ABSTRACT
Considerable sections of the Bielorussian population had hoped that the arrival of the Germans would improve their economic situation and lead to the establishment of an independent Bielorussian state. The Germans were also conscious of the fact that the Bielorussians’ national consciousness was weaker than that of the Ukrainians. In their estimation, the establishment of “self-government” in Bielorussia did not involve any danger of a revolt on the part of the population in order to move from illusory independence to a true one. Bielorussians served as a main reservoir of manpower for the Russian partisan movement that had begun its activities in the very first days of the German-Russian conflict. The Germans looked upon Jews as the main and fermenting force among the partisans and as a potential reservoir of manpower for them. Von Gottberg estimated that the Jews’ role in the partisan movement was of major importance and that the Jews served as the spark for that movement.
