MINSK, 15 October (BelTA) - Two exhibitions dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders and the 75th anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising opened at the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banska Bystrica. The launch ceremony was attended by representatives of regional authorities, higher education institutions and the media, businessmen, members of the public association "Slovak Union of Anti-Fascist Fighters," BelTA learned from the Embassy of Belarus in Slovakia.
The exhibition "Slovaks in the partisan movement in Belarus: 1941-1944" is a joint project of the Belarusian diplomatic mission, the National Archives of Belarus, the Department of Archives and Records Management at the Justice Ministry of Belarus and the Institute of Military History in Bratislava. It features the unique archival documents: orders, military operations journals, personal data sheets, combat characteristics, award sheets and autobiographies of partisans from Slovakia.
The embassy noted that the exhibition about the participation of Slovaks in the partisan movement in Belarus was already on show in Bratislava and had a wide public response, while the exhibition "Belarusians in the Slovak National Uprising (29 August – 28 October 1944)" has made its debut. It has been co-authored by the State Museum of Military History of Belarus, the National Archives of Belarus and the Museum of the Slovak National Uprising in Banska Bystrica.
"The theme of Belarusians' involvement in the Slovak National Uprising is being actively studies by historians. The exhibition tells about forty Belarusians who fought in the partisans units in Slovakia," said the diplomatic mission.
At the exhibition launch event, Ambassador of Belarus to Slovakia Igor Leshchenya stressed the importance of preserving the memory of the tragedy of the Second World War and the heroism of the fighters against fascism. He stressed that some units and partisan brigades in Slovakia were formed out from combat groups consisting of Soviet soldiers and partisans. Among them were also natives of Belarus, including Hero of the Soviet Union, Commander of the Klement Gottwald Partisan Brigade Vyacheslav Kvitinsky, Deputy Commander of the Captain Jan Nalepka Brigade Sergei Ksenzov, commander of a subversive company Mikhail Tatur and many others.
Photos courtesy of the Belarusian Embassy in Slovakia
