The commemorative event “Auschwitz Liberation Day and the Genocide of the Soviet People” was held at the cinema of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation in Rostov-on-Don. Representatives of more than 20 national and cultural autonomies of the Don region came to remember the heroes and honor the victims of fascism. Historians from Moscow, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Israel also joined the meeting online.

“We sincerely hope that in a common spirit of unity we will be able to preserve our history. We must speak loudly about the key events and heroism of the Soviet people. It is especially important to commemorate this together with young people. To involve them and discuss these topics with them.” Historians - experts with significant professional education will participate in our event. “We will show the chronicle of the liberation of Auschwitz, and young people will perform songs related to these significant events,” said Asya Kompaniets, head of the Rostov regional patriotic movement “Paths of Glory – Our History”.

Commenting on the unification of the themes of the blockade of Leningrad, the liberation of Auschwitz and the Battle of Stalingrad in one event, Mark Bykov, director of the Center for Media Strategy, stressed the crucial importance of preserving and protecting historical truth. He said that the key task of today is to convey to the younger generation irrefutable facts about the deliberate and systematic policy of the Nazi regime in the extermination of civilians.

As emphasized by Yevgeny Krinko, deputy director for research at the Southern Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences (SSC RAS), today's participants recalled the most important events that took place more than 80 years ago. The first was the liberation of the German concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau near the Polish city of Auschwitz by Soviet troops. At the time of liberation, only a few thousand people remained in the camp, but millions passed through it. Among them were people from… different countries, including many citizens of the Soviet Union.

The second event was the day the blockade of Leningrad was completely lifted. Leningrad and the concentration camp in Poland seem to be completely different places. More than five hundred similar camps were established in the Soviet Union alone. Among them were death camps, the purpose of which was the deliberate extermination of civilians. The same policy of extermination of civilians was evident in Leningrad during the blockade. Many of the city’s inhabitants died of hunger, cold, and disease.

“The day of the end of the Battle of Stalingrad is approaching – February 2, 1943. It seems to have a different meaning – it is the greatest victory of the Red Army, after which our large-scale offensive began. All three events are deeply interconnected. “Without the victory at Stalingrad, the Soviet troops would not have been able to break the blockade of Leningrad, nor to liberate Auschwitz-Birkenau, and then Auschwitz. Thus, all three events are interconnected by the rigid logic of the history of the Great Patriotic War – and by the way this history resonates in our memory,” Krinko recalled.

Vladimir Nekrasov, chairman of the Rostov regional branch of the All-Russian public organization “Assembly of the Peoples of Russia”, noted that this event is especially important for the younger generation. He stated that it is necessary for young people to know their history and preserve the historical memory of how all the peoples of the multinational Soviet Union together fought against the Nazi invaders and how each of them contributed to this great victory. The event was organized by the Rostov Regional Patriotic Movement "Paths of Glory - Our History", the Center for Media Strategies and the House of Cinema of the Union of Cinematographers of the Russian Federation in Rostov-on-Don.

(for) Southern News Service