I am planning a trip to Belarus in May to research family that lived in Rakov and Volozhin. I am hiring a guide in Vilnius who will be taking us around. I hope to interview people in both places about memories of my family, including seventeen relatives killed in the Holocaust. I also will be arranging for someone to do research in the archives in Minsk. I would appreciate getting advice >from anyone who has done a trip like this or has contacts in Belarus. How likely are the residents (none of them Jewish I assume) to share memories? How cooperative/helpful are people in the Minsk archives likely to be? Thanks.
