A unique case. A historian explained why the Surazh Gate is considered a phenomenon of the Great Patriotic War
In February 1942, at the junction of the flanks of the German Army Groups "Center" and "North," as a result of Red Army attacks supported by partisans, including the detachment of Minay Shmyrev, a 40-kilometer breakthrough was formed in the German front line. In military history, it was named the Surazh (or Vitebsk) Gate. This corridor, called the Road of Life, is still considered a phenomenon of the Great Patriotic War.
The first partisan detachments in the Vitebsk region were formed as early as July 1941. One of them, operating in the Surazh district (now the urban-type settlement of Surazh is part of Vitebsk), was led by the director of the Vorovsky Cardboard Factory, Minay Shmyrev. Initially, it included 25 factory workers. The people's avengers had their baptism of fire on July 25, after which they repeatedly attacked German vehicles and destroyed small groups of enemy soldiers. In September, when the detachment already numbered over a hundred people, the partisans attacked the German garrison in Surazh, after which they crossed to the right bank of the Western Dvina by ferry and disappeared into the forests.
Assessing the full danger of the partisan movement, the occupiers took drastic measures to destroy the detachment. For the head of "bandit number one," as the Hitlerites called Shmyrev, they promised a fabulous sum for those times – 50,000 marks, and in addition, a house, a land plot, a cow, and a horse. When they realized that there were no traitors willing to reveal the whereabouts of Bat'ka Minay, they decided to lure him out in another way. On October 22, 1941, they arrested his four children, whom Shmyrev had not managed to evacuate. They were held in the Surazh prison for almost four months, and then they were killed. Shmyrev carried this terrible tragedy throughout his life.
Meanwhile, new partisan detachments, reconnaissance and sabotage groups, weapons and ammunition, and medical supplies were systematically sent through the Surazh Gate into the enemy rear, and wounded partisans and civilians from the Vitebsk region were evacuated to the rear. In total, over 200,000 people were evacuated through the Surazh Gate during the 8 months of its existence.
The first partisan detachments in the Vitebsk region were formed as early as July 1941. One of them, operating in the Surazh district (now the urban-type settlement of Surazh is part of Vitebsk), was led by the director of the Vorovsky Cardboard Factory, Minay Shmyrev. Initially, it included 25 factory workers. The people's avengers had their baptism of fire on July 25, after which they repeatedly attacked German vehicles and destroyed small groups of enemy soldiers. In September, when the detachment already numbered over a hundred people, the partisans attacked the German garrison in Surazh, after which they crossed to the right bank of the Western Dvina by ferry and disappeared into the forests.
Assessing the full danger of the partisan movement, the occupiers took drastic measures to destroy the detachment. For the head of "bandit number one," as the Hitlerites called Shmyrev, they promised a fabulous sum for those times – 50,000 marks, and in addition, a house, a land plot, a cow, and a horse. When they realized that there were no traitors willing to reveal the whereabouts of Bat'ka Minay, they decided to lure him out in another way. On October 22, 1941, they arrested his four children, whom Shmyrev had not managed to evacuate. They were held in the Surazh prison for almost four months, and then they were killed. Shmyrev carried this terrible tragedy throughout his life.
Meanwhile, new partisan detachments, reconnaissance and sabotage groups, weapons and ammunition, and medical supplies were systematically sent through the Surazh Gate into the enemy rear, and wounded partisans and civilians from the Vitebsk region were evacuated to the rear. In total, over 200,000 people were evacuated through the Surazh Gate during the 8 months of its existence.