Komitet Białoruski w Generalnym Gubernatorstwie (1940–1945)

Abstract

The subject of this study is the activity of the Belarusians in the General Government in 1940–1945. Belarusians were the fifth largest ethnic group in the GG. The German occupation authorities, applying the principle of “divide and conquer”, were ready to give Belarusians some freedom in the sphere of culture, religion and economy. In 1940, the Belarusian Committee was established in Warsaw, with branches in Biała Podlaska and Kraków. The majority of committee members were Belarusians and Poles – prisoners of war and refugees from the Soviet occupation zone of Poland. As a priority of this organization, cultural, educational and religious activities among the Belarusians in the General Government were recognized. The activists of the committee managed to create a school in Warsaw and two parishes (Orthodox and Catholic). Belarusian activities faced some difficulties. Serious problems for the Belarusians Committee caused the activities of Ukrainian organizations in the GG. One of the episodes in the history of the Belarusian Committee is the cooperation of its activists with German military intelligence.