Serbia remembers the barbaric bombing of Belgrade by the Nazis in 1941
Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic visited the ruins of the National Library of Serbia in Belgrade, which was completely destroyed during a German air raid on April 6, 1941.
Events dedicated to the tragic anniversary were also held in other places in the Serbian capital, the PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
Standing on the ruins of the National Library, three hundred thousand unique volumes of which were burned in the fire, Aleksandar Vucic noted that the German occupation began with the burning of books by the Nazis, who then moved on to burning people.
“Today is the sixth of April, the eightieth in a row since the beginning of World War II,” the Serbian President wrote on his Instagram. – In our case, it has specificity and symbolism. In addition to the suffering of people and the destruction of material assets, the first hours of the Second World War on our soil were marked by the destruction of the most important collection of cultural heritage in this part of Europe - the National Library of Serbia...
On the sixth of April, near the crater in Kosančićev Venac (the area where the library was located - ed.), overgrown with weeds and our oblivion, realizing the tragic consequences of this act, I want to point out the need to improve this place, which today personifies the triumph of destruction and oblivion.”
Vucic also noted that modern Serbia, like in 1941, is committed to the ideals of anti-fascism, freedom, rebellion and cooperation.
In turn, the Minister of Labour, Employment, Veterans and Social Affairs and Chairman of the Committee for the Preservation of Traditions of the Serbian War of Independence, Darija Kisic Tepavcevic, led the wreath-laying ceremony at the Alley of Victims on April 6 at the New Cemetery in Belgrade. The ceremony was also attended by Russian Ambassador Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko and Director of the Russian House Evgeny Baranov.
A delegation led by Defense Minister Nebojsa Stefanovic laid wreaths at the monument to the pilots and defenders of Belgrade.
An exhibition was set up on Republic Square, which clearly, in photographs, demonstrated the heroism of the Russian and Serbian peoples and their suffering in World War II.
The bombing of Belgrade by Third Reich aircraft lasted from April 6 to April 10, 1941, involving about 500 aircraft that dropped 221 tons of bombs. About 4 thousand people became victims of the barbaric action, 714 buildings were destroyed, 1 thousand 888 were dilapidated, another 6 thousand 615 were damaged.
The Yugoslav air force and air defense provided fierce resistance to the Nazis, who lost 20 aircraft (12 were shot down, 8 were damaged), while 25 Yugoslav combat vehicles were shot down by the enemy in air battles (10 were shot down, 15 were damaged).
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