Khatyn

Overview

Introduction

Khatyn, 32 mi/52 km northeast of Minsk, is a moving memorial to the destruction suffered at the hands of the Nazis. It was just one of hundreds of small villages burned to the ground during the Great Patriotic War (as World War II is called locally). Today, bell-topped columns mark the location of every destroyed house, creating an eerie reminder of what once was. An eternal flame burns in memory of all those who died in the many concentration camps set up in Belarus. Particularly moving is a statue of a man, Josef Kaminsky, holding a dead child: He was the only person in the village to survive the massacre. English-language guided tours are available.

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