Residents of Tiraspol lit candles of memory on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the city

“The Candle of Memory” traditional event took place at the Memorial of Glory in Tiraspol on the evening of April 11. Residents of Tiraspol honored the memory of the heroes who fought for their native land on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the city from the German-Romanian invaders. The PMR Supreme Council Deputies took part in the mass event.

“The Candle of Memory” is considered a youth event, but people of different ages came to the Memorial of Glory on the evening of April 11. According to the website of the Renewal republic political party, representatives of government bodies and the public, teachers, students, high school students, cadets of military schools and activists of youth organizations, including “Youth Renewal,” bowed their heads in a minute of silence and laid flowers on the granite slabs of the memorial.

Another important date was discussed during the event –  the International Day of the Liberation of Prisoners of Nazi Concentration Camps (on April 11, 1945, the uprising of Buchenwald prisoners broke out). There are still people living in Tiraspol today who remember the atrocities of the Nazis and the torment of people in Nazi captivity.

The patriotic action “In memory of the fallen - in the name of the living” was launched in the republic in the year of the liberation of the cities of Pridnestrovie from fascist invaders. Soil is taken from the memorials of all the cities of Pridnestrovie during the days of their liberation from the Nazis, which will be placed there in a memory capsule on August 23, the day of the liberation of the city of Bendery. The solemn ritual of transferring land to Bendery residents took place in Tiraspol.

The liberation of Tiraspol from the Nazis began late in the evening of April 11, 1944 during the Odessa offensive operation. Pursuing the retreating enemy, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front reached the left bank of the Dniester and began fighting on the outskirts of Tiraspol. Soldiers of the 37th Army under the command of General Mikhail Sharokhin reached the near approaches to the city and by 3 a.m. drove out the invaders on the night of April 12. The 228th, 92nd, 118th rifle divisions entered Tiraspol. Thus came the spring of freedom, ending the occupation, which lasted 970 days and claimed the lives of several thousand city residents. People took to the streets to greet the liberators on the morning of April 12.

Photos from the press service of the Renewal republic political party