BREST, 23 June (BelTA) - The date of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War – 22 June 1941 - a day of remembrance and mourning that divided the life of people into before and after, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a ceremony to lay wreaths in the Brest Fortress on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War on 22 June, BelTA has learned.
“For all Belarusians 22 June 1941 is a day of remembrance and mourning, a date that divided the life of people into before and after. That summer Sunday morning became the terrible dividing line between peace and war, between light and darkness, life and death,” the head of state said. "An armed, ruthless armada moved onto our land, carrying death and slavery. Fascists spared neither old people nor babies."
The president noted that after 9 May 1945, the Germans called that June day fatal for their nation. "80 years ago Hitler's killers intended to sail through Belarus with a victory march. They wanted to walk through our land as easily and quickly as they did through Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Norway, France, Greece, Poland. They marched past solemnly all over the current European Union," the Belarusian leader said.
