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Bronislav Vladislavovich Kaminski (Russian: Бронислав Каминский) (1899-1944) was the commander of the RONA (Russkaya Osvoboditelnaya Narodnaya Armiya) unit, a Russian armed force that fought against the Soviet forces in alliance with Nazi Germany and was later incorporated into the Waffen SS. Bronislaw (Bronislav) Kaminski, leader of the Bryansk-Lokot Republic. ... Bronislaw (Bronislav) Kaminski, leader of the Bryansk-Lokot Republic. ... Categories: Stub | Companies of Canada ... Waffen-SS recruitment poster: Volunteer for the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS (Arms SS) was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel (SS,Protective Squadron of the NSDAP ). Headed by Heinrich Himmler who was ranked Reichsführer-SS (Imperial Leader-SS), the Waffen-SS saw action throughout the Second World War. ...

Birth and early life

Engineer Bronislaw (also spelled Bronislav) Kaminski was born in Witebsk to a Polish father and German mother in Tsarist Russia. He fought on the side of the Red Army during the Russian civil war, then studied at a polytechnical university in St. Petersburg. He was arrested and imprisoned in 1937 for criticising Stalin's policy of collectivization. Kaminski made it out of prison in 1941 and became an engineer at a distillery in the Bryansk region of Russia, near Belarus. The short forms Red Army and RKKA refer to the Workers and Peasants Red Army, (in Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия - Raboche-Krestyanskaya Krasnaya Armiya), the armed forces first organized by the Bolsheviks during the Russian Civil War in 1918. ... The Russian Civil War was fought from 1918 to 1922. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ... Collective farming is an organizational unit in agriculture in which peasants are not paid wages, but rather receive a share of the farms net output. ... Historic coat of arms of Bryansk introduced in 1781 Bryansk fortress Bryansk (Russian: ) is a city in Russia, located 379 km south-west from Moscow. ...

Wartime

When the Nazi Germans occupied the Bryansk region during their blitzkrieg campaign Kaminski's classmate, engineer Constantine Voskoboinik (who had also been a victim of political oppression), was placed by the Germans in charge of the city Bryansk. Kaminski became Voskobonik's assistant, and the two of them immediately organized several thousand volunteers to combat the Soviet partisans who were counterattacking from the forests of Bryansk. This formation soon grew to 10,000 men and was called by them the Russian National Liberation Army (abbreviated in Russian as "RONA"). Blitzkrieg relies on close co-operation between infantry and panzers (tanks). ... Historic coat of arms of Bryansk introduced in 1781 Bryansk fortress Bryansk (Russian: ) is a city in Russia, located 379 km south-west from Moscow. ... The Soviet partisans were members anti-fascist resistance movement which fought against the occupation of the Soviet Union by Axis forces during World War II. At the end of June 1941, immediately after the Germans crossed the Soviet border, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolshevik) (see... Categories: Stub | Companies of Canada ...

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By an arrangement with the German authorities, the RONA was able to control several raions of Russia, within which they proclaimed the Lokot Republic, under a German suzerainty that was very liberal compared to anywhere else in Nazi occupied Russia. The government administration was run by Russians, the presence of Axis troops was minimal, and relations with Nazi German authorities carried on almost an allied character. Private enterprise was permitted and collective farming was abolished. Bronislav Kaminski, leader of the RONA. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Bronislav Kaminski, leader of the RONA. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... See rayon for the textile made of processed cellulose. ... The Lokot Republic (Russian: Локотская Республика) was a semi-autonomous region in Nazi occupied Russia under an all-Russian administration from 1941 to 1943. ... Suzerainty refers to a situation in which a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which allows the tributary some limited domestic autonomy but controls its foreign affairs. ...

When Constantine Voskoboinik was killed in action against the partisans, Bronislaw Kaminski was named as the head leader or "burgomeister" of the Bryansk region as well as commander of the RONA. Through his recruitment and draft he raised the RONA's ranks to 20,000 men. The Soviet partisans nicknamed him the "master of the Bryansk forests".

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The Soviets made attempts at getting Kaminski and his men to defect, with promises of an amnesty and re-enlistment. Kaminski adamantly refused, although several hundred of his men managed to desert or defect to the Soviet side. Bronislav Kaminski, commander of the RONA. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Bronislav Kaminski, commander of the RONA. This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ...

By the end of 1943, Kaminski had to evacuate to Belarus, where he set up another autonomous republic in Lepel. The Germans filled the RONA's ranks with Belarusian police, prisoners of war, and ex-convicts, then reclassified the unit into the Waffen SS as "Russian SS Division No. 1" Kaminski was promoted to SS General-Major, and was also awarded with the Iron Cross for Eastern Peoples (first class). Waffen-SS recruitment poster: Volunteer for the Waffen-SS The Waffen-SS (Arms SS) was the combat arm of the Schutzstaffel (SS,Protective Squadron of the NSDAP ). Headed by Heinrich Himmler who was ranked Reichsführer-SS (Imperial Leader-SS), the Waffen-SS saw action throughout the Second World War. ...

In 1944, Himmler asked Kaminski to assist the other SS divisions in the quelling of the Warsaw uprising. Kaminski obliged and sent about 1700 volunteers from its ranks to Warsaw. SS commander Frolov gave his men full permission to rob and pillage, which many of them did. Combatants Poland Germany Commanders Tadeusz Bór-Komorowski, Antoni Chruściel, Tadeusz Pełczyński Erich von dem Bach, Rainer Stahel, Heinz Reinefarth, [Bronislav Kaminski] Strength 50,000 troops 25,000 troops Casualties 18,000 killed, 12,000 wounded, 15,000 taken prisoner 250,000 civilians killed 10,000 killed...

The misconduct of the Warsaw group was used by Himmler as a pretext for having Kaminski and his head group of men executed after trial by court martial. The men of RONA were given a false explanation, that Kaminski had been killed by Polish partisans. When this initial explanation was rejected by Kaminski's men, the Gestapo took Kaminski's car, threw it into a ditch, shot it up with a machine gun, and smeared goose blood all over it - offering that as evidence. Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Himmler (October 7, 1900 - May 23, 1945) was the commander of the German Schutzstaffel and one of the most powerful men in Nazi Germany. ... A court-martial (plural courts-martial) is a military court that determines punishments for members of the military subject to military law. ... The Deaths Head emblem similar to Skull and crossbones, often used as the insignia of the Gestapo The (help· info) (contraction of Geheime Staatspolizei; secret state police) was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. ...

External link

• Bronislav Kaminski and the RONA