BELARUSIAN HOME DEFENCE

Belaˈrusian Home Deˈfence (BHD, BKA)

Military command for the fight against Bolshevism in the territory of Belarus invaded by German Nazi forces during the Great Patriotic War.

It was formed according to the permission of the leader of Nazi Germany A. Hitler to implement a mobilisation in Belarus by the orders of acting general commissioner of Belarus C. von Gottberg dated February 23, 1944, and President of the Belarusian Central Council (Rada) (BCC, BCR) R. K. Astrowski dated March 6, 1944. The Main Command (led by major F. V. Kushaĺ) headed the BHD (BKA) and controlled the BHD akruga branches.

The basis of the BHD was a forcibly mobilised male population born in 1908–1924. In total, about 25,000 people from whom it was planned to form 48 battalions (450–500 people each) were mobilised. By mid-April 1944, 36 infantry and 6 sapper battalions had been formed. Officers and non-commissioned officers (junior commanders) of the BHD were trained at 3‑week courses in Minsk, and privates, at their military service stations. On March 25, 1944, the insignia of grades and ranks were introduced for officers, i.e. lieutenant, senior lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel; for non-commissioned officers, i.e. main patrolman (department commander), and platoon leader (platoon commander).

The main goal which was conducted in cooperation with the police authorities locally of the BHD was to fight against Soviet partisans.

The majority of the population was hostile to mobilisation to the BHD. The formed battalions fell short of the invaders’ expectations. Many of them were used to protect warehouses and other economic purposes. Under the influence of the partisans and underground workers’ propaganda and the combat actions of the Red Army. There was a mass desertion of BHD soldiers and their defection under arms to partisans.

After the liberation of the territory of Belarus from the German Nazi invaders in July 1944, the BHD leaders, along with part of the personnel, found themselves in Germany where under the leadership of the SS and the Ministry of Eastern Territories they began to organise the so-called Belarusian Army. At the end of 1944, the military department of the BCC was reorganised into the Main Directorate of Military Affairs headed by K. B. Jezavitaw who was promoted the rank of major general. Staffed mainly by personnel from the Minsk BHD school which was evacuated to Germany along with its teachers, the 1st Belarusian Training Battalion was formed in October 1944 to train officers and non-commissioned officers. According to the Order of the Main Directorate of Military Affairs dated January 8, 1945, a ‘Special Reserve Group’ was formed to become part of the ‘Belarusian Army Reserve’. It included former policemen who had fled to Germany, personnel of the Belarusian Corps of Self-Defence, units of the Belarusian SS, SD, Order Police, forest guards, special groups for fight against partisans, etc. Thus, BHD battalions were formed in Germany mainly from those persons who opposed the Soviet regime and got off punishment there. According to the Order of Reichsführer SS H. Himmler dated January 25, 1945, the Main Directorate of Military Affairs formed the 1st Belarusian Grenadier Brigade named ‘Bielarus’. It included a part of the BHD former military personnel, the rest were assigned to the 30th Grenadier Division of the SS ‘Bielarus № 1’ which was captured by the Americans.