11 December 2025, 12:49

Volfovich: Belarus has not only the right, but the duty to legally assess Nazi actions

Aleksandr Volfovich

MINSK, 11 December (BelTA) – A legal assessment of the actions of Nazi criminals on Belarusian soil during the Great Patriotic War is more than a right, it is an obligation and a duty, essential to preserving historical memory and upholding our sovereignty, State Secretary of the Security Council Aleksandr Volfovich said at the international conference to mark the 77th anniversary of the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide that was held in Minsk on 11 December, BelTA has learned.

The 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide established genocide as the gravest crime against humanity. “However, today, unfortunately, we are witnessing attempts to rewrite and distort the history of the Great Victory over fascism. There are efforts to whitewash Nazi criminals and their accomplices even in countries whose peoples experienced fascism firsthand. These are the societies that would have had no chance of development, or even survival, had fascism prevailed,” noted Aleksandr Volfovich.

“The falsification and distortion of history carry destructive potential and create broad opportunities for destabilizing the political system of a state. That is why the issue of protecting historical memory has become especially pressing in recent years, in light of new challenges and threats stemming from external pressure and information attacks against our country,” stated Aleksandr Volfovich. “In the updated National Security Concept of Belarus, the protection of historical memory is recognized as a strategic national interest, while the distortion of historical truth is regarded as a key threat to national security. The prohibition of historical falsification is enshrined in the country’s fundamental law, representing a crucial step in shaping a national identity rooted in intergenerational continuity.”

Aleksandr Volfovich stressed that the crimes now classified as genocide must not only be remembered, but also actively discussed, and any attempts to distort historical facts must be resolutely confronted. He added that the Prosecutor General’s Office, together with its partners, is carrying out extensive and systematic work to identify those complicit in these crimes.

“The investigation into the genocide of the Belarusian people is aimed at ensuring the principles of inevitability, accountability, and justice. It is, without a doubt, a tribute to the memory of those who fell or were exterminated in our land. A legal assessment of the actions of Nazi criminals on Belarusian territory during the Great Patriotic War as genocide is not merely a right, but an obligation and a duty of our state to preserve historical memory and protect its sovereignty. For Belarusians, who lost every third person in that war, safeguarding history is a strategic imperative,” concluded Aleksandr Volfovich.