In Vitebsk, 500 paper cranes were launched into the sky in memory of the soldiers of Victory

This beautiful patriotic event "Day of White Cranes," in memory of the fallen defenders of the Fatherland, is being held in Vitebsk for the 14th time. Every year, shortly before May 9, balloons soar into the sky over Victory Square, and along with them, dozens of white paper cranes – a symbol of those who never returned from the Great Patriotic War, and also that Belarus remembers.

…The event began exactly at noon at the "Three Bayonets" memorial, which became the embodiment of the immortal feat of Soviet soldiers, partisans, and underground fighters. Young residents of Vitebsk from schools and gymnasiums of the regional center came to the square with blue and white balloons. And then they carefully attached paper figures to them. This time there are about five hundred of them. Among them are fifth-graders from School No. 27, Veronika Semenova:

— This is my first time participating in such an event, but I think it's very important not to forget our liberator soldiers, thanks to whom we can live in peace and quiet.

 

I will write the name of my great-grandfather Egor on one of the cranes, says 11-year-old Egor Terekhovich, a student from the same school:

— He is a true hero! He died in the Great Patriotic War, covering his comrade-in-arms from bullets with his own body. On another white bird figure will be the name of my great-grandmother – "Lilya." She survived the horrors of the "5th Regiment" concentration camp near Vitebsk. It's scary and painful for me even to imagine what she had to endure… I am interested in the military history of my family, I want to learn as much as possible.

Sixth-grader Kira Shalukhina from Vitebsk's School No. 5 prepares to open her palm, releasing a balloon that is soaring upwards in the wind:

— The cranes are a symbol of remembrance of the heroes who did not return from the battlefields. Probably, every Belarusian family has its own heroes of the Great Patriotic War and traditions associated with Victory Day. For example, at our home, on May 9, we usually go to Victory Square together.

 

The patriotic event is organized by the centralized library system of Vitebsk. Its director, a board member of the city organization of the NGO "Belarusian Union of Women" Elena Bogatenok, shared:

— It is difficult to overestimate the significance and touching nature of our event, which has become an unusual and effective form of educational work. The event has the main thing – the involvement of young heirs of Victory in the history of their families, fostering in schoolchildren such feelings as patriotism, empathy, pride in their country, and in our hero-liberators. The war has touched every Belarusian family with its black wing. On the paper cranes, the participants of the event write the names of relatives who witnessed the Great Patriotic War, participated in the partisan and underground movement, died on the front lines, went through death camps… Before the event, library staff tell the children about the symbol of the white crane. The song "Cranes" performed with deep emotion by Mark Bernes was not by chance the final chord of our event. It is to its sounds that we launch our balloons upwards with symbolic paper figures "on board."

 

By the way, the Vitebsk CBS has been cooperating with colleagues from the Beloyarsky district of Russia for several years. Today, the twin town of Vitebsk will also hold a "Day of White Cranes".