Belarusian diplomats paid tribute to memory of compatriots who died in Austrian concentration camps
A delegation of the Belarusian Embassy visited memorial complexes dedicated to the victims of Nazi concentration camps in Austria, including on the territory of the former Mauthausen concentration camp and its branches, sb.by reports with reference to Belarus’ Foreign Ministry
During the events dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, the Belarusian diplomats laid wreaths and flowers at memorial plaques erected in memory of compatriots who tragically died in the Mauthausen dungeons, the Ebensee and Gusen concentration camp branches. They paid tribute to the memory of the USSR Hero, General Dmitry Karbyshev, by laying flowers at the monument at the place of his execution, and to Soviet prisoners of war, victims of the so-called Mühlviertel Hare Hunt in Ried in der Riedmark.
The Mühlviertel Hare Hunt was a tragic event that took place in February 1945 in the Mühlviertel Region (Upper Austria).
On the night of February 1st-2nd, 1945, a group of more than 500 Soviet prisoners of war carried out a desperate mass escape from the death block of the Mauthausen Nazi concentration camp. The Nazi authorities immediately announced that and organised an unprecedented manhunt — the so-called Hasenjagd (hunting hares), involving the SS, local police, the Wehrmacht and even the local civilian population and hunters.
For several weeks, the escaped prisoners were hunted down and mercilessly killed. Particularly brutal massacres took place in the village of Ried in der Riedmark and the surrounding area. Only 11 people survived: they were helped by caring locals who risked their own lives.
The tragic event has become a symbol of the inhuman cruelty of the Nazi regime and at the same time an example of the courage and heroism of captured Soviet soldiers.
The diplomats also paid tribute to the memory of the USSR Hero, Intelligence Colonel Lev Manevich, a native of the Mogilev Region. The ceremony took place at the St. Martin City Cemetery in Linz, where the ashes of the Soviet officer rest.
Lev Manevich was a man of extraordinary destiny and exceptional courage. He was born in 1898 in the town of Chausy in the Mogilev Region and was taken to the Mauthausen concentration camp at the end of 1943, from where he was later transferred to the Ebensee branch. Nevertheless, the man continued to engage in underground anti-fascist activities, organising resistance groups among prisoners.
On May 5th, 1945, just a few days before the end of the war, the Ebensee concentration camp was liberated by American troops. However, Lev Manevich's health was so undermined by years of imprisonment and torture that, on May 9th, 1945, on Victory Day, he died of tuberculosis in an American field hospital.
In 1965, Lev Manevich was posthumously awarded the USSR Hero title. His name is forever inscribed in history as an example of boundless devotion to the Motherland and unwavering courage in the fight against fascism.
Visiting memorial sites in Austria is an important part of the general policy of the Republic of Belarus to preserve historical memory and prevent revision of the results of the Second World War.
During the memorial events, the Belarusian diplomats in Austria were guided by the truth that those who forget their past are doomed to relive it, since memory is the main enemy of war.
