The Belarusian resistance during World War II opposed Nazi Germany from 1941 until 1944. Belarus was one of the Soviet republics occupied during Operation Barbarossa. The term Belarusian partisans may refer to Soviet-formed irregular military groups fighting Germany, but has also been used to refer to the disparate independent groups who also fought as guerrillas at the time, including Jewish groups (such as the Bielski partisans and Fareynikte Partizaner Organisatsye), Polish groups (such as the Home Army), and nationalist Belarusian forces opposed to Germany. Pro-Soviet resistance After the victories of the Wehrmacht against the Red Army in 1941, Belarus was one of the Soviet republics that came under control of Nazi Germany (Operation Barbarossa). The official government of the occupation forces was established on August 23, 1941, under the direction of Wilhelm Kube, the German administrator of the Generalbezirk Weißruthenien. The German pacification operations were able to curb partisan activity significantly throughout the summer and fall of 1941. The Belarusian Auxiliary Police was established by the Nazis in July 1941 and deployed to murder operations particularly in February–March 1942. The resistance movement first consisted of cut-off Soviet soldiers, some civilians began joining them around the summer of 1942. From that time until the end of the year, the Central Committee of the Communist Party (Bolsheviks) of Byelorussia formed courses and offices helping those wishing to fight the Nazi Government. Already in July 1941, an underground group in the Vesnitsky village council of the Ushachsky district was created by the head of the Lesinsky outpost of the 13th Berezinsky border detachment (), Lieutenant Kudryavtsev. Underground workers established relations with the population, conducted oral campaigns among them, calling for a struggle against the invaders, and helped unite the locals. Soon it was decided to create a partisan detachment and begin an open armed struggle. The Nazis tracked down Kudryavtsev and one night surrounded the house where he was resting and killed him. The first partisan detachments were composed mostly of Red Army personnel, but also included local people. They were commanded by officers of the Red Army, the Soviet secret police NKVD or local Soviet or Communist apparatchiks. These detachments dated back to the early days of World War II: the detachment Starasyel'ski of major Dorodnykh in Zhabinka district (June 23, 1941), the detachment of Vasily Korzh in Pinsk on June 26, 1941 and others. The first awards to the partisans with