Lahoysk, Belarus - Polarsteps

In the morning we went to the memorial site of Kathyn, a former village which was burnt down to the ground by the Nazi's with all its inhabitants killed. Only one man survived, hee find his son outside who died in his arms. Kathyn stands symbol for the while atrocity which came to Belarus. Hitler thought the land and it's people were useless so the plan was to kill 75% of its people, give the land to Germans who served him right and keep 25% of the Belarusians to serve them as slaves. I am shocked by this story. How come I never heard this? About one third of the population has been slaughtered..... The monument is impressive. There's a cemetery which symbolises the other nearby 600 villages with the same tragedy. The chimneys of the houses were the only witness, they have a bell and a plaque with the names of the residents, the bells ring every 30 seconds. Since the tours where all prearranged who got a private talk from one of the your guides. Again very friendly. Should we pay, I asked. No why, she said, for a nice conversation? https://www.belarus.by/en/travel/belarus-life/khatyn