SearchPublisher and Institutes
You are here: Home :: Area CULI :: History :: Recent and contemporary history
Alexander Brakel
„The Ire of the Peasants is the Greatest Danger.” The Provisioning of the Partisans and their Relationship with the Civilian Population
Keywords: Zweiter Weltkrieg im Osten, Partisanenbewegung, Partisanen und Zivilbevölkerung
During the Second World War, an immense partisan movement developed in Belarus. In Soviet historiography, the relationship between the partisans and the local population is described positively and is characterised by mutual friendship and assistance. In contrast, the German files speak of “Gang Terror”, which was also directed at the general population. Most of all, the partisans relied on the locals for their supply of provisions, which is why this aspect is at the centre of this study. Based on the example of the Gebietskommissariat Baranowicze, one of the focal points of partisan activity in Western Belarus, the relationship between the partisans and the general population is investigated. German and Polish sources paint a picture of a successively radicalising partisan movement, which secured its supplies from the rural population by force of arms. While the central leadership of the Soviet underground since 1942 attempted to prevent the accompanying assaults, rapes and pillage, it could not do so without the procurement of provisions either. The comparatively high food rations of the underground fighters suggest that considerations regarding the wellbeing of their own population did not possess a high priority for the Soviet leadership.
Vierteljahrshefte für Zeitgeschichte, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag
Print ISSN: 0042-5702
Volume: 55, 03/2007
Pages: 393 - 424