BREST, 6 May (BelTA) - A commemorative meeting took place at the Gai Tract memorial complex in Baranovichi on 5 May, marking the 81st anniversary of the Great Victory. The key event of the occasion was the presentation of a new nationwide patriotic project Flame of Victory, BelTA has learned.
The event was attended by the Belaya Rus party leadership, over 200 representatives of the Secretariat and the Minsk and Baranovichi city branches, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Slovakia to Belarus Jozef Migaš, as well as activists from the Iskra (Spark) youth movement. Participants laid flowers at the central monument and lit memorial lamps in memory of the three thousand people executed here in 1942.
“We have come to honor the memory of those who perished in that terrible time. They defended peace on Belarusian land at the cost of their lives. We want everyone to bow their heads and remember the events of 1941–1945,” said Olga Chemodanova, chairperson of the Belaya Rus party.
In the early years of the Great Patriotic War, mass killings took place in Baranovichi, not only of local residents, as the occupiers brought prisoners from various countries to the city. Witnesses mentioned citizens of Poland and Austria, but the largest number of detainees came from what was then Czechoslovakia. In the summer of 1942, three trains were sent along from the Theresienstadt concentration camp in Czechoslovakia. They were transported to Volkovysk in “emergency” cars, and then reloaded into enclosed freight cars. One of the trains arrived at Baranovichi station; the prisoners were taken outside the city and executed. On 24 June 1972, the Gai Tract memorial complex was opened at the site of the mass execution. A black marble plaque is mounted on the wall with inscriptions in Russian and Czech reading “To the bright memory of our Czechoslovak brothers”, along with a myrtle branch, a symbol of eternal remembrance. In front of the wall is a concrete slab bearing the words: “Here in June 1942, the German‑fascist invaders brutally executed three thousand citizens of Czechoslovakia”.
“I will be honest: I am here for the first time, even though I have lived in Belarus for seven or eight years. I am ashamed. Do you know why? Because I should have come here long ago to learn about this event, this history. I am very glad to be here today. When we celebrate Victory Day, we must be honest and say that Slovaks and Czechs died here as well. Terrible events. It is horrifying. All these facts are very important. So that we do not think that it is all over,” Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Slovakia to Belarus Jozef Migaš said.
The key moment of the commemorative meeting at the Gai Tract was the presentation of the new patriotic project Flame of Victory, which will take place across all regions of the country - on central city streets, in shopping centers, parks, and public gardens. Young party members in military uniform will congratulate residents on the holiday, handing out postcards with QR codes linking to an interactive “Patriot’s Route” map featuring historical sites. A photo initiative with the hashtag #FlameOfVictory has also been launched. According to Belaya Rus, the commemorative meeting at the Gai Tract is not merely a nod to tradition: today, more than ever, it is vital that young people not only know the dates but also feel a personal connection to that great feat of heroism. The Flame of Victory project gives everyone the opportunity to become part of a living dialogue about heroism, to ignite their own spark of memory, and to pass it on.
Yan Ostrozhinsky, a member of the Minsk city headquarters of Iskra, emphasized that the project is important for young people because it preserves historical memory.
Photos by the Belaya Rus party
Follow us on:
