On May 9 in the Belarus city of Orsha, a gathering took place at the Jewish cemetery where Holocaust victims were buried. The local Jewish community, a member of the Association of Jewish Communities of Belarus, organized this Victory Day gathering.
Explained community coordinator Sophia Dobkina, “On this day, we honor the memory of Holocaust victims and thank our veterans for their part in the victory in this war.”
The event took place at the site where over 6,000 prisoners of the Orsha ghetto were killed. The commemorative ceremony involved representatives of the Jewish community, who remembered those relatives and friends who perished during the Second World War. Kaddish was said in memory of the fallen and a moment of silence, as well as the laying of flowers, wreaths and pebbles at the grave.
Jewish community representatives visited the mass grave of Jewish children, whom the Nazis separated from the adults before executing them. “Such a tragedy was not seen anywhere else and it is still unknown the exact number of children who are buried in this grave. But we keep their memories alive in our hearts,” underlined Ms. Dobkina.
She then took the opportunity to thank the staff of the Orsha Tools Factory, which has been caring for the grave of Holocaust victims for several years already.