 times more Hitler troops on the Soviet-German front than on the Western and Italian fronts.

In view of numerous attempts to lower endowment of the Soviet people in common Victory we’d like to remind that their immense role was acknowledged beyond all doubts and by all states in the days of WWII.

The Soviet Army defeated the agressor’s major forces. In fact, of 13.6 mln soldiers lost by Germany in WWII 10 mln were killed on the Eastern front. Together with other Soviet nations the Belarusian people fulfilled their duty with honour.

Millions of Belorussian citizens gave their lives to the Great Victory. Over 1.3 mln Belarusians fought in the Grate Patriotic War. They struggled under Brest, Moscow, Stalingrad, Kursk, participated in the liberation of the Caucasus, the Ukraine, Baltic and other states; they were among those who perished under Berlin, in Korea...

Tremendous contribution to German failure was made by legendary, fearless partisans and members of underground organizations of Belarus. It was called the Republic of Partisans not in vain. Within 3 years of battles with the enemy Belarusian patriots liquidated almost 0.5 mln of Germans in the rear. A lot of Belarusians also took active part in the European Resistance Movement fighting side by side with the Polish, Czechs, Slovaks and many others.

Belarusian contribution in the Great Victory won recognition all over the world. Therefore, at the international conference in San Fransisco which was called to establish the UN on April 27, 1945 the decision was taken to make Belarus one of the founder-states of this new international organization of great authority which maintains peace, upholds security and facilitates cooperation among all nations up to these days.

FOTOALBUM:

ON WAY TO VICTORY