Bronislav Kaminski
Bronislav Vladislavovich Kaminski | |
|---|---|
Kaminski in 1944 | |
| Ober-Burgomeister of Lokot Autonomy | |
| In office 8 January 1942 – 26 August 1943 | |
| Preceded by | Konstantin Voskoboinik |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 June 1899 Vitebsk Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 28 August 1944 (aged 45) Litzmannstadt, Reichsgau Wartheland, German-occupied Poland |
| Cause of death | Execution by firing squad |
| Awards | Iron Cross, 1st Class |
| Nickname | Warlord of the Bryansk Forest |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Russian SFSR Nazi Germany |
| Branch/service | Red Army Waffen-SS |
| Years of service | 1918–1921 (Russia) 1941–1943 (Germany) |
| Rank | SS-Brigadeführer |
| Commands | Waffen-Sturm-Brigade der SS RONA |
| Battles/wars | |
Bronislav Vladislavovich Kaminski (Russian: Бронисла́в Владисла́вович Ками́нский; 16 June 1899 – 28 August 1944) was a Soviet Nazi collaborator. Some publications mistakenly give Kaminski's first name as Mieczyslaw.
Kaminski was the commander of the eponymous Kaminski Brigade, an anti-partisan and rear-security formation made up of people from the so-called Lokot Autonomy territory (1941–1943) in part of the German-occupied area of the Soviet Union. The Kaminski Brigade later became part of the Waffen-SS as the Waffen-Sturmbrigade RONA (Russkaya Osvoboditelnaya Narodnaya Armiya — Russian People's Liberation Army). Under Kaminski's command, the unit committed numerous war crimes and atrocities in the German-occupied Soviet Union and in Poland. The unit is regarded as one of the most brutal units, with Kaminski himself feared by his subordinates. Kaminski's behavior made the Germans lose confidence in him: in August 1944, he was court-martialed and executed. His brigade was later disbanded and its remaining personnel absorbed into General Andrey Vlasov's Russian Liberation Army.