Prosecutor General on genocide of Belarusians during WWII: every day fascists killed and tortured people
There were more than 580 concentration camps in Belarus, and there is no other country in the world where people were killed and tortured with such cruelty – as stated by Belarus’ Prosecutor General Andrei Shved during the city requiem rally held in Minsk at the Shtalag-352 memorial complex, on the International Day of Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps, BelTA reports
Shtalag-352 is the territory of the mass burial of prisoners of war camp, one of the sites of the most terrible Nazi crimes in Belarus. Representatives of government agencies, public associations, political parties, clergy, the Armed Forces, veterans, youth, and deputies laid flowers and wreaths at the memorial in memory of the victims.
“The occupation of Belarus lasted for more than 1,100 days during the Great Patriotic War. Every day, fascists and their accomplices killed, tortured, burned, hung, crushed with tanks, and poisoned Belarusians. They did everything to free this land from our ancestors. Celebrating the International Day of Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps together with the entire progressive humanity, we say that more than 580 death camps operated on the territory of Belarus during those terrible years, as we have found during the investigation of the criminal case of the genocide of the Belarusian people. There is no other country in the world, and humanity has not known in its history so many places where people were killed and tortured daily on a massive scale, with special cruelty, with malice, and with hatred,” the Prosecutor General stressed.
Andrei Shved also noted that today, on the territory of the former concentration camp, Minsk residents pay tribute to all those who were tortured, “In the winter of 1941–1942, only on this land – please think about it – according to various sources, every day, from 100 to 150 people died of hunger, disease, and cold. It happened all over the country. Today, we need to discuss it, and first of all, with our youth. We need to talk about it as often as possible, because we are fighting for our history, fighting for justice, so that future generations – our children and grandchildren – will also be the bearers of the Great Victory that was in May 1945.”
Addressing the young people who attended the requiem rally, the Prosecutor General asked them to discuss and read more about those terrible periods of history, about the exploits of those who, while in concentration camps, including Shtalag-352, did not break down in spirit, went for a breakthrough, and tried to escape. People tried to break free at the cost of their lives. “Talk more about the soldiers of the Soviet Army who brought liberation to our land. May they never be forgotten!” Andrei Shved added.
The memorial complex is located in the north-west of Minsk, at the intersection of Narochanskaya Street and Timiryazeva Street. This is the area of the mass burial of prisoners of war camp. On the granite monument, which rises in the middle of a small park, the words are inscribed: ‘Contemporaries and descendants. Bow your heads. Here sleep eternally those who did not kneel before the enemy’. Since 1964, the Eternal Flame has been burning at the foot of the monument. This is a special place for Belarusians. During the years of the Nazi occupation, more than 80,000 people died in the Stalag-352 concentration camp.
