Operation Barbarossa & Ghettoization of the Jews of Belarus

Operation Barbarossa marked a turning point in World War II that had an immediate impact on Eastern Europeans.  The German army broke the Molotv-Ribbentrop Pact and launched a massive invasion of the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941.  All of Poland, including Western Belarus, came under German control.  Jews, including the Bielski family, immediately became prime targets for persecution.

Killing units known as Einsatzgruppen followed behind the German army and conducted mass shootings of Jews and others perceived to be enemies of Germany.  Ghettos were established in cities, including Novogrudok and Lida.  The Soviet Union joined the Allies in the war against Nazi Germany.

By early July, 1941, the three brothers returned to their home in Stankevich.  The family mill was no longer a safe haven:  Germans had set up a makeshift headquarters there.  To avoid capture, Tuvia, Asael and Zus scrambled between Novogrudok and Lida finding shelter in nearby villages and the forest.  In the fall, two younger brothers, Abraham and Yakov, were arrested and later murdered while trying to escape during a prison transfer.  On December 8 thousands of Jews from Novogrudok were marched to the edge of twon and murdered in large pits.  Among the 4,000 victims were parents, David and Beyle Bielski, Tuvia's first wife, Rifka and Zus's wife Cila nd their infant daughter.  Survivors of the aktion were confined to the ghetto.

In early 1942 the three brothers met in the forest and immediately developed a plan to obtain weapons and begin a partisan group.  In May, believing that it would be easier to protect family in a group, the brothers decided to gather everyone in hiding and live together in the forests near Stankevich.

In the spring of 1942, mass killing of Jews occurred in the Lida ghetto.  The Ticktin family survived and decided to escape the ghetto and join Tuvia and his brothers in the forest.  The brothers soon began trying to convince other surviving relatives to join their partisan group.  Escapees found help from a Belarusian peasant, Konstantin Koslovsky who offered his home as a safe haven for Jews.  He provided a transition point for Jews who wanted to contact the Bielskis.  For risking his life to save Jews, he was named a Righteous Among the Nations by Yad Vashem in 1993.