Trostenets: the international memory of the great tragedy

Trostenets is one of the largest places of mass extermination of civilian population by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. It was fourth after Auschwitz, Majdanek and Treblinka in terms of the number of people killed. The Trostenets death camp, Shashkovka forest (crematorium pit), Blagovshchina (34 mass graves) have become a place of memory and mourning for over 200,000 people who were killed here, according to official figures.

On 29 June the Trostenets Memorial Complex hosted a commemorative ceremony to pay tribute to the memory of the Nazi victims. Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko together with Federal Presidents of Germany and Austria, Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Alexander Van der Bellen, addressed the event, recalling the importance of honoring the names of the dead and never forgetting the conditions under which the tragedy occurred. The event was attended by former Austrian President Heinz Fischer, Secretary of State – Chief of the Cabinet of the Polish President Krzysztof Szczerski, Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies of the Czech Parliament Vojtech Filip, Deputy CEO for Diplomacy of the World Jewish Congress Maram Stern and many other foreign dignitaries.

Three years ago, the Gate of Memory was erected on the site of Eastern Europe’s biggest death camp. This monument became a symbolic entry to the memorial complex. The second phase of the complex – memorial cemetery – has recently been unveiled in the Blagovshchina forest in the place of mass executions people knew little about.

The head of state noted that Belarusian architects managed to embody in marble a fine line between life and death, a line that lies between a human being and a pocketful of ash. He expressed words of gratitude to the attending presidents, politicians, community leaders, representatives of religious communities, municipal authorities and residents of European cities, and all people who contributed to the commemoration of the Trostenets victims.

A music piece Minute of Memory and Sorrow was played to mourn the Nazi victims and caution against such tragedies in the future. It was followed by a poetry and violin concerto. At the end of the commemorative ceremony white pidgins were released into the sky and the Belarusian president and distinguished guests laid flowers at the commemorative plaque in the Blagovshchina memorial cemetery.