Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 699 of August 18, 2015 "On the approval of the Regulations on the procedure and conditions for granting the status of a historical and memorial burial site"
Decision of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee No. 181 of March 18, 2024 "On granting the status of a historical and memorial burial site"
Record sheet of burial sites with the status of historical and memorial burial sites
List of victims
Burial No. 7653 is located on the southern outskirts of the village of Rositsa, Saryan rural council, Verkhnedvinsk district, Vitebsk region, and is a mass grave of victims of fascism.
It contains the remains of 700 civilians burned by the Nazis in March 1943 during the punitive operation "Winter Magic".
In the pre-war years, the village of Rositsa, Drissensky district, had 231 households
The "sorting" lasted for five cold February days and nights. The only solace for the prisoners was the words of support and prayers from the clergy. Then, a portion of the captives were transported to the Bigosovo railway station for further dispatch to the Salaspils concentration camp. The rest were burned in various locations in Rositsa.
The executioners gave the priests an opportunity to leave Rositsa and thus save their lives. However, Antoni Leszczewicz and Jerzy Kaszyra, in their spiritual calling, decided that the sacred duty of their mission was to remain where their flock grieved, to be a spiritual support to people in the final moments of their lives. The priests refused to leave the people and met a martyr's death along with the victims.
On June 13, 1999, the Roman Catholic Church beatified the Marian priests Antoni Leszczewicz and Jerzy Kaszyra. Since 1999, memorial days for the Rositsa martyrs are held here twice a year.
The graves of those who perished in the fire of Rositsa were located in the barns in the central and western parts of the settlement, as well as in the workshops on its southern outskirts. Monuments were erected at all burial sites. The names of some of the deceased have been identified. The list of victims is being clarified.
Since 2019, the church in Rositsa has been recognized as the Diocesan Sanctuary of the Rositsa Martyrs. Rositsa is a place of worship for pilgrims from all over Belarus and abroad.
In memory of the terrible events of the genocide of the Belarusian people during the Great Patriotic War, a Memorial of Martyrs has been created at burial site No. 7653 – the territory has been landscaped, a Memorial Cross has been erected, repairs have been carried out to the access road and steps to the memorial, and an information stand has been placed.
