Working trip to Svetlogorsk District, Gomel Oblast

Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko took part in a ceremony on 21 June to open the memorial complex Ola at the site of the village of Ola, which was burned down by the Nazi during World War Two.

During the ceremony Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that the year of the 75th anniversary had become the year to recall the memory of the tragic fate of the Belarusian nation. “Starting with the memorial church where we lit a candle to victims and heroes of the Great Patriotic War on the eve of 9 May, we continue walking the road of sorrow in the wake of the cruel crimes committed by the Nazi. We visited the village of Borki yesterday. Today we are here, at the site of the burned-down village of Ola. Tomorrow we will be in Brest to recall the heroes, who were the first line of defense against the invaders,” the president said.

Aleksandr Lukashenko continued: “Today when the feat of our nation is doubted, we do everything to make see the truth those, who still believe that Hitler was trying to bring a civilization to the Slavs. Belarusians, Ukrainians, and Russians were not humans in the eyes of the enemy. The Nazi came into our lands upon the Fuhrer’s orders in order to find the human resources to till fields and feed the great German empire.”

Aleksandr Lukashenko stated that the resistance the invaders faced became fatal for civilians. The Nazi troops responded with murders and atrocities in order to break the spirit of disobedience.

“Nearly 2,000 people, more than half of them were kids, were burned alive here, in the village of Ola which became the last refuge for residents of the nearby villages. It is nearly 12 Khatyns! [Khatyn was another Belarusian village burned down by the Nazi]” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.