In Verkhnedvinsk, they will honor the memory of those who died in the Osvia tragedy
Seventy years ago, in February-March 1943, the Nazis carried out the largest punitive operation "Winter Magic" in the Belarusian Osvia, Drissa (now Verkhnedvinsk district), Rossony, and Russian Sebezh districts, one of the cruelest and bloodiest. In a month and a half, they almost completely destroyed the Osvia district and a large part of the Drissa district. Over 10,000 civilians died, and more than 6,000 people were taken for forced labor.
The meeting "Dialogue of Generations," which will take place in Verkhnedvinsk on March 18-19, is dedicated to the tragic events. It will be attended by surviving residents of burned-out Belarusian villages, youth from the Verkhnedvinsk district, heads of local authorities, representatives of district state and public organizations, the Belarusian Peace Foundation, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus, and employees of the Russian Foundation for the Promotion of Actual Historical Research "Historical Memory."
The event will also be attended by the leaders of the Berlin public association "Contacts-Kontakte." One of the main areas of this organization's work is strengthening mutual understanding between peoples and historical and educational work through moral and material support for victims of Nazism who have not received compensation payments from Germany and are not reflected in the historical memory of the FRG. Thanks to the association, more than 200 surviving residents of the burned-out Belarusian villages of the Verkhnedvinsk district received monetary payments.
During the "Dialogue of Generations" meeting, a presentation will be held of the Belarusian-Russian collection of documents "Winter Magic," "Nazi Punitive Operation in the Belarusian-Latvian Borderland, February-March 1943," and the electronic database "Belarusian Villages Destroyed During the Great Patriotic War. 1941-1944," prepared within the framework of the project "Enhancing the Status of Survivors of Burned Belarusian Villages," implemented by the Belarusian Peace Foundation and the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus with the support of the German foundation "Remembrance, Responsibility and Future." The meeting participants will also see the documentary film "Stolen Childhood," created by the Russian foundation "Historical Memory," which tells the story of children sent for forced labor during the "Winter Magic" operation.
Execution of civilians by an SS squad
Punitive detachment near the bodies of Soviet citizens executed by them in one of the villages of the Osvyia district of the Vitebsk region
Photo: stena.ee