Prayers for the Fallen: Belarus Marks Nazi Camp Liberation Day

OCP News Service – 12/03/2024

Minsk-Belarus: On the International Day of the Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps (April 11), Metropolitan Veniamin of Minsk and Zaslavl, Patriarchal Exarch of All Belarus, participated in a moving requiem service held at the Stalag-352 memorial complex in Minsk.

The commemoration began with a litany for the victims, led by Metropolitan Veniamin at the Church of the Exaltation of the Cross, co-officiated by the church rector, Priest Oleg Kuntsevich.

In his archpastoral address, Bishop Benjamin paid tribute to the resilience of Belarusians who endured unimaginable suffering in the Nazi camps.

“Our compatriots never lost their spirit, even in the face of such inhumanity,” he remarked. “History reminds us that evil can take root quickly. The German people, who gave the world so much beauty, succumbed to fascism’s twisted ideology within a few years.”

Following the service, clergy, government officials, veterans, youth groups, and representatives of public organizations laid flowers at the Stalag-352 memorial.

Remembering the Horrors of the Past

April 11th marks the anniversary of the Buchenwald prisoner uprising, a pivotal moment in the liberation of Nazi concentration camps. Camps such as Sachsenhausen, Dachau, and Ravensbrück were also liberated in April 1945.

Belarus itself bore the brunt of Nazi atrocities, with over 260 death camps established during World War II. The largest of these were located in Minsk, Ozarichi, Gomel, Polotsk, Bobruisk, and the infamous Trostenets camp. Over 1.4 million people perished in these camps.

Stalag-352, the largest prisoner-of-war camp in Belarus, witnessed the deaths of approximately 80,000 Soviet prisoners between 1941 and 1944.

The commemoration serves as a stark reminder of the horrors of the Nazi regime and the importance of remembering the victims’ sacrifice.

Source:

OCP News Service