March 22 – Anniversary of the tragic death of the residents of Khatyn, destroyed by the Nazi invaders
March 22 – Anniversary of the tragic death of the residents of Khatyn, destroyed by the Nazi invaders
Khatyn is not just a page of the Great Patriotic War, it is a symbol of the great tragedy that occurred on March 22, 1943. On this day, two platoons of the 1st company of the 118th police security battalion were sent to restore the communication line damaged by partisans between Pleshchenitsy and Logoisk. Having approached the place of the cliff, the police were ambushed by the Avenger partisan detachment. The partisans fired at the fascist convoy. The Nazis sentenced innocent people from the village of Khatyn to death.
The March day of 1943 was the last for 149 Khatyn residents, of which 75 were children under 16 years of age. 26 houses disappeared in the flames. In place of the forest village there were ashes and lonely protruding chimneys.
The memorial complex created on the site of Khatyn has become a world symbol of the countless sacrifices, suffering and courage of the Belarusian people in the Great Patriotic War.