The Minsk Ghetto: Soviet-Jewish Partisans Against the NazisSmolar (b. 1905 in Poland) was in 1941-42 a leader of the Jewish underground resistance organization in the ghetto of Minsk, and later fought in a partisan unit in the Minsk area. His memoirs describe the first days of the war; the establishment of the ghetto in Minsk; the creation of the two underground organizations in the ghetto, one by refugees from Poland, the other - by native Jews, and their subsequent unification; Nazi mass murders of Jews in the ghetto in 1941-42; the flight of ghetto Jews to the forests in order to join the Soviet partisans; partisan warfare. Smolar, as well as other Jews who fought with the partisans, were shocked by the antisemitism of some their non-Jewish comrades in arms. Antisemitism became a habitual phenomenon in the postwar USSR. |
Contents
For the Second Time | 1 |
In Minsk For the Third Time | 10 |
What Is To Be Done | 23 |
Copyright | |
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Common terms and phrases
anti-Semitic army asked began Bialystok Budyoni bullets Byelorussian camp city of Minsk combat organization Commander Commissar Committee couriers death diversionary documents Einsatzkommandos Emma Radova enemy fence forest front Frunze brigade German Jews Gestapo ghetto organization ghetto population ghetto underground Haim Hamburg ghetto happened head heard hiding-place Hirsh Hitler Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee Jewish Combat Organization Jewish partisans Jewish police Jews of Minsk Jubilee Square Judenrat Judenrat members knew Kube Labor Exchange later leaders leadership learned leave the ghetto meeting Minsk ghetto Minsk Jews Misha Gebelev Moscow murdered Mushkin Naliboki Nazis night Nochem Feldman number of Jews partisan base partisan detachments partisan movement partisan units Peretz Markish pogrom Poland Polish prisoners Purim Ruditzer Russian side Russian zone sent Serebrianski Shiroka shot Slavek Sonya Soviet Jews Soviet Union Stolpce Street tion told took Warsaw weapons Wilhelm Kube women Yefim Yiddish young Zorin Zyama