The exhibition "Genocide of the Belarusian People during the Great Patriotic War" opened in Vitebsk
Documentary evidence of the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War is presented at an exhibition in the regional museum of local lore. The exposition is based on historical documents exposing the crimes of Nazism and materials collected by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Belarus during the investigation of a criminal case initiated in April 2021 into the extermination of Belarusians.
– It is important that Belarusian society is raising the issue of genocide during the Great Patriotic War. The exhibition presents previously unknown evidence of the atrocities of the occupiers. Such an exposition is needed primarily for the younger generation, who must know what fate the fascists had prepared for the Belarusian people. They planned to exterminate the main part of the population, and make the rest slaves to serve the Aryan nation. This exhibition speaks about it, – emphasized the Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies Vladimir Terentyev.
As explained by Artemy Vasilievich, Head of the Scientific and Educational Department of the VOKM, the exposition presents documents from the funds of the Museum of the Great Patriotic War, as well as materials from the investigation case conducted by the Prosecutor General's Office. Most of the evidence of the occupiers' atrocities are exhibited for the first time.
– Previously, we did not specifically address the issue of genocide of peoples, considering it in the general context of the events of the Great Patriotic War. This is one of the most terrible pages of history, and we must not forget about it, – said Artemy Vasilievich.
The project "Genocide of the Belarusian People during the Great Patriotic War" includes several stands detailing the concentration camps and ghettos established by the fascists on the territory of Belarus. The exhibition is complemented by exhibits from the collections of the regional museum of local lore – letters, photographs, commemorative badges, and newspaper clippings from that period. Among them are the memoirs of prisoners from one of the most horrific death camps, "5th Regiment," where Sofya Pankova, Vera Khozhaia, and other patriots were tortured. In total, five concentration camps operated in the Vitebsk region. A witness interrogation protocol detailing the atrocities of the German invaders, photographs of the remains of executed people, and a personal booklet of an individual subjected to forced labor in Germany during the war are displayed in a showcase.
– Genocide is a terrible word. It means extermination, the destruction of a race, tribe, or national group. During the Great Patriotic War, Belarusians, like many other peoples of the Soviet Union, had to endure the horrors of this Nazi policy. Places of mass extermination of people were created throughout the country. In the course of investigating the case of the genocide of the Belarusian people, the Vitebsk prosecutor's office and the city department of the Investigative Committee interviewed over 900 victims and witnesses who, as young children, found themselves in fascist captivity. With the assistance of the Vitebsk Cadet School, 49 previously unknown burial sites were identified, and over 3,000 archival cases were reviewed. The terrible events of the war period cannot be erased from the memory of the Belarusian people. This exhibition is our message to the youth and future generations, so that they continue the relay of memory, – noted the prosecutor of Vitebsk, Andrei Shklyarevsky.
The exhibition will become an integral part of the excursion route developed by the museum. It also includes familiarization with the "Defenders of the Fatherland" exhibition and the basements of the SD prison. It concludes at a memorial sign installed near the town hall at the site where gallows stood during the occupation, on which civilians were executed.