Minsk 22 June (BelTA) - The war put an entire nation before the choice of life and death, Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Vladimir Kukharev said at a commemorative ceremony in the Trostenets memorial complex on 21 June. The event marked the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Great Patriotic War and the Genocide of the Belarusian People and was held at the Gates of Memory of the Trostenets memorial complex, BelTA has learned.
"Today we mark the 83rd anniversary of the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, which put an entire nation before the choice of life and death. The people who worked, lived, made plans... everything was erased in an instant. Today we can say with confidence that the choice was simple and clear: if we fail to defend ourselves, we are doomed to death. Because those who came here had a clear goal - the people must be destroyed," Vladimir Kukharev said.
Here, in Trostenets, more than 500,000 people were killed. There are many such places in Belarus. "We must pay tribute to our people, who survived, because they understood: if they did not win they would perish," Vladimir Kukharev stressed.
Hundreds of thousands of people rallied together, died for the future of their children. "The beginning of the war was extremely difficult. People knew they could survive only standing shoulder to shoulder. So it happened. Thanks to unity, thanks to the fact that every resident of the country did everything to bring victory, the country was liberated," Vladimir Kukharev added.
On the eve of the mournful date, Minsk residents remembered the generation of winners. "We, the descendants, must clearly understand: there is no one but us. We must work shoulder to shoulder to ensure that our country is independent and free. Everything is there for this: hardworking people, the leader who unites, the opportunity to work and believe in the future. We must do everything to ensure that our children and grandchildren always live in a happy, free, sovereign state," Vladimir Kukharev said.
Photos by Nadezhda Kostetskaya/BelTA
