The Marian Martyrs of Rosica

51 Document of Tragic End worked in Rosica for some time, was sent back to Druja. In addition, Fr. Laszewski remained in Zaszczyryn. He didn’t speak Belarussian, so it was easier for him to live in this small out-of-the-way village. Father Leszczewicz was constantly travelling, working in the territory where the partisans were active (Oswieja, Zamosze) as well as in the German areas (Dryssa, Bigosovo). Neither the partisans nor the Germans made his work difficult for him. He was the only priest there since the Russian clergy had all fled to the German occupied territory in Dryssa imme- diately after the partisans arrived. He was also known and well- regarded by the people. In the middle of February in 1943, a military detachment came across the Latvian border, consisting of Latvian, Estonian, and Ukrainian “volunteers” wearing German uni- forms and under the command of German officers. Ukrainians were expected to enter the territory under partisan control from the opposite direction. At the beginning, some villages were bombarded with fire- bombs and burned. Latvian as well as Polish peasants were mobilized from the entire neighborhood to transport the sol- diers. When the soldiers arrived at Rosica, part of the village was already in flames. One of the soldiers immediately started to ring the church bell. Nobody knew what it was supposed to mean. Father Leszczewicz explained later that he was warning the partisans in this manner. Even earlier, information had spread that wherever leaflets were distributed, the civilian pop- ulation should leave the area of partisan activity until February 15. Whoever remained would be shot and killed. Of course, people preferred not to leave their homes and, in Rosica itself, leaflets had not been distributed at all. Armed soldiers rounded people up and herded them into the church. Many people, fleeing burning houses, ran into the freez- ing cold with no clothing at all. New people from more remote places kept arriving. Panic reigned in the church, filled with women and children who were freezing and distraught. The staff set up its headquarters in the rectory and, with the excep-