"Gate of Remembrance" (2015)

The memorial "Gate of Remembrance"

The sculpture "Gate of Remembrance" was inaugurated on June 22, 2015, the anniversary of the German invasion of the Soviet Union, and is intended to symbolize the victims of Nazi crimes in the Maly Trascjanec camp.

With the design of the ten-meter-high figure, the artist Konstantin Kastsinchenka created a monument that is still considered one of the largest in Belarus. The monument was financed among others by Belarusian organisations. Financial support for the three-million-euro construction was additionally provided by Germany.

When looking at the monument, the first thing that catches the eye are the huge figures that represent the inmates of the camp. Children and women can also be seen. The camp and imprisonment are symbolized by barbed wire that appears to be wrapped around the individuals. There is no reference to the Jewish victims, who made up only a small proportion of the people held captive in the camp, but made up the majority of those killed in Maly Trascjanec. At the opening by the Belarusian President Aliaksandr Lukashenka, the victims were referred to as Soviet civilians and the Jewish victims were not mentioned.¹

A plaque on the "Path of Remembrance"

Zur "Pforte der Erinnerung" führen auf dem "Weg der Erinnerung" mehrere Gedenksteine, die Informationen zu dem Gelände, den Opferzahlen und auch weiteren Vernichtungsorten in Belarus enthalten. Die Angaben sind hierbei neben Russisch und Belarusisch auch ins Englische übersetzt worden, um den internationalen Besucher:innen einen Zugang zu ermöglichen. Die Gedenktafel auf der rechten Seite listet die Opfer von Lagern in der Oblast (Regierungsbezirk in Belarus) Brest auf.