On the Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus and the 80th anniversary of liberation from the Nazi invaders, let's remember the heroic and tragic pages of our history. We offer a guide to little-known places of partisan glory.
This place in a dense forest surrounded by swamps was the center of the partisan movement in Brest region during the Great Patriotic War. The headquarters of the regional partisan unit and the underground regional committee of the Komsomol were located here. The editorial office of the Zarya newspaper, a school and a hospital were also based in the plot of land.
At the site of the partisan camp, a memorial sign was erected and dugouts were restored. Visitors can experience for themselves the difficult conditions in which the people's avengers had to live and learn about the most significant partisan operations. Just like 80 years ago, the campsite is reached by a forest road and a wooden road through a swamp.
Every year in May the festival “One Day in the Life of a partisan squad” is held here. The memorial complex hosts interactive platforms and military-historical reconstructions.
In the first months of the war, partisan squad “Bolshevik” was created near Gomel. It became famous for its numerous acts of sabotage on railways and other daring operations against Nazi invaders. A memorial was opened at the site of the partisan squad first camp in 1983.
The central element of the complex is a stele in memory of the partisans of Gomel region. After recent reconstruction, dugouts have been installed nearby, where historical exhibitions have taken place. In addition to traditional excursions, visitors can enjoy military-historical reconstructions and soldiers’ porridge.
The majestic memorial was erected in memory of the partisans breaking through a powerful enemy encirclement. In April 1944, the occupiers made a large-scale punitive operation against Polotsk-Lepel partisan zone, one of the largest in Belarus. Uneven bloody battles continued for almost a month: the invaders sent powerful units against the partisans. The number of this units was about sixty thousand people. However, the people's avengers managed to get out of the ring and lead civilians with them.
The heart of the complex is a sculpture of a partisan and next to it are huge boulders symbolizing the Nazi blockade. The fighter seems to break powerful stone walls. Nearby there is a mass grave where those who died during the breakthrough of the encirclement are buried. Also in the complex, there is a “Partisan Village” and an open-air exhibition of military equipment.
Among the swamps in the south of Minsk region in September 1942, a partisan airfield appeared. Thanks to this facility, the supply of ammunition and weapons for the defenders and the evacuation of the wounded from behind enemy lines to the mainland were established. The underground regional committee of the Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the headquarters of the formations were located on the island. And even earlier in the first year of the war a partisan squad under the command of Alexander Dalidovich was based here. This partisan squad was one of the first in Minsk region.
The memorial created in 1969 reminds of the exploits of the people's avengers. It includes an entry sign, an obelisk, mass graves, restored dugouts and a monument on the site of the former airfield. The famous architect Georgy Zaborsky worked on the project of this complex.