After the German and Russian invasion of Poland in 09.1939 and the start of World War II — as a result of the genocidal German–Russian agreement of 23.08.1939, known as the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, confirmed on 28.09.1939 by the dict. „Treaty on the German–Russian Borders and Friendship”, also known as the Second Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact — Ivyanets, then located in the Polish Valozhyn county, Navahrudak Voivodeship, on the northeastern border of Poland, barely 15 km west of the border with Soviet Russia, where the monastery of the Conventual Franciscans OFMConv was located and where ministered in the local parish, was occupied by the Russians. The Russian occupation began.

The Russians subjected particularly Poles to repression, arresting Polish intelligentsia, teachers, doctors, landowners, government officials, foresters, policemen, and families of Polish servicemen. At least four, and possibly six, soldiers of the Border Protection Corps KOP „Ivyanets” Battalion stationed near Ivyanets were genocidally murdered by the Russians as part of the «Katyn genocide 1940». Many other Poles became victims of four large waves of deportations „to Siberia”. Accounts often mention that „they came at night, without warning, and took away entire families, from infants to the elderly”. Within a dozen or so minutes, people lost their entire lives: „February 10, 1940, was the day I parted with what I loved. With an NKVD revolver at his head, my father signed a document stating that we would be resettled to another place out of good will and free will. I won't describe what happened during the twenty minutes we had to get together. It was Saturday and my mother had only put bread in the oven… so we didn't have that for the trip either. An NKVD officer snatched the ham from my father's den, saying that they had plenty of everything there, but not to forget the saw and axe”. „We practically didn't take anything with us, because they didn't let us move around the house […] There were large snowdrifts and heavy frost then”. In the first large deportation alone, on c. 10.02.1940, c. 140,000 Poles were deported „to Siberia”, including c. 50,000 from the area that the Russians called dict. Western Belarus, where, i.a. Ivyanets was located. In addition, 150,000‐200,000 men were conscripted into the Russian army, and c. 100,000 were forced to work for Russian industry, mainly in the mines of the Donets Basin and in heavy industry plants in the Urals and Siberia. Then began the surveillance of priests and monks. High taxes were imposed on the clergy, and religious education was removed from schools.

And it was then, prob. at the beginning of 1940, that was sent to help his co‐friar, Fr Achilles Joseph Puchała, who at the end of 1939 took over the parish of Pyarshai vacated by the previous parish priest — prob. threatened with arrest or exiled by the Russians. Pyarshai was located in the same Valozhyn county of Navahrudak Voivodeship as Ivyanets, c. 20 km to the south. Both were located on the eastern edge of a large forest complex — the Naliboki Forest, on the right bank of the Neman River, on the Belarusian Upland. The village and manor of Pyarshai in 1939 were inhabited by c. 600 people, of whom Roman Catholics constituted c. 95% of the population, and the rest — several dozen people — Orthodox. It is not clear how many of them considered themselves Poles and how many Belarusians — however, it is known that in the 1931 census in the communal centers of the Valozhyn county, c. 60,000 declared themselves Catholics, but as many as 74,000 declared Polish as their native language. If these data were to be applied to the ethnic situation of the village and manor of Pyarshai, it would mean that it was essentially a Polish villatge. The entire Roman Catholic parish, on the other hand, numbered c. 4,954 faithful in 1939, and among them were prob. many Belarusians.

It is not clear how the decision was made to go to Pyarshai. After the beginning of the Russian occupation, the ordinary of the Pinsk diocese, Bp Casimir Bukraba, was forced by the Russians — also due to heart disease and nervous depression — to leave the diocese on 15.11.1939, and begin treatment at the university clinic in Lviv. Meanwhile, his suffragan, Bp Charles Niemira, found himself in Warsaw, under German occupation, in German‐occupied and run quasi‐state called the Germ. General­gouvernement (Eng. General Governorate), i.e. GG. Perhaps Fr Witold Iwicki, later — prob. from 1940 — the vicar general of the Pinsk diocese, appealed to the Franciscan Fathers. But it is also possible that the Franciscan Fathers OFMConv from the monastery in Ivyanets responded themselves to the requests of the inhabitants of the abandoned Pyarshai parish and delegated their fellow friars.

Initially, both lived in an abandoned homestead, whose inhabitants were deported „to Siberia”‐it is unknown whether to the north, near Arkhangelsk, or perhaps east, to Kazakhstan. The sources do not specify the reason for this, but it was a standard practice of the Russian occupier to plunder church property, especially rectories and monastic houses, and allocate them to the needs of the new authorities.

The Russian occupation ended in 06.1941, after the Germans attacked on 22.06.1941 their erstwhile ally, the Russians. The German occupation began. Pyarshai and the former Valozhyn county found themselves in the Germ. Kreisgebiete (Eng. county) Vileyka in the Germ. Generalbezirk Weiß­ruthenien (Eng. General District of Belarus), part of the German‐occupied and run quasi‐state called the Germ. Reichs­kommissariat Ostland (Eng. Reich Commissariat East).

It was then, after the Russians had fled, that they prob. could have returned to the parish rectory, although they prob. had to share it with the Germ. Gendarmerie, part of the Germ. Ord­nungs­polizei (Eng. Order police), i.e. OrPo, which set up its post there.

The persecution of Poles and Jews began immediately, which was in harmony with the opinions of millions of Germans, e.g. Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, the future assassin of the leader of the German ruling National Socialist German Workers' Party, i.e. NSDAP, Adolf Hitler: „The local population is an incredible rabble, with a great many Jews and mixed–race people. A nation that clearly needs a whip to feel good. Thousands of prisoners will certainly contribute to the development of our agriculture. Germans can benefit from this, because they are diligent, hard‐working, and undemanding”.

From the beginning of 1942, the Germans implemented the genocidal plan Germ. «Endlösung der Juden­frage» (Eng. „Final Solution of the Jewish Question”). The local center of the Jewish community was the county town of Valozhyn, c. 10 km west of Pyarshai, where in 1939 c. 1,800 Jews could have lived, i.e. c. 26% of the inhabitants — the rest were c. 29% Roman Catholics, mainly Poles, and c. 42% Orthodox, mainly Belarusians, the vast majority of whom were soldiers of the KOP „Valozhyn” Battalion and their families. The outbreak of World War II meant, that i.a. „In Valozhyn, an armed group of Belarusians and Jews with red armbands took control of the city even before the Soviets arrived. They confiscated weapons from policemen, robbed shops and people's property, […] terrorized the inhabitants. After the Soviets arrived, Belarusian and Jewish saboteurs took up arms against the Polish defenders. They then formed a militia that participated in repressions against the Polish defenders of the city”. „A Polish woman, Mrs Kwiatkowska, was arrested by the Jewish Committee on her estate near Valozhyn and Vishnyeva shortly after the Soviet troops crossed over. De facto, the local government consisted of such groups that sprang up like mushrooms after the rain […] Mrs Kwiatkowska endured Soviet imprisonment until the end of 1949”. „In Valozhyn, a Jew who was preparing the market square for the construction of a Stalin monument detonated a large cross that stood in the way”. „At a public meeting in Valozhyn, the participants were asked to talk about their life under the Polish regime. A Jew entered the stage and, turning to face the wall, showed a hole in his torn trousers, and then said: "Our whole life under the Poles was like my trousers"”. „The Jewish style of dress in Valozhyn underwent changes that could be considered both comical and tragic. The Soviets' favorite fashion trend was high boots. The sight of prominent […] Jews walking around in high boots was depressing but also amusing for us. Most people wanted to please their new rulers. They threw away their elegant, tied shirts, symbolizing the Polish bourgeoisie [sic], and "beautified" themselves with the Soviet khaki Rus. гимнастёрка [Eng. gymnastyorka, i.e. Russian uniform blouse]”. But there were also other attitudes: „A gang of Jews and Belarusians threw stones at Father Adam Udalski in Valozhyn. To everyone's surprise, he was saved by Khona Rogowin, a Jewish communist whose family Father Udalski helped when Rogowin was imprisoned before the war for subversive activities as a communist”. „The wife of a sergeant of the Border Defense Corps in Valozhyn took refuge in the house of Jewish acquaintances after her husband's arrest on 18.09.1939”.

The attitude of the Jews towards the invading Germans is reflected in another quote: „In Valozhyn, the Jews did not want to hear any stories from refugees about German atrocities and their blood‐curdling acts against the Jews. They considered these stories Soviet propaganda. Many residents of Valozhyn had witnessed the German invasion in 1918. They assumed that the Germans of 1941 would be no different from those of 1918 […] "It is unreasonable that this cultured and organized nation could change in one generation. Why should they harm us now? People working for the Bolsheviks and those in love with them should be afraid now, but not ordinary Jews"”. And that is why „Few inhabitants of Valozhyn decided to escape with the Soviets”.

The Jewish „Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos” states that after the Germans entered Valozhyn on c. 25.06.1941, „some non‐Jews welcomed the Germans warmly, especially Poles”. The Germans immediately established Germ. Judenrat (Eng. Jewish Council). On 08.08.1941, the first Germ. Aktion (Eng. operation) took place, during which 45 Jews were murdered. In the same month, a ghetto was established, where c. 3,000 Jews were confined in 50‐60 houses, including refugees from neighboring towns and villages, such as Vishnyeva, Halshany, and Ashmyany. The collaborative Germ. Weißruthenische Hilfspolizei (Eng. Belarusian Auxiliary Police) „brutally beat every Jew trying to leave the ghetto […] The police entered the ghetto at night and beat Jews mercilessly, demanding money and valuables”. On 09.11.1941, the Germ. Judenrat was forced to select c. 200 Jews and lock them in a cinema building. From there, the Germans led the Jews out — in groups of 10 people — to the local sports field and shot everyone there. The Germ. Weißruthenische Hilfspolizei robbed the bodies, including pulling out gold teeth. The third Germ. Aktion took place on 10.05.1942. The Germans, a unit of Latvian collaborators from Vileyka, and the local Germ. Weißruthenische Hilfspolizei, drove c. 1,000 Jews to the forge, after which they were all shot in groups of 10‐20 near the cemetery. The bodies were doused with gasoline and burned. The ghetto was finally liquidated on 29.08.1942. The Germans, i.a. a local unit of the Germ. Gendarmerie, and the Germ. Weißruthenische Hilfspolizei drove c. 450 Jews into a shed and there they were murdered by machine gun fire from all sides. The shed with the corpses was set on fire. Some of the Jews managed to escape to the Naliboki Forest.

In the winter of 1942/1943 and in the spring and summer of 1943, the decisive battles of World War II took place in the east. On 18‐22.01.1943, the Russians managed to secure a strip c. 12 km wide that enabled the supply of food and weapons to besieged Sankt Petersburg (then Leningrad). On 02.02.1943, the Battle of Stalingrad ended in total German defeat. On 21.02‐18.03.1943, the Germans managed to capture Kharkov, but in the next step, they were unable to dislodge the Russians — in arguably the largest tank battle in history — from the dict. Kursk Salient. The Germans lost their strategic advantage on the front and the offensive passed into Russian hands.

During this time, continued to perform relatively normal pastoral ministry in the parish entrusted to him, defending and protecting, i.a. his parishioners from deportation to forced labor deep in Germany. Helped the families of Poles deported, including those previously deported by the Russians „to Siberia”.

At the same time, partisan units were consolidating in the Naliboki Forest. Firstly, c. 3,000 former Russian soldiers who had avoided internment by the Germans in 1941 gathered there. Secondly, Jewish units were formed, composed of escapees from ghettos and the Germ. «Endlösung der Juden­frage», under the command of the notorious Bielski brothers. Both groups cooperated, often requisitioning — many times of a robbery and banditry nature: these „economic operations” were accompanied by beatings, murders, and rapes of women — of food and other materials in the Polish villages surrounding the Naliboki Forest. I.a. on 08.05.1943, Russian partisans and a group of Jewish Bielski brothers attacked the town of Naliboki, murdering c. 128 Polish inhabitants suspected of collaborating with Polish partisans.

The Polish resistance Home Army AK, part of the Polish Clandestine State, the largest resistance movement in occupied Europe, became active — i.e. soldiers of Subdistrict V of AK „Stowbtsy” of the Inspectorate AK „Baranavichy”, which was part of the District AK „Navahrudak”. The Germans reacted by creating in 11.1942 an ad hoc special unit, named after its commander SS‐Brigadeführer Curt von Gottberg, Germ. Kampfgruppe von Gottberg (Eng. Gottberg Battle Group), which was entrusted with the task of catching Jewish escapees and fighting against partisan groups. In an operational order of 07.12.1942, von Gottberg ordered: „The task […] is to attack and destroy bandits. Every bandit, Jew, Gypsy and suspected gang member is to be treated as enemy”. According to sources, „in reality, Kampfgruppe von Gottberg almost completely depopulated entire regions of Belarus”.

On 19.06.1943, an AK unit from Subdistrict V AK „Stowbtsy” attacked Ivyanets, which in 1939 could have had c. 5,000 inhabitants, prob. 80% Poles, due to the KOP unit stationed there, and c. 1,000 Jews, who were no longer present in 1943. The AK captured the town, destroying the local German garrison. Arrested activists of the Polish Clandestine State were released from prison, 40‐150 Germans and collaborators were liquidated, a lot of weapons were captured, etc. C. 100‐200 officers of the collaborating Germ. Weißruthenische Hilfspolizei „voluntarily joined the Polish unit”.

In retaliation, the Germans murdered c. 150 inhabitants of Ivyanets, and on 13.07.1943, they began the Germ. «Unternehmen Hermann» (Eng. „Operation Hermann”). The Germ. 1. SS‐Infanteriebrigade (Eng. 1st SS Infantry Brigade) and the Germ. Kampfgruppe von Gottberg, supported by the collaborative Belarusian units Germ. Schutzmannschaft (Eng. protection groups), i.e. Schuma; Latvian, i.e. several Germ. Lettische Polizei Front Bataillon (Eng. Latvian Police Battalions); and Lithuanian and Ukrainian Schuma units; totaling c. 9,000–60,000 men, attacked the Naliboki Forest. To deprive the partisans of their support base, the Germans created a strip of „scorched earth” within a 10‐15 km radius around the forest. It also included Pyarshai.

The Germans entered Pyarshai on 19.07.1943. All the inhabitants were imprisoned.

Both priests — Franciscan Fathers OFMconv — joined them, despite the opportunity to escape. They are said to have said: «Where there are sheep, there must also be a shepherd».

Initially, it looked like the Germans intended to murder everyone on the spot, in Pyarshai. They brought gasoline canisters with them. They separated the women and men (aged 10 to 50) and herded them into two sheds.

Some witnesses reported that the Franciscans tried to negotiate with the Germans. And they must have succeeded in achieving something, because after almost two hours, after several phone calls, three officers arrived and ordered the detainees to be escorted out. Some were released, while others were driven south toward Ivyanets. Apparently, they were warned that if they attempted to escape — three brave men were supposed to be shot during such attempts — the priests would be the first to die.

A group of c. 100 people was herded 10 kilometers south, to the village of Borovikovshchina, halfway to Ivyanets.

There, everyone was herded into two barns, but the two priests were excluded.

They were prob. tortured — their eyes were allegedly gouged out, their tongues torn out, their noses, ears, and hands cut off, and finally, they were bound with wire.

Finally, according to the barn owner, who supposedly watched the events from her window, the Germans „shot one father in the back of the head, and the other in the front”.

The bodies were burned in the barn.

Several Germans were said to have dressed in bloody Franciscan habits and, upon returning to the village, blasphemously imitated the rites of Holy Mass.

Those locked in the barns were driven east the next day, towards Minsk.

In total, during the Germ. «Unternehmen Hermann» „German troops completely or partially burned down 150 villages. From 4,199 to 4,280 people were killed, mostly Polish and Belarusian civilians. Nearly 21,000 people were sent to forced labor in the Third Reich, and thousands of others were relocated outside the blockade zone, at the same time having their property stolen”. The criminal profession was perfected at that time by i.a. the Germ. Chef der Bandenbekämpfung (Eng. head of groups combating forest gangs), SS‐Obergruppenführer Erich von dem Bach‐Zelewski; and the SS‐Sonderregiment Dirlewanger, commanded by the serial rapist and pedophile, SS‐Oberführer Oskar Dirlewanger. They later used the acquired „experience” to suppress the Warsaw Uprising in 08‐10.1944, murdering over 200,000 Poles.

Lat. „O bone Deus! In quae tempora me reservasti, ut ista patiar!” (Eng. „O good God! For what times have you reserved me, that I may suffer these things?”)