The Bolsheviks were able to quell antisemitism very quickly in the occupied areas, using very simple methods: any offensive remark made to a Jew (as with any other nationality) was punishable by law with up to three months in prison, and in more extreme cases – even exile to Siberia. The interesting thing is that the native Russians were highly biased against Jews, but theyhid that dislike well and only ever expressed their hatred of the “Yevreys” openly when they really trusted someone. However, Russia’s younger generation was absolutely devoid of any ethnic hatred – and young Jews did noteven realise that they were Jewish.
The outbreak of war with Germany came as more than a surprise for all of Soviet society, which was in no way prepared (for example, not a single anti-aircraft defence drill was organised). There were even anecdotes, in all likelihood true, that some Bolshevik soldiers, who already had several skirmishes under their belts, had no idea if they were fighting the Germans or the British. Despite this, […] did not cause panic in the city (except for causing queues in front of grocery shops, [3] because everyone wanted to stock up; this, after all, is routine for war). It was expected that the Germans might enter Słonim, but such was the faith in the power of the Soviet Army that people thought this would not happen for several weeks.
On the evening of 22 June, Białystok was already being bombed. The next morning saw a big raid on the huge airport in Słonim (still under construction). On 24 June 1941, the German air force attacked the city itself. The raids were aimed exclusively at destroying military targets, but as a consequence, most of the losses were suffered by civilians, and so they began to flee from Słonim in panic, heading to nearby villages. My family and I settled in the cottage of a peasant who lived about two or three kilometres from the city. We were going to return home in the evening, once the German planes stopped flying over our heads. But to our immense astonishment and dismay, about nine or ten in the morning we heard artillery fire. Our first instinct was toassume that the enemy had blown up a nearby target, and the thought never crossed o u r minds that it could be the German land forces. However, one glance at the city below us (we were on a hill) made us aware of reality. The streets were filled with fleeing Bolsheviks, striving to reach the hill to the east, where their artillery was positioned, bombarding the German artillery occupying the western hills and repaying the Reds in kind, tit for tat. Therefore, artillery shells flew over the city, but from time to time some shells would
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