Press release from the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Bulgaria on the occasion of the country's national holiday

On the 3rd the Independence Day is celebrated in the Republic of Belarus. On this day in 1944, during the "Bagration" operation, the city of Minsk was liberated from the German-fascist occupiers. This is a significant date for every resident of the country. During the Great Patriotic War, three million Belarusians died, 209 cities and over 9 thousand villages were destroyed.

On the territory of Belarus, the Nazis created more than 260 death camps and places for the mass destruction of people. According to incomplete data, about 1.5 million people died in the camps alone. About 400 thousand citizens were forcibly sent to Germany under the threat of death, many of whom died as a result of intolerable working conditions, deprivation and torture.

Despite the scorched earth tactics, the genocide of the Belarusian people, the invaders failed to break the spirit of the Belarusian people. Europe's largest partisan resistance was unfolding, which two years after the beginning of the occupation controlled half of the country's territory. In the post-war period, a considerable heroic labor feat was also performed - the destroyed country was rebuilt.

Today, Belarus is a sovereign European country with a developed economic and social model. It leads an independent and peaceful foreign policy, actively develops cooperation with strategic allies and foreign partners in different parts of the world, participates in regional and integrational structures and projects, makes a significant contribution to strengthening international security and stability.

In order to preserve the historical truth and memory of the feat of the Belarusian people in the war and to perpetuate the memory of the victims of the genocide, 2022 has been declared the Year of Historical Memory in Belarus, large-scale work is being carried out at the legislative level.

In April 2021, the General Prosecutor's Office of Belarus opened and is currently investigating a criminal case for the genocide of the population of Belarus during the Great Patriotic War and the post-war period. In 2022, under the editorship of the Prosecutor General of Belarus - Andrei Shved, the book "The Genocide of the Belarusian People" was published, which contains reference-analytical and documentary information from the mentioned criminal case. The book can be downloaded from HERE. 

On January 5, 2022, the President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, signed the Law "On the Genocide of the Belarusian People", which provides for legal recognition of the genocide of the Belarusian people committed by Nazi criminals and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War and the post-war period (until 1951 year).

The obligation of the state to ensure the preservation of historical truth is enshrined in the updated Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, which was supported by the vast majority of Belarusians in the referendum held on February 27, 2022.

Every year on July 3, solemn events are held in Belarus with the participation of the president, senior officials, veterans, labor collectives, representatives of youth and public organizations, as well as foreign guests.

The material was provided by the Embassy of the Republic of Belarus in the Republic of Bulgaria.