Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 29 June (BelTA) - Belarus has made an important contribution to preserving the memory about World War II, Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen told the media while visiting the Trostenets Memorial Complex on 29 June, BelTA has learned.

“It is very important not to forget the victims, their names and, most importantly, the way they died. Belarus is making an important contribution by exposing this place to the world again. This memorial has been built in the shortest possible time and I admire this. This is important not only for Belarus but also for Austria, Europe and the world,” Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen said.

For his part, former Austrian President Heinz Fischer noted that his family's history is closely connected with the Trostenets death camp. The relatives of his wife were brought here in 1942. “Belarus has preserved the war monuments. I want to thank the government and the president of the country for their contribution to this cause. For a long time, we, in Austria, did not know about Maly Trostenets. The information about the death camp began emerging some 15 years ago. Eight years ago, we began the work on establishing the names of the death camp victims and we spent the last two or three years working on the monument,” Heinz Fischer said.

On 29 June the foreign guests visited the memorial complex, got acquainted with the exposition laid out in two rail cars which were carrying prisoners. Konstantin Kostyuchenko, the author of the Gate of Memory monument, talked about its history and meaning.