FM: memorial plaque unveiled at Soviet military cemetery in Austrian St. Pölten

A memorial plaque has been unveiled at a Soviet military cemetery in the capital of Lower Austria. The ceremony, dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the end of WWII, has been attended by the ambassadors of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, Russia’s Permanent Representative to the OSCE, St. Pölten Deputy Mayor, members of the city and land councils, as well as representatives of public organisations, sb.by reports with reference to Belarus’ Foreign Ministry.

Speaking at the ceremony, Ambassador of Belarus to Austria Andrei Dapkiunas noted the importance of preserving historical memory, “I would like to address our Austrian friends – representatives of local authorities and public organisations who – 80 years after the end of the terrible war – continue to preserve the memory of the heroic deeds of the Red Army soldiers. This memory remains a necessary foundation, an element of friendly relations between our peoples and the people of Austria. We believe in the future of these relations and are grateful for preserving the memory of the heroism of the Soviet people.”

As noted by the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s press service, new memorial plaques on the stele were unveiled at the Soviet military cemetery in the presence of representatives of local authorities and Austrian organisations. These honour the memory of 258 Red Army soldiers, whose names were found in 2023-2024 by activists of the Memory Research Centre as part of the large-scale search operations. The plaques were produced and installed at the expense of the Lower Austria Province.

“The city of St. Pölten will never forget who liberated our city and whose sons gave their lives here in this land for freedom, neutrality, peace and prosperity of our motherland,” St. Pölten Deputy Mayor Harald Ludwig noted during the event.

At the invitation of the city administration, the participants also visited the exhibition – A Look into the Shadow. St. Pölten and National Socialism – which opened in the city hall. The exhibition covers the period from the Anschluss of 1938 to the withdrawal of the Soviet troops in 1955, briefing on the liberation of the city from the Nazis in 1945 and the life in Austria during the years of the presence of allied troops.

As Director of the Archives of the Federal State of Lower Austria Thomas Lesch emphasised, this was a unique period in history, marked by the interaction of different cultures in a country that had survived the horrors of war. According to him, many Austrians fondly remember the years spent working together to rebuild the destroyed city.

“St. Pölten was liberated by the Red Army in April 1945 during the Vienna Offensive operation. The liberation of the city became an important part of the final stage of WWII in Europe. Hundreds of the Red Army soldiers were killed and wounded during the battles for the liberation of St. Pölten. It was near this city in early May 1945 that the first meeting of Soviet and American troops took place, which became a symbol of the end of the Nazi occupation of Austria,” the Belarusian Foreign Ministry’s press service added.