ss operator grouper von gottberg himself in january 1944 was one of the first to be awarded an honoraryartisans. but neither the awards nor the cruelty of the fascists could stop the resistance of the belarusian people and the advance of the red army. september 23, 43 was the first settlement of belarus , komarin, was liberated. in december, the first regional center, gomel. the brutalized fastas resisted desperately. on the morning of april 20, 1944, not far from the village of nadozerye, plisa district, vitebsk region, the germans herded residents of surrounding villages onto a field. commander twenty. lieutenant colonel vaysik of the police regiment gave the command. the punishers began to push people out of the crowd and form groups of them. a woman, a child, young girls, an old man, a schnel, a schnel, pushing them in the back, a policeman yelled, a schnel, a schnel, pushed the frightened people onto the field, walking slowly, they moved forward, towards the forest. area, punitive units drove in front of them . during the punitive operation in plisk , civilians in groups of 15-20 p