Lillehammer honors Kazakh soldiers

On June 22, wreath-laying ceremony at the monument to a Soviet soldier took place at the Jørstadmoen military cemetery on the outskirts of the Norwegian city of Lillehammer.

The ceremony was attended by the Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Norway, Yerkin Akhinzhanov, Mayor of Lillehammer Ingunn Trosholmen, Member of the Storting Rigmor Aasrud, the commander of the military base Jørstadmoen of the Norwegian Armed Forces, Silje Nithun, Kazakhstan's first Olympic champion Vladimir Smirnov, the hockey player and the champion of Norway Iskander Nugmanov and other famous figures.

Earlier this year, the Embassy of Kazakhstan revealed the names of 44 Kazakhstani soldiers buried in Norway in 1941-1945. Five soldiers rest in a military cemetery in the village of Jørstadmoen, near Lillehammer. They are Antonov Vasily Ilyich (1916-1942, from Talgar, Almaty region), Pyotr Veniaminovich Vyatkin (1916-1944, from Almaty), Fedor Alexandrovich Eremin (1923-1944, from Uralsk), Ivan Yakovlevich Kocherzhenko (1902-1944, from Syryozek, Almaty region), Andrei Vasilievich Loss (1908-1942, from Karakulsk, Kustanai region).

During the Second World War, about 100,000 Soviet prisoners went through the Nazi concentration camps in occupied Norway. About 15,500 of them died in custody. The occupation authorities buried the dead prisoners, mainly in areas directly adjacent to the camps.

Nine hundred fifty-four dead prisoners were buried in Jørstadmoen, from April 1942 to May 1945. Most of them were Soviet prisoners of war.

"For the first time in 75 years, we have the opportunity to bow to our fellow countrymen in faraway Norway. For many years nothing was known about their fate. Our holy duty is to keep the memory of the soldiers resting here," said the Ambassador of Kazakhstan Yerkin Akhinzhanov.

“I participate in this ceremony in deep respect for the sufferings and sacrifices those who found their grave here were exposed to. In Lillehammer's history of World War II, the war cemetery at Jørstadmoen is an important monument of the cruelty of war. We honour these soldiers every year on our national day, May 17., with flag-raising and flower-laying. We must never forget! I am honoured by todays visit to Lillehammer by H.E.Mr.Yerkin Akhinzhanov, Ambassador of Kazakhstan in Norway, which confirms the long lasting and good relations between our two nations,” said Mayor of Lillehammer Ingun Trosholmen.

The 1994 Lillehammer Olympics champion Vladimir Smirnov was among the firsts to respond to the initiative to honor the memory of Soviet Kazakh soldiers. "Significant research work has been done. About a thousand Soviet soldiers are buried near Lillehammer, of which today the names of five Kazakhstanis are known. It is a great honor for me to be here today, June 22, and to pay tribute to the memory of fellow countrymen," Smirnov noted.

"I consider it very important to remember and honor the memory of our soldiers who died so far away from their homeland. It is my honor and pride to honor the memory of our soldiers in Lillehammer," said Iskander Nugmanov, a bandy player, who was recently named the Year's Player of Norway's Bandy Championship.

"This initiative is an important step to restore historical memory for the soldiers of Kazakhstan. Today's event is also contributing to the development of friendly relations between Kazakhstan and Norway. I would like to thank everyone who participated in the project and archival work," said Roman Vakulchuk, a senior research fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Relations.

The Embassy of Kazakhstan in Oslo will continue to identify the identities of Kazakhstani soldiers buried in Norway during the war.