Obelisk in Vjaliki Trascjanec (1963)

Photograph of the obelisk in Vjaliki Trascjanec from 2013

The demand for a public culture of remembrance, for making the victims of National Socialism visible and for their appreciation in Maly Trascjanec became louder and louder in the 1960s. In response, an obelisk was erected in Vjaliki Trascjanec in 1963.

The obelisk was created in 1963 as a memorial to commemorate the inhumane crimes committed in Maly Trascjanec. However, the memorial is not located on the site of the former camp, but in the neighboring village of Vjaliki Trascjanec. The choice of location followed the argument that the visibility of the obelisk in Vjaliki Trascjanec was far better and thus followed the premise of placing memorials as accessible and clearly visible as possible.

However, the location of the obelisk also meant that Vjaliki Trascjanec was often mistaken for the location of the former camp and Maly Trascjanec was almost forgotten as a historical place. With regard to the naming of the number of victims and victim groups, the design of the obelisk follows the model of the Soviet culture of remembrance, in which peaceful civilians and partisans were commemorated, but the murdered Jewish people played no role.¹

The inscription on the obelisk

On the obelisk, the figures determined by the ČGK in 1944 and disputed today are cited.

"Here, in the vicinity of the village of Trascjanec, the German-fascist occupiers shot, tortured, burned 201,500 civilians, partisans and prisoners of war of the Soviet Army in 1941-1944."²

The memorial stone in front of the obelisk

On the square in front of the obelisk there is another memorial stone, which is supposed to commemorate the soldiers who died in 1944 during the liberation of Minsk and who were buried near the obelisk.

Inscription on the memorial stone: "Soldiers of the Soviet Army who fell during the liberation of Minsk in July 1944 are buried here. Your heroic deed is immortal."³