A requiem rally dedicated to the victims of punitive operations was held in Osveya
On this day, 80 years later, residents of the region gathered at the high Kurgan in the center of Osveya, where an obelisk stands in memory of the victims of that terrible tragedy. They gathered to bow their heads before the courage of their grandfathers and great-grandfathers, to honor the memory of civilians who were tortured, burned, hounded by dogs, hanged, killed in gas chambers, starved, and shot by the occupiers.
Young and adult representatives of student and labor collectives, servicemen, and guests gathered at the foot of the Kurgan. From here, the obelisk, the honor guard, and the eternal flame at its base were clearly visible to everyone. Solemn and bitter moments filled everyone's hearts. Probably, everyone had someone to remember and thank for their well-being, for the opportunity to live and work under a peaceful sky.
But then the anthem sounded, and the requiem rally began. Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev noted:
- We must remember this day, the tragedy that occurred on this land, talk about it in schools, workplaces, and the media. These are troubled times: Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians have begun to destroy monuments to the liberator soldiers. This is being done by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren of those four thousand policemen who operated here in February-March 1943. They wanted to erase from our memory those terrible events that took place here. And now, 80 years later, we cannot say exactly how many people died. When the Red Army liberated the Osvyia district, only 7 houses remained here, while before the war there were 3550. We have not been able to overcome the point of no return, to restore the pre-war population. We must remember the innocent victims, our history, and not let anyone trample it.
With tears, those present laid flowers at the obelisk. Belarusians will never forget the Osvyia tragedy. A digital star with a QR code, which the Belarusian Republican Youth Union opened at the foot of the Kurgan as part of an international historical and patriotic project, will also remind and tell about it.
In the Year of Peace and Creation, we, – said Alena Konakh, First Secretary of the District Committee of the BRYM, – are placing QR codes so that everyone who comes to this sacred place can learn about the military fate of the residents of Osvyia region.
Recollections of the tragic events of February-March 1943 continued at the House of Culture, where, with the help of artistic word, residents of Osvyanshchina attempted to convey the tragedy experienced by their loved ones during the war. In the literary and musical composition "Statute of Limitations Does Not Apply," they repeated the testimonies of survivors and demonstrated them on slides.
"Partisans entered the village of Kokhanovichi and were stunned by horror – punitive detachments crucified infants on fences. In the village of Rositsa, more than one and a half thousand people were burned. One woman broke free from a barn and ran. They caught up with her, impaled her on bayonets, and threw her into the fire… In the village of Lipovki, which consisted of 96 households, 42 were relatives of Valentina Vasilyevna Pilyushina – after the punitive detachments visited the village, she was the only one left from her large family.
"When people were burned in the village of Sarya, the wife of front-line soldier Alexander Shavrak tried to save her daughter, who was a few months old. She threw her aside as people were being driven into the barn. A fascist picked up the baby by the leg, hit her head against a corner, and threw her into the flames..."
Dozens of such testimonies spoke of the terrible ordeals that befell the residents of Osvyanshchina. In a month and a half of the expedition, punitive detachments burned 158 villages, and in total during the war, 426 settlements disappeared in Verkhnedvinsk region, more than half of them never revived.
A grim fate awaited those who managed to survive in the fiery villages of Osvyanshchina. Many were destined for "death in installments." Almost 3,000 residents of Osvyanshchina passed through Salaspils, Majdanek, Auschwitz, Dachau… Few of them were destined to survive.
But, having gone through bloody events, the region lives on. And the enemy will not destroy it as long as we fulfill the simple duty of descendants not to forget the past. This thought became the concluding chord of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Osvyanshchina. And let February 16 remind everyone how important it is to cherish the peace that our grandfathers and great-grandfathers achieved with such difficulty.
People wished each other happiness and peace as they left the places where the most terrible tragedy of the genocide of the Belarusian people unfolded during the war years.