Press releases

MINSK, 20 March (BelTA) – The documents from the national archives of the Republic of Belarus revealing the details of the crime of the Nazis and their collaborators against the village of Khatyn will be profiled in the exhibition “Khatyn, the Shrine of National Memory” which will open ahead of the the 75th anniversary of the tragedy of the Belarusian village, BelTA learned from the archive.

The photo exhibition, which opens on 20 March, will feature the documents of the Belarusian partisan formations, the German reports about the events of that day, the testimonies of the former executioners and eye witnesses.

The exhibition will also present the lists of the victims showing that Khatyn was not the only village massacred by the Nazis during the occupation: in 1941-1944 a total of 628 Belarusian villages shared the fate of Khatyn. They were burned down together with their residents, 186 them never reemerged after the war.

The exhibition has been put together by the Khatyn State Memorial Complex, the Belarusian State Archives of Cine, Photo and Audio Records and the Zonal State Archives in Borisov.

The exhibition will operate in two versions: the static exhibition will feature the original documents while the traveling one will showcase the digital copies of the documents and photos.

A ceremony to open the exhibition will be attended by experts: representatives of the archives, the Institute of History of the National Academy of Sciences, universities, museums and local history experts.