Barys Rahula (, Boris Ragula, 1 January 1920 – 22 April 2005) was a

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

ian political activist. He served as a military commander of the

Belarusian auxiliary police The Belarusian Auxiliary Police () was a German force established in July 1941 in occupied Belarus, staffed by local collaborators. In western Belarus, auxiliary police were created in the form of Schutzmannschaften units, while in the east th ...

unit Schutzmannschaft Battalion 68. After the war, he studied medicine in the West and became a doctor in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Life

Barys Rahula was born near

Navahrudak Novogrudok or Navahrudak (; ; , ; ) is a town in Grodno Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Novogrudok District. As of 2025, it has a population of 27,624. In the Middle Ages, the city was ruled by King Mindaugas' son ...

and spent his early years in

West Belarus Western Belorussia or Western Belarus (; ; ) is a historical region of modern-day Belarus which belonged to the Second Polish Republic during the interwar period. For twenty years before the 1939 invasion of Poland, it was the northern part of th ...

, then part of the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

. In 1938, he became student at the

University of Vilnius Vilnius University (Lithuanian language, Lithuanian: ''Vilniaus universitetas'') is a Public university, public research university, which is the first and largest university in Lithuania, as well as one of the oldest and most prominent higher e ...

but was mobilized into the Polish army after the Nazi-Soviet

invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...

. He soon became a German

POW POW is "prisoner of war", a person, whether civilian or combatant, who is held in custody by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. POW or pow may also refer to: Music * P.O.W (Bullet for My Valentine song), "P.O.W" (Bull ...

, but in 1940 escaped from German prison to West Belarus occupied by the Soviets. In Belarus, he got arrested by the

NKVD The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...

but managed to escape from prison in the first days after Germany's attack on the USSR.У Канадзе памёр Барыс Рагуля
at Радыё Свабода 2014 (www.svaboda.org) Under German occupation, Rahula commanded Schutzmannschaft Battalion 68, taking part in anti-partisan actions against Polish and Soviet partisans. The unit numbered about 600 people, mostly recruited from among students and graduates of the Novogrudok teachers' seminary, usually with a strong Belarusian patriotic sentiment. In April 1944, the unit fought a battle with Soviet partisans near

Karelichy Karelichy is an urban-type settlement in Grodno Region, in west-central Belarus. It serves as the administrative centre of Karelichy District. As of 2025, it has a population of 5,546. History It was a possession of the Grand Duchy of Lithuani ...

. In May 1944, it took part in a partisan action near

Dokshytsy Dokshytsy (; ; ; ) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Dokshytsy District. It is located approximately southwest of Vitebsk and one kilometer from the source of the Berezina, Berezina River. Its popula ...

and

Hlybokaye Hlybokaye or Glubokoye (; ; ; ; ) is a town in Vitebsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Hlybokaye District. As of 2024, it has a population of 17,746. The town is located on the international road from Polotsk to Vilniu ...

. Contrary to what he states in his memoirs, his unit was never incorporated into the Belarusian Home Defense (BKA) and did not become a Belarusian unit independent of German rule. He left Belarus with the German army ahead of the Soviet advance. After the war, Barys Rahula studied Medicine at the

Catholic University of Leuven University of Leuven or University of Louvain (; ) may refer to: * Old University of Leuven (1425–1797) * State University of Leuven (1817–1835) * Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) * Katholieke Universiteit Leuven or KU Leuven (1968 ...

. In 1954 he moved to Canada and became one of the country's better known

oncologist Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''� ...

s as well as one of the leaders of the Belarusian Canadian community. After the

Chernobyl Disaster On 26 April 1986, the no. 4 reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, located near Pripyat, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine), exploded. With dozens of direct casualties, it is one of only ...

, Rahula organized fund raising to support victims of the catastrophe. He died in 2005.

References

Bibliography

Selected books

* Беларускае студэнцтва на чужыне (''Belarusian Students in the Strange Lands'') * Жыцьцё пад агнём (''Living under Fire'') * Against the Current

External links

Boris Ragula. Against the Current
on Google Books.
Сьв. пам. Барыс РАГУЛЯ
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahula, Barys 1920 births 2005 deaths People from Karelichy district Belarusian Independence Party politicians Members of the Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic Polish military personnel of World War II Belarusian Home Defence personnel Vilnius University alumni Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni Soviet emigrants to Canada Soviet politicians Soviet expatriates in Belgium Nazis who fled to Canada