BREST, 1 May (BelTA) - Representatives of the Slovak civil association Brother for Brother have joined an international motorcycle rally celebrating the 80th anniversary of the Soviet victory over fascism. The route goes through several countries of the European Union, Belarus and Russia. The Brest Hero Fortress Memorial is one of the major stops on the route of the international motorcycle rally, BelTA has learned.
The delegation includes representatives of Slovakia and a number of other countries of the European Union. Together they intend to cover several thousand kilometers. The bikers are travelling together with their families. Chairman of the association Matus Alexa took his two small sons with him.
“Our organization is grateful to all the heroes of the Great Patriotic War. We have been trying for many years for people in the EU to keep their memory alive. However, many in the EU would like everyone to forget about these heroes,” the Slovak motorcyclist said with regret. He added that the rally is joined by like-minded people from other EU countries. “This way we show not only to the people of Belarus and Russia, but to the entire former Soviet Union that the EU citizens also honor and remember the heroes of the Great Patriotic War and our liberators. Despite the intentions of European politicians to ruin the memory and history, to ban it, we, as representatives of our nations, want to show that we remember, that we are grateful. Politicians can say whatever they want, but it is still the people who decide,” Matus Alexa said.
Along the route, the motorcyclists are visiting historically important places to honor the memory of soldiers and war victims. In particular, they took part in an excursion around Brest Fortress, laid flowers at the Eternal Flame and paid tribute to the defenders of the legendary citadel.
“Our journey is important for all the peoples. We want to show that history cannot be changed. Our ancestors, your ancestors fought for their land, against atrocities. You helped us to liberate our land, and we will always be grateful for this,” the Slovak national said. “Almost all members of our organization have a family member who suffered during the Second World War. Most of us have relatives who participated in partisan units, in the First Czechoslovak Army Corps, which helped to liberate Czechoslovakia together with the Red Army. That is why we brought a replica of the First Czechoslovak Army Corps banner.”
Karel Tkadlčík from the Czech Republic paid his first visit to Brest Fortress. He read about it a lot before. “Coming here and seeing the full scale of it, I realize how hard it was and how monumental it is,” the man said. “We must always remember about the historical memory, about all the atrocities of Nazism, which were committed in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, and we must preserve for future generations all the monuments, history, our knowledge about World War II,” the participant of the motorcycle rally said.
While in Belarus, the motorcyclists will meet with Belarusian representatives to visit memorial sites and museums.
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