The old hero fortress will soon begin a new life

Time is relentless. The events of the Great Patriotic War are farther away from us. Fewer and fewer veterans of this war can take part in the Victory Day. And more and more lies appear in pseudoscientific works about who made the main contribution to the Victory, and who fussed in advance and ran into the camp of the winners. Alas, this is the fate of all great historical events. History is being reshaped to suit the political ambitions of those currently in power.

But there are things that are difficult to fix. How, for example, to fix Pavlov’s house in Stalingrad? How to fix the mass graves of Soviet soldiers scattered throughout the territory of the former USSR and the countries of Western Europe? How to fix the inscription on the house in St. Petersburg about the danger of this side of the street during the shelling?

You can carry it. You can make out. You can paint over. But then it will be necessary to look for other monuments in order to prove the facts of the “new history of the war”, to prove with facts that which did not actually exist. Is this what they are doing today in some countries? Without shame and conscience, distorting historical facts, distorting the testimonies of eyewitnesses and participants in the events, looking for some excuses for murderers and executioners.

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory, we finally understood this. We realized that it was necessary not only to build new memorials, but also to turn the surviving historical places of grandiose victories into museum complexes. We realized that the same Pavlov’s house, not new, restored and sleek, but old, with gaping windows and broken walls and ceilings, for those who want to rewrite the history of the war, it’s worse than hundreds of publications in our media or thousands of angry statements from our television screens citizens. He reproaches those who do not want to remember the truth.

There are holy places for every person from the USSR and for many of those born in post-Soviet states. Places everyone knows about. Places, each stone of which remembers heroism, courage, self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers, regardless of nationality, military rank or religion. I mean the Brest Fortress.

Today it sounds strange, but the Brest Fortress has not yet been restored! Moreover, many historical relics were lost already in the Soviet period. It seems to me that this was due to the fact that the leadership of the Republic of Belarus paid more attention to those monuments that emphasized the tragedy of Belarusians. The Khatyn memorial was then the main one. And there is probably not a Belarusian, who at least once in his life was not in Khatyn. And tourists from all over the Union considered it their duty to visit this place, listen to the ringing of bells, see the cemetery of villages ...

And then it happened. The restoration of the Brest Hero-Fortress memorial was decided to be carried out at the expense of the Union State and to be completed by the 75th anniversary of the Victory. Restoration work began in 2016. Over the years, there was everything. The restorers were mercilessly criticized and I must say for the cause. How it is possible to combine major repairs with restoration and reconstruction is also not clear to me. 

But there was hope that on May 9, 2020, visitors will see the new Brest Fortress. According to BelTA:

11 out of 16 events have already been completed. In particular, in the second half of 2019, work began on the East Fort. Documentation was prepared on the overhaul, restoration, conservation of the V Fort facilities, and the overhaul of the decorative and artistic illumination of the memorial complex. We expect to receive more than 104 million Russian rubles for the work this year.

In 2019, only 20 thousand tourists visited the Brest Fortress. This is too little. After the restoration, the flow of tourists should increase. Not for the income of travel agencies or local artisans. It must increase for our memory. For the memory of grandfathers to be passed on to fathers, children, grandchildren ...

Comments

[Same lech]

Good thing ... always would be.
It is necessary to remember this war and tell the next generation the whole truth about it and about the 118th police battalion of the schutzman-gunner atrocities in Khatyn and the heroes of the Brest Fortress.
The Belarusian film Brest Fortress really touched me ... you should always show it on June 22 of each year.

[GKS 2111]

I was there in the middle of 70 .. Shook to the depths of the most ... Especially not to forget it

And they went to Khatyn the next day, there are just tears in everyone’s eyes .. It’s not forgotten ... Never.

[Alexga]

Yes, I agree with you, the film was made wonderful, the most worthy of recent films. I was still a kid in Khatyn when the memorial was opened, and I heard Kaminsky speaking that the village was burned by a Ukrainian police battalion. And when in 1986 Vasyur was tried and executed in Minsk, the people in the hall were outraged that this freak was sentenced to death and not to hanging. So said the secretary of that process.

[savment]

Yes, they also added a fly in the ointment, saying that after the war Gavrilov got to the camps. If we assume that Gavrilov was the head of the camp for Japanese prisoners of war, then he got into the camp. For me, 28 Panfilov’s are more interesting.

[Alexga]

Be that as it may, but the ashes of Gavrilov rest in the Fortress. In the Wall of Memory. But he died, it seems in the Kuban. Come to the Fortress, preferably in the summer. That spirit will not transmit any film.

[Zeev Zeev]

As for the 118th schutzmanft, atrocious truth to tell this is very true. The whole truth: and that the chief of staff there was the Red Army Lieutenant Grigory Vasyura, and that the personnel were recruited in eastern Ukraine, Kharkov and Kiev from captured Soviet fighters and local collective farmers, and that the company of Oapadentsev-OUN members, joined the battalion, fled after the start German repressions against Ukrainian nationalists in December 1942 ...

[Astronaut]

was recruited in eastern Ukraine, in Kharkov and Kiev from captured Soviet fighters

Of course, because in Western Ukraine fascists were met as their own, therefore there were no prisoners, only volunteer punishers

[Alexga]

Author, what did you want to say? "In 2019, only 20 thousand tourists visited the Brest Fortress. This is catastrophically small. After the restoration, the flow of tourists should increase ..." How's that? Who was counting? After all, there are no entrance tickets. And people are constantly in the Fortress. From different places, just look at the numbers of the cars in the parking lot. And with the restoration, it was too tricky. It is enough to look at the ruins to the left of the Terespol Gate.

[vvvjak]

Quote: AlexGa

What is it like? Who counted? After all, there are no entry tickets

Absolutely.
I was in the fortress five times - I didn't pay a penny. The last time (in 2012) with the local Brest guys "climbed" such places in the fortress, where for a long time a tourist has not set foot (on the territory of the former artillery unit). We spent the whole day, but (as I understand it) did not see even a fifth of the entire fortress. That's where the tourism potential is.

[Alexga]

The Brest military is still clearing the caponiers. Morally hard work, finds are sometimes depressing. Kobrin fortifications are not yet fully understood.

[ARA90rN]

The author simply inattentively read the news source. The following commented on this.

[tihonmarine]

On the eve of the 75th anniversary of the Victory, we finally understood this. We realized that it was necessary not only to build new memorials, but also to turn the surviving historical places of grandiose victories into museum complexes.

And we, the post-war generation, have always remembered this, and we still do not forget.

[businessv]

Places everyone knows about. Places, each stone of which remembers heroism, courage, self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers, regardless of nationality, military rank or religion.

Such places were in all union republics and in half of Europe, but what is happening now? Even now, the second Yeltsin center is being built, occupying buildings, historical mansions and a ton of state money for this dubious in all respects, not to mention the cut, without which the current government does nothing. If instead the authorities didn’t turn a blind eye to the demolitions of the monuments that started back in the dashing 90s, sent people working for hostile countries and withdrawing currency there, paid due attention to the veterans of the Great Patriotic War, even if they are in the former Soviet republics, and not purely personal affairs and personal enrichment, everything in our country would be different, and most importantly, the country would really be a social State!

[75 Sergey]

Yes, what is being done with the Brest Fortress now is tin, where old artifacts are destroyed and new ones are built.
One cannot but recall the batteries near Leningrad, which are now being barbarously destroyed under the guise of clearance.

[Amateur]

It seems to me that this was due to the fact that the leadership of the Republic of Belarus paid more attention to those monuments that emphasized the tragedy of Belarusians.

And it seems to me that this article exactly fits the definition of "inciting ethnic hatred" and should be immediately either removed or corrected.

[DPN]

Probably there should be sound accompaniment in the Fortress, as in Stalingrad-Volgograd on Mamaev Kurgan, which creates the feeling of the presence of war as much as goosebumps running around.

[Alexga]

When you enter the Fortress through the Star, you are met by sound. Goosebumps!

[andrewkor]

In the Russian Empire, the Brest Fortress was one of the strongest. It was very surprised to what extent the strongest. Even in 1912 it was completely ready. It is unfortunate that not all forts that surrounded the fortress with a double ring fell to the USSR in 1939, which contributed to it to a small extent insignificant defenses on 22.07.1941/XNUMX/XNUMX. This in no way detracts from the heroism of its defenders. Smirnov’s book is one of his favorite since childhood.

[Alexga]

I also recommend reading the books of Rostislav Aliyev, and, if you find it, the Chief of Staff of the 4th Army, General Sandalov, "The First Days of War"

[Old Michael]

Alexga:

I recommend to read more

B.L. Vasiliev "Not included in the lists"
Classic

[Alexga]

Yes of course. But I recommended more non-fiction. It contains information about the defenders of the cellars of the Brest railway station. Formed, if you can say, from vacationers, business travelers.

[Old Michael]

Alexga:

more documentary

Yes, it is necessary and important.
But my younger children (and they are still schoolchildren, unlike the older ones, who have already acquired their families for a long time) unobtrusively organize classics. Documentary and journalism is easier to perceive, having some minimal moral base (tested on senior).
He became acquainted with the work of Vasiliev at a fairly young age.
And you know, "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" are noticeably different from the film. The book is neither better nor worse. She's a little different. And even more piercing, or something.
When I was still reading, I wanted to tear there, side by side with ours, to tear reptiles to pieces, even with bare hands ...

[Alexga]

I absolutely agree with you. Our children and grandchildren need to know all this and remember this. A few years ago, when my grandson turned 12 years old, I took him to the Fortress. I was amazed how attentive and touching he was to everything he saw. And this is a very, very new generation. Then the father was still alive, twice wounded in the war, and the little one heard stories about the war from a living participant in those events.

And you know, "The Dawns Here Are Quiet" are noticeably different from the film. The book is neither better nor worse. She's a little different. And even more piercing, or something

. Once, in 1974, this book was a free topic of my essay upon admission. Watch the Chinese version of the movie, especially. when our actors told how the film was made. I get the impression that China is more responsible for the history of the USSR in that war. It’s even a shame for us.

[ARA90rN]

The author has somewhat failed in the news. The original source says that the quote "In 2019, the V Fort of the Brest Fortress was visited by more than 20 thousand people." The fifth fort is a branch of MK BK. And not the whole Brest Fortress. And the reason for such a small number of visits is that the fort is not very convenient for a mass tourist, and it is not easy to get there without a car.

[Alexga]

Yes, the Fifth Fort stands off the track, it is rarely visited. 20 thousand visits is a lot.

[Terenin]

. Places, each stone of which remembers heroism, courage, self-sacrifice of Soviet soldiers, regardless of nationality, military rank or religion. I mean the Brest Fortress.

Whatever the case with the restorations, we always remember and are proud of our fellow countryman - Kizhevatov Andrei Mitrofanovich

June 22, 1941 Lieutenant A. Kizhevatov — chief of the 9th frontier post 17 of the Brest border detachment of the NKVD USSR troops. Born on 20.08.1907/XNUMX/XNUMX in the village of Seliksa, Penza district. The hero of the USSR.
"Here is my outpost, and I am its commander. From here I will not go anywhere" - these words of the lieutenant were preserved in their memory by the surviving border guards ...

[Desperado]

Quote: AlexGa

Yes, the Fifth Fort stands off the track, it is rarely visited. 20 thousand visits is a lot.

Without a good flashlight, the interior of the fort cannot be inspected. Outside, of course, there is something to put in order, at least to clean the vegetation on the north side of the fort. Make tracks.
As for the 20 thousand visits, I honestly can’t believe it, I was in the fortress in May 2019, visually there are much more people. In appearance, the remake is striking in the form of repairing the walls of the district barracks; in general, order is visible on the territory of the Citadel.
As for the fortifications of Kobrinsky and Volynsky, yes, the horse didn’t lie around, the ruins of the district hospital are simply fenced, the East and West fort are used as warehouses. It’s good to clear the lush vegetation and repair the fortifications, something to close with glass, like Berestye. It is possible, as part of the excursions, to partially open access to the Terespol fortification.

[Protos]

Belarusian brothers will let Minsk-Simferopol direct flight, I will fly first!