MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS

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The issue of historical truth and memory of the Great Patriotic War, the mass heroism of the people in the country's general secondary education institutions is in the first place.

In 2023, the Ministry of Education, jointly with the Prosecutor General’s Office of the Republic of Belarus, developed teaching aids “Genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War” for students in grades I–IV, V–IX, X–XI. The teaching aids are based on the results of an investigation by the General Prosecutor's Office of a criminal case into the commission of genocide of the Belarusian people by Nazi criminals and their accomplices during the Great Patriotic War and in the post-war period.

Today, on the basis of the State Educational Institution “Secondary School No. 137 of Minsk named after P. M. Masherov” in the People’s Museum “Children of War” an in-person and remote republican seminar-presentation of these teaching aids was held.

The event was attended by the leadership of the Ministry of Education, the Standing Commission on Education Culture and Science of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly, representatives of the General Prosecutor's Office, authors and reviewers of educational manuals and others.

During the republican seminar, it was noted that for the first time students become acquainted with the events of the Great Patriotic War, the tragedy and feat of the Belarusian people during the war, in the fourth grade when mastering the course “My motherland - Belarus”. All students in grade IX study the module “The Great Patriotic War,” which includes topics on the history of war provided for in the curriculum for world history, the history of Belarus, and the curriculum for elective classes “The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People (in the context of the Second World War).”

In 2022, on behalf of the Head of State, the components of the educational and methodological complex “The Great Patriotic War of the Soviet People (in the context of the Second World War)” were updated: these are a textbook for students, a reader and a methodological manual for teachers.

In the 2022/2023 academic year, curricula in the subject “History of Belarus” for grades IX and XI are supplemented with information about the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War and the post-war period, the participation of collaborators in the implementation of the occupation policy of the German Nazis on the territory of Belarus.
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Deputy Minister of Education Alexander Kadlubay outlined an important task for institutions of general secondary education - to make maximum use of textbooks as the basis for the formation of the historical memory of the younger generation.

“The inclusion of teaching materials in the content of the educational process, educational activities, and informing students about the facts of the genocide of the Belarusian people should be aimed at developing immunity among young people against fascist ideology and preventing illegal activities under the symbols of Nazi collaborators,” noted the deputy head of the department.

In his opinion, to solve this problem it is necessary to use the potential of training sessions and various forms of extracurricular work (museums, clubs, excursions, search and local history work). The developed List of excursion sites recommended for visiting by students of grades I–XI as part of educational and elective classes, extracurricular activities includes, among other things, memorial places associated with the tragedy of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War.

The seminar participants were also informed that in the formation of students’ historical memory it is necessary to fully use the potential of school museums and museum exhibitions.

In 2022–2023 About 1,500 museum exhibitions dedicated to the events of the Great Patriotic War and the victims of the genocide of the Belarusian people have been created in general secondary education institutions. About 400 search associations have been created at museums of educational institutions, in which almost 5 thousand students study. As part of the search and local history work, students meet eyewitnesses of military events and their families, record their memories, study materials from state and personal archives, and other sources reflecting the history of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War.

“Despite the published manuals, we cannot stop. Children should know the history of the country and have reliable information,” Alexander Kadlubay is convinced.