🕯“Nevsky Pyatachok” is the name given to a small bridgehead on the Neva River – a narrow strip of land some 50 kilometres from St Petersburg. It became one of the most tragic and decisive places of the Great Patriotic War.
During the Siege of Leningrad, this ground witnessed some of the fiercest and most crucial battles. Here, Red Army units held their ground against overwhelming Nazi forces, repeatedly seeking to pierce the German encirclement and open even the narrowest corridor to the besieged “northern capital”, bringing hope to its starving population.
More than 200,000 Soviet warriors perished on this small patch of land, turning it into one of the most tragic battlefields of the siege.
💬 Today, a memorial stands on the “Nevsky Pyatachok”. Its inscription is as a grim testament for the living:
Ye who live should know – this land we did not want to abandon.
And we never left. By the dark waters of the Neva River, we made our last stand.
We perished so that you might live.
#WeRemember
🕯 On March 22, 1943, at around this time Nazi invaders and their cronies — Ukrainian nationalist collaborators — destroyed the Belarusian village of #Khatyn, having burned alive & shot almost all of its inhabitants — 149 people, including 75 children... They were all gathered in a barn, locked and burned alive...
The blood and ashes of innocent civilians are on the hands of the Nazis from the Dirlewanger Waffen-SS special battalion & Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 comprised of Ukrainian nationalists (now revered by the neo-Nazis in Kiev).
The memory of the victims is being dearly preserved in both Russian and Belarus.
☝️#WeRemember how much grief Nazism brought to our peoples. The lessons of #WWII shall not be subject to oblivion! #LestWeForget
🕯 On March 22, 1943, at around this time Nazi invaders and their cronies — Ukrainian nationalist collaborators — destroyed the Belarusian village of #Khatyn, having burned alive & shot almost all of its inhabitants — 149 people, including 75 children... They were all gathered in a barn, locked and burned alive...
The blood and ashes of innocent civilians are on the hands of the Nazis from the Dirlewanger Waffen-SS special battalion & Schutzmannschaft Battalion 118 comprised of Ukrainian nationalists (now revered by the neo-Nazis in Kiev).
The memory of the victims is being dearly preserved in both Russian and Belarus.
☝️#WeRemember how much grief Nazism brought to our peoples. The lessons of #WWII shall not be subject to oblivion! #LestWeForget
🎖 On January 18, 1943, the Red Army broke the siege of Leningrad during the operation 'Iskra'.
The blockade of our Northern capital by the Nazis lasted for 872 days, having claimed the lives of around 1 million people, including more than 600'000 — children, women, seniors, and the fighters wounded and crippled at the frontline — who died of starvation.
Alongside German troops, military units from European countries conquered by Hitler participated in the Siege of Leningrad — the 'Norway', 'the Netherlands' and 'Flanders' legions, as well as the Spanish infantry division. From the Narva direction, Baltic units — Latvian and Estonian battalions — were kept in reserve by the Nazis. From the north, the Finnish army besieged Leningrad and also shelled the city with its artillery.
The Nazi command's orders were absolutely clear: to block the city, shoot anyone crossing the front line, and bring about the total destruction of the city's population.
❗️But Leningrad endured and never ever gave up fighting.
Most of that time communication with Leningrad was almost only possible by air or through the only available transport artery across Lake Ladoga that became known as the 'Road of Life'.
The Soviet forces repeatedly tried to break the siege, finally succeeding on January 18, 1943, during the operation 'Iskra'. To liberate the besieged city, it was decided to launch the main strikes near Shlisselburg, in the narrowest part of the Nazi defence lines adjoining Lake Ladoga.
⚔️ The Red Army broke the siege on January 18. A narrow corridor only 11 km wide opened on the southern shore of Ladoga for supplies and evacuation. The enemy was thrown 10−12 km away from the southern part of the Ladoga sector of the frontline.
After 16 months of heroic fight against Hitler’s invaders, the second most significant city of the Soviet Union regained a reliable land-based connection with the Motherland. Three weeks after the siege was broken, a railway was built to carry the first trains with food supplies and munitions. Electricity supply improved.
The breaking of the siege of Leningrad became a radical turning point in the battles in the northwestern sector of the Soviet-German front. The plans of Hitler’s command to take Leningrad by storm were completely disrupted. The threat of the Wehrmacht joining forces with the Finnish army to block the city was completely removed.
✍️ On the occasion of breaking the siege the city, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a special letter on behalf of all Americans to Leningrad residents.
It read, in part:
In the name of the people of the United States of America, I present this scroll to the City of Leningrad as a memorial to its gallant soldiers and its loyal men, women and children who, isolated from the rest of their nation by the invader and despite constant bombardment and untold sufferings from cold, hunger and sickness, successfully defended their beloved city throughout the critical period from September 8, 1941 to January 18, 1943, and thus symbolized the undaunted spirit of the peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and of all the nations of the world resisting forces of aggression.
***
#Victory81
🌟 The blockade was finally lifted on January 27, 1944, during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive.
#NoStatuteOfLimitation: In 2022, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia, the Saint Petersburg City Court officially recognised the actions of the Nazi Germany's occupant troops — along with their collaborators, including armed units formed in Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland, as well as individual volunteers from Austria, Latvia, Poland, France, and Czechoslovakia — as a war crime, a crime against humanity, and an ACTOFGENOCIDE against national and ethnic groups representing the population of the Soviet Union.
#WeRemember#LestWeForget
🎖 On January 18, 1943, the Red Army broke the siege of Leningrad during the operation 'Iskra'.
The blockade of our Northern capital by the Nazis lasted for 872 days, having claimed the lives of around 1 million people, including more than 600'000 — children, women, seniors, and the fighters wounded and crippled at the frontline — who died of starvation.
Alongside German troops, military units from European countries conquered by Hitler participated in the Siege of Leningrad — the 'Norway', 'the Netherlands' and 'Flanders' legions, as well as the Spanish infantry division. From the Narva direction, Baltic units — Latvian and Estonian battalions — were kept in reserve by the Nazis. From the north, the Finnish army besieged Leningrad and also shelled the city with its artillery.
The Nazi command's orders were absolutely clear: to block the city, shoot anyone crossing the front line, and bring about the total destruction of the city's population.
❗️But Leningrad endured and never ever gave up fighting.
Most of that time communication with Leningrad was almost only possible by air or through the only available transport artery across Lake Ladoga that became known as the 'Road of Life'.
The Soviet forces repeatedly tried to break the siege, finally succeeding on January 18, 1943, during the operation 'Iskra'. To liberate the besieged city, it was decided to launch the main strikes near Shlisselburg, in the narrowest part of the Nazi defence lines adjoining Lake Ladoga.
⚔️ The Red Army broke the siege on January 18. A narrow corridor only 11 km wide opened on the southern shore of Ladoga for supplies and evacuation. The enemy was thrown 10−12 km away from the southern part of the Ladoga sector of the frontline.
After 16 months of heroic fight against Hitler’s invaders, the second most significant city of the Soviet Union regained a reliable land-based connection with the Motherland. Three weeks after the siege was broken, a railway was built to carry the first trains with food supplies and munitions. Electricity supply improved.
The breaking of the siege of Leningrad became a radical turning point in the battles in the northwestern sector of the Soviet-German front. The plans of Hitler’s command to take Leningrad by storm were completely disrupted. The threat of the Wehrmacht joining forces with the Finnish army to block the city was completely removed.
✍️ On the occasion of breaking the siege the city, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt sent a special letter on behalf of all Americans to Leningrad residents.
It read, in part:
In the name of the people of the United States of America, I present this scroll to the City of Leningrad as a memorial to its gallant soldiers and its loyal men, women and children who, isolated from the rest of their nation by the invader and despite constant bombardment and untold sufferings from cold, hunger and sickness, successfully defended their beloved city throughout the critical period from September 8, 1941 to January 18, 1943, and thus symbolized the undaunted spirit of the peoples of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and of all the nations of the world resisting forces of aggression.
***
#Victory81
🌟 The blockade was finally lifted on January 27, 1944, during the Leningrad–Novgorod Offensive.
#NoStatuteOfLimitation: In 2022, at the request of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Russia, the Saint Petersburg City Court officially recognised the actions of the Nazi Germany's occupant troops — along with their collaborators, including armed units formed in Belgium, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Norway, and Finland, as well as individual volunteers from Austria, Latvia, Poland, France, and Czechoslovakia — as a war crime, a crime against humanity, and an ACT OF GENOCIDE against national and ethnic groups representing the population of the Soviet Union.
#WeRemember#LestWeForget
🗓 On September 7, 1945, a military parade of the allied forces of the #USSR, US, UK and France took place in Berlin near the walls of the defeated Reichstag on Alexanderplatz Square, marking the end of #WWII.
The location of the parade – at the Brandenburg Gate, at the very heart of the German capital – was not chosen by chance. It was right here where the Battle of Berlin ended and the remnants of the Berlin group of German troops surrendered to the Red Army. Scheduled for September 7, the parade was timed to coincide with the victory over militaristic Japan.
Representatives of the allied powers responded positively to Moscow's proposal to hold a joint parade in Berlin. However, on the eve of the event, after the date and all the details had been agreed upon, the US, UK and France announced that instead of the commanders-in-chief – Eisenhower, Montgomery and Tassigny – they would send lower-ranking generals, who were already stationed in Germany, to the parade. By doing so, the allies tried to downplay the significance of the parde, which emphasized the decisive role of the Soviet Union in taking Berlin. At that time, no one doubted who bore the brunt of the storming of the capital of the Third Reich.
🇷🇺 The USSR carried out thorough preparations for the parade. The Soviet command enlisted the Red Army's most distinguished soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals who had shown unrivalled courage in taking Berlin and the main centers of the reich – the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery.
🎖On September 7 at 11 am, the Berlin allied parade commenced. It was received by the Commander of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany Georgy Zhukov. The parade was opened by the combined regiment of the 248th Rifle Division of the Red Army, led by Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Lenev. The parade was closed by a column of the Soviet armor, with the latest heavy tanks IS-3 ("Joseph Stalin") marching.
#WeWereAllies
💬 In his welcoming speech to the participants of the parade, Marshal Zhukov paid tribute to the exploits of the Soviet and Allied forces in the struggle for victory over Nazi Germany:
Fighting friends, comrades in arms, soldiers, officers and generals... <...> The Second World War ended with a decisive and powerful strike from the great allied powers. Our victory is a triumph of an unprecedented military partnership of democratic states.
From now on, people <...> will be eternally grateful to the great nations of America, England, the Soviet Union, the French Republic and China, to their valiant soldiers who, in the difficult time of military trials, gave each other helping hands, united to win a victory over a common enemy, to win the long-awaited peace on Earth.
#Victory80#WeRemember
🇷🇺🇰🇬About the "Immortal Regiment" march in Kyrgyzstan
🔴🔴🔴Throughout the country, in all regional capitals, as well as other cities, tens of thousands of Kyrgyzstanis took part in the international Immortal Regiment" march.
🔴🔴#Victory81
#WeRemember
#ImmortalRegiment
#RussiaKyrgyzstan
📹
📱Follow | | | | |
🎖Στις 10 Απριλίου 1944, τα σοβιετικά στρατεύματα απελευθέρωσαν την Οδησσό από τη γερμανοφασιστική κατοχή.
Τον Ιούλιο του 1941, το μέτωπο πλησίασε την πόλη της Οδησσού. Στις 5 Αυγούστου, η Ανώτατη Σοβιετική Διοίκηση εξέδωσε διαταγή:
«Η Οδησσός να μην παραδοθεί και να αμυνθεί μέχρι την ύστατη δυνατότητα, με τη συμμετοχή του Στόλου της Μαύρης Θάλασσας».
Η κατοχή διήρκεσε 907 ημέρες. Τα σοβιετικά στρατεύματα επέδειξαν εξαιρετικό ηρωισμό στον αγώνα για την απελευθέρωση της πόλης. Χιλιάδες κάτοικοι συμμετείχαν ενεργά στην άμυνα, σκάβοντας χαρακώματα, κατασκευάζοντας αντιαρματικές τάφρους και τοποθετώντας συρματοπλέγματα.
Ο εχθρός ηττήθηκε στο πλαίσιο της Επιχείρησης της Οδησσού, η οποία διεξήχθη από τις δυνάμεις του 3ου Ουκρανικού Μετώπου μεταξύ 26 Μαρτίου και 14 Απριλίου 1944. Κατά τη διάρκεια της κατοχής, 82.000 κάτοικοι της Οδησσού σκοτώθηκαν, ενώ 78.000 άνθρωποι μεταφέρθηκαν βίαια για καταναγκαστική εργασία στη Γερμανία.
Στην επιχείρηση απελευθέρωσης της πόλης, ο εχθρός υπέστη απώλειες άνω των 27.000 νεκρών, 11.000 αιχμαλώτων, καθώς και την απώλεια 443 αρμάτων μάχης και αυτοκινούμενων πυροβόλων, και 95 αποθηκών με πολεμοφόδια και τρόφιμα. Σύμβολο της απελευθέρωσης έγινε η κόκκινη σημαία που υψώθηκε πάνω από το Θέατρο της Όπερας της Οδησσού.
#Νίκη80#Θυμόμαστε#ΜνήμηΤηςΝίκης#WeRemember
@rossotrudnichestvo@rusembgreece@sootechestvennikigreece@MID_Russia
https://t.me/RussianHouseAthens/6764
#Victory80
🎖#OnThisDay in 1942, one of the largest-ever and most brutal battles of #WWII and all of history — the #BattleOfStalingrad— commenced.
It lasted for 2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣days and nights, surpassing in scope and intensity all previous battles.
The Battle of Stalingrad was waged for every street, every house, every metre of ground. At various stages, over 2,1 million people from both sides were engaged in the combat. The Nazis attempted in vain to break the morale of Stalingrad’s defenders and residents — but Stalingrad stood firm and triumphed.
***
The defeat of Hitler’s forces near Moscow in December 1941 thwarted the original plans of the Nazi command for a blitzkrieg — a rapid advance of the Wehrmacht deep into Soviet territory, with the aim of seizing the strategically vital southern regions of the USSR, including the oil-rich Caucasus. But the Reich persisted, adhering to the original concept of its general strategy.
In the summer of 1942, the Nazi invaders launched a large-scale offensive on the southern flank of the Soviet-German front. This time, the enemy’s target was Stalingrad — a crucial industrial and transport hub on the Volga. Had the Nazis succeeded, they would have seized the fertile grain-producing regions of Kuban and Stavropol, breached the Caucasus, and captured its oil fields — an essential resource for their war effort. The Nazis sought to seize the initiative and bring the war to an end on their terms. Friedrich Paulus, one of the chief architects of Nazi Germany’s invasion plan against the USSR, was tasked with the command of the offensive on Stalingrad.
⚔️ The defence of Stalingrad began on July 17. The city’s defenders faced the full might of the fascist war machine — the enemy hurled between 40 and 80 divisions into the combat.
The bloodshed continued without respite, raging days and nights all around the clock. By August, forces of the Stalingrad Front had to retreat to the Don’s left bank and fortify positions on the city’s outer defensive line.
Amid these dire circumstances, on July 28, 1942, Supreme High Command Order No. 227 was issued to the defenders of Stalingrad and other fronts. It laid bare the real situation on the front with unflinching clarity:
<...> “To retreat further means to doom ourselves and to doom our Motherland. Every scrap of territory we yield will strengthen the enemy and weaken our defence, our Motherland...
Hence, the retreat must end. NOT A STEP BACK! This must now be our rallying cry. Henceforth, the iron law of discipline for every commander, Red Army soldier, and political officer must be the demand — NOT A STEP BACK WITHOUT ORDERS FROM HIGHER COMMAND... Such is the call of our Motherland.” <...>
The Red Army was forced into defensive operations and fierce urban combat. Among the architects of the Stalingrad victory there was General Vassily Chuikov, commander of the 62nd Army — a legendary strategist who perfected the tactics of assault groups, which became pivotal to the Soviet triumph in Stalingrad.
By mid-November 1942, following fierce resistance against the enemy and the deployment of additional reserves through tactical regrouping, favourable conditions had emerged for the Red Army to launch a counter-offensive.
Between November 19, 1942 and February 2, 1943, Soviet forces performed Operation 'Ring', having successfully encircled Field Marshal Friedrich Paulus’s 6th Army in a cauldron between the Don and Volga rivers.
On January 31, Field Marshal Paulus, along with his staff officers and generals, capitulated. By February 2, the last pockets of German resistance had been eradicated, and military formations of Germany’s ‘axis’ allies were destroyed.
🏅The Battle of Stalingrad ended with a resounding victory for the Red Army and the entire Soviet people.
The triumph at Stalingrad marked the beginning of a decisive radical turning point in the Great Patriotic War and World War II, with the strategic initiative being gained entirely by the Soviet Union.
#WeRemember
🗓 On September 7, 1945, a military parade of the allied forces of the #USSR, US, UK and France took place in Berlin near the walls of the defeated Reichstag on Alexanderplatz Square, marking the end of #WWII.
The location of the parade – at the Brandenburg Gate, at the very heart of the German capital – was not chosen by chance. It was right here where the Battle of Berlin ended and the remnants of the Berlin group of German troops surrendered to the Red Army. Scheduled for September 7, the parade was timed to coincide with the victory over militaristic Japan.
Representatives of the allied powers responded positively to Moscow's proposal to hold a joint parade in Berlin. However, on the eve of the event, after the date and all the details had been agreed upon, the US, UK and France announced that instead of the commanders-in-chief – Eisenhower, Montgomery and Tassigny – they would send lower-ranking generals, who were already stationed in Germany, to the parade. By doing so, the allies tried to downplay the significance of the parde, which emphasized the decisive role of the Soviet Union in taking Berlin. At that time, no one doubted who bore the brunt of the storming of the capital of the Third Reich.
🇷🇺 The USSR carried out thorough preparations for the parade. The Soviet command enlisted the Red Army's most distinguished soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals who had shown unrivalled courage in taking Berlin and the main centers of the reich – the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery.
🎖On September 7 at 11 am, the Berlin allied parade commenced. It was received by the Commander of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany Georgy Zhukov. The parade was opened by the combined regiment of the 248th Rifle Division of the Red Army, led by Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Lenev. The parade was closed by a column of the Soviet armor, with the latest heavy tanks IS-3 ("Joseph Stalin") marching.
#WeWereAllies
💬 In his welcoming speech to the participants of the parade, Marshal Zhukov paid tribute to the exploits of the Soviet and Allied forces in the struggle for victory over Nazi Germany:
Fighting friends, comrades in arms, soldiers, officers and generals... <...> The Second World War ended with a decisive and powerful strike from the great allied powers. Our victory is a triumph of an unprecedented military partnership of democratic states.
From now on, people <...> will be eternally grateful to the great nations of America, England, the Soviet Union, the French Republic and China, to their valiant soldiers who, in the difficult time of military trials, gave each other helping hands, united to win a victory over a common enemy, to win the long-awaited peace on Earth.
#Victory80#WeRemember
🌟From Cape Town to the Arctic: South Africa's Contribution to the Allied Victory
On the sidelines of theRussian Movie Night Victory Marathon, the Russian Embassy in South Africa opened a photo exhibition dedicated to South Africa's participation in the Second World War – a conflict that was not merely a European war, but a truly global struggle against Nazi and fascist tyranny.
The exhibition was attended by ANC Veterans, South African officials, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives of the cultural, business, academic, and media communities.
During those decisive years, South Africa stood alongside the Soviet Union as a proud member of the Anti-Hitler Coalition. That partnership, forged in shared sacrifice, is remembered with the deepest gratitude in Russia to this day.
"We will always remember that during World War II South Africa was our ally and an important member of the Anti-Hitler Coalition," Russian Ambassador to South Africa Roman Ambarov emphasized during his welcoming remarks.
The Cape Route & Lend-Lease
South Africa's strategic geography proved decisive when the supply route through the Dardanelles was closed. Cape Town became one of the principal ports of call for Anglo-American vessels delivering war materials to the Soviet Union via the Persian Gulf – a vital lifeline at the most critical moment of the war.
The Arctic Convoys
Around 3,000 South African seamen served in the Royal Navy, many of them aboard Allied vessels carrying vital supplies to the Soviet northern ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk to relieve besieged Leningrad. Those long, perilous journeys were made in brutal weather, under constant threat of enemy attack. Their courage deserves to be honoured and remembered.
The Secret Mission to Yalta
In late January 1945, a SAAF DC-3 flew a classified mission from Cairo – through Tobruk and Athens – to recently liberated Crimea. The South African aircrew found themselves present at one of history's most consequential moments: the Yalta Conference, where Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill gathered at the Livadia Palace to shape the post-war world. The flight engineer later recalled, with warm simplicity, being invited for tea and cake by the wife of the Soviet airfield commander – a small, human moment at the centre of history.
Solidarity Beyond the Battlefield
South Africans demonstrated remarkable solidarity through humanitarian aid and civilian support that reached across oceans and strengthened the ties between our peoples even in the darkest years of the war.
🤝 The Russian Embassy extends its sincere gratitude to the DITSONG National Museum of Military History for providing the unique materials that made this exhibition possible. Their dedication to preserving and sharing this history ensures that the stories of those who served will never be forgotten.
#Victory81#9May#WeRemember#AmbassadorAmbarov
🗓 On September 7, 1945, a military parade of the allied forces of the #USSR, US, UK and France took place in Berlin near the walls of the defeated Reichstag on Alexanderplatz Square, marking the end of #WWII.
The location of the parade – at the Brandenburg Gate, at the very heart of the German capital – was not chosen by chance. It was right here where the Battle of Berlin ended and the remnants of the Berlin group of German troops surrendered to the Red Army. Scheduled for September 7, the parade was timed to coincide with the victory over militaristic Japan.
Representatives of the allied powers responded positively to Moscow's proposal to hold a joint parade in Berlin. However, on the eve of the event, after the date and all the details had been agreed upon, the US, UK and France announced that instead of the commanders-in-chief – Eisenhower, Montgomery and Tassigny – they would send lower-ranking generals, who were already stationed in Germany, to the parade. By doing so, the allies tried to downplay the significance of the parde, which emphasized the decisive role of the Soviet Union in taking Berlin. At that time, no one doubted who bore the brunt of the storming of the capital of the Third Reich.
🇷🇺 The USSR carried out thorough preparations for the parade. The Soviet command attracted the most distinguished soldiers, sergeants, officers and generals who had shown unrivalled courage in taking Berlin and the main centers of the reich – the Reichstag and the Imperial Chancellery.
🎖On September 7 at 11 am, the Berlin allied parade commenced. It was received by the Commander of the Group of Soviet Occupation Forces in Germany Georgy Zhukov. The parade was opened by the combined regiment of the 248th Rifle Division of the Red Army, led by Hero of the Soviet Union, Lieutenant Colonel Georgy Lenev. The parade was closed by a column of the Soviet armor, with the latest heavy tanks IS-3 ("Joseph Stalin") marching.
💬 In his welcoming speech to the parade participants, Marshal Zhukov paid tribute to the exploits of the Soviet and Allied forces in the struggle for victory over Nazi Germany:
"Fighting friends, comrades in arms, soldiers, officers and generals... <...> The Second World War ended with a decisive and powerful strike from the great allied powers. Our victory is a triumph of an unprecedented military partnership of democratic states.
From now on, people <...> will be eternally grateful to the great nations of America, England, the Soviet Union, the French Republic and China, to their valiant soldiers who, in the difficult time of military trials, gave each other helping hands, united to win a victory over a common enemy, to win the long-awaited peace on Earth."
#Victory79#WeRemember#WeWereAllies
🎖 On October 14, 1943, an uprising broke out in #WWII-era Nazi concentration camp #Sobibor, — the only successful mass escape from a 'death factory' during the Second World War.
The uprising in Sobibor was led by Soviet POW, Red Army lieutenant AlexanderPechersky. He performed a true feat. In just a few weeks, the officer managed to devise an escape plan, rally around him the seemingly hopeless, doomed, and exhausted prisoners, and to inspire them to take up a fight against the enemy.
***
During WWII, Nazi Germany established around 14'000 concentration camps, with the so-called death camps among them, where the enemy delivered their victims with the the only purpose — to exterminatepeople.
#Sobibor, located in the southeast of Nazi-occupied Poland (near the Western Bug River and the Polish-Soviet border) was one such 'death factories'. The camp was set up along a railway line between the towns of Chełm and Wlodawa.
Prisoners were shipped to Sobibor by the trainload for one purpose only — to be killed.
The Sobibor camp was turned into a true conveyor belt of death, where people were murdered by the most brutal and inhuman methods. Every day, up to six trains arrived at Sobibor carrying POWs and civilians, including the elderly, women, and children.
The Nazis poisoned their victims with gas, starved them, and worked them to death. Inhuman medical experiments were conducted on the inmates. Prisoners were brought from Austria, Czechoslovakia, and France for further torture and abuse. In June 1943, two special so- calledchildren’s trains went from the Netherlands to Sobibor. Over the entire time of the camp’s existence, according to various estimates, up to 250'000 people were murdered there.
***
⚔️ On October 14, 1943, an uprising broke out in Sobibor. At the time of the escape, there were 550 prisoners in the camp. About 100 of them refused to participate in the rebellion, hoping for mercy from the SS guards. The next day, they were all killed by the Nazis.
The rebels engaged in an unequal battle with the enemy, killed all members of an SS detachment and several guards. Having crushed the Nazis almost barehanded, the prisoners rushed towards the main gates despite machine-gun fire from the watchtowers.
❗️Nothing could stop the people striving to break free from Nazi slavery, neither the minefields around the camp, nor the barbed wire, nor the hail of bullets from the machine guns.
As a result of the uprising, about 300 people managed to escape from this inferno on earth. Many of the escapees joined the resistance and continued to fight against the Nazi occupants. Pechersky himself joined the Byelarussian partisans, and in 1944, he once again fought the enemy on the front lines as part of an assault unit.
The Sobibor uprising became a symbol of the unbending human will and spirit, in the truest sense, a symbol of the victory of good over Nazi evil. Unable to bear the shame and seeking to cover up their crimes against humanity, the SS command ordered Sobibor to be completely destroyed.
#NoStatuteOfLimitation
The atrocities committed in Sobibor became part of the charges against the Nazis at the Nuremberg Trials. In March 1962, in Kiev, 11 guards who had served in Sobibor and Treblinka were brought to trial. Alexander Pechersky himself testified as a witness. All the defendants — former Nazis — were sentenced to death.
Today, the Alexander Pechersky Foundation continues to make significant efforts to preserve the memory of the Sobibor prisoners’ heroic deed.
#WeRemember#Victory80