On the «State Archives of the Gomel Region» holding a dialogue platform, «Khatyn – Our Memory and Pain», as part of the national «Archives for School» campaign

On March 19, 2026, a dialogue platform, «Khatyn – Our Memory and Pain», was held at Gomel Secondary School No.75.

Participating in the dialogue platform were Maya Valentinovna Vashchenko, Senior Researcher at the State Archives of the Gomel Region; Sergei Ivanovich Gorbachev, a representative of the Communist Party of the Republic of Belarus; Anton Sergeyevich Ermoolenko, a history teacher; and high school students.

Maya Vashchenko, Senior Researcher, told the participants that March 22, 2026, is Remembrance Day for the Victims of the Khatyn Tragedy in Belarus and why it is so important to speak about it today. «Eighty-three years ago, 149 people, including 75 children under the age of 16, were burned alive or shot in Khatyn. Khatyn became a symbol of inhuman cruelty and a symbol of something that must never be repeated. Khatyn is one of thousands of villages that were wiped off the face of the earth along with their inhabitants. More than nine thousand Belarusian villages were destroyed, and more than five thousand of them along with their inhabitants. This is not just a tragic page in history. It is a lesson in the strength of the Belarusian people, who endured, rose from the ashes, and preserved their memory», she said.

Sergei Ivanovich Gorbachev continued the dialogue, telling the students about the mass extermination of civilians by the Nazis and collaborators in the occupied territory of Belarus.

«The current generation must understand the price we paid for our peaceful life. They must understand what war is and the monstrous consequences it leads to». «Understand in order to resist any attempts to justify crimes and rewrite history», Sergei Ivanovich concluded.

The students asked Sergei Ivanovich questions as a participant in the military operations in Yugoslavia, where he served in the peacekeeping forces. The students were interested in what war is like in modern times. Sergei Ivanovich spoke about military brotherhood and the importance and difficulty of preserving the best human qualities in real combat situations.

The dialogue platform continued with a screening of the video «Burnt Villages – Sisters of Khatyn».

At the end of the event, the students observed a moment of silence in memory of the innocent civilians of Khatyn. The ceremony of attaching «Cranes of Peace» with wishes concluded the dialogue platform.

1. Senior students of the State Educational Institution «Secondary School No.75 of Gomel» at the dialogue platform.

2. Speech by S.I.Gorbachev.

3-4. Lighting of Candles in Memory and a Moment of Silence

5. Watching the video «Burnt Villages – Sisters of Khatyn»