«Archives for school!» As part of the republican action, Molodechno archivists published copies of letters-memoirs of former prisoners of the Stalag-342 concentration camp

The Zonal State Archive in Molodechno is constantly working to identify little-known facts. In the year of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders, a special focus is on documents relating to the period of the Great Patriotic War. The archive collection contains copies of letters-memoirs of former prisoners of the Stalag-342 concentration camp; the memoirs contain the unvarnished truth about forced labor, severe bullying and murder, escape attempts and faith in the Soviet soldier.

As part of the republican action «Archives for School» on the International Day of the Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps, the director of the archive, I.Z.Pudakevich made a presentation to the students. Handwritten descriptions of terrible events virtually immersed students in episodes of concentration camp life: letters describe unbearable conditions of detention, meager «food» rations, backbreaking, hard work, illnesses and facts of unjust reprisals and genocide – all the historical truth on yellowed manuscripts from reliable sources aroused genuine interest among high school students, made me think about the tragic pages of the historical past.

– Today, when unfriendly countries are capable of rewriting history and distorting the facts of the past, demonstrating historical truth takes on a new meaning. Of course, the younger generation remains vulnerable, which needs to be educated on the best examples of the heroic past, so that schoolchildren not only know how Victory was forged, but also understand at what cost it was achieved. It is necessary that children do not forget about the feat of veterans, participants in those events, honor their memory and, most importantly, be proud of the fact that they live in peaceful Belarus.

For reference: more than 33,000 prisoners of war and civilians were killed on the territory of the death camp in Molodechno, and in total about 70–80 thousand people passed through Stalag-342.

1. Director of the institution «zonal state archive in Molodechno» I.Z.Pudakevich

2. During the speech of I.Z.Pudakevich

3. Students of gymnasium No.10 in Molodechno

4. Fragment of the memorial complex «Stalag-342»