Vitebsk residents gathered at the "5th Regiment" memorial to honor the memory of prisoners of Nazi concentration camps
On the International Day of the Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps, celebrated on April 11, hundreds of Vitebsk residents gathered at the "Valley of Memory and Sorrow" memorial complex on Titova Street to honor the memory of the victims of the war.
Despite their advanced age, those who had to survive the occupation also came. The rally, dedicated to the memorable date, was also attended by heads of the region and the city, representatives of public organizations and labor collectives.
— The bloody and brutal war spared no one, not even children. Only one in twelve of those who ended up in the Nazi dungeons survived. Prisoners were hostages, donors, biological raw material for genetic experiments, — said Gennady Egorov, Head of the Main Department of Ideological Work, Culture and Youth Affairs of the Regional Executive Committee. — The International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg in 1946 recognized that the detention of foreign civilians and their use for the benefit of Germany is not only a war crime but also a crime against humanity.
Among the European nations, Belarus suffered the greatest human and material losses during the Great Patriotic War — every third resident of the Vitebsk region perished. Therefore, our countrymen will always remember this tragedy.
— To this day, many burial sites and the names of those who died at the hands of Nazi executioners are unknown. To name them is our civic duty, — said Gennady Mikhailovich. — We, the generation living at the beginning of the third millennium, bow our heads low to those who stood firm and endured the most terrible trials. Veterans will always feel care, support, and interest from the authorities.
"VV" Reference: The death camp "Fifth Regiment" operated from the beginning of the occupation until the liberation of the city. Over 150,000 people passed through it. The majority of them perished, including 12,000 civilians. Currently, over 4,000 former concentration camp prisoners reside in the region, most of whom were minors during the war.