Part 4/10:
During the occupation, situations turned increasingly dire for the Jewish residents of Minsk, with the establishment of one of the largest ghettos in Nazi-occupied Europe, where over 100,000 Jews were confined. Executions began almost immediately, with local German troops actively participating. The oppressors enforced a regime of terror, and by 1943, many were exterminated or deported to death camps.
The city also witnessed firearms resistance, bolstered later by the increasing number of Soviet partisans. The assassination of the German commissioner's General Kube by a young partisan became a symbol of the defiance felt by many citizens. However, acts of rebellion were often met with brutal reprisals, furthering the cycle of violence.