LUNINETS, January 22, 2007 (AEN) - A resident of the village of Bogdanovka, Luninets District, Brest Region, contrary to the wishes of the local authorities, erected a monument at the site of the shooting of Jews during World War II at his own expense. Nikolai Ilyuchik is Belarusian by nationality. But it was he who decided to immortalize the memory of the Jews who died during the war and once lived in his native village.
"God teaches us to do good deeds," Nikolai told the Jewish News Agency. "And such a good deed for me was the immortalization of the memory of innocently killed people." Nikolai is not an architect, but it was he who came up with the composition and made a sketch of the future monument. With the finished work, he turned to the district executive committee of the city of Luninets for help. But the man was simply scolded like a schoolboy, told not to meddle in his own business.
"But I did not abandon my idea to erect a monument in honor of the innocent victims of fascism," N. Ilyuchik said. Nikolai began to ask the old-timers about the events related to the death of the Jews and found out that around August 2, 1941, six Jewish men were shot near the village. At the same time, he found out that their surnames are not in any historical document ever officially published in Belarus.
"Only six Jewish families lived in Bogdanovka before the war. And six men from these families were destroyed by the fascists," Ilyuchik explained. "I collected a lot of materials about these families. Through the local media, I even appealed to the residents of the district with a request to respond to those who know anything about these people and those distant events. Then I went to the district executive committee again with a request to help or at least give permission to erect a monument at the site of the death of people.
But all of Nikolai's efforts to explain the need for such a memorial sign were unsuccessful. Then he, together with friends, made a monument at his own expense and installed it at the shooting site.
The composition is impressive in its symbolism. At the base is the Star of David, on which a candle stub is installed, wrapped in barbed wire. Instead of wax, six drops of blood drip from it (according to the number of dead people). An ebonite plaque is attached here with an inscription in Belarusian: "At this place in August 1941, peaceful residents of the village of Bogdanovka of Jewish nationality were shot by the fascists. Eternal memory!"
After installing the monument, Nikolai applied to the culture department of the Luninets District Executive Committee with a request to register it as a memorial sign. But this time, the initiative did not find support from the authorities. N. Ilyuchik was not only not supported, but also threatened with a fine for allegedly arbitrarily occupying land (a piece of wasteland!) for the monument.
Despite all the troubles, Nikolai, his family and friends are happy that they realized their dream and immortalized the memory of the innocently killed. There are no Jews in Bogdanovka now, and the monument banned by the authorities is not on the map of the district. Therefore, local schoolchildren do not look after it, and the Ilyuchik family and Nikolai's friends have taken care of the grave.
"I am very offended that people have been forgotten, as if they never existed," Nikolai says with excitement. "But they certainly have at least distant relatives somewhere. I will be glad if someone responds."