Sergeyenko: to win war of meanings for us is to prevent new all-out war
The genocide during the Great Patriotic War is one of the most terrible lessons in the history of mankind, which is hard to think about but must not be forgotten – as stated by the Head of the Belarus President Administration, Igor Sergeyenko, at the international scientific and practical conference dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide held in Minsk today
“We are talking about a crime against humanity that was unprecedented in its cruelty and scale, and we have named it with the comprehensive word of ‘genocide’. This word is painful in the heart of humanity. It is no need for us to be told about the seriousness of the situation that is creating a new round for the long-standing West-East confrontation. Since ancient times, Belarus was the first to face a blow when such a confrontation turned into a hot phase. The bells of Khatyn, the deathly silence of Trostenets, Masyukovshchina, Bronnaya Gora, and Dalva sound stronger than any warning for us, Belarusians, and citizens of the post-Soviet republics," the Head of the President Administration stressed.
Mr. Sergeyenko recalled that about 200 Belarusian villages and their residents, including women and babies, were burned down. “More than eighty years have passed, but we remember how our whole country turned into a collective concentration camp during the occupation. We remember how the Nazis cynically coded the acts of murder of our children, women and the elderly with such names as Winter Magic or Magic Flute. Just think about these names. More than 140 punitive operations of the kind were conducted on the territory of Belarus, and that was just the beginning. The plan of the march to the east was known. Hitler's Germany made grandiose plans for the development of the vast eastern lands rich in natural resources. It was simply necessary to clear those territories of the Slavic population. They would have gone further then,” he said.
Mr. Sergeyenko also voiced the well-known fact that Hitler considered the extermination of Jews as an experiment, “The Nazis planned to conduct that experiment as a rehearsal for the global cleansing of the territory of the Soviet republics. Well, who else – besides us – needs this historical truth?”
In his speech, the Head of the President Administration stated that Nazism is an obvious evil for the heirs of the winners of the Great Patriotic War. Meanwhile, it is a symbol of former national power and greatness for revanchists. Collaborators and traitors of that time called aiding the Nazi regime a struggle for independence.
“Is there a compromise possible between those who consider themselves the successor of winners and losers? It is hardly possible. Contemporaries of the ideology of Nazism – in whatever country they live – will discredit the history of the great feat of the Soviet people in any way. We call this informational and ideological confrontation the war of meanings, and – to stand our ground and win it – means for us to prevent a new all-out war," the Head of the Presidential Administration said.
Mr. Sergeyenko urged everyone to remember and remind opponents of the victims of fascism, “It is even more necessary to talk about the heroes who stopped the German death machine. This memory makes us strong. The preservation of memory is a matter of national security of the states and peoples who are the heirs of the winners. As Belarus’ President Aleksandr Lukashenko said, the peace is impossible without it [historical memory].” He addressed those present to convey the thoughts and ideas voiced at the conference to the countries and regions they represented.
