Abvernebenstelle «Minsk» in the nazi-occupied territory of Belarus: a review of historiography

Abstract

Most scientific works on the subject of the occupied territories are devoted to the heroic struggle of partisans and underground fighters, and punitive practices of the Nazis to destroy the civilian population. The problem of Hitler’s security services, whose activity led to large losses on the part of the underground movement, remained out of sight of researchers.

One of the white spots remains the problem of Abwehrnebenstelle (ANST) “Minsk” – the head unit of military counterintelligence (Abwehr) in the General District of White Ruthenia. During the occupation, employees of the Minsk branch of Abwehr participated in operations against the Minsk city party Committee; they also identified underground groups in Stalag­352 and others.

In the postwar years, for ideological reasons, the work of Hitler’s security services was not discussed in the open press. References to them served as a background for showing the heroic struggle of the underground and partisans. The situation has changed since the early 1990s.

The article presents a historiographical analysis of publications on this problem for the period from the year 1952 to the present. As a result, a number of errors were identified, discussion and other issues were highlighted, which allow to conclude that the activities of ANST “Minsk” did not become the subject of a separate scientific study. Hence, the issues to further investigation are outlined.