Without the right to be forgotten by descendants. Molodechno archivists honor the memory of relatives who became victims of genocide during the Great Patriotic War

Independence Day of the Republic of Belarus is one of the most significant public holidays, when we honor our native country, which we love and are proud of. It is a symbol of national unity and shared responsibility for the future of the Motherland. Celebrating Independence Day, we thank veterans for their great feat, remember with kind words the post-war generations who restored cities and villages from ruins, and, of course, pay tribute to the memory of fallen soldiers and civilians who became victims of fascism.

On the eve of July 3, Ilona Kutas, head of the department of records management and formation of the National Archival Fund of the Zonal State Archive in Molodechno, bowed her head before the memorial place.. The Berezin region – the homeland of her great-grandmother Alena Isayonok – was under occupation for three years. Having captured this land, the Nazi invaders, under the guise of a «new order», established a regime of bloody terror here. The population of the district decreased by 16.5 thousand people (25% of the pre-war level), the number of residents of Berezino doubled. Civilian casualties amounted to 4,190 people, of which 613 were children. Over 3,000 thousand were hanged and shot, 1.5 thousand people were taken to Germany. In 1942, an SS battalion under the command of Dirlewanger carried out a brutal massacre. During 6 punitive operations against civilians

in 1942-1943, 22 villages were completely burned, 6 of them together with their inhabitants. 4 villages of Voitikhovo, Kleshchitsy, Tolstitsa, Uteshina were not revived. In Borovino, 208 people were killed and 76 houses were burned. Among the victims of the genocide is Ilona Gerasimovna’s great-grandmother.

After the war the village was restored. Now there is a peaceful, calm life here. Archival documents testify to the tragic pages of the past; they are also mentioned in the story of the Belarusian writer-countryman Evgeniy Kurto «Zoya»; the memorial erected at the mass grave silently «screams» about the atrocities of Nazism…

Let’s remember!

1. Head of the department of records management and formation of the National Archival Fund of the institution «Zonal State Archive in Molodechno» I.G.Kutas near the memorial «Mass grave of victims of fascism».

2-3. Memorial «Mass grave of victims of fascism» (Borovino village, Berezinsky district).