«Memory for the Future»: A Single Information Day was held at the Zonal State Archives in Molodechno

A Single Information Day was held at the Zonal State Archives in Molodechno.The theme of the event was «Memory for the Future», dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the start of the Great Patriotic War.

Opening the meeting, Archive Director Inna Pudakevich presented the key points of the information materials traditionally prepared for the Single Information Day by the Academy of Public Administration under the President of the Republic of Belarus. The director emphasized that June 22 is celebrated in Belarus as National Remembrance Day for the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and the Genocide of the Belarusian People.

Inna Pudakevich emphasized that a peaceful sky above is not a given, but the greatest achievement, a product of our people’s suffering. She noted that, according to recent sociological studies, nearly 95% of Belarusians are interested in the history of the Great Patriotic War, and 94% are proud to live in a victorious country. However, despite this, the West continues to tear down monuments to Soviet soldiers and attempt to rehabilitate Nazi criminals. The director emphasized that in Belarus, preserving historical truth is even enshrined in the Constitution, and the criminal investigation into the genocide of the Belarusian people, initiated by the Prosecutor General’s Office in 2021, has become our main weapon in the fight against the falsification of history.

Archivist Maria Mechkovskaya spoke about the national theme’s application to the Molodechno region and the role of archival documents in preserving memory. She noted that the Molodechno region preserves numerous testimonies of those terrible years: there are 110 memorial sites associated with the events of the war in the district, 54 military cemeteries are registered with the state, and 120 villages and hamlets were burned in the district.

Maria Mechkovskaya spoke about the extensive work being carried out in the region to perpetuate memory. Thanks to archival research, new names of the fallen are being added to the Stalag-342 Molodechno memorial and mass graves. Digitalization of memorial sites is actively underway: as part of the «Come and See», «Preserve History», and «Digital Star» projects, information plaques with QR codes are being installed at sites.

The BGAKFFD documentary «Hero Fortress» was shown to the team. Summing up, the participants of the Unified Information Day agreed that archival workers, as custodians of documentary memory, bear a special responsibility to ensure that the lessons of the past are not forgotten.

1-5. During the event