MINSK, 29 November (BelTA) - The fascist invaders destroyed and burned at least 10,300 Belarusian villages during the Great Patriotic War, Valery Tolkachev, the head of the investigative group for the investigation of the criminal case into the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War, told the media before the meeting of the National Interdepartmental Coordinating Council for Patriotic Education, BelTA has learned.
"The investigation team established that the number of destroyed villages is much higher than previously thought. Earlier the figure was estimated at 9,200. Thanks to the investigation, we can now state that this figure is at least 10,300. We are talking about the destroyed villages, including together with residents," Valery Tolkachev said.
It is too early to talk about any final figures, he said. The investigation of the criminal case into the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War and the post-war period continues. “Every day we receive new evidence, new facts about the atrocities committed on the territory of our country,” he stressed.
The head of the investigative group added that Belarus had sent a large number of requests to foreign countries. “Some have responded to us, some decided not to answer, hiding behind some political motives,” Valery Tolkachev said.
According to him, the investigation of the criminal case also pursues another important goal - patriotic education of the younger generation. The procuracy agencies do quite a lot of work in this direction. “During the investigation of the criminal case we pay attention to the ideological education of the younger generation,” he said.
According to Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences Vladimir Gusakov, a lot of people are involved in the work to establish new facts of the genocide of the Belarusian people. In particular, the Belarusian Academy of Sciences has transferred a large amount of data to the General Prosecutor's Office, and the joint work is still going on.
