MINSK, 18 June (BelTA) - A collection of documents and materials “Cormorant. Nazi punitive operation in Belarus, May -June 1944” has been published by the National Archives of Belarus, Mikhail Skomoroshchenko, head of the publications department t the National Archives, told BelTA.
“Relying on the unique documentary evidence – the archival sources – the collection examines one of the largest punitive operations carried out by the Nazis against Belarusian partisans and civilians during the Great Patriotic War. The punitive operation, which began at the end of May, was organized by the Nazis in order to protect their rear from fighters of the Borisov-Begoml partisan zone before the summer campaign of 1944. Despite the involvement of army units, aviation, tanks and artillery, the Nazis never achieved their goals. After the beginning of the Bagration Offensive by the Red Army, the Nazis had to hastily lift the blockade. The partisans held out in fierce and bloody battles and together with the Red Army units attacked the retreating enemy, bringing about the complete liberation of the territory of Belarus,” said Mikhail Skomoroshchenko.
The collection consists of three sections. “The first one covers the preparation, progress and outcome of Operation Cormorant. This section presents materials from two opposing sides. Among the published German documents are translations of orders, summaries, operational reports. The Soviet documents comprise orders, reports, reporting notices, cipher telegrams, the history of partisan groups. The second section of the collection publishes testimonies from criminal cases of the punitive officers who took part in the operation. The third section includes protocols for interviews with witnesses of Nazi crimes. A total of 634 documents from the collections of Belarusian and Russian archives have been published in the collection,” Mikhail Skomoroshchenko said. The book also contains the necessary reference information (forewords, indices, commentaries, and so on) so that the materials will be useful not only for professional researchers, but also for those who are interested in history,” he added.
Mikhail Skomoroshchenko stressed that the book makes part of the documentary series of the National Archives of Belarus that reveals the truth about the Nazi crimes during the largest punitive operations in the territory of Belarus. In 2018, the archives published the book “Cottbus. Nazi punitive operation in Belarus, May-June 1943”. The archivists intend to start working on the book about the Nazi punitive operation “Fruehlingsfest” (which means ‘spring festival') against partisans and civilians of in the area of Lepel and Polotsk in 1944.
