Collaborators, Bystanders or Rescuers? The Role of Local Citizens in the Holocaust in Nazi-Occupied Belarus

Abstract

The complete physical annihilation of Soviet Jews—described in Nazi propaganda as the main supporters of the Bolshevik regime and the worst enemies of the German nation—was one of the major objectives of the war in the East. This meant that the German campaign against the Jews in the occupied areas of the Soviet Union was much harsher than the campaigns in Western Europe. While the atrocities committed by the German Einsatzgruppen and the Wehrmacht and the complicity of all levels of the Nazi bureaucracy in the pursuit of the ‘Final Solution’ have been extensively analysed by historians, the collusion and participation of ordinary citizens in the persecution of Jews in occupied areas of the Soviet Union still remains relatively understudied. Indeed, it is a controversial subject. This article aims to assess the role of the local population of Nazi-occupied Belarus in the Holocaust there. Most studies of collaboration in the Holocaust in Belarus have focused on the roles of the local auxiliary police and the indigenous administration; little has been done on the attitudes and roles of the general public.