Belarus marks 70th anniversary of Minsk ghetto destruction

Modern Belarus has been doing a lot to preserve the memory of the Holocaust victims, Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei said at a ceremony in memory of the 70th anniversary of the destruction of the Minsk ghetto: “Minsk ghetto was one of the largest in Europe. It held about 100,000 people. It was here that the Nazis began to implement the doctrine of systematic destruction of the Jewish people. Prisoners from Austria, Poland and other countries were brought here for subsequent execution.
Yama is not only a monument to the tragedy, but also a monument to the feat of the Jewish people. Many prisoners of the ghetto fought for their freedom. We are proud that the Belarusians treated the tragedy of the Jewish people as their own. At the risk of their own lives they saved thousands of Jews from certain death,” said the head of the Foreign Ministry of Belarus”.

Foreign Minister also recalled that 711 Belarusians were awarded the highest honorary title "Righteous Among the Nations". According to the Jewish tradition, Vladimir Makei laid a stone brought from the outskirts of Jerusalem on the monument in memory of the ghetto victims.