Press releases

Partisan Chronicles: Fyodor Yurchenko Partisan Unit

MINSK, 12 December (BelTA) - More than 4,000 foreign fighters fought together with the Belarusian people in the occupied territories against German troops. Mostly they were former members of Wehrmacht units. Once on the Belarusian land, some soldiers of the German troops turned their arms against the occupier and joined the partisans.

The international presence in the partisan movement grew stronger particularly after the victories of the Red Army at Moscow, Stalingrad and Kursk. Foreign anti-fascists set up platoons, companies and entire units.

“Partisan Chronicles: Fyodor Yurchenko Partisan Unit” is a new page of the joint project of BelTA and the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History. It is dedicated to the Yurchenko partisan unit of Minsk Brigade No. 1 that also included foreigners.

The project is based on a unique collection of handwritten partisan journals provided by the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History. The collection was assigned the status of historical and cultural value of international importance (Class 1). Every week BelTA brings these chronicles to light and posts their digital copies. Each of them sheds light on various aspects of partisans’ life, gives a glimpse into thoughts and feelings of people who risked their lives to fight a battle behind enemy lines.

Till 3 July 2019 BelTA will publish digests of these chronicles and upload their digital versions complementing the unique content with photos from its own archives.

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