Naliboki massacre The Naliboki massacre was the mass killing of about 128 Poles by Soviet partisans at the village of Naliboki in Nazi - occupied Poland ( now Belarus ) on May 8 , 1943 . Background . In the lead up to the massacre , Soviet partisans had failed to recruit the Poles of Naliboki , who were loyal to the pro - Western Armia Krajowa Polish resistance organization . An agreement was signed between the Soviets and the Poles represented by a partisan unit led by Eugeniusz Klimowicz . The Polish and Soviet resistance forces divided local territory , agreed not to attack each other , and to act together against the Germans and bandits hiding in the nearby forests . The Soviets however did not respect the agreement . On the night of May 8 – 9 , 1943 , Soviet partisans from the Naliboki Forest suddenly entered Naliboki to kill the Polish partisans and loot the town . The massacre . After the village was overrun by the Soviet partisans , men presumed to belong to the Polish resistance were rounded up and systematically executed one - by - one or in small groups near the homes they were taken from . Also killed during the attack were three Polish women , several teenagers and a ten - year - old boy . Houses were looted and then set on fire , including the town ' s church , school , fire station and post office . The raid took two to three hours . The partisans reported the killing of 250 people , the capture of weapons , 100 cows and 78 horses , and the destruction of a German garrison . In reality the number of victims was lower ( now estimated at 120 - 129 ) and no Germans were present / killed ( only one Belarusian auxiliary policeman happened to be sleeping in the town during the night of the attack ) . A few of the attackers , including a Soviet political officer , were killed by the defenders . According to Polish witnesses accounts , the village was controlled by the " self - guarding " unit , manned by local Poles aimed to protect the villagers from the soviet partisan ' s regular raids . In 2009 , Maria Adamcewicz , still residing in Naliboki , described the incident as follows : " In the end [ of the village ] , there was a chapel , and there they built a German outpost , for those " self - guards " . When partisans approached , they were not shooting , they were burning . And when partisans came into the village , at this point " self - guards " started shooting . And they shoot dead some of partisans in the middle of the village . And when they wounded the senior one of the partisans , he said , " Beat and burn all , don ' t sort it out . " " After that , Maria claims , partisans started to shoot not only at " self - guards " , but also at locals . Naliboki was completely burned down by the Germans four months later , in August 1943 , as part of a massive anti - partisan action code - named Operation Hermann . The remaining inhabitants were taken to Germany for forced labor . Bielski partisans . It has been alleged that the Jewish Bielski partisans supported the Soviets ( with whom they had a co - operative relationship ) in the massacre . But survivors of the Bielski group have denied this , particularly after the release of a film about them , entitled " Defiance " . The Polish Institute of National Remembrance has been investigating the massacre . Although the IPN has not reported its findings as of April 2009 , one researcher from the institute has said that there ' s no evidence to support the allegation that the Bielski partisans were involved in the attack .