Belarus lost a quarter of its pre-war population, including most of its intellectual elite and 90% of the country’s Jewish population. Altogether, between 2,230,000 to 3.0 million people were killed in Belarus during the three years of German occupation.

The Nazis imposed a brutal regime, deporting to Germany some 380,000 young people for slave labour, and killing hundreds of thousands of civilians more. At least 5,295 Belarusian settlements were destroyed and their inhabitants killed. More than 209 cities and towns (out of 270 total) were destroyed. 629 villages were flattened with their entire population.

Himmler had pronounced a plan according to which 3/4 of Belarusian population was designated for "eradication" and 1/4 of racially cleaner population (blue eyes, light hair) would be allowed to serve Germans as slaves.

Minsk was the site of one of the largest Nazi-run ghettos in World War II, the Minsk Ghetto, second largest in the Soviet Union after Lviv, which held over 100,000 Jews. A living space of 1.5 square meters was allotted for each person, with none for children. As new Jews were brought to the ghetto from the west, the existing Jewish residents were slaughtered - about 7,000 Jews were killed on November 7 and about 12,000 on 20 November, 1941.

The destruction of a ghetto was planned in advance and carried out as a carefully prepared operation. Usually it was done in two stages.

First, young and strong men were selected and led out of the ghetto under the pretense that they were completing some kind of a job. Then they were forced to dig a ditch and were killed. That is how the ghettos were rid of people who were ready and able to resist. This included former Communist Party of Belarus, Soviet and Komsomol workers, or simply healthy men, and sometimes women.

The Germans carried out the first killings by exerting force, using experienced guards and all necessary precautions (in Homel, Mozyrz, Kalinkowicze, Korma). The Belarusian police took on a secondary role in the first stage of the killings.

The rest of the Jews were crushed and deprived of the will to live - women, children, and the elderly - was killed with the Nazis’ bare hands (in Dobrush, Chechersk, Żytkowicze). After a while, police, composed of locals, and a minimal convoy, led these remaining Jews out of the ghetto to their place of death.

Such a tactic was successful (without much exertion of force) in places where the liquidation of Jews was carried out early September, October–November 1941. In winter 1942, a different tactic of killing was used - raids (in Zhlobin, Petryków, Streshin, Chechersk).

The role of Belarusian Auxiliary Police in killing Jews became particularly noticeable during the second wave of destruction, starting in February–March 1942. By that time, it had been converted into a more organized force, while the Germans, experienced a greater need for a personal cadre of executioners, as more people were needed at the Eastern Front. During the process of an action, local police forced Jews out of their homes, convoyed them to a specific place, surrounded them with guns, and pulled the triggers. After the mass shooting, the police actively searched for the hiding Jews and were distinctive in their cruelty, compared to the Germans.

30,000 Jews were murdered over the three days in Minsk ghetto in July, 1942, and tens of thousands more were killed at other times, even as more Jews were forced into the ghetto. Only a handful survived.

Those not killed were sent into slave labor. Partisan resistance immediately began, with most famous Bielski partisans formed of Jewish volunteers operated in the region.

Minsk was re-taken by the Soviet troops on July 3, 1944 during the Operation Bagration. Altogether, 2,230,000 people were killed in Belarus during the three years of German occupation. Some recent estimates raise the number of Belarusians who perished in War to "3 million 650 thousand people, unlike the former 2.2 million. That is to say not every fourth inhabitant but almost 40% of the pre-war Belarusian population perished (considering the present-day borders of Belarus)."

Massacres

Antopal

• Berezyna , Testimony Berezino
• Khatyn Massacre
• Czausy
• Dawidgródek
• Grodno Ghetto , Testimony Grodno
• Iwie ,Testimony Ivye
• Łachwa
• Łuniniec
• Lida ,Testimony Lida ,Testimony Lyady
• Liubawiczi
• Maly Trostinets , Mały Traścianiec Extermination Camp
• Minsk Ghetto , Testimony Minsk
• Mogilev
• Motol
• Nowogródek , Testimony Novogrudok
• Obecz
• Pińsk
• Połock
• Ponary Massacre
• Słonim
• Słuck
• Szkłów
• Vitebsk Ghetto , Testimony Vitebsk
• Zdzięcioł Massacre
• Zdzięcioł Ghetto
• The Ghettos of Belarus-examples of genocide

Death Squads & Massacres

1941

• 28 September – 17 October, Pleszczenice-Bischolin-Szack (Šacak)-Bobr-Uzda (White Ruthenia) massacre (1,126 children)

1942

• 26 March – 6 April, Operation Bamberg (Hłusk, Bobrujsk; 4,396 people, including children)
• 9 – 12 May, Kliczów-Bobrujsk massacre (520 people, including children)
• Beginning of June, Słowodka-Bobrujsk massacre (1,000 people, including children)
• 15 June Borki (powiat białostocki) massacre (1,741 people, including children)
• 21 June Zbyszin massacre (1,076 people, including children)
• 25 June Timkowiczi massacre (900 people, including children)
• 26 June Studenka massacre (836 people, including children)
• 18 July, Jelsk massacre (1,000 people, including children)
• 24 July, Dereczyn massacre (town destroyed)
• 15 July – 7 August, Operation Adler (Bobrujsk, Mohylew, Berezyna; 1,381 people, including children)
• 14 – 20 August, Operation Greif (Orsza, Witebsk; 796 people, including children)
• 22 August – 21 September, Operation Sumpffieber (White Ruthenia; 10,063 people, including children)
• August, Bereźne massacre
• 22 September – 26 September, Małoryta massacre; 4,038 people, including children)
• 23 September – 3 October, Operation Blitz (Połock, Witebsk; 567 people, including children)
• 11 – 23 October, Operation Karlsbad (Orsza, Witebsk; 1,051 people, including children)
• 23 – 29 November, Operation Nürnberg (Dubrowka; 2,974 people, including children)
• 10 – 21 December, Operation Hamburg (Niemen River-Szczara River; 6,172 people, including children)
• 22 – 29 December, Operation Altona (Słonim; 1,032 people, including children)

1943

• 6 – 14 January, Operation Franz (Grodsjanka; 2,025 people, including children)
• 10 – 11 January, Operation Peter (Kliczów, Kolbcza; 1,400 people, including children)
• 18 – 23 January, Słuck-Mińsk-Czerwień massacre (825 people, including children)
• 28 January – 15 February, Operation Schneehase; Połock, Rossony, Krasnopole; 2,283 people, including children); 54; 37
• Until 28 January, Operation Erntefest I (Czerwień, Osipowicze; 1,228 people, including children)
• Jaanuar, Operation Eisbär (between Briańsk and Dmitriev-Lgowski)
• Until 1 February, Operation Waldwinter (Sirotino-Trudy; 1,627 people, including children)
• 8 – 26 February, Operation Hornung (Lenin, Hancewicze; 12,897 people, including children)
• Until 9 February, Operation Erntefest II (Słuck, Kopyl; 2,325 people, including children)
• 15 February – end of March, Operation Winterzauber (Oświeja, Latvian border; 3,904 people, including children)
• 22 February – 8 March, Operation Kugelblitz (Połock, Oświeja, Dryssa, Rossony; 3,780 people, including children)
• Until 19 March, Operation Nixe (Ptycz, Mikaszewicze, Pińsk; 400 people, including children)
• Until 21 March, Operation Föhn (Pińsk; 543 people, including children)
• 21 March – 2 April, Operation Donnerkeil (Połock, Witebsk; 542 people, including children)
• 1 – 9 May, Operation Draufgänger II (Rudnja and Manyly forest; 680 people, including children)
• 17 – 21 May, Operation Maigewitter (Witebsk, Suraż, Gorodok; 2,441 people, including children)
• 20 May – 23 June, Operation Cottbus (Lepel, Begomel, Uszacz; 11,796 people, including children)
• 27 May – 10 June, Operation Weichsel (Dniepr-Prypeć triangle, South-West of Homel; 4,018 people, including children)
• 13 – 16 June, Operation Ziethen (Rzeczyca; 160 people, including children)
• 25 June – 27 July, Operation Seydlitz (Owrucz-Mozyrz; 5,106 people, including children)
• 30 July, Mozyrz massacre (501 people, including children)
• Until 14 July, Operation Günther (Woloszyn, Lagoisk; 3,993 people, including children)
• 13 July – 11 August, Operation Hermann (Iwie, Nowogródek, Woloszyn, Stołpce; 4,280 people, including children)
• 24 September – 10 October, Operation Fritz (Głębokie[disambiguation needed ]; 509 people, including children)
• 9 October – 22 October, Stary Bychów massacre (1,769 people, including children)
• 1 November – 18 November, Operation Heinrich (Rossony, Połock, Idrica; 5,452 people, including children)
• December, Spasskoje massacre (628 people, including children)
• December, Biały massacre (1,453 people, including children)
• 20 December – 1 January 1944, Operation Otto (Oświeja; 1,920 people, including children)

1944

• 14 January, Oła massacre (1,758 people, including children)
• 22 January, Baiki massacre (987 people, including children)
• 3 – 15 February, Operation Wolfsjagd (Hłusk, Bobrujsk; 467 people, including children)
• 5 – 6 February, Barycz (near Buczacz) massacre (126 people, including children)
• Until 19 February, Operation Sumpfhahn (Hłusk, Bobrujsk; 538 people, including children)
• Beginning of March, Berezyna-Bielnicz massacre (686 people, including children)
• 7 – 17 April, Operation Auerhahn (Bobrujsk; ca. 1,000 people, including children)
• 17 April – 12 May, Operation Frühlingsfest (Połock, Uszacz; 7,011 people, including children)
• 25 May – 17 June, Operation Kormoran; Wilejka, Borysów, Minsk; 7,697 people, including children)
• 2 June – 13 June, Operation Pfingsrose (Talka; 499 people, including children)
• June, Operation Pfingstausnlug (Sienno; 653 people, including children)
• June, Operation Windwirbel (Chidra; 560 people, including children)

The Ghettos of Belarus-witnesses of genocide

Baranovichi

• Berezino
• Bol'shaya Berestovitsa
• Borisov
• Byten
• Cherikov
• Derechin (Polish spelling was Dereczyn)
• Drogichin
• Dyatlavo
• Gorodishche
• Gorodeya
• Grodno
• Glusk
• Gorki
• Ivye
• Ilya 
• Kletsk
• Kozlovshchina
• Kokhanovo
• Khotenchitsy
• Kurenets
• Klimovichi
• Kobryn
• Lyady
• Lida
• Lyakhovichi
• Minsk
• Maly Trostinets
• Mozhyr
• Molchad'
• Myadel
• Nesvizh
• Novogrudok
• Orsha
• Village of Ordat'
• Peski
• Pińsk
• Plissa
• Pogost-Zagorodski
• Smilovichi
• Smorgon'
• Stolin
• Slavnoe
• Surazh
• Tolochin
• Turov
• Uzda
• Vasilishki
• Vileika
• Vitebsk
• Vishnievo
• Volkovysk
• Volozhin
• Vorob'evichi
• Voronovo
• Yanovichi
• Zheludok
• Zembin

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• Holocaust in Belorussia, 1941 - 1944
• The Minsk ghetto, 1941-1943
• The Minsk ghetto
• The Ghettos of Belarus-examples of genocide

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El Moley Rachamim Holocaust Prayer