Historical Memory as the Foundation of the Future

On 6 October 2026, staff members and students of Vitebsk State Medical University–members of the “I Serve the Motherland” military-patriotic club, led by Igor Lyatos, Head of the Military Department–visited a site of mass killing and burial of victims of genocide during the Great Patriotic War, located in the agricultural town of Smoliany in Orsha District.

The event began with a visit to a themed exhibition at the House of Culture. Igor Metelitsa, Deputy Head of the Department for Supervision of Compliance with Legislation in the Armed Forces, guided the visitors and spoke about the tragic events of the war years, showing material evidence discovered during search operations. These included personal belongings of the victims, such as dishes, shoes, and household items.

The participants then proceeded to the mass burial and killing site of victims of Nazi terror. Igor Vladimirovich noted that Smoliany is just one of many places across Belarus where evidence of Nazi crimes has been discovered in recent years. The scale of the tragedy continues to emerge: since 2021, the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Belarus has been investigating a criminal case concerning the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War and the post-war period.

Evidence of these crimes is confirmed both by archival documents and by the results of ongoing excavations.

According to the investigation, the burial pit contained several layers of remains. The upper layer alone contained the remains of around 20 people, including women and children whose lives were taken by the occupying forces.

As the criminal investigation continues, new facts about the crimes are being established, along with the identities of those involved in the extermination of Belarus’s civilian population.

The participants laid flowers at the mass grave and observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims.

As members of the “I Serve the Motherland” military-patriotic club noted, revisiting the pages of the past helps establish clear moral principles. Such events teach us to value peace and demonstrate why it is so important to pass on the truth about what people endured–for the sake of a peaceful and safe future.