Mazyr authorities ban meeting at site of self-immolation by Jews
Mazyr town authorities banned a meeting at the site of self-immolation committed by some 20 Jews on 31 August 1941, the BelaPAN news agency reports, quoting Pavel Nazdra, chair of the Belarusian Society for the Preservation of Historical and Cultural Monuments.
According to Mr. Nazdra, he applied for the event on 16 August. However, on 27 August he received an official reply signed by deputy chair of Mazyr district executive committee Feliks Haliuk, suggesting holding the meeting on 23 April 2011, to coincide with the Holocaust Remembrance Day marked annually by the State of Israel.
On 31 August 1941, 10 days after Mazyr’s occupation by the German troops, over 20 local Jewish residents set themselves on fire, repeating the heroic deed of the defenders of the Masada fortress, who preferred death to surrender to a Roman siege in 73 A.D.
