More than 65 information stands tell about teachers and pioneers who fought in the Great Patriotic War. The biographical material with photo portraits of the heroes reflects information about the combat path, activities during the war years, awards and perpetuation of memory.

At the opening of the gallery dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, Education Minister Andrei Ivanets noted that schoolchildren will pay special attention to preserving historical memory. "Today, colossal work is being done to assign names to heroes of the Soviet Union, so those children who took part in the opening of the Gallery of Memory today saw their heroes after whom their schools are named. We see genuine interest among them, because they understand that this tragedy and this historical page touched every family, counting their one. Now young people are doing everything to preserve the historical memory of the Great Patriotic War."

The Great Patriotic War was an unprecedentedly cruel test for Soviet citizens and is now a part of the fate of every Belarusian. Tens of thousands of citizens of the country stood up to defend their Motherland. Teachers, like many others, left their usual place by the blackboard to contribute to the Great Victory along with others. Those who brought the light of knowledge to students in peacetime had to defend their native land from the Nazi invaders with weapons in hand.

From the first days of the Great Patriotic War, thousands of teachers and public education workers joined the ranks of the Red Army, bravely fought against the occupiers at the front, went to partisan detachments, and got involved in the activities of underground organizations. Many of them, holding command posts in partisan formations, were simultaneously members of underground district and regional party committees.

On the territory of Belarus, about 7 thousand teachers fought against the occupiers in the ranks of partisans and underground fighters, of which more than 3.5 thousand were awarded orders and medals. More than 10 educators - teachers, school principals, university professors were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Some of them received it posthumously. In the post-war years, the teacher was at the forefront of restoring peaceful life in the country.

During the Great Patriotic War, more than 8.8 thousand schools were burned and destroyed. In the 1944-1945 school year, over 10.1 thousand schools with a total of over 1.2 thousand students began their work in Belarus. There was a huge shortage of teachers, there were only 30 thousand of them, of which only 2.4 thousand had higher education. The problem of teacher shortage was almost solved when 4980 teachers returned to schools from evacuation, as well as 6840 demobilized teachers-frontline soldiers.

Teachers not only taught, but also helped children adapt to the difficult conditions of the post-war period. Teachers-frontline soldiers became an example of fortitude for their students.

Not only adults, but also children faced the terrible reality of war. During the Great Patriotic War, young pioneers showed heroism and courage in the fight against the Nazi occupiers, they participated in underground activities, they joined partisans, did reconnaissance job and sabotage.

Marat Kazei, Zina Portnova, Tikhon Baran, Borya Tsarikov, Volodya Shcherbatsevich – those young pioneers were awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. Streets and schools are named after them, monuments and memorials keep their memory.

We remember our heroes and we sacredly honor the memory of all those who fought for peace and the well-being of future generations, those who gave their lives in the name of the Great Victory.

We invite you to have a look at the Memory Gallery with us.