World War II is still close for many Belarussians. 25% of the entire population of the country died during the war and much of the city was destroyed by the Nazis. During the celebration of the German surrender there is a huge city wide celebration and the old veterans, wearing their medals are honored.
The museum is an elaborate affair in the center of the city, with a striking exhibit of a full size German tank smashing through a wall mural of the Hitler- Stalin agreement. Many of the older people here still view the pact as a necessity at the time and I recently had a long discussion with a colleague about the results of dealing with the devil, which we still see from different perspectives.
The museum is impressive, loaded with weaponry and with two floors, awash with artifacts, devoted to the partisans. The hundreds of period photos are striking- German soldiers guarding hanged citizens in the steets while crowds stand by, underground press rooms, radio broadcasts in the woods, military actions.
One of my colleagues volunteered her daughter and a friend, two charming and multi talented girls who spoke wonderful English, to accompany us and explain things, a great help as all the explanations and captions were in Belarussian only.
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