On May 28, 2024, a dialogue platform was held for the 1st year students of the Faculty of Pediatrics on the topic “Genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War” with the participation of the Deputy Head of the Department for Supervision of the Execution of Legislation in the Prosecutor’s Office of the Vitebsk Region, Senior Adviser of Justice I.V. Metelitsa. Igor Vladimirovich briefed those present on the progress of the investigation into the criminal case of the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War.

It has been established that during the years of Nazi occupation on the territory of Belarus: at least 3 million civilians and prisoners of war were killed, or every third resident of Belarus; More than 380 thousand people were driven into German slavery, many of whom died from unbearable conditions of exploitation. The abduction of children for forced labor was also widespread. There have been numerous cases of children being used as blood donors; over 200 cities were destroyed, including such large ones as Minsk, Gomel, Vitebsk, Polotsk, Orsha, Borisov, Slutsk; 4 More than 9.5 thousand villages were burned. Not only the Nazi invaders took part in the genocide of civilians, but also their European allies from Italy, Romania, Hungary, France, Slovakia and Finland, as well as accomplices from among the Ukrainian, Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian and other collaborationist and nationalist formations.

The investigation into the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War is a tribute to the memory of those killed and contributes to the establishment and preservation of historical justice, serves the implementation of the anti-fascist principle: “Never again!”