Siege of Leningrad – firsthand: a memorable lesson for 450 students was held in the capital

An open lesson dedicated to the memory of the siege of Leningrad gathered more than 450 students in the spiritual and educational center "Ark" on September 8, the correspondent of the agency "Minsk-Novosti" reports.

This year, the venue for a memorable lesson was not chosen by chance. Earlier, events dedicated to the blockade of Leningrad were held in the Palace of Children and Youth and the House of Moscow. This time, the organizers had the opportunity to hold a large-scale meeting in the Spiritual and Educational Center “Ark” in the format of a requiem day.

- This is not a holiday, but a requiem day that we celebrate in order to preserve the memory of those terrible events, said Nina Haidukova, the organizer of the event, representative of the Center for Technical Creativity of Children and Youth. The main goal is to tell children about how hard it was for people in besieged Leningrad, and to remind them, thanks to whom today we have a peaceful sky above our heads.

According to N. Haidukova, such memorable meetings have been held for 13 years. This year, students of colleges and schools, military-patriotic classes, the Academy of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Emergency Situations, cadet and Suvorov military schools were invited.

The meeting began with a dance composition – participants of creative teams in gray and black costumes appeared on the stage. A restrained palette, plastic movements and music set the performance a mood of sorrow and reminded of the tragic pages of military history.

A special place in the program was taken by the testimonies of people who survived the blockade. Among the guests are children of the war, including Maria Yagodnytsina, who for more than 35 years heads the public association of minor prisoners of the siege of Leningrad. Addressing a young audience, she shared her memories of those dark days in verse: her story became one of the most emotional moments of the meeting. At the end of the meeting, the participants honored the memory of the victims with a minute of silence.

- Unfortunately, there are very few witnesses to those events. This is why it is especially important for children to hear their memories firsthand. Such a conversation gives much more than just information from a history textbook, Khaidukova said.

A documentary film about the besieged Leningrad was prepared for the participants. The children were told about how the children survived in the besieged city, what the food supply was and what the famous 125 grams of bread meant for Leningraders. The meeting was based on the real stories of people who survived the blockade.

- It is important to us that modern children can compare their childhood with the childhood of those who had to endure war and blockade. Alas, veterans and eyewitnesses are becoming less and less, so our task is to preserve their memory and pass it on to the next generation.

Eyewitness stories and watching the film did not leave indifferent the participants of the meeting.

- What struck me most was the story of white Panama. Children who were taken to Lake Ladoga were dressed in white Panama. During the German air raid, many of them died, and the white Panamanians remained on the water. This story is especially remembered by me as a symbol of the memory of the dead children, said Alexander Lagun, a student of the Suvorov Military School.

Such meetings help young people not only to learn facts from history, but also to realize the value of peaceful life.

- Such activities are very important for children and adolescents. They help us understand the price our ancestors paid to protect our homeland and the future of our children. Thanks to them, today we can live, learn and build our future under a peaceful sky, Alexander concluded.

Photo by Elizabeth Davidovskaya