Belarus and its inhabitants during the First World War in the light of memoirs

Abstract

During the First World War, Belarus and its inhabitants became a recurrent subject in memories and memoirs alike. The observations and attempts at the assessment of events in the nearer and further perspective undertaken on an ongoing basis since the end of the Great War are of various cognitive value. It is worth noting that their authors originated not only from the local population, but could also be newcomers from the Polish lands. For the latter, the clash with Belarusian reality and society constituted an opportunity for a number of observations, including those concerning various aspects of human existence, mentality, culture and work. The reflections contained in this article, based on subjectively selected memoirs, constitute an attempt to present the conclusions of the authors of said memoirs regarding the attitudes of the residents of Belarusian governorates, the national consciousness of Belarusians, or several aspects of their political activity during the First World War. These observations have high cognitive value, as they define the distinctive traits of the local population, and assess their behavior during the war. The study also shows that Belarus and its inhabitants did not constitute a significant issue for the authors of the memoirs analyzed. The evolution of the Belarusian national movement was discussed therein only occasionally.