Press releases

MOSCOW, 23 January (BelTA) - The Belarusian-Israeli full-length documentary film "The Guardians of Remembrance" directed by Boris Maftsir was premiered at the Russian State University for the Humanities (RGGU) with the assistance of the international project "Culture Without Borders" under the auspices of UNESCO and the Solomon Mikhoels Cultural Center in Moscow on 22 January, BelTA learned from the press service of the Belarusian Embassy in Russia.

The screening was attended by Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Belarus to Russia Igor Petrishenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Israel to Russia Dorit Golender, representatives of the Rabbinate Russia, RGGU Vice Rector Alexander Bezborodov, representatives of public organizations, students and professors of the RGGU.

In his welcoming address Igor Petrishenko noted that Belarus does a lot to preserve the memory of the tragic pages in the Belarusian history and to counter manifestations of Nazism and attempts to falsify the history.

"The Guardians of Remembrance” is the first film in the project “The Holocaust in the Soviet Union”. The locations for the film shooting were the places of mass executions of Jews on the territory of Belarus during the Nazi occupation. The film "The Guardians of Remembrance” has been made by Zvi Shefy Productions (Israel), in cooperation with the Nonstop Media film company (Belarus) and its producer Yuri Igrusha. The film does not contain the archival materials, documentary footage or photos of that time. Only eyewitness accounts of those who saw and remember the tragic events: the local residents who witnessed the execution, torture and abuse of their neighbors-Jews; the Jews- survivors; historians and researchers who keep the memory of the Holocaust alive for the sake of contemporaries and descendants. According to most sources, about 800,000 Jews were killed in Belarus during the German occupation from 22 June 1941 till 28 July 1944.