A memorial in memory of civilians shot by the Nazis is to be opened in Polotsk in 2011

July 19, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. A memorial complex is to be erected in Polotsk at the site of mass executions and burials of prisoners of war and civilians in the "Peski" tract to mark the 70th anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War. The Polotsk City Council and the City Executive Committee have supported the initiative of the Polotsk city organization of the public association "Belarusian Peace Fund" and have made a decision on the construction of the memorial, the head of the ideological work department of the Polotsk City Executive Committee, Natalya Ganebnaya, told a BELTA correspondent. According to archival data of the Polotsk Regional Extraordinary Commission for the Accounting of Damage and Investigation of the Crimes of the German-Fascist Invaders and Their Accomplices, the "Peski" area is a site of mass extermination of 40,000 to 150,000 prisoners of war and civilians. In 1993-1994, excavations were carried out at this site by a specialized search battalion of the Ministry of Defense of Belarus, which confirmed the fact of burial of over 38,000 people. However, the exact number of those buried has not been reliably confirmed to date. In 2003, a modest obelisk was erected in the "Peski" tract, but the condition of the burial site, where the remains of tens of thousands of people rest, does not meet the requirements for the maintenance of mass burial sites, Natalya Ganebnaya added. A design proposal for the memorial in the "Peski" tract has been developed. The opening of the memorial is planned to be held on the Day of National Mourning and Sorrow, June 22, 2011. Funding for the work is expected to be raised through sponsors and voluntary donations. According to Natalya Ganebnaya, the initiative of the local branch of the Peace Fund has also been supported by the Polotsk City Council of the Belarusian Public Association of Veterans, the public organization "Belarusian Union of Officers", the public organization "Polotsk Jewish Cultural Center", the German twin city of Friedrichshafen, and public organizations and associations of the city.