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«Here War Took Its First Step…» – Marking the 55th Anniversary of the Opening of the «Brest Hero-Fortress» Memorial Complex

Published: September 24, 2026

«Here war took its first step…
In June, in forty-one, at the break of dawn.
Now nightingales sing here, and silence
Flows in the backwaters from green willows».
S.Orlov.

The «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex was opened on September 25, 1971, in the presence of state and party officials of the Byelorussian SSR, veterans of the defense of the Brest Fortress, family members of the fallen, delegations from Hero Cities, members of the intelligentsia, and residents of the city and region of Brest. The memorial complex was preceded by the Museum of the Defense of the Brest Fortress, which had opened on November 8, 1956.

To mark the 55th anniversary of the opening of the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, a promotional video for the exhibition «Here War Took Its First Step..». has been posted on the BGAKFFD YouTube channel.

Currently, the holdings of the Belarusian State Archive of Film, Photo, and Sound Documents (BGAKFFD) contain over 1,600 photographic records (dating from 1935 to 2024), approximately 400 film records (1944–2025), and more than 40 audio records (1965–1987) related to the Brest Fortress.

Pre-war photographic records include views of the Brest Fortress, as well as group photos and portraits of Brest garrison servicemen. A number of photographs showing the ruined fortress were taken in the summer of 1944 during the battles to liberate Brest. Post-war photographic records document reunions of Brest Fortress defense veterans, visits to the fortress by various delegations, ceremonial events, and the openings of the Museum of the Defense of Brest Fortress and the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex. Photographic records from the 21st century capture search operations, reburial ceremonies for the fallen, battle reenactments, participants in the «Belarus Remembers» campaign, and much more.

The archive’s film collection includes the 1944 newsreel «Liberation of Brest by Red Army Troops», filmed by frontline cinematographers; this is the earliest motion picture footage of the Brest Fortress. Post-war and contemporary film and video materials include segments from newsreels such as «Soviet Belarus», «Pioneer of Belarus», «Art of Belarus», and «Travel Almanac», as well as footage from documentaries like «Pages of Immortality» (1962), «Citadel of Glory» (1965), «I Am the Tanker «Heroes of Brest»« (1969), «I Am the Fortress, I Am Fighting» (1972), «Brest Fortress» (1975), «Children of the Brest Fortress» (1979), «Such Silence Over Brest» (1985), «Citadel» (2004), and «Fortress on the Bug» (2011), alongside segments from the weekly news programs «Contours» and «The Week». The archive’s audio collection contains reports recorded during the reburial of the remains of Brest Fortress defenders and the opening of the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, as well as the recorded recollections and interviews of participants in the defense of the Brest Fortress. In addition, the archives contain series of radio broadcasts dedicated to the defense of the Brest Fortress, such as «One Day at the Brest Fortress», «Encounters at the Hero-Fortress of Brest», «Stages of a Radiant Path», «Chronicle of Our Republic», and others.

The defense of the Brest Fortress has become a symbol of courage and glory. Efforts to uncover information about the history of the fortress’s defense and its defenders continue to this day. Originally built as a military installation and having survived the fires of two world wars, the Brest Fortress remains a place of remembrance and peace.

1. Arch. No.0-103315 View of the Engineering Directorate building (formerly the Jesuit College building) at Brest Fortress, /pre-1939/, Republic of Poland
Brest. «Belarus» Publishing House photo archive

2. Arch. No.0-103314 View of the Terespol Gate at Brest Fortress, /pre-1941/
Brest, «Belarus» Publishing House photo archive

3. Arch. 0-132381 Pre-war photo of Soviet soldiers serving at Brest Fortress, June 1941
Brest. BGAKFFD

4. Arch. 0-071235 German soldiers engaged in street fighting at Brest Fortress; in the foreground, a 37mm Pak 35/36 anti-tank gun, July 1941
Brest. Photo archive of the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War

5. Arch. No.4-0393 Inscription left by an unknown defender of Brest Fortress on the wall of a citadel casemate, 1941
Brest. Photo archive of the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War

6. Arch. No.0-149027 Soviet soldiers in the ruined Brest Fortress during the battles for the liberation of the BSSR, July 1944
Brest. BGAKFFD

7. Arch. No.0-095329 Monument to the defenders of Brest Fortress in Brest, 1950
Brest. Photo archive of the «Sovetskaya Belorussiya» newspaper editorial office

8. Arch. No.0-006863 Brest Pioneers on an excursion to the Brest Fortress during summer vacation, June 21, 1952.
Brest. BelTA photo chronicle, V. German

9. Arch. No.0-042257 Writer S.S.Smirnov speaking at a rally marking the 15th anniversary of the defense of the Brest Fortress, 1956.
Brest. Photo archive of the «Sovetskaya Belorussiya» newspaper editorial office. L.Papkovich

10. Arch. No.0-072111 Heroes of the Brest Fortress R.I.Abakumova, A.A.Vinogradov, M.P.Gurevich, A.I.Makhnach, S.M.Matevosyan, P.S.Klypa, F.F.Zhuravlev, and others at the Northern Gate of the fortress, July 1956.
Brest. Photo archive of the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War

11. Arch. No.0-016252 Monument to the fallen soldiers of the Brest Fortress at the garrison cemetery, 1958, Brest, photo archive of the «Zarya» newspaper editorial office, E.Makarchuk

12. Arch. No.0-045441 Museum of the Defense of the Brest Fortress staff members I.I.Karavaev and L.V.Kiseleva at the home of pensioner Z.Z.Tarasyuk, examining the combat banner of the 144th Vyshny Volochyok Rifle Regiment that he had discovered, December 30, 1960.
Brest. BelTA Photo Chronicle, V.German

13. Arch. No.0-072095 P.M. Gavrilov—former commander of the 44th Rifle Regiment who led the defense of the Eastern Fort of the Brest Fortress, a deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, and a Hero of the Soviet Union—cuts the ribbon during the opening of the expanded exhibition at the Brest Fortress Defense Museum, June 25, 1961.
Brest. Photo archive of the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War

14. Arch. 1-005682 In the hall during the ceremonial meeting of the Brest City Committee of the Communist Party of Byelorussia and the City Council of Working People’s Deputies—held jointly with representatives of public organizations and the Soviet Army—dedicated to the presentation of the Order of Lenin and the Gold Star Medal to the Hero-Fortress of Brest, 1965.
Brest. TASS Photo Chronicle, V.Savostyanov

15. Arch. No.C0-0092 During the ceremonial event marking the opening of the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, 1971.
Brest. Collector M.Ananyin

16. Arch. No.C0-0086 View of the main monument, «Courage», at the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, 1971.
Brest. Collector M.Ananyin

17. Arch. No.C0-0094 During the rally marking the opening of the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, 1971.
Brest. Collector M.Ananyin

18. Arch. No.1-006804 Members of the delegation from the USSR Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy (DOSAAF), led by the Chairman of the Central Committee and Hero of the Soviet Union A.I. Pokryshkin (center), on a tour of the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, April 12, 1977.
Brest. BelTA Photo Chronicle, E.Makarchuk

19. Arch. No.1-014075 I.E. Borisov, Deputy Head of the Brest Model Technical School of the Voluntary Society for Cooperation with the Army, Aviation, and Navy (DOSAAF), conducts a tour for cadets—future military vehicle operators—at the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, June 1984.
Brest. Photo Archive of the Republican House of the Society for Cooperation in Defense, V.Mozharov

20. Arch. No.0-130650 Former defenders of the Brest Fortress, participants in a rally marking the 50th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War at the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, June 22, 1991.
Brest. Photo Archive of the «Zarya nad Bugom» newspaper editorial office, V.Korol

21. Arch. No.E028774 Border guards from the Brest Border Group during a church service at the St. Nicholas Garrison Cathedral in the central part of the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, November 21, 2003.
Brest. BelTA Photo Chronicle, R.Kobyak

22. Arch. No.E043036 Members of military history clubs during a reenactment of the events of June 22, 1941, near the walls of the Kobrin Fortification—held to mark the Day of National Remembrance for the Victims of the Great Patriotic War—at the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex, June 22, 2014.
Brest. Editorial photo archive newspaper «Belorusskaya Voennaya Gazeta: Vo Slavu Rodiny» [Belarusian Military Newspaper: For the Glory of the Motherland], O.Nekalo

23. Archive No.E043172 Personal belongings of the Brest Fortress defenders—part of the «War Museum: Territory of Peace» exhibition at the museum opened within the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex on June 22 (the Day of National Remembrance for the Victims of the Great Patriotic War), June 23, 2014.
Brest. Photo archive of the «Belorusskaya Voennaya Gazeta: Vo Slavu Rodiny» newspaper, O.Nekalo

24. Archive No.E086332 Participants in the patriotic campaign «Belarus Remembers. We Remember Everyone» during a ceremonial rally marking the 77th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War, at the «Brest Hero-Fortress» memorial complex in Brest, May 9, 2022.
Brest. Photo archive of the «Zarya» newspaper, A.Shulgach