Live and Remember.Stalag Camp For Soviet Pows No. 352 (“Forest Camp”, Masiukovshchina)
The article examines the history of the creation and functioning of Stalag Prisoner of War Camp No. 352, investigates the functioning of the infirmary of “Forest Camp” No. 352. The structure of the infirmary and its geographical location are determined.The purpose of the work is to systematize archival and individual documentary materials for Stalag No. 352.Material and methods. The study was prepared on the basis of national historiography, archival documents of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation, materials from the funds of the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War, which reveal the peculiarities of the functioning of Stalag Prisoner of War Camp No. 352 (camp location, internal regime of detention, security issues, medical care for Soviet prisoners of war). The methodological basis is the historical-objective method, principles of objectivity, consistency, the author’s generalizations.Findings and their discussion. Stalag 352 included the City part (Pushkin barracks), the Forest camp (Masiukovshchina), the Rollbahn camp, and also had 23 branches and more than 90 stations at the disposal of the Central Railway Directorate. Since 16.09.1943, Stalag 337 in Baranovichi also became a branch of Stalag 352. The entire territory of the camp was subdivided into several zones. From the very beginning of the functioning of the Forest Camp, a camp infirmary was organized in the building of the pre-war three-storey brick barracks. Later, next to the brick barracks, wooden infirmary barracks were built for infectious patients. After the completion of their construction and until the liberation of Minsk in July 1944, the infirmary of Forest Camp was housed in a 3-storey brick barracks, according to the documents it was “building (barracks) No. 18” and in 7 wooden one-storey barracks No. 11-17.Conclusion. The deployment of camps in the occupied territory of Belarus was determined by the location of the front line, the availability of infrastructure for creating a stationary camp, and railways. The camps were located in various administrative zones and were built according to standard designs or existing buildings were used. The administrative apparatus of the camp management not only carried out the directives of the higher leadership, but also had the right to rule-making. The detention mode was determined by the type of camp, the type of forced labor, the prisoners’ category and many subjective factors. To maintain discipline and order in the camps, an internal (camp police from among prisoners of war) and external guards (security battalions) were created.