Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee

Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 699 of August 18, 2015 "On approval of the Regulation on the procedure and conditions for granting the status of a historical and memorial burial place" Decision of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee No. 181 of March 18, 2024 "On granting the status of a historical and memorial burial place" Registration statement of burial places with the status of historical and memorial burial places List of victims

Burial site No. 7653 is located on the southern outskirts of the village of Rositsa, Saryan rural council, Verkhnedvinsk district, Vitebsk region, and is a mass grave of victims of fascism.

It contains the ashes of 700 civilians burned by the fascists in March 1943 during the punitive operation "Winter Magic".

In the pre-war years, the village of Rositsa, Drissa district, had 231 households and a population of 943 people.

In the first weeks of the war – on July 3, 1941 – the village was occupied by German troops. From the autumn of 1941, the German occupation administration allowed divine services to resume in the Rositsa Holy Trinity Church under the leadership of Marian priest Antoni Leshchevich. In the summer of 1942, Yuri Kashira joined him.

In mid-February 1943, the German-fascist invaders began the punitive operation "Winter Magic". Rositsa became one of the first victims of these tragic events.

On the night of February 15-16, 1943, police formations launched an offensive from the territory of Latvia. A "sorting point" was organized in the Holy Trinity Church, where residents of Rositsa and refugees from nearby villages were driven. Among the captured were priests Antoni Leshchevich and Yuri Kashira.

The "sorting" continued for five cold February days and nights. The only comfort for the prisoners was the words of support and prayers from the clergy. Then, some of the prisoners were transported to the Bigosovo railway station for further dispatch to the Salaspils concentration camp. The rest were burned in various places in Rositsa.

The executioners gave the priests the opportunity to leave Rositsa and thus save their lives. However, Antoni Leshchevich and Yuri Kashira, in their spiritual calling, decided that the sacred duty of their mission was to remain where their flock grieved, to be spiritual support to people in the last moments of their lives. The priests refused to leave the people and met a martyr's death along with the victims.

On June 13, 1999, the Roman Catholic Church beatified the Marian priests Antoni Leshchevich and Yuri Kashira. Since 1999, days of remembrance for the martyrs of Rositsa have been held here twice a year.

The graves of those who perished in the Rositsa fire were located in the barns in the central and western parts of the settlement, as well as in the workshops on its southern outskirts. Monuments were erected at all burial sites. The names of the deceased have been partially identified. The list of victims is being clarified.

Since 2019, the church in Rositsa has been recognized as the Diocesan Sanctuary of the Rositsa Martyrs. Rositsa is a place of worship for pilgrims from all over Belarus and abroad.

In memory of the terrible events of the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War, the Memorial of Martyrs was created at burial site № 7653 – the territory has been improved, a Memorial Cross has been erected, the access road and steps to the memorial have been repaired, and an information stand has been placed.

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