It’s a shame that there are such people in Belarus :: Charter'97 :: News

Ambassador of Germany Martin Hecker paid Euro 1 thousand to the Minskovite who handed the stolen bronze memorial plaque to the diplomat. The memorial sign commemorates the Jews from Bremen perished in the Minsk ghetto.

When handing the memorial sign at the Embassy of Germany the Belarusian national who had asked his name not to be mentioned reported that the plaque had been found near the non-ferrous metals reception in the Kalodzischi settlement of the Minsk district. According to the male who introduced himself as a staff member of the non-ferrous metals reception the memorial sign immersed in the machine oil had been found by him personally. The male considers that the people who had brought the plaque for selling didn’t dare to sell it after reading the sign on it and left the plaque on the ground not far from the reception.

The Belarusian citizens present at the ceremony of the plaque handing proposed the male to turn down the reward for the reason that the sign commemorates tragedies of lots of people who had died at the Belarusian land. But the male didn’t agree either with decreasing the sum or with any moral gratitude such as, for example, the report about his deed with his photo published in press. The male turned down the proposal of his photo taken with the ambassador. The man is supposed to be an intermediary between the diplomats and those who stole the plaque.

Disappearance of the plaque was found out 9 March. In 1992 it was installed by the representatives of the Bremen Jewish community at the façade of the 13 Ramanauskaya Slabada Street for commemoration of nearly 450 Jews from Bremen deported from Germany to Belarus who perished in the Minsk ghetto.

6 March Ambassador of Germany announced the reward of Euro 1 thousand to those who would assist returning of the plaque.

Further destiny of the plaque is to be determined by the leadership of the Union of Belarusian Jewish Associations and Communities. The offer of installing the plaque’s copy at the façade of the 13 Ramanauskaya Slabada Street and keeping the original at the Belarusian- German organization ”Historical Studio in Minsk” is among the alternatives for consideration, the BelaPAN reports.