BREST, 22 June (BelTA) – The Russian Center of Science and Culture in Brest has donated a full collection of announcements made by the Soviet Information Bureau during 1941-1945 to the Brest Fortress memorial complex, BelTA learned form Yelena Maslova, the director of the the center, head of the Rossotrudnichestvo office.
The book donation ceremony has been timed to coincide with the 76th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War and the 73th anniversary of the start of the Bagration offensive operation. The eight-volume edition “From the Soviet Information Bureau. Radio Announcements of 1941-1945” is based on the archives and has been published by the Russia Today media group. The complete collection includes all radio announcements by the Soviet Information Bureau during the war years: the first one was on 24 June 1941 and the last one was broadcast on 15 May 1945. The historical documents give the reader the opportunity to fully feel the atmosphere of those tragic and heroic days.
The radio announcements of the first two days of the war - 22 and 23 June – were prepared by the Chief Command of the Red Army. The first one says that “at dawn on 22 June 1941 the regular troops of the German army attacked our border military units from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea who managed to hold them back during the first half of the day.” The second report indicates that “in the Bialystok and Brest directions, after the fierce fighting, the enemy managed to push back our units and seize Kolno, Lomza and Brest”.
“During the war the radio announcements from the Soviet Information Bureau were the main if not the only source of information about the situation on the fronts for ordinary people. When listening to them people would hold their breath in order not to miss a single word. At first they cried when they heard news about the losses and defeats and later they cried from happiness when the days of victory were approaching. Preserving the historical truth about the Great Patriotic War is a priority for the current generation. This book serves as the documentary evidence,” Yelena Maslova said.
Director of the Brest Fortress Hero memorial complex Grigory Bysyuk thanked for the gift and assured those present that the unique books will be used by both staff and visitors of the museum for scientific and research activities.
