The epic drama of the defeat of the Western Front in June 1941 became a textbook example after the war, along with the defeat of Samsonov's army in Prussia in 1914. Already on June 28, the Germans occupied Minsk. In two boilers near Volkovysk and Minsk, divisions from the 3rd, 4th and 10th Soviet armies were surrounded, 11 rifle, 6 tank, 4 motorized and 2 cavalry divisions were destroyed. The total losses in dead, missing and captured exceeded 300,000 people. The commander of the district, Colonel General D. G. Pavlov, paid for this with his life and was shot, along with him a number of senior officers of the district headquarters, several commanders and army commanders shared his fate. The commander of the Air Force of the district, Major General I. I. Kopets, most likely, would have repeated their fate, but he made his choice on June 22. Upon learning of the losses suffered by aviation, the general shot himself.

The entire Red Army of the 1941 model was reflected in the personality of the commander of the ZAPOVO as in a drop of water. He was a commander who quickly rose to the top position due to the repression that thinned the army. But the version that he did not have sufficient training, which explained everything so easily and later served as a pretext for his execution, is not true. By making him solely responsible for what happened in June 1941, we thereby undertake to assert that another person in his place could have corrected the situation. As if the situation in which the Western Front would have withstood the blows of the Germans does not even require proof. Some especially savvy experts argue that it was enough to put the existing T-34 and KV tanks into ambushes, as General Katukov later did near Moscow, and German tanks would have burned down even before Baranovichi. But such people are perplexed by the quite reasonable question “where to organize these ambushes?”. Apparently, Pavlov should have known the exact routes of the German offensive. But he didn't know, and when he found out, it was already too late.

Before judging Pavlov, one must put oneself in his place and consider the events, taking into account the data that were at his disposal. By itself, the location of the Bialystok ledge already assumed an operation to encircle, and this, of course, Pavlov knew. The thing was that such an operation could be carried out in different ways, which presented difficulties to both the defenders and the attackers. The main thing for both of them was the question of determining the point of convergence of the advancing tank wedges. A similar operation was expected from the Germans, but at a shallow depth, with an attempt to form a pocket in the Volokovysk, Baranovichi area.

Historical events, as often happens, push forward accidents. Something similar happened in 1941 near Brest. Taught by the bitter experience of 1939, when Gudarian was already trying to capture the Polish Brest Fortress, in the 1941 campaign he planned a double detour maneuver. Figuratively speaking, fast Heinz "blew on the water", instead of throwing his tank group along the highway near Brest, he drove it into the terrain south and north of Brest, difficult for tanks. The infantry was supposed to take the fortress and storm the city. And so, having started the morning of June 22 “for health”, Gudarian ended it “for peace”. The Germans captured many bridges, but many of them were suitable for infantry and light vehicles, not for tanks. The tank group spent the whole day of June 22 fighting the terrain, trying to get out onto the highway. By the evening of June 22, many units had not yet crossed the Bug. Parts of the 3rd and 4th tank divisions of the 49th motorized corps of the Germans, which had come out on the highway, at the end of the day ran into a burned-out bridge over Mukhovets in the Bulkovo area. Gudarian was annoyed by this start, but it was this delay that played one of the key roles in the unfolding drama of the Western Front.

By the end of the day, Pavlov and his staff were assessing events and trying to develop countermeasures. Pavlov did not know everything that we know today, he was guided by intelligence data. What did he see? The first reconnaissance report from 14:00 reported that the enemy was making every effort to capture Grodno, the second from 16:15 indicated that the main efforts of enemy aircraft were noted in the Grodno-Lida sector. The evening final intelligence report from 10 p.m. contained the following data. At dawn, German units crossed the border of the USSR in the amount of up to 30-32 infantry divisions, 4-5 tank divisions, up to 2 motorized, 40 artillery regiments, about 4-5 air regiments, one airborne division. And here the scouts made a slight mistake, the forces operating against the district were determined approximately correctly, it was especially emphasized that in the zone of action of the neighbor on the right, the tank group crossed the border, whose forces were estimated at 4 tank and motorized divisions.

But a completely different picture was the distribution of these troops. So it was stated that 2 tank and 2 motorized divisions were advancing on Grodno, in fact there was only one infantry there. But already 2-3 tank formations remained automatic in other directions. Reconnaissance "found" another tank division on the southern face of the Bialystok ledge, but there were no tanks there either, only infantry reinforced with Sturmgeshuts self-propelled guns. 1-2 tank divisions remained on Brest, this was a fatal miscalculation, an underestimation of the strength of the enemy on the left flank.

There were quite objective reasons for this, the air reconnaissance of the front was weakened by the huge losses incurred during the day. One could also take into account such a criterion as the depth of penetration of enemy units and the introduction of tanks into battle. It was in the Grodno direction that such a situation was noted. In the area of ​​Brest, Gudarina brought his tanks into battle in roundabout ways and they have not yet been seen in Minsk. Later, as luck would have it, Directive No. 3 of the General Staff came, which ordered, together with the North-Western Front, to launch a counterattack on the flank of the Suvalkovsky group of Germans. This fit perfectly with what Pavlov saw, the enemy in the Grodno region represented the main danger. So the largest and most combat-ready mechanized unit of the front (6th mechanized corps) was thrown into battle near Grodno, where it was forced to ram the strong anti-tank defense of the Wehrmacht infantry divisions. But the commander did not leave the left flank unattended in this direction; infantry, 47th rifle corps, consisting of 55th, 121st and 155th rifle divisions, were brought into battle.

The saddest thing is that even on the 23rd, they were unable to understand the situation at the front headquarters, still assessing the German forces operating on the left flank as insignificant. Meanwhile, on June 23, the 2nd tank group crushed parts of Korobkov's 4th army. And in a day, its advanced tank units advanced 130 km, reaching the bend of the Shchara River. It was here that the meeting of the 55th rifle division and the German tank divisions took place. The fighting in the bend of Shchara lasted all the next day on June 24th. In stubborn battles, the division delayed a German tank rink for a day, in one of these battles the division commander, Colonel Ivanyuk, was also killed.

But that was not the point. In the battle, which took place in the early morning of June 24, the reconnaissance battalion of the 155th rifle division dispersed a motorized detachment of Germans. In one of the cars, 2 cards were found, one of them was with the applied situation. This card was immediately sent to the headquarters of the front, where it produced the effect of an exploding bomb, as if the veil had fallen from the eyes of the commander. From the situation painted on it, it was clearly visible that 3 German tank corps were operating against its left flank, one of them in the second echelon.

Then the time factor played its part. The map was captured at about 4 am on June 24, it took some time to send it to the front headquarters, as luck would have it, on June 24 it was redeployed from Minsk to Borovaya, part of the time was lost here. But even taking this into account, the first decision, taking into account the data contained on the map, was made at 15:20 on June 25, about a day and a half passed. Perhaps the commander spent them on reinsurance, the data needed to be checked, at least now it was clear where to look.

General Pavlov was not bound by any orders to "stand to the death", did not ask for a rate, waiting for its decision, already on the 4th day of the battle he gives the order to the troops to withdraw. If successful, the troops of the front could avoid the inevitable defeat. The 6th mechanized corps turned 180 degrees to attack Slonim, it was supposed to become the vanguard and the main penetrating force of the retreating troops. But by issuing this order, Pavlov eased pressure on the German flank near Grodno. A little more than 2 days remained before the connection of German tank wedges near Minsk.

The border position of Grodno determined the presence of permanent garrisons in it. Parts of the Soviet 3rd Army under the command of Lieutenant General Vasily Ivanovich Kuznetsov were stationed in the city and its environs. The army included units of the 4th Rifle Corps (27th, 56th, 85th Rifle Divisions), the 11th Mechanized Corps (29th, 33rd Tank Divisions and 204th Motorized Rifle Division), the 68th Grodno Fortified Region (9th and 10th Separate Artillery Divisions). machine-gun battalions), 11th mixed air division, 6th anti-tank artillery brigade. The border in the army zone was covered by outposts of the 86th August Frontier Detachment. The task of the army was the following - a solid defense of the Grodno fortified region and field fortifications to cover the Lida, Grodno and Bialystok directions.

For many Grodno units, the signal for the start of the war was not the orders of the command, but the howl of Junkers dive planes and bomb explosions on the territory of the units. Due to the lack of communications, command and control of troops was carried out only through communications delegates, so the quality of this command was also appropriate. The army headquarters had no contact with the front during e two days.

The 85th Rifle Division arrived in Grodno a month before the war and settled in the Sola camp. Two weeks before the start of the war, an order was received from the army commander to allocate a battalion for the construction of the 68th fortified area, i.e. e . 2 battalions remained in the regiment. The headquarters of the division was, according to the memoirs of its commander Alexander Vasilyevich Bondovsky, at Ozheshko, 22.

Grodno had military facilities of great strategic importance: the headquarters of the 3rd Army, the headquarters of the 4th Rifle Corps, the headquarters of a division, fuel, ammunition and explosives depots, railway and city bridges across the Neman. 3-4 km west and south of the city were the camps of Folush and Soly, as well as barracks near the Grodno station.

The sudden appearance of the bombers and the intensive bombardment of the station and headquarters caused panic among the population. One of the bombs hit the barracks - even before the order to leave the city, the first dead and wounded appeared. Participants in the battles noted that the Germans did not bomb the warehouses, apparently , knowing about the large stocks, they wanted to keep them safe. The anti-aircraft gunners showed themselves excellently - the division under the command of Captain Gombolevsky on the first day shot down 5 enemy aircraft on its site. His pre-war training had an effect, in which the captain ordered a drill to be announced if even Soviet aircraft were found in the camp area.

The 141st and 103rd rifle regiments took up defensive positions in the Lososna-Kolbasino sector, and in the evening a downed pilot was brought to the division's checkpoint. It turned out to be Major Leman, who behaved very defiantly and was interested in how far the German units had advanced. He said that at one time he graduated from a flight school in Engels. During the inspection, it was found that there was a civilian suit under the flight uniform.

By the evening of June 22, under enemy attacks, the 56th Infantry Division began to retreat. It became pointless to hold the city, which gradually found itself behind enemy lines, especially since the threat of capturing the crossings in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bMostov and Lunno loomed. The retreat of units of the 85th division began. Parts left in the direction of the Svisloch River. To delay the enemy as much as possible, it was ordered to blow up bridges and warehouses in the southern and northern parts of the city. June 23 at 0hours 30 minutes followed by a series of explosions on the Neman River and warehouses. The city seemed to be bouncing. A huge flame engulfed its southwestern part. Here is how the commander of the sapper platoon of the 103rd Infantry Regiment, Junior Lieutenant V.A. Ivanov, spoke about this: “When it got dark, very strong explosions occurred on the Neman River. They were of such strength, although distant from us, that those who stood on their feet were thrown to the ground. At that moment I was kneeling in a roadside ditch. We were 5-6 km from the place of the explosion.”

A depressing picture was seen by the retreating troops on the Grodno-Svisloch road: the road was lined with wrecked vehicles of the automobile battalion. Successfully and without losses, a field bakery left Grodno and, having settled down in a ravine, smoked with ovens, starting baking bread. Considering himself safe in the ravine, the commander did not pay attention to good landmarks in the form of a factory chimney to the right and a grove on the river bank. A few hours later, the fighters leaving Grodno observed traces of a brutal bombardment at the location of the bakery.

Thus, on the second day of the war, the division suffered heavy losses. There was a difficult situation with all kinds of supplies. On June 23, neither tanks nor infantry of the Nazis appeared in front of the positions of the division, but Luftwaffe attack aircraft hung over them all day and night. According to A.V. Bondovsky, according to the intensity of the bombing, it could be assumed that the Germans knew who and what they were bombing.

On the evening of June 23, the division received an order to counterattack on Grodno. The task was complicated by the fact that there were large expanses of open country around the city, and only the city itself had a small forest area. And the road was mostly profiled and there was no way to get off it and take cover in case of a raid on the march.

Traffic on Grodno began at 9.30 on June 24. When approaching a height of 175.5, which is near the village of Kolpaki, a command was issued to move the quad installation of Maxim machine guns to the head of the column. Soon after that, a German Junkers appeared from the direction of Lunno, passed at an altitude of 300-400 meters and, having received a queue in the cockpit area, sat down in front of the outpost. Major Zavarin left in the direction of the landing of the aircraft and, returning with the documents and weapons of the crew, reported that both pilots were killed, the shooter was mortally wounded in the head, and the pilot, while carrying his body to the airfield, was mortally wounded by anti-aircraft guns. But he was able to land the plane and signal for landing. A few minutes later, nine attack aircraft appeared from Grodno, later they were replaced by Me-109 fighters, then Junkers again. This went on for nine and a half hours, from 13:00 to 22:30. Storm O VCs were replaced by bombings and vice versa. And if people somehow managed to get out of the way, then the guns, cars and horses suffered very badly. The columns were pressed to the ground and before dark they could not fulfill the commander's order to reach the Koshevniki-Gibulichi line.

For further advancement, it was necessary to find out if there was an enemy in the Neman valley, because. no battle sounds were heard on the right side. To solve this problem, from the fighters di V Izii formed a combined cavalry reconnaissance detachment. And at 4 o'clock on June 25, Major Danilyuk reported on the emergency. At the time when the detachment was lined up by the group commander, senior lieutenant Bezmaternykh, the deputy head of the special department, senior lieutenant Zhrakov, appeared in front of the formation and killed Bezmaternykh with an unexpected shot from a pistol. This was followed by confusion, and then a shot rang out, with which Zhrakov himself was killed point-blank by one of the fighters.

In the meantime, units reached the city line. A participant in the battle on June 25, Lieutenant A.G. Goncharov, recalled the tragic death of a unit north of the Sola camp: “German tanks pinned the retreating unit to the Neman River near the destroyed bridge and forced them to swim across. Only a few crossed the river. Perhaps they were units from the 29th Panzer Division.”

The offensive went on until 10 p.m., the units separately held on to the outskirts of the city. At this time, the commander of the regiment Karavashkin reported: “At the cost of heavy losses, the regiment completed the offensive by night, capturing the shooting range and the redoubts of the old fortress.” However, without the support of other units and, most importantly, aviation, General Bondovsky ordered a retreat to the line of the Svisloch River. At night, for 2–3 hours, a 12–15 km throw was made.

When the division retreated a second time to the Svisloch River, the units occupied their former defensive areas. After that, the bridge on the river was destroyed. In the evening, with the onset of darkness, the Germans appeared on the opposite bank. Having discovered the destroyed bridge, they freely settled down without protection, not suspecting that 100 meters from them, along the edge of the grove, behind a brick wall, was the front line of defense. Thanks to the wall, the fighters got as close as possible to the enemy and attacked. During the battle, an order was received to withdraw to the line of the river. Russia.

What was Grodno like during the war and immediately after liberation? How did you meet May 9th? On Victory Day, TUT.BY looked through the virtual albums of the oldgrodno.by project and looked at how the city lived (and survived) during the German occupation and how it met the Soviet troops in 1944. And in old photographs you can see how the townspeople dressed in wartime and how the streets familiar to us looked like, which, after the bombing, lay in ruins for a long time.

The Germans on the captured Stary Bridge. Photo: oldgrodno.by

Soviet troops liberated Grodno for several days. From July 16 to July 24, 1944, fierce battles were going on in the city. There was almost a year left before the victorious May 9, 1945. Grodno was one of the first Belarusian cities to take on the blows of German aircraft.

They started bombing it already in the morning of June 22, 1941. From 4:00 to 8:00 there are six German air raids, each with 30 to 60 aircraft. A day later, Soviet troops left the city, and on June 24, troops of the Third Reich entered the city.

The Germans photographed Grodno a lot. The first photographs that have survived to this day were taken on July 9th. Photographed the Old Bridge. They even made a movie.

Heinrich Himmler arrived in captured Grodno on June 30, 1941, as evidenced by the photo chronicle. And the Italian newspaper Vittoria in July 1941 wrote about the destruction of the monument to Stalin in front of the building of the Pedagogical Institute on Ozheshko Street.

There are photos even in color. They show dilapidated Grodno and German military equipment. In addition to the general plans of the city, photographed by the Germans, personal photographs have also been preserved in the archives of the townspeople who survived the occupation.

For example, there is a photograph of four girls (and in the background there are also two gentlemen who tried to “spoil” the picture for their girlfriends. The guys peek out mischievously from behind the bushes). The exact date of the photo is not known. Most likely, it was also made during the German occupation, that is, before the summer of 1944.

Surprisingly, at the place where exhibitions of modern military equipment are now held, German equipment stood during the occupation.

The Germans also photographed the Grodno ghetto, which was located in the very center of the city and was liquidated in 1943.

There are very few post-war photographs of the city. There are only a few photographs preserved in the archives, which show how the locals meet the Soviet troops.

Or 1945. The photo shows a Soviet soldier with two children. Behind him is the so-called "Devil's Bridge", which was located behind the house of Eliza Ozheshko. It was demolished in the 60s.

In 1946 Grodno was still in ruins. This is already evidenced by the Soviet photo chronicle.

Rebuilding the city began only in the early 1950s.

This is largely due to its geographical location. From the 12th century to the present day, the city has always been a border town and has often been used as a border outpost of various state formations. In this regard, the history of the city is closely connected with the military history of the states that ruled the city.

There are no historical legends about the foundation of ancient Grodno, a city on the Neman. The city has been known since 1128 as the center of a specific principality. The annals are mentioned as Goroden, whose prince, Vsevolodko Gorodensky, was sent to the Polotsk lands by the Grand Duke of Kyiv, Mstislav Vladimirovich.

Throughout the XII century, chronicles record "the subordinate position of the Gorodensky princes in relation to Kyiv". Mentions of the Gorodensky princes Vsevolodkovich are found in Russian chronicles until 1183, after which the news of the Gorodensky princedom disappears from these sources.

In the XII-XIV centuries, Grodno was the capital of the Grodno specific principality and, starting from the first half of the XII century, was an important cultural, commercial and industrial center of the so-called. Black Rus'. The border status of the city led to special attention to its fortifications. Already in the XII century, stone fortifications existed here - the walls of the citadel, which was a rare occurrence in then Rus'. The Grodno school of architecture is also known, associated with the name of Peter Milonega. One of the buildings of this school is the Kolozha Church (XII century).

Etymology of the name Goroden

City during the time of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania

The Gorodensky principality at the time of joining the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, unlike other principalities of the Novy Novgorod land, is not mentioned as a separate possession. Probably, at that time there was no prince in Gorodnya, and the territory of the principality was ruled by the viceroy of the Grand Duke of Lithuania.

Administrative affiliation

In the first half or around the middle of the 13th century, Grodno and the Grodno Principality became part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In 1241, during the alleged reign of Yuri Glebovich, the city was ravaged by the Tatars (some authors consider the information about the ruin of Grodno by the Tatars in 1241 to be untrue). During the struggle of the Galician-Volyn princes for the lands of Upper Ponemanye, the surroundings of the city were devastated more than once by the squad of Prince Daniel of Galicia, and starting from 1284, by the troops of the Teutonic Order and the Crusaders. From 1284 until the end of the 14th century, Grodno and Grodno Castle were on one of the strategic directions of attacks of the Teutonic Order during the wars of the Order with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Around 1300, the famous David Gorodensky from the inner circle of the Grand Duke Gediminas became a castellan (headman) of the Grodno castle. Under his leadership, the city repelled all the attacks of the crusaders.

The Principality of Goroden was restored after the death of the Grand Duke Gediminas (1341), as one of the destinies of his son. Keistut handed it over to his son Paterg, who in 1365 led the defense of Goroden from the Crusaders. Since the end of the 1370s, the principality belonged to Vytautas, who was deprived of it after the defeat of Keistut in the internecine struggle with Jagiello in 1382. In 1384, the Gorodensky principality was returned to Vitovt.

Gorodensky povet

After Vytautas came to power in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania (1392), the Gorodensky principality became a direct possession of the Grand Duke and was transformed into a governorship. At the end of the XIV century, in the process of transforming the former specific principalities into voivodeships, which was carried out by Vitovt, the Gorodensky district was formed.

According to the Union of Horodel concluded in 1413, Lithuania introduced the same administrative division as Poland (in connection with which the positions of Vilna and Trok governors and castellans were established). Since 1413, the Gorodensky povet was part of the Troksky Voivodeship, which was formed from the Gorodensky and Troksky principalities, and Grodno, as the center of the Gorodensky Povet, became the povet city of the Troksky Voivodeship.

The Gorodensky Soym of 1793, on the basis of the Gorodensky district of the Troksky Voivodeship, created the Gorodensky Voivodeship with the center in Gorodnya. This voivodeship was not divided into districts. In 1795, as a result of the third partition of the Commonwealth, the eastern part of the voivodship, including the city of Grodno, was annexed to the Russian Empire.

Political events

In Grodno, the abdication of the last king of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania Stanislav II August Poniatowski took place.

urban environment

After 1576, the Polish king and Grand Duke of Lithuania Stefan Batory rebuilt Grodno Castle, also known as the Old Castle, into his own Renaissance palace (architect Skoto).

In the XVI-XVII centuries, trade and crafts flourished in the city. After the unification of the Orthodox and Catholic churches in the Unia, the monastic orders of the Jesuits, Carmelites and Brigittes settled in Grodno. By the end of the 18th century, there were 9 churches and 2 Uniate monasteries in the city.

1650-1740s - the time of economic decline in the development of the city, which was the result of devastating wars and the deepening of feudal-serfdom relations in the Commonwealth. During the war between Russia and the Commonwealth of 1654-1667, the city was captured by Russian troops in 1655-1657, and during the Swedish-Polish war of 1655-1660 - by Swedish troops. Great damage to the city was caused by fires,, and 1782.

In the second half of the 18th century, the cultural and economic revival of Grodno began. In the years 1770-1780, the headman of Grodno, Lithuanian yard treasurer Antony Tyzengauz founded a number of manufactories in the city and its environs: cloth, linen, weapons, hosiery, carriage, etc. He also opened the first theater in the city. From 1781 to 1781 there was a medical school in Grodno, and from 1781 - a district school, in which gentry from all of what was then Eastern Lithuania studied.

Grodno within the Russian Empire

Dominican monastery. 19th century

But not the entire population of Grodno supported the French who arrived. Many of them were evacuated along with the retreat of the Russian army, and those who remained fought the French. The activity of the first female officer in Russia N.A. Durova, who served in Grodno in the Lithuanian Lancers Regiment, and distinguished herself in the battle near Mir in 1812, is connected with the city.

In December 1812, a detachment of partisans Denis Davydov took Grodno. The Gorodno priest, who glorified Napoleon more than others, was punished by Davydov to make a speech praising the Russian emperor, Prince Kutuzov, the Russian people with a curse on Napoleon and his army.

On the Orthodox necropolis of Grodno, on the street. Antonov, was buried Russian general, hero of the Napoleonic wars, Lanskoy Sergey Nikolaevich, who fell in the battle of Craon in France in 1814.

After strengthening the positions of the Russian Empire in Europe, a wave of cultural and religious propaganda of its achievements began. In the 19th century, there was a tendency in the city to Russify and discriminate against local "Poles", that is, Polish-speaking Lithuanians and Belarusians, as well as to strengthen the positions of the Orthodox Church. One of the churches (the so-called Fara Vitovt) was turned into the Orthodox St. Sophia Cathedral, the Bernardine monastery, founded in 1621 - into the Borisoglebsky male monastery, the Uniate convent of the Basilians (founded in 1633) - into the Nativity of the Theotokos convent. Of all the Catholic monasteries, two were left: the Franciscan male and Brigid female.

Grodno in the era of the First World War, Russian Civil and Soviet-Polish Wars

The blown up railway bridge over the Neman (1915)

Immediately after the start of the Great Patriotic War, Grodno was captured by the troops of Nazi Germany (on the night of June 22-23, 1941). Having occupied the city, the Nazis established a brutal occupation regime. About 33 thousand people were killed and tortured to death in the death camp near Folush. The city's Jews were herded into the ghetto, and approximately 30,000 of them were killed. Grodno was the center of the partisan movement and the underground movement, about 17 thousand partisans operated in the region. According to incomplete data, in 3 years partisans and sabotage groups destroyed more than 62 thousand Nazi soldiers and officers, 139 tanks, blew up more than 1 thousand echelons with cargo and manpower of the enemy.

During the Vilnius and Bialystok operations of 1944, the city was liberated by the troops of the 3rd Belorussian Front (July 16). During the liberation of the city, on July 16, the highway bridge across the Neman was blown up by German troops.

Since September 1944, Grodno has been the center of the Grodno region of the Byelorussian SSR. Although the city was badly damaged as a result of the war, most of the city's attractions have been preserved. However, after the war, many historical buildings were demolished, for example, in 1961 a 14th-century church (Fara Vitovta) was blown up, the Bernardine convent was dismantled, on the site of which the building of the regional drama theater was erected in 1977-1984, and a number of other attractions. The plans for the reconstruction of the city, which were adopted in the 1960s, included the complete demolition of some historical quarters, but they were not destined to come true.

The rapid restoration of the industry destroyed by the Nazis and the active construction of infrastructure (including sewerage) contributed to the development of the city. The population of the city reached the pre-war level only in the mid-1950s. During this period, the city began to turn into a major center of industry in the west of the BSSR, the number of inhabitants by 1988 increased 5 times compared to 1939.

On October 30, 1949, the highway bridge across the Neman was restored. In 1971, a new bridge was built across the Neman, connecting Popovich and Vesennyaya streets, in 1987 - the Rumlevsky bridge.

Since 1991, the city has been part of the Republic of Belarus. Today it is a city rich in historical, architectural and cultural monuments. Since 2003, within the framework of the program for the improvement of Belarusian cities, active work has begun to restore the historical appearance of the city. The botanical garden and the so-called. "Swiss Valley" in the park. Zhelibera, the Kolozhsky Park was renovated, in 2006 the reconstruction of the central (Soviet) city square, the pedestrian Sovetskaya Street and other objects was completed, the reconstruction of castles and the Kolozhskaya Church is planned, however, several old buildings were unreasonably demolished. In 2008, the reconstruction of the Old Bridge across the Neman River was completed. The issue of restoring the facade of the town hall and Farah Vitovt is being discussed.

Notes

1. The oldest chronicle form of the name; the position of the accent is unknown.
2. , p. 4
3. Gardzeev, Yury, "Garodnya", Vyalikae Principality of Lithuania, vol. volume 1, pp. S. 514
4. Gostev, A. P. The date of the establishment of Grodno as a historical and regional problem (Belarusian) (September 17, 2007).
5. Nazarenko A.V. Gorodensky principality and Gorodensky princes in the XII century .. - M .: Eastern literature, 2000. - P. 169-188.
6. Narel Dz., Pivavarchyk S. Invisible creep. - Grodna, 2004.
7. According to p. 9, annalistic entry in Rus. Goroden in Belarusian pronunciation it becomes Goradzen.
8. , p. 12
9. Nasevich, Vyachaslav, "Garadzen principalities", Vyalikae Principality of Lithuania, vol. volume 1, pp. S. 496
10. Gostsev A. P., Shved V. V. Cronan. Letapis of the city on the Neman (1116-1990). - Grodna: Parchment, 1993.
11. Pazdnyakov, Valeriy, "Garadzenskaya vaivodstva", Vyalikae Principality of Lithuania, vol. volume 1, pp. S. 496
12. // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron: In 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - St. Petersburg. , 1890-1907.
13. Syonnya - zen of ўzyadnannya
14. Foreword // Katyn. Prisoners of an undeclared war / under the general editorship of A. N. Yakovlev; editorial board: R. G. Pikhoya, A. Geishtor, compilers: N. S. Lebedeva, N. A. Petrosova, B. Voshchinsky, V. Matersky. - M ., 1999. - 608 p. -

GRODNO, March 23 - Sputnik, Inna Grishuk. Every year in mid-March, Grodno remembers a black date in the history of the city. 75 years ago, in German-occupied Grodno, half of the inhabitants, the entire Jewish population, were killed and sent to death camps.

Those years were remembered for brutal murders, bloody massacres and two ghettos in the very heart of Grodno, where Grodno Jews were expected to be sent to death camps and crematoria in inhuman conditions.

Half of the inhabitants were Jews

At the time of the arrival of the Germans, about 30 thousand Jews lived in Grodno - half of the entire population. Many have heard a lot about the German ideology.

“The Jews who fled from occupied Poland in 1939 said that the Germans were creating a ghetto to exterminate the Jews. They passed through Grodno in large groups and moved east,” says historian Boris Kvyatkovsky, whose father visited the Grodno ghetto, then Auschwitz, miraculously survived but lost his first family.

Poorly educated people did not take all this seriously. By the beginning of the war, the Jewish population consisted of women, children, the elderly, and men of non-military age who knew little about politics and refused to believe in monstrous things.

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“There was no one to explain to people what awaits them with the arrival of the Germans,” says Kvyatkovsky.

Young people were taken into the Polish or Soviet army, and the most active people in political parties were killed or sent to prison.

According to him, the majority believed that the Germans did not fight civilians. This stereotype has remained since the First World War. This conviction was reinforced by the rumors that the Germans started at first: perhaps the Jews would be sent to work.

Two ghettos

Already in the autumn of 1941, two ghettos were created in Grodno, into which all Jews from Grodno and the surrounding villages were resettled. Ghetto No. 1 was set up around the synagogue and in the area of ​​modern Bolshaya Troitskaya Street, resettling local Poles and Belarusians from their homes.

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Ghetto No. 2 was located in the area of ​​​​modern Antonova Street not far from the bus station. Approximately 10,000 Jews were resettled here, mostly women, children, all disabled. They occupied all the basements, shacks, attics.

“It was the densest area of ​​​​residence. The Germans created such crowding. People lay on the floor, often sat shoulder to shoulder, afraid to turn around so as not to disturb the neighbor’s sleep,” the interlocutor cites the recollections of eyewitnesses.

They said that the disease never broke out. Local doctors did everything possible to conduct health education, to help those who fell ill.

"Couldn't admit that brother"

A number of people recalled that schools were working, there was a library. A number of enterprises for the production of soap, starch, syrup even arose. There were sewing and shoe workshops, in which, by order of the Germans, clothes and shoes were repaired for the needs of the Wehrmacht.

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The Jews soon surrounded both ghettos with a two-meter fence and barbed wire.

Boris Maksovich recalls that during the construction of such a fence, the Germans, without trial or investigation, shot his own uncle in front of his father.

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My father and uncle dug holes for the fence posts. The escort constantly bullied his uncle, called names, covered the hard-dug earth with his boots. The uncle could not stand it and smashed the skull of the German with a shovel. He was shot on the spot.

“Father could not do anything. Moreover, to admit that this is his brother, they could also be shot for this. With great difficulty, he only asked for permission to bury the body,” says Kvyatkovsky.

The interlocutor recalls that his father was sent to Auschwitz on one of the last trains and miraculously survived, being in the hospital. A man in peacetime spoke little about that period. Boris Maksovich himself has not yet decided to go to Auschwitz - it is too hard emotionally.

Death for the Bukhara carpet

In those days, the killing of Jews was considered something ordinary. Actions of intimidation were constantly taking place so that people would not even have the thought of resistance. A Jew could be shot right on the street just because he looked at a German soldier or officer the wrong way.

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“Many were so shocked that someone was beaten to a pulp or killed that they simply lost their will, even strong men,” Kwiatkowski says.

For example, during the operation of the ghetto, the commandant of the ghetto, Vize, demanded that the Jews give him a Bukhara carpet, which they allegedly had.

The rabbi, teachers, doctors and other authoritative people were taken hostage. They threatened to be shot. The Jews did not find the carpet, someone said that the Catholic ministers in the city have such a carpet.

“It was possible to go beyond the barbed wire that surrounded the ghetto. The question is where? The occupiers hung announcements on all pillars with the text of the decree, according to which it was forbidden to help Jews with clothes, food and other support. The only punishment was death,” — Kwiatkowski says.

But life forced people to go beyond the wire - in search of food, medicine, which were smuggled into the ghetto. If the Germans discovered it, then death awaited the offender.

"Raspberries" and trains of death

From the end of 1942, an operation began to liquidate both ghettos. Kvyatkovsky clarifies that there were no major actions to exterminate Jews in Grodno.

“Because they didn’t want to spoil these lands - they had to become part of East Prussia,” the source explains.

Several thousand prisoners were herded into boxcars and sent to camps. They were on the road for about three days, no one gave them food and water.

The Grodno synagogue, which now houses the museum of the history of the Grodno ghetto, was a collection point for Jews. From there they were led in large columns to the "death trains" that took them to Auschwitz and Treblinka. Usually people didn't come back from there.

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Many prisoners, realizing this, hid from the Germans, built hiding places - the so-called "raspberries". But most of them were found or caught in the city. The fugitives were shot on the spot, often using explosive bullets that mutilated the bodies beyond recognition. Usually, after such reprisals, dozens of bodies of ghetto prisoners lay for days on the streets of Grodno in snow red with blood.

Ice suit

Few managed to escape, none of them survived to this day. People managed to escape or jump out of a moving train, and then not run into the Germans or the local population. There were cases when ordinary people gave Jews to the Nazis in exchange for sugar or other products.

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Grodno resident Grigory Khosid jumped out of the car, which was going to Treblinka. A 17-year-old guy made his way through snowy fields and forests for a long time to the Belsky partisan detachment in the Novogrudok region.

Once he almost died: the Polish youth saw Hoshid and pushed him into a river that was not covered with ice. They wanted to kill him, but they decided that he would die on his own. An hour later, the clothes turned into an ice suit, but the guy forced himself to run for a long time so as not to freeze. Good physical fitness and the habit of tempering and swimming in cold water, which he had been instilled in childhood, helped out.

500 days in the basement

The most famous in Grodno is the story of the rescue of 15-year-old Felix Zandman, who later became a world-famous scientist and engineer.

“The boy dreamed of getting rid of what was happening. But in his father, who was broken by the horrors of the ghetto, he could not find help. His maternal uncle turned out to be such a support,” explains Kvyatkovsky.

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When the column of Jews was led to board the cars, Felix and his uncle managed to escape. They reached a house in the village of Lososno. The Puchalski family lived there, who, having five children, already hid three Jews in the basement.

The hostess said: "God himself sent you to us. We know how hard it is in the ghetto."

Over the course of a few nights, the family expanded and deepened the basement. Only one person could lie there. The rest were squatting. For several months they could not wash. Only on the darkest nights did they go out to get some fresh air.

The hardest part was feeding them. Pukhalskaya explained to her neighbors that she was selling so much food from them.

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The March of Remembrance commemorated the "Righteous of the World" - people such as the Puchalski family, who, under the threat of death, helped Jews who fled from the ghetto and hid them.

There was a case when the fugitives almost died. The Germans went around all the houses with a dog, checked if there were hidden people - in the underground, behind a double wall. The girl took the tobacco that had been cut and dried on the newspaper and, as if by accident, stumbled and spilled it on the rug lying on the basement hatch. The dog lost his scent and did not bark.

Now in Grodno every year there is a "March of Remembrance", during which all the victims of the Holocaust, as well as the dead inhabitants of the Grodno ghetto, are remembered. On Zamkova Street, at the entrance to ghetto No. 1, a memorial plaque was erected in memory of the 29,000 Jews who died in the ghetto.