An alley of maple and birch trees will be planted near the memorial commemorating the victims of the "5th Regiment" concentration camp on the outskirts of Vitebsk, a BELTA correspondent was informed by the regional committee of the BRSM.
The territory of the former concentration camp has been tidied up, and on April 10, about 30 birch and maple trees will be planted on both sides of the pedestrian path near the memorial. Representatives of local authorities, the BRSM, public and veteran organizations, members of the regional organization of the Belarusian Association of Former Minor Prisoners of Fascism, and all those willing to participate will take part in the event. In addition, in the future, it is planned to erect a monument on the territory of the "5th Regiment" in memory of the victims of Nazi concentration camps and ghettos that were located in the Vitebsk region during the Great Patriotic War.
The concentration camp of the 313th Security Division was located on the western outskirts of Vitebsk, where the 5th Railway Regiment was situated before the war. It housed two concentration camps: one for prisoners of war, operating from the beginning of the occupation of Vitebsk, and one for the civilian population. Later, the camp became a general one. Between 80,000 and 150,000 prisoners of war and civilians perished here. A monument and a chapel with a bell have been erected on the territory of the former camp in memory of the deceased prisoners. Annually in April, on the International Day of the Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps, a requiem rally is held here.