April 15–21, 1944. 20 weeks until the Liberation

A new project of the National Library of Belarus is dedicated to the Great Patriotic War – "Reading newspaper lines with your heart. On the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders."
Every week from January to August 2024, the portal of the National Library publishes materials from newspapers of Soviet Belarus in 1944, reflecting the chronicle of news and events of that time.

April 17th. "Hitler's punishers launched an operation codenamed "Spring Holiday" against the partisans and the local population of the Polotsk-Lepel partisan zone. All the partisan detachments fought their way out of the blockade. The punishers killed more than 7 thousand and seized over 11 thousand for export to Germany.  local residents burned down a number of villages.

[1418 days of the Great Patriotic War..., p. 306]

The actions of partisan detachments against the Nazi occupiers actively continued in various regions of the BSSR [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 65, p. 4; No. 68, p. 1]. The underground partisan press, distributed in the territories occupied by the Nazi invaders, informed residents not only about the advance of the Red Army, the actions of the partisans, but also about the restoration of the national economy in the liberated territory of Belarus [Stalinets, No. 22, p. 2].

Spring work was also being prepared in the territories occupied by the Germans: in an editorial in a newspaper and a published letter from one of the residents, they called for preparing for sowing spring crops in the best possible way, because this harvest was already to be harvested on the liberated land [Stalinets, No. 22, p. 2].

And now the field work has begun!

In Gomel [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 66, p. 4; 69, p. 4]: Polesskaya [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 68, p. 1] and Mogilev [Za Radzima, 48, p. 2] regions, the first hectares of land were sown.

The topic of preparation for spring field work was not without critical materials [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 66, p. 4]. It said that about 100 tractors that arrived in Polesie by rail have not yet been unloaded from the platforms and have not arrived at their destinations – machine and tractor stations.

The next issue of the newspaper contains material that the collective farms received 25 tractors that arrived from Udmurtia, and along with them came specialists – agronomists, mechanics, foremen of tractor brigades, tractor drivers – to provide fraternal assistance [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 67, p. 2]:

A cultural program was being prepared for collective farmers: amateur dramatic productions, concerts [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 67, p. 4]; to show films and newsreels to collective farmers during spring field work, the Gomel Film Organization sent two mobile film installations [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 68, p. 3].

The VI session of the Supreme Council of the BSSR continued in Gomel. In the debate on the report of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the BSSR P. K. Ponomarenko "Liberation of the Belarusian lands, further tasks of the struggle of the Belarusian people against the German invaders and the immediate tasks of restoring the national economy of the BSSR", speakers made speeches, among them – Yakub Kolas [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 65, p. 3].

The newspaper Savetskaya Belarus [No. 67, p. 2] published a letter addressed to the head of the USSR and Commander-in-chief I. V. Stalin of the residents of Belarus rescued from the death camp near Ozarichi (it named the burned villages, tragic events on the way to the camp and staying in it, the happy rescue by the Red Army). The newspaper Savetskaya Belarus [No. 69, p. 1] published a photo of the rally at which this letter was accepted:

Work on the restoration of the national economy continued in its course.

The first results of the shock work have already appeared.

Rivermen have restored two steamships, they will soon drive barges loaded with firewood: other cargo and passenger transportation are expected soon [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 65, p. 1].

The rafters of Polesie launched up to 3,000 cubic meters of forest [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 67, p. 2].

A delegation from Ulyanovsk arrived here in Mozyr, bringing equipment for schools, hospitals, kindergartens, cinemas, machine and tractor workshops, public utilities (water pipes, nails) and household items (shoes and clothes) [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 67, p. 2].

Classes have already begun at the Mozyr Pedagogical Institute, but admission continues – the directorate has received dozens of applications from those wishing to study, a boarding school has been prepared for students, and a 30–apartment building for teachers [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 67, p. 4]:

In one of the kindergartens, a photographer took pictures of children engaged in concentrated activity [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 69, p. 4]:

The editorial office of the Red Army newspaper Za Radzimy organized a literary evening in the liberated village, where the works of Belarusian poets were performed [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 65, p. 4]:

The reading huts restored in the liberated territory became information centers, places of attraction for local youth who sought to learn about the advance of the Red Army, the actions of the partisans, about what and where had already been restored, where what was happening, which educational institutions had opened, etc. Various circles, newspaper readings and conversations with the population, in which Komsomol members and non-union youth took the most active part. The head of this institution told about the work of the "Asset in the house" in the Lioznensky district on the pages of the newspaper [Vitebsk Workers, No. 32, p. 3].

Another popular place is the newspaper and book kiosk, where residents of Mozyr hurried in the morning to buy newspapers and find out the latest news [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 66, p. 4].

The library has been restored in Rechitsa, Gomel region [Savetskaya Belarus, No. 68, p. 4]. Now her fund has about 10,000 books, which readers hid from the invaders and returned to their native library after liberation. Recently, the library has been replenished with books published during the Great Patriotic War. Among them is a book by E. Vilensky about the legendary partisan hero Konstantin Zaslonov. A recently written play is also dedicated to him, which was mentioned in an article in the newspaper Savetskaya Belarus [No. 69, p. 4], intended primarily for amateur theatres.

There were 19 weeks left before the Liberation…

The material was prepared by L. G. Tupchienko-Kadyrova,
Candidate of Historical Sciences, chief bibliographer
of the information and analytical department.

Sources

Newspapers*

The full news papers issues are available on links.

1. Віцебскі рабочы : орган Віцебскага Абласнога і Гарадскога Камітэтаў КП(б)Б, Абласнога і Гарадскога Саветаў Дэпутатаў Працоўных, 1944, № 32.
2. За Радзіму : орган Магілёўскага абласнога і гарадскога КП Беларусі і абласнога і гарадскога Савета дэпутатаў працоўных, 1944, № 47.
3. За Радзіму, 1944, № 48.
4. Калгаснік Капыльшчыны : орган Капыльскага райкома КП Беларусі і раённага Савета дэпутатаў працоўных, 1944, № 18.
5. Раздавім фашысцкую гадзіну : газета-плакат : выданне ЦК КП(б) Беларусі. – 1944, № .
6. Савецкая Беларусь : орган ЦК КП(б) Беларусі, Саўнаркома і Прэзідыума Вярхоўнага Савета БССР, 1944, № 65.
7. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 66.
8. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 67.
9. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 68.
10. Савецкая Беларусь, 1944, № 69.
11. Сталінец : орган Грэскага райкома КП Беларусі і раённага Савета дэпутатаў працоўных, 1944, № 22.
    

*The titles of the newspapers are given accordance to modern spelling.

Books, postcards

1. Виленский, Э.С. Сын Белоруссии : [о К. Заслонове] / Э. Виленский ; [ответ. ред. Н.И. Страхов]. – Пенза : издание газеты “Сталинское знамя”, 1943.– 31, [1] с. ; 14 см. – (Библиотечка агитатора и пропагандиста ; вып. 131–132). – 4 100 экз. – З фонду НББ.
2. Виленский, Э.С. Белоруссияның оглы : [о К. Заслонове] / Э. Виленский. – Ашгабат : Бирлешен түркмендөвлетнешир, 1944. – 63, [1] с. ; 14 см. – 4 000 экз. – З фонду НББ.
3. Завьялов, В.В. Трактор в поле это танк в бою! Образцово используем тракторы на весеннем севе! [Изоматериал] : [плакат] / художник В. Завьялов. – [Хабаровск] : ОГИЗ, Дальгиз, 1944 (Типо-литография № 5 Бланкоиздательства). – 1 л.
4. Зайцев, Е.А. Константин Заслонов [Изоматериал] : [открытка]. – Москва : Советский художник, 1958. – 1 л. – З фонду НББ.
5. Иванов, В.В. Дядя Костя : [о К.С. Заслонове] : пьеса в 2 картинах / Вс. Иванов. – Москва ; Ленинград : Искусство, 1945. – 62, [1] с. ; 14 см. – 3 000 экз. – З фонду НББ.
6. 1418 дней Великой Отечественной войны : хронология событий : хронология событий : [солдату Великой Отечественной посвящается / сост. Е. В. Малашевич ; науч. ред.: Е. И. Барановский, Г. И. Баркун ; фото: В. В. Харченко]. – Минск : Мастац. літ., 2014. – 421, [1] с.
7. Хрусталёв, В.Я. Константин Заслонов [Изоматериал] : [открытка]. – Москва : Советский художник, 1958. – 1 л.
8. Хрусталёў, У.Я. Канстанцін Заслонаў [Выяўленчы матэрыял] : [рэпрадукцыя : паштоўка] / карцiна У.Я. Хрусталёва. – Мінск : Беларусь, 1964 (Мінск : Паліграфкамбінат імя Я. Коласа). – 1 л. (2 слупкі тэксту) : каляр. фотамеханічны друк. – На паштоўцы змешчаны тэкст “Песні пра Заслонава” (музыка У. Алоўнікава, словы А. Астрэйкі).