Nationalism, Anti-Bolshevism or the Will to Survive

During the Cold War years the stories about the Nazi occupation of the Soviet Union became not only a subject of scholarly research, but an important propaganda tool. While the Soviet historiography emphasized “popular resistance struggle”, the western historians dedicated attention to “war-time collaboration” in various national republics. Ukraine and Baltics were the most studied areas, but little research of this kind existed with regard to Belarusian territory. This book challenges the traditional representation of Belarus as “partisan republic” and analyses various forms of interaction between the local Belarusian population and the German occupation authorities. It examines the spectrum of motives behind people''s decisions to join forces with the Germans, as well as considerations behind the change of attitude and mass transition from cooperation to resistance at the last stage of the war. Belarusian nationalism, German policies, every day life in occupied society, and local participation in Holocaust are analyzed among other issues. This book is recommended for scholars, students, and anyone who is interested in the subject.