Posted:
24.07.2024 11:20:48
Vasily Davzhonak, a participant in the 1944 partisan parade: ‘We paid too high a price to forget those to whom we owe our lives’
Vasily Davzhonak, who fought in the Borba (Struggle) partisan detachment of the People’s Avengers brigade, is today one of the few — if not the only one — participants in the partisan parade that took place in liberated Minsk 80 years ago, in July 1944. Vasily Petrovich devoted his entire life to safeguarding the borders of the Motherland. A partisan, a public security officer, a border guard — he was on duty for half a century! At the age of 99, Colonel Davzhonak is brimming with optimism and plans. Despite his age, the historian and publicist continues to explore the partisan movement in Belarus.
Vasily Davzhonak and successors of his work — How do you remember June 22nd, 1941?
— It was hectic and tense. I was born on October 20th, 1925 in the village of Dalkovichi in Pleshchenitsy (now Logoisk) District of Minsk Region into a large family, with 11 children. By the time the war broke out, I had finished seven years of school. We found out about the start of the war in the afternoon from a neighbour, who was the only person in our village with a radio. On the eighth day of the war, our district and village were occupied by the Germans. A large military garrison of SS detachments and regular units was stationed in Pleshchenitsy. Our village found itself in the deep rear. It was occupied but not broken.
— How did your partisan life begin?
— The chairman of the collective farm, Ivan Kononovich, organised an underground group in Dalkovichi that included both adults and schoolchildren. Our first meeting was held in the forest on July 5th, 1941. There were about 20 of us, teenagers. Boys and girls alike served as the ears and eyes of the partisans, obtaining valuable information about the location, numbers and movements of fascist troops. We participated in sabotage and military operations on a par with adults. The polizei [traitors who defected to the Nazi] constantly dragged us for interrogations, including me. Therefore, both adults and children were acutely aware of what a ramrod and a horsewhip felt like. At first I was a liaison person, and from April 1942 I became a partisan in the Borba detachment of the People’s Avengers brigade named after Voronyansky. Our entire big family joined the partisans.
— What was your first combat mission?
— On a July day in 1941, the fascists arrived at the village and began looting. They filled cart after cart. We informed Kononovich, who was in the forest, about this situation. He ordered us to gather with weapons on the road between the villages of Dalkovichi and Prusovichi. The drunken krauts did not expect an ambush, so we managed to recapture three of the four carts.
— Your native village of Dalkovichi took a blow more than once.
— At least three times. First, the village was burnt by the French in their retreat in 1812, then by the White Poles in 1920, and by German Nazis in 1943. On the morning of May 13th, a scout reported to the commander of the detachment that the 118th police special battalion was advancing towards Dalkovichi. When around 200 punishers entered the village, my mates and I were at the opposite end. We had warned the locals to expect a fight. The Germans surrounded Dalkovichi from three sides and opened fire with machine guns. The battle lasted for several hours, but the forces were unequal and the detachment’s command ordered to withdraw to the second line of defence — towards the villages of Glebovshchina and Prusovichi. The fascists did not come up with anything better than to vent their anger on the villagers who did not have time to escape. A few torches — and Dalkovichi was engulfed in flames. However, before burning the people, the Nazis subjected them to brutal torture — beating them with sticks, binding them with barbed wire, cutting them with knives, stabbing them with bayonets, gouging out their eyes, cutting off their noses and ears...
In the same way, just a couple of weeks earlier, they had tortured my father to coerce him into giving away the partisans’ location. Together with German policemen, my father and other villagers were interrogated by the commander of the 118th battalion, Major Erich Körner and his deputy Konstantin Smovsky, a former White Guard officer, a native of Volyn Region. They carved a star on Anna Kononovich’s back and even tormented the dead people’s bodies…
Partisan parade in liberated Minsk, 1944— The Germans repeatedly blockaded the partisans.
— Recognising the significant strength of the partisan movement and aiming to confront it at any cost, the fascists announced an anti-partisan punitive expedition codenamed Cottbus in May 1943. Approximately 70,000 Germans took part in the blockade, which lasted for more than two months. Despite the considerable superiority in manpower and hardware, the enemy was unable to subdue the partisans. During the Nuremberg trials, the anti-partisan Cottbus operation was revealed in numbers, according to German reports: ...4,500 partisans killed, 5,000 people killed on suspicion of being affiliated with the partisans.
— There are dozens of awards on your ceremonial uniform, including the Orders of the Patriotic War 2nd degree, the Red Star and Kutuzov 3rd degree. What did you get the first award for?
— It was for the rail war. On July 14th, 1943, the Stavka (General Headquarters) of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief decided to conduct this operation in the territories occupied by the Germans. In order to ensure a simultaneous massive strike on the enemy’s railway communications, 167 partisan brigades and separate detachments — amounting to about 100,000 people — were involved. The large-scale operation unfolded across the territories of Byelorussia, Ukraine and Russia. On the night of August 3rd to 4th, 1943, our group was already working on the Vileika-Kurenets railway segment. We covered nearly 30 kilometres and destroyed over a thousand rails. In total, the partisans of the three countries blew up 42,000 rails on the first night. For my role in this operation, I was awarded the medal For Bravery. Just a week later, I was accepted into the Komsomol right in a partisan dugout.
— In August, you also defeated the Pleshchenitsy garrison.
— The garrison in Pleshchenitsy — the deployment site of German policemen, Gestapo [Nazi Secret State Police], SS units and detachments — was well fortified. Along the perimeter, it was surrounded by a system of dug-out positions, trenches and bunkers. Our Borba detachment set out on the evening of August 16th, 1943. After walking 25 kilometres, we reached the concentration area by 4 a.m., located in a triangle between the villages of Podchernitsa, Stanovishche, Kruglaya Gora and Korgovo. By 7 a.m., we had already captured the front edge of the defence. The fascists, who had taken refuge in a two-storey school that served as their headquarters, put up fierce resistance. However, the Komsomol commander of our 3rd company, Andrei Balas, managed to climb onto the roof and hoist a Red Banner. In the same battle, Timofey Shilo heroically blocked an enemy firing port with his body, echoing the brave deed of Aleksandr Matrosov. By 2 a.m., the enemy garrison had been destroyed.
— The year 1944 marked another anti-partisan operation Kormoran — one of the largest punitive campaigns.
— It started on May 25th. The Germans wanted to restore traffic on the Dokshitsy – Lepel, Minsk – Vitebsk roads and capture Begoml. In order to achieve this, they needed to confront the partisan formations in the Borisov-Begoml area. A little over 20,000 partisans opposed the 60,000-strong army of punishers. Having surrounded the people’s avengers at Lake Palik, the Nazis systematically tightened their grip, destroying villages and settlements on their way while looting and shooting innocent civilian population. The Germans sought to eliminate the last remnants of resistance. They dropped hundreds of aerial bombs and carried out relentless artillery and mortar shelling. It was crucial for us to find a vulnerable place in the blockade ring. And we managed to do that. With the assistance of a local guide, our squad bypassed all the checkpoints almost without firing a shot and broke free from the encirclement. As soon as Operation Bagration was launched, the punishing forces retreated in haste, unable to match the strength of our Red Army.
Monument Partisan Belarus in Minsk — On July 16th, 1944, you were among those who proudly marched in the ranks of the people’s avengers at the partisan parade in Minsk.
— On July 3rd, 1944, Minsk was liberated by the troops of the 1st and 3rd Byelorussian fronts. A few days later, all partisan formations received an order to come to the city. Thirty partisan brigades arrived in the capital, totalling over 30,000 people. In this regard, the leadership of the BSSR decided not to limit itself to a rally alone, but to hold a parade. However, it turned out to be quite unusual. First of all, there was no uniform and the participants were wearing whatever they could find. Secondly, the variety of weapons was striking, ranging from a brand-new Soviet PPSh [Shpagin’s machine pistol] or a captured German Schmeisser rifle to rifles from the First World War and even homemade guns assembled from various parts. Motley clothes, different ages, miscellaneous weapons, but a common cause, one Homeland and one Victory!
The rally was opened by the pre-war Chairman of the Minsk City Council, Konstantin Budarin. Following him, the 1st Secretary of the Communist Party of Byelorussia, Panteleimon Ponomarenko, took the floor. The Commander of the 3rd Byelorussian Front, Army General Ivan Chernyakhovsky, also arrived at the parade. The People’s Avengers brigade opened the solemn march, and our Borba squad was the first to go. In terms of combat accomplishments, our brigade took the first place. Over three years behind enemy lines, we killed 11,000 Hitlerite soldiers and officers, and captured over 1,500. We derailed three armoured trains, 161 echelons, and defeated 20 enemy garrisons. This is why Brigade Commander Pokrovsky ordered us to lead the march. Our squad was followed by partisans from the brigades named after Shchors, Chapayev, as well as Belarus, Burevestnik, and more. Many of them proudly wore newly awarded medals To a Partisan of the Great Patriotic War on their chests. Later, historians noted that the counteroffensive near Moscow, the heroic defence of Stalingrad and the Kursk Bulge, the liberation of Byelorussia and Ukraine would not have been possible without the partisans’ help.
— Where were you sent after the parade?
— By July 20th, the People’s Avengers brigade had been disbanded, and on July 21st I was already enrolled in the 7th Infantry Division of the NKVD [People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs] troops, where I served for two years. I participated in the destruction of pockets of banditry.
— Three times — in 1973, 1975 and 1987 — you testified against the Nazis.
— Yes, I testified against Vladimir Katriuk, Hryhoriy Vasiura, Vasyl Meleshko, Erich Körner, Konstantin Smovsky and other perpetrators who burnt not only Khatyn and Dalkovichi, but also many other Byelorussian villages. All their crimes were established by the military tribunal in 1986. The investigators failed to catch Körner and Smovsky, while Katriuk managed to escape justice by fleeing to Canada. However, Vasiura was sentenced to an exceptional measure of punishment — execution by shooting. In the 1980s, he lived in Ukraine where he worked as a deputy chairman of a collective farm. Evil must and will be punished! The restoration of historical justice affirms that crimes against humanity have no statute of limitations.
— After retiring, you discovered your writing talent and published a dozen books, including Partisan Sons of Belarus, Their Fate is Border, History of Belarus of 16th–17th Centuries, Great Military Commander of Modern Time (about Kutuzov), Partisans Went on a Campaign…
— All of them are documentary evidence. The theme of the 1941-1945 Great Patriotic War and the memory of it is a tribute to the courage of the Soviet people, many of whom I knew in person. This is the memory of the generation of winners. Our land is soaked in blood, and there is no need to shy away from talking about it. The Great Patriotic War had no age — both the young and the old forged our Victory. Take my schoolmates, for example. Fifth-grader Zina Ivanovskaya was pasting flyers in the village Pleshchenitsy. In the winter of 1941, the Germans captured her and tortured while interrogating. Having learnt nothing from the girl, the fascists threw her into the yard to be torn to pieces by dogs. We paid too high a price to forget those to whom we owe our lives.
By Natalia Tyshkevich
