Valyantsin Taras: The truth about partisan war is not complete :: Charter'97 :: News

Hollywood film director Edward Zwick makes the movie about the partisan activities of the group of Tuvia Belsky in Nalibokskaya Puscha during the Second World War. The part of Belsky is to be performed by Daniel Craig famous for his part of super spy James Bond .But the attitude of Belarusians to Edward Zwick’s idea is ambiguous. There is information that Belsky’s regiment activities were intercepted with armed fights with the local population who confronted robberies occasionally committed by partisans of Valyantsin Taras former partisan , the war veteran and writer, agreed to express his point of view on the subject to the Charter’97 press-service.

“I personally do not know much about Belsky as I was in another partisan group in the Chkalov’s brigade which acted in the Valozhin District .But I admit that he was a tough man of the “Stalin’s” times”, the writer supposes.

According to Valyantsin Taras the truth about partisan war has not been complete, yet. ”In extremely hard conditions of the partisan war times the negative facts happened. The partisans themselves were afraid of the special punishment units to say nothing of the local population. The incidents with the local population used to happen almost in every partisan regiment.” the former partisan recalls.

“Certainly there were the people and commanders who had joint partisans voluntarily for struggling with the invaders. People were fighting. The Belarusian rear was a true hell got the fascists. But I used to say that the real dead was committed by the Belarusian rural people who were robbed by fascists, “politsays”, and partisans. The rural population who could hardly make the two ends meet was also feeding the three hundred thousands partisan army”, Valyantsin Taras points out.

The writer is not going to give his appraisal of the Hollywood film about the partisan activities of the group of Tuvia Belsky without reading the scenario but expresses his worries on the subject. “I am afraid that being not completely aware of the war, of the realities of the occupied territory the Americans may create another “klukva”. It may happen to become another spectacular legend about the fighter for people’s liberty. If it is another heroic and romantic treatment of those events then I will greatly doubt its value”, Valyantsin Taras expressed his opinion.