International Day of Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camp Prisoners: Memory and Historical Evidence
April 11 is the International Day of Liberation of Nazi Concentration Camp Prisoners. This date was established in honor of the events of 1945, when Allied troops liberated prisoners of Buchenwald and other death camps. During the Great Patriotic War, there were more than 580 places of forced detention in Belarus, including the infamous Trostenets, Ozarichi and Koldychevo.
On this day, we honor the memory of the dead and express deep respect to those who survived, demonstrating incredible fortitude. Their stories are a reminder of how important it is to preserve peace and prevent such tragedies from happening again. The memory of the victims of concentration camps must live in the hearts of future generations so that something like this never happens again. Archives as Keepers of Memory
The National Archives of the Republic of Belarus preserves unique documents that testify to the tragedy of the prisoners:
Fund 678: memoirs, letters and testimonies of prisoners in different languages;
Fund 1440: materials about the camps in the occupied territory of Belarus;
Fund 1536: stories of those who, having survived the hardships of captivity, fought for recognition of their suffering;
Fund 1569: digital copies of documents of the Extraordinary State Commission, revealing the scale of the crimes of the Nazis.
Key publications of the archive
More information about the fates of the prisoners can be found in the scientific publications of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus:
– «Ozarichi – a death camp» (1997);
– «Hostages of the Wehrmacht» (1999);
– «The Holocaust in Belarus 1941-1944» (2002);
– «Trostenets death camp» (2003);
– «To Survive Is a Feat: About the Minsk Ghetto» (2008);
– «Soviet Prisoner of War Camps in Belarus 1941-1944» (2016);
– «Trostenets: Tragedy of the Peoples of Europe» (2016);
– «The Holocaust in Belarus: Tragedy and Memory» (2022).
Memory is Our Responsibility
The stories of prisoners remind us of the value of peace and humanity. Studying archival documents allows us not only to preserve the truth, but also to pass it on to future generations.
Presentation as a Memory Tool
To preserve the historical truth, the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus has prepared a special presentation, which can be viewed at the link.
