Belarus president, Austrian chancellor unveil monument to Nazism victims

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko and Federal Chancellor of Austria Sebastian Kurz unveiled the monument Array of Names in the memorial complex Trostenets.

The visit of the Austrian dignitary was timed to the unveiling of the monument, which is designed to honor memory of more than 10,000 Austrian citizens of Jewish descent, who were killed in Trostenets by the Nazi in 1941-1942.

Aleksandr Lukashenko and Sebastian Kurz placed lit oil lamps near the Gates of Memory Monument. After making speeches before those present the Belarus president and the Austrian chancellor laid flowers at the monument Array of Names while accompanied with mournful music. They observed a minute of silence in memory of the fallen.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Belarus pays close attention to immortalizing memory of the victims of Nazi terror campaign. The memorial of pan-European importance in Trostenets is a result of joint efforts of the Belarusian state, politicians, public figures, representatives of religious organizations, civil servants and residents of European cities, and certainly the living witnesses of those times and relatives of the dead.”

In his words, the Belarusian side enthusiastically backed the Austrian initiative, primarily that of the president and the federal chancellor, to erect a monument in memory of the Austrian citizens, who died in the Trostenets death camp.

Aleksandr Lukashenko said: “Over 10,000 citizens of Austria were killed here. Women and children, old and young people. They were slaughtered simply due to their ethnic descent, for following a faith different from their butchers’, for adherence to some other ideology. The Array of Names Monument we are unveiling today will not simply retrieve names of thousands of victims out of oblivion. It stands as a symbol of the desire of new generations to know about the tragic fate of their ancestors and preserve memory of them.”

The monument is a reminder of how far aggression, which overpowers common sense, how far exorbitant political ambitions, anti-scientific and antihuman theories can take you, the head of state stressed.

“May this stone symbol become an eternal reminder of the fact that peace is very fragile and human life is priceless. Our sacred duty is to pass on memory about that war to the descendants, to warn the future generations not to repeat mistakes of the past, to preserve peace on earth,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stated.

On behalf of the Belarusian nation and himself personally Aleksandr Lukashenko thanked Sebastian Kurz and the Austrian delegation, who had come to Belarus to personally pay a tribute of respect and honor memory of those, who had been blamelessly burnt and killed at the site during World War Two. “It is a heroic deed on your part, on the part of the Austrian citizens, who live today. You show an example to other people of how victims of your nation should be treated because representatives of dozens of nations are buried here. But Austria was the first country to come here with memory. It is precious,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

Members of the Austrian delegation, representatives of the Jewish community, and war veterans also laid flowers and stones as a symbol of sorrow of the Jewish nation at the foot of the monument. Former inmates and families of the dead were special guests during the event.