During World War II, some Belarusians collaborated with the invading Axis powers.
However, memories of Soviet repressions in Belarus and collectivization, as well as of the polonization and discrimination against Belarusians under the Second Polish Republic were still fresh.
The real power was held by the German civil and military administrations.
The Belarusian National Socialist Party was banned by the Polish authorities in 1937.
Party leaders left for Berlin and became among the first advisers to the Germans at the onset of Operation Barbarossa.