Belarusian Central Rada
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The Belarusian Central Council ( be, Беларуская цэнтральная рада, in lacinka: Biełaruskaja centralnaja rada; german: Weißruthenischer Zentralrat) was a
puppet A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or Legendary creature, mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods ...
administrative body in German-occupied Belarus during World War II. It was established by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
within ''
Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initia ...
'' in 1943–44, following requests by collaborationist Belarusian politicians hoping to create a Belarusian state with German support.


Background

Immediately after the 1941
German invasion of the Soviet Union Operation Barbarossa (german: link=no, Unternehmen Barbarossa; ) was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and many of its Axis allies, starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during the Second World War. The operation, code-named after ...
, the mass persecution of Jews by the forward units of ''
Einsatzgruppe B (, ; also ' task forces') were (SS) paramilitary death squads of Nazi Germany that were responsible for mass murder, primarily by shooting, during World War II (1939–1945) in German-occupied Europe. The had an integral role in the im ...
'' began under the command of the SS functionary
Arthur Nebe Arthur Nebe (; 13 November 1894 – 21 March 1945) was a German SS functionary who was key in the security and police apparatus of Nazi Germany and from 1941, a major perpetrator of the Holocaust. Nebe rose through the ranks of the Prussia ...
. Jews were massacred and ghettos were formed in dozens of towns with the participation of Belarusian collaborators who were given various prominent roles. The
Belarusian Auxiliary Police The Belarusian Auxiliary Police ( be, Беларуская дапаможная паліцыя, Biełaruskaja dapamožnaja palicyja; german: Weißruthenische Schutzmannschaften, or Hilfspolizei) was a collaborationist paramilitary force establi ...
was established and deployed to murder operations particularly in February–March 1942. The ''
Generalbezirk Weißruthenien Generalbezirk Weissruthenien (General District White Ruthenia) was one of the four administrative subdivisions of ''Reichskommissariat Ostland'', the 1941-1945 civilian occupation regime established by Nazi Germany for the administration of the th ...
'' district of
RKO RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...
was soon formed. The district included the western and central parts of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic in its 1941 borders (which included the towns of
Hlybokaye Hlybokaye or Glubokoye ( be, Глыбокае, translit=Hłybokaje, russian: Глубокое, translit=Glubokoye, pl, Głębokie, lt, Glubokas, yi, גלובאָק, Glubok) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus, the capital of Hlybokaye Raion ( ...
,
Vileyka Vileyka ( officially transliterated as Viliejka, be, Віле́йка , also ''Вялейка''; russian: Вилейка; lt, Vileika; pl, Wilejka) is a city in Belarus and the administrative center of the Vileyka District of Minsk Region. It i ...
,
Navahrudak Novogrudok ( be, Навагрудак, Navahrudak; lt, Naugardukas; pl, Nowogródek; russian: Новогрудок, Novogrudok; yi, נאַוואַראַדאָק, Novhardok, Navaradok) is a town in the Grodno Region, Belarus. In the Middle A ...
and other territories earlier annexed by the USSR from Poland). In 1942, the German civil authority was extended to Minsk,
Slutsk Slutsk ( officially transliterated as Sluck, be, Слуцк; russian: Слуцк; pl, Słuck, lt, Sluckas, Yiddish/Hebrew: סלוצק ''Slutsk'') is a city in Belarus, located on the Sluch River south of Minsk. As of 2022, its population i ...
and
Barysaw Barysaw ( be, Барысаў, ) or Borisov (russian: Борисов, ) is a city in Belarus near the Berezina River in the Minsk Region 74 km north-east from Minsk. Its population is around 145,000. History Barysaw is first mentioned in t ...
. The area was to be made part of the Nazis' project of
Lebensraum (, ''living space'') is a German concept of settler colonialism, the philosophy and policies of which were common to German politics from the 1890s to the 1940s. First popularized around 1901, '' lso in:' became a geopolitical goal of Imperi ...
("living space"), in which those deemed non-
Aryan Aryan or Arya (, Indo-Iranian *''arya'') is a term originally used as an ethnocultural self-designation by Indo-Iranians in ancient times, in contrast to the nearby outsiders known as 'non-Aryan' (*''an-arya''). In Ancient India, the term ' ...
would be exterminated or expelled to make way for German colonists, while the remaining locals would be subject to forced
Germanization Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In ling ...
. All attempts by the Belarusian representatives to request self-governance for the occupied Belarus led to German repressions against those who voiced such requests. A Nazi politician
Wilhelm Kube Wilhelm Kube (13 November 1887 – 22 September 1943) was a Nazi official and German politician. He was an important figure in the German Christian movement during the early years of Nazi rule. During the war he became a senior official in the o ...
was appointed the German administrator of the area (''Generalkommissar''). He had his command center established in
Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
with a second ''Kommissar'' in
Baranovichi Baranavichy ( ; be, Бара́навічы, Łacinka: , ; russian: Бара́новичи; yi, באַראַנאָוויטש; pl, Baranowicze) is a city in the Brest Region of western Belarus, with a population (as of 2019) of 179,000. It is not ...
. In September 1943, Kube was killed by his Belarusian mistress, who planted a bomb in his bed coerced by the Soviet agents who knew where her son was. In order to drum up fresh troops for the front inside ''
Reichskommissariat Ostland The Reichskommissariat Ostland (RKO) was established by Nazi Germany in 1941 during World War II. It became the civilian occupation regime in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, and the western part of Byelorussian SSR. German planning documents initia ...
'' and to stimulate support from the Belarusian population and elites, General
Reinhard Gehlen Reinhard Gehlen (3 April 1902 – 8 June 1979) was a German lieutenant-general and intelligence officer. He was chief of the Wehrmacht Foreign Armies East military intelligence service on the eastern front during World War II, spymaster of the ...
suggested to the German High Command that some concessions be made to the Belarusian collaborators in the form of a
puppet state A puppet state, puppet régime, puppet government or dummy government, is a State (polity), state that is ''de jure'' independent but ''de facto'' completely dependent upon an outside Power (international relations), power and subject to its o ...
. The "semi-autonomous" local government was established by Nazi Germany in December 1943, and named the Belarusian Central Council. Radasłaŭ Astroŭski, the mayor of Smolensk at that time, was appointed its president. SS-''
Gruppenführer __NOTOC__ ''Gruppenführer'' (, ) was an early paramilitary rank of the Nazi Party (NSDAP), first created in 1925 as a senior rank of the SA. Since then, the term ''Gruppenführer'' is also used for leaders of groups/teams of the police, fire de ...
'' Kurt von Gottberg who replaced Kube named the Belarusian politician
Ivan Yermachenka Ivan Yermachenka ( be, Іван Ермачэнка) (last name also transcribed commonly as John Ermachenko), May 13, 1894 - February 25, 1970) was a Belarusian politician, diplomat and writer. Life Ivan Yermachenka was born into a peasant fami ...
, arriving from Prague, the "Advisor on Belarusian affairs".


Functions and work

The Belarusian Central Council only had a limited role in governing, with the key decisions being taken by the German administration of the ''Generalbezirk Weißruthenien''. The Council mostly managed social affairs as well as culture and education. The Council had twelve departments including: Education, science and culture; Propaganda and press; Social security; Finance; Youth affairs; Religion; Control; Administrative issues; Economy; National minorities; and
Home Defence A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...
. The Belarusian Central Council oversaw the activities of Belarusian civic organisations established earlier with German permission including: Union of Belarusian Youth; Belarusian Scientific Society; Belarusian Cultural Association; Belarusian Self-Help; and labour unions. The Council managed to widen the usage of the Belarusian language in schools and in public life, worked on the opening of a university.


Policy on religion

The Germans authorised the reformation of the
Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church The Belarusian Autocephalous Orthodox Church ( be, Беларуская аўтакефальная праваслаўная царква, ''Bielaruskaja aŭtakiefaĺnaja pravaslaŭnaja carkva'' BAPC; russian: Белорусская автокеф ...
, independent from the
Patriarch of Moscow The Patriarch of Moscow and all Rus' (russian: Патриарх Московский и всея Руси, translit=Patriarkh Moskovskij i vseja Rusi), also known as the Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, is the official title of the Bishop of Mo ...
which, similarly, was used by the Soviet atheists to rally Russians against the Germans. The priests had considerable influence with the peasantry and actively supported the defeat of Soviet Russia, which had terrorized Christians in
West Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus ( be, Заходняя Беларусь, translit=Zachodniaja Bielaruś; pl, Zachodnia Białoruś; russian: Западная Белоруссия, translit=Zapadnaya Belorussiya) is a historical region of mod ...
after the joint
Soviet invasion of Poland The Soviet invasion of Poland was a military operation by the Soviet Union without a formal declaration of war. On 17 September 1939, the Soviet Union invaded Poland from the east, 16 days after Nazi Germany invaded Poland from the west. Subse ...
of September 17, 1939..


Byelorussian Home Defence (BKA)

In March 1944, the Belarusian Central Council organized a universal military conscription among the young Belarusians. The Byelorussian Home Defence Force (''Bielaruskaja Krajovaja Abarona'', BKA) was formed, with 28,000 troops ready for training, aided by a few thousand members of the
Belarusian Auxiliary Police The Belarusian Auxiliary Police ( be, Беларуская дапаможная паліцыя, Biełaruskaja dapamožnaja palicyja; german: Weißruthenische Schutzmannschaften, or Hilfspolizei) was a collaborationist paramilitary force establi ...
battalions. After the retreat of Germans from Belarus, the Belarusian Home Defence was absorbed into the 30th Waffen Grenadier Division of the SS. This infantry division formed from the remnants of the 29th Waffen-SS Division, included both Belarusian and Ukrainian units. The Germans had set up an officers' school and issued uniforms with a
Waffen-SS The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with Waffen-SS foreign volunteers and conscripts, volunteers and conscripts from both occup ...
Storm-brigade Belarus designation. Orders were issued for Belarusian forces to be absorbed by
Andrey Vlasov Andrey Andreyevich Vlasov (russian: Андрéй Андрéевич Влáсов, – August 1, 1946) was a Soviet Red Army general and Nazi collaborator. During World War II, he fought in the Battle of Moscow and later was captured att ...
's
Russian Liberation Army The Russian Liberation Army; russian: Русская освободительная армия, ', abbreviated as (), also known as the Vlasov army after its commander Andrey Vlasov, was a collaborationist formation, primarily composed of Rus ...
(ROA); but Astroŭski opposed this. He also sabotaged the idea of the "
Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia The Committee for the Liberation of the Peoples of Russia (russian: Комитет освобождения народов России, ', abbreviated as russian: КОНР, ') was a committee composed of military and civilian Nazi collaborator ...
", since he did not wanted to align himself with Russians. Other members of BKA and the Belarusian Auxiliary Police were recruited by SS-''
Obersturmbannführer __NOTOC__ ''Obersturmbannführer'' (Senior Assault-unit Leader; ; short: ''Ostubaf'') was a paramilitary rank in the German Nazi Party (NSDAP) which was used by the SA (''Sturmabteilung'') and the SS (''Schutzstaffel''). The rank of ''Obersturm ...
''
Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including th ...
for training in Dahlwitz near
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
, to make special undercover strikes behind the enemy lines. These units were part of a clandestine operation known as ''Liebes Kätzchen'' stretched from the Baltics to the Black Sea. The Belarusian "
Black Cat A black cat is a domestic cat with black fur that may be a mixed or specific breed, or a common domestic cat of no particular breed. The Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) recognizes 22 cat breeds that can come with solid black coats. The Bombay b ...
" guerrilla group was led by Michas' Vitushka. They operated in Belavezha Forest (Białowieża) against the Soviet forces in anti-communist operations throughout 1945 but with little success.Wilson 2011
p. 109. Operation Black Cat.
/ref> Infiltrated by the
NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (russian: Наро́дный комиссариа́т вну́тренних дел, Naródnyy komissariát vnútrennikh del, ), abbreviated NKVD ( ), was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union. ...
, they were destroyed in 1945.


Exile

In 1944, with the advance of the
Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
towards the west, the Belarusian Central Council evacuated with the retreating Germans to
East Prussia East Prussia ; german: Ostpreißen, label=Low Prussian; pl, Prusy Wschodnie; lt, Rytų Prūsija was a province of the Kingdom of Prussia from 1773 to 1829 and again from 1878 (with the Kingdom itself being part of the German Empire from 187 ...
n and Polish lands still under the control of Nazi Germany. On June 27, 1944, a few days before the evacuation, the BCR held a congress in Minsk, titled the Second All-Belarusian Congress, sanctioned by Gottberg. The meeting gathered 1039 delegates from various regions of Belarus and from Belarusian emigre organizations, with German officials among them. Representatives of the SS observed the proceedings from a balcony.Mark Alexander: Nazi Collaborators, American Intelligence, and the Cold War. The Case of the Byelorussian Central Council. University of Vermont Graduate College Dissertations and Theses, Nr. 424, 2015http://www.bielarus.org/open.php?n=497&a=10 The congress confirmed the declaration of independence of Belarus (as the
Belarusian People's Republic The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...
) and declared the Belarusian Central Council as the only legitimate representative body of the Belarusian people and the successor of the Rada of the BNR. Members of the Council reaffirmed their commitment to the
Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
and personally to
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
.Dallin, Alexander. ''German Rule in Russia: 1941–1945.'' Octagon Books: 1990. The aim of the meeting was for the BCR to gain legitimacy based on a decision by representatives of Belarusian society rather than by the German administration. The organizers feared provocations from both Soviet partisans and the Germans. After evacuation, the leadership of the BCR has formed the base for Belarusian self-organization in the post-war camps for
Displaced person Forced displacement (also forced migration) is an involuntary or coerced movement of a person or people away from their home or home region. The UNHCR defines 'forced displacement' as follows: displaced "as a result of persecution, conflict, g ...
s. Even after the evacuation, the BCR continued to receive orders from the
Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories The Reich Ministry for the Occupied Eastern Territories (german: Reichsministerium für die besetzten Ostgebiete (RMfdbO) or ''Ostministerium'', ) was created by Adolf Hitler on 17 July 1941 and headed by the Nazi theoretical expert, the Baltic ...
. After the end of the war, the BCR entered the
Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations (ABN) was an international ultra-nationalist organization founded as a coordinating center for anti-communist and nationalist émigré political organizations from Soviet and other socialist countries. The ABN format ...
. At the end of 1945, Astroŭski held a special meeting of the "Belarusian Central Committee" which decided to temporarily suspend (but not to dissolve) the government-in-exile in order to avoid accusation of collaboration with the Nazis. On March 25, 1948, the Belarusian Central Council renewed its activity in exile.
Wojciech Roszkowski Wojciech Stefan Roszkowski OOB (born 20 June 1947 in Warsaw) is a Polish economic historian and writer, specializing in Polish and European history of the 20th and 21st century. He was a politician and Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in ...
, Jan Kofman (Hrsg.): ''Biographical Dictionary of Central and Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century.'' Routledge, Abingdon u. a. 2015, , p. 39-40.
It was one of the main umbrella organizations of the Belarusian emigre community in the West until its dissolution in 1995.


Presidents

* Radasłaŭ Astroŭski (1943 — 1945 and 1948 — 1976) * Nikandar Miadziejka (1977 — 1987) * Michas Zuj (1988 — 1995) *
Vital Ciarpicki Vital or Vitals may refer to: Places * Vital Creek, a creek located in the Omineca Country region of British Columbia * Vital Range, a subrange in the Omineca Mountains in British Columbia People * Vital (given name) *Vital (surname) Arts, ent ...
(1995)


See also

* German occupation of Belarus during World War II *
Belarusian collaboration with Nazi Germany During World War II, some Belarusians collaborated with the invading Axis powers. Until the beginning of Operation Barbarossa in 1941, the territory of Belarus was under control of the Soviet Union, as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic. ...
*
Belarus in World War II Belarus (then known as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic), was divided between the Soviet Union and the Second Polish Republic when World War II began. The borders of Belarus were greatly expanded in the Soviet invasion of Poland of 19 ...
*
Lokot Republic The Lokot Autonomy (russian: Ло́котское самоуправле́ние, lit=Lókotskoye samoupravléniye) or Lokot Republic (russian: Ло́котская республика, lit=Lókotskaya respublika, german: Republik Lokot) was an ...
– native Russian state under indirect German control


Notes


References

* Arnold Toynbee, Veronica Toynbee, ''et al.'', ''La Europa de Hitler'' (Spanish tr. of ''Hitler's Europe''), Ed Vergara, Barcelona, Esp, 1958 reprinted in 1986 by Madrid Sarpe D.L., Section VI: "Occupied lands and Satellite Countries in East Europe", Chapter II: Ostland, P.253-259. * Ostland Footnotes: P.253-259. {{Authority control Axis powers Belarus in World War II Belarusian collaboration with Nazi Germany Belarusian Central Council Collaboration with the Axis Powers Generalbezirk Weißruthenien Military history of the Soviet Union during World War II States and territories established in 1943 States and territories disestablished in 1944