On the «State Archives of the Gomel Region» holding a joint memory lesson, «Ola – Khatyn’s Sister», as part of the «Archives to School» campaign

On January 14, 2026, Maya Valentinovna Vashchenko, a senior researcher at the State Archives of the Gomel Region, held a memory lesson for the 11th-grade students of Gomel Secondary School No.75, dedicated to the 82nd anniversary of the tragedy in the village of Ola. She told the students about the genocide of the Belarusian people from documents from the Great Patriotic War held in the archive. The genocide manifested itself in the monstrous atrocities committed by the Nazi invaders against the civilian population—children, women, and the elderly. Punitive operations in the Gomel region became an integral part of the occupation regime. The goal of these punitive operations was the mass extermination of the civilian population. In her speech, Maya Valentinovna recounted the horrific events of January 14, 1944, which occurred in the village of Ola in the Svetlogorsk District of the Gomel Region.

On January 14, 1944, a German punitive detachment, along with a military unit, surrounded the village of Ola, where residents of twelve surrounding villages were hiding. The occupiers forced the residents into their homes and set them on fire. Those who tried to escape were shot and set on fire by the Nazis. 1,758 people were burned alive, including 950 children, 508 women, 100 men, and 200 elderly. Only a few survived by chance, having witnessed that terrible tragedy. In 2020, the Ola Memorial Complex was erected on the site of the destroyed village.

«Life is the true and indisputable wealth of a person». For people to live, create, and think about the future, for the country to grow stronger and prosper, we must cherish our memory. We live as long as we remember! We live as long as we are remembered», Maya Valentinovna concluded.

Participants watched a documentary about the tragedy in the village of Ola and observed a moment of silence in memory of the victims.

1. Senior researcher M.V.Vashchenko tells students about the tragedy in the village of Ola.

2. Eleventh-grade students from Gomel Secondary School No.75 during a Memory lesson.

3-5. Participants at the stands dedicated to the genocide of the Belarusian people.