Day of the liberation of Simferopol from the Nazi invaders — congratulations from Sergei Aksenov

These are the words from Stalin’s order declaring gratitude to the front troops for the liberation of our city.

The nightmare of occupation is over. And along with it, the word “Gothenburg” remained forever in the past, in the dustbin of history. This is how the Nazis planned to name the capital of Crimea, inhabited by “Aryans”.

Left behind were 865 days of pain and death, despair and fear. Many of our fellow countrymen did not live long enough to see liberation.

“It has been established that on the night of April 11, 1944, prisoners in the concentration camp were taken out and dumped into a well up to 24 meters deep. Of the 70 corpses taken out, only 10 lying in the upper layers were shot and then dumped, the rest were thrown into the well alive. The 70 corpses included 55 women and 5 children from 1.5 to 14 years old.”

This is a verbatim quote from the report of the state commission to establish the atrocities of the Nazi invaders, which worked on the territory of the death camp at the Krasny state farm in the Simferopol region. Now there is a memorial known throughout the country.

However, these were 865 days not only of horror and death, but also of enormous courage, heroism and faith in Victory. From the first to the last days of the occupation, underground groups operated in Simferopol, causing serious damage to the enemy. The names of many heroes are immortalized in the names of city streets.

It was the underground members who prevented the destruction of infrastructure, communications, and many buildings mined by the fascists before the retreat, including in the historical center of the Crimean capital.

The symbol of the liberation of Simferopol was the monument-tank T-34 with tail number 201, which was among the first to burst into the city. It was here, at this monument, that the formation of the people’s militia began, which played a crucial role in the Reunification of Crimea with Russia.

Happy holiday, fellow countrymen! Happy liberation day of Simferopol from the Nazi invaders! – says the congratulations from the Head of Crimea.

source: Department of Information and Press Service of the Head of the Republic of Crimea