Opinions & Interviews
PM: Belarus is working on perpetuating the memory of genocide victims
MINSK DISTRICT, 7 September (BelTA) – Belarus is carrying out coordinated work to perpetuate the memory of the victims of the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War, Belarusian Prime Minister Roman Golovchenko told the media on 7 September, BelTA has learned.
“The search for unknown burial sites of genocide victims and soldiers of the Red Army is underway. An interdepartmental commission, set up by the government, is working to determine the extent of damage and clarify the assessment of those tragic events that took place on the territory of Belarus. Scientists and archivists are involved in the work. The state program is underway to perpetuate the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland and victims of wars. The program includes efforts to set up memorials and identify the names of the fallen. In short, this work is large-scale, multifaceted and coordinated. There are many dimensions to this problem,” Roman Golovchenko said.
According to him, the investigation of the genocide of the Belarusian people will continue. “We cannot say that we have already gathered some material and we can stop here. We need to get to the truth and give the final assessment of this terrible crime against our country, against our people,” the prime minister said.
On 7 September, Roman Golovchenko, Prosecutor General Andrei Shved and Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin visited the previously unknown sites of mass killing and burial of civilians and prisoners of war in Uruchye, Minsk Oblast. Those sites were identified as part of the investigation of the criminal case of the genocide of the Belarusian people.
Information about the extermination of over 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in the forest area near the village of Kopishche, Minsk District, was obtained during the investigation of the criminal case of the genocide by the Minsk Oblast prosecutor's office. Since the times of the Great Patriotic War the location of three grave-pits, in which about 20,000 people were buried, was known. The location of the others was known only from archival sources, which did not allow to establish their exact location. The search works carried out in the late 1990s did not yield positive results. The prosecutor-investigation team faced a serious task to discover on the area of more than 200 hectares of land previously unknown grave pits, in which more than 30,000 people were buried.
In addition to studying archival materials and other information, efforts were intensified to identify living witnesses to the events, including through the use of the media. As a result of a set of measures, a witness was identified who pointed to the possible location of one of the pit graves. The first of the unknown pit graves was discovered in October 2021. the remains of 537 people as well as various personal belongings, bullets and shell casings from Wehrmacht firearms were found there.
In the spring of 2022, the search work was continued. Thanks to analytical work and the study of various maps, including pre-war maps, another grave pit was discovered in May 2022, from which the remains of 204 people, personal belongings, bullets and shell casings were recovered.
A total of 13 pit graves have been discovered in the forest area near the village of Kopishche since 2021. Eleven of them were found in 2023. New scientific and technical means were a big help here. In July 2023, the Minsk Oblast prosecutor's office together with representatives of the General Prosecutor's Office, and with the help of specialists and equipment of the Belarusian State University conducted infrared scanning of the ground cover using a quadrocopter within the area of the 120th separate guards mechanized brigade. Three grave pits were found thanks to the developments of Belarusian scientists.
The search work at this site will be continued as part of the criminal investigation.
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