In Vitebsk, hundreds of citizens took part in a requiem rally in memory of the victims of fascism at the "5th Regiment" memorial complex
The requiem rally was attended by heads of the region and the city, representatives of public organizations and labor collectives, and youth. They laid flowers and wreaths at the monument.
The "5th Regiment" death camp operated from the beginning of the occupation until the liberation of the city. About 150,000 people passed through it, most of whom died, including 12,000 civilians. Currently, 3,621 former concentration camp prisoners live in the region; during the war, they were mostly minors.
– The fact that so many people gathered at this sacred place on this day once again proves that Belarusians do not forget the feats of their ancestors and the suffering they endured during the war. The memory lives in our hearts, because it is impossible to forget the atrocities of the fascists and their accomplices. The invaders created a gigantic network of concentration camps in the territories of the countries they occupied, turning them into places of organized murder of millions of people. The bloody and brutal war spared no one, not even children. Only one out of twelve survived those who ended up in torture chambers. Prisoners were hostages, donors, and biological material for genetic experiments, – said Vladimir Terentyev, Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies. – The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1946 recognized that the detention of foreign civilians and their use for the benefit of Germany was not only a war crime but also a crime against humanity.
Among European nations, Belarus suffered the greatest human and material losses during the Great Patriotic War, with every third resident of the Vitebsk region perishing. Therefore, this page of history is an unhealed wound for our country.
— In the concentration camp "5th Regiment" alone, about 80,000 people were exterminated, — informed Vladimir Vladimirovich. — As our compatriot, People's Writer of Belarus Vasil Bykov, wrote, the memory of the bloody trials of the past war is the best guarantee of peace. These words do not lose their relevance today. We bow our heads low before those who defended the independence of their native land.
Despite their advanced age, those who had to endure the horrors of occupation and confinement in concentration camps also came to honor the memory of the fallen.
— Veterans, unfortunately, are becoming fewer and fewer. We remain the last witnesses of the war and are obliged to tell the younger generation the truth about those events, — said Fyodor Tikhonov, Chairman of the regional organization of the Belarusian Association of Former Minor Prisoners of Fascism. — Our activists speak in educational institutions, participate in events dedicated to memorable dates and state holidays, and also help their peers who have become disabled.
Each person who survived the war has their own memories, but they are united by one thing — the pain of losing loved ones and the inhuman conditions of existence.
— My father went to the front, and my mother and two sisters and I remained in Vitebsk. In early spring 1943, the Germans conducted a roundup, loaded us into freight cars, and sent us to Germany. In the prison camp, adults and teenagers worked on the railway, while young children like me were left alone in the barracks all day. We only managed to survive thanks to the older ones who brought berries so we had something to chew on, — said Evdokia Kolosova. — When the Americans liberated us, they offered us to stay, but my mother did not agree, hoping to meet her father in her homeland. It didn't happen: we received a notification that he had gone missing.
— When the Germans were approaching Vitebsk, there was an evacuation, but our family did not manage to leave. We were sent to Germany. My mother and father worked, and I, like other little children, was left to myself during this time. The only food available was nettles and rotten potatoes, — recalled Liliya Antonenko. — After liberation, my father went to the army and died in the very first battle…
Elderly people, despite their ailments, continue to participate in the heroic-patriotic education of youth. Thus, on the eve of the rally, they met with students at Gymnasium No. 3 and Secondary School No. 38 to tell them about the horrors of war, the resilience and courage of Belarusians, the importance of preserving peace on earth, and the true history.