Medal and tears of memory. A 90-year-old former concentration camp prisoner was honored in Vitebsk
– We congratulate you on the upcoming bright holiday, Victory Day! You had to endure a lot during the war and work for the good of the Motherland after its end. Thank you for this, we wish you good health and peace! – said the head of the administration of the Pervomaysky District of Vitebsk, Yevgeny Semyonchyov, addressing Maria Vasilyevna, presenting her with financial assistance and the jubilee medal "80 Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War".
On this day, the former prisoner of Nazi concentration camps also received gifts and congratulations from representatives of public associations and pioneers from educational institutions of the Pervomaysky District of Vitebsk.
– It is pleasant that you do not forget me. The main thing is peace and the health of loved ones, I know this because I have seen a lot in my life, – Maria Belyaeva addressed the guests. – When the war began, I was 6 years old. Of the seven children, I was the eldest, so I helped take care of the younger ones. I was also a nanny for my mother's sister, helping my aunt sit with her young son in another village. It so happened that we were driven to Germany, and I was separated from my mother for several years.
Returning in 1945 to her native village of Tsalovichi, Surazhsky District, Vitebsk Region, Masha started school. After finishing 7 grades, she began working as a milk receiver in the village of Dubrovy. After getting married in 1957, she moved to Vitebsk, where she worked as a cutter at JSC "Classics of the Fashion Industry" for 33 years. For her many years of work, she was awarded the title "Veteran of Labor".