In the Netherlands, commemorative events are being held in remembrance of the victims of World War II. In the suburbs of the Dutch city of Amersfoort, flowers were laid at the graves of 865 Soviet soldiers in a military cemetery. The site is the resting place of prisoners of war, many of whom remained unidentified for a long time and whose stories remained unknown. Among them are over 100 natives of Kazakhstan and other Central Asian countries. They were brought here in October 1941 from the Eastern Front.
«We identified soldiers, we traced their families, we brought them to the graves, and their relatives are living far away, so they cannot put flowers on this place, on these graves. So we do this for them. We don't know exactly how many soldiers from Kazakhstan are buried here, but we know for sure that there are at least 20 soldiers from Kazakhstan buried here,» said Remco Reiding, a journalist and researcher from the Netherlands.
Among the identified names are Ilsha Makhametov, Adylkhan Umarbekov, Dmitry Khmel, and Vladimir Botenko. The search efforts have extended far beyond national borders, evolving into large-scale international cooperation. Volunteers, diplomats, and researchers from different countries are joining forces to restore the names of missing soldiers and honor their memory.
«So, people from wherever can adopt a grave from one of the soldiers who’s lying here and I make sure they get a certificate. And with all the money we gather, we can search further for names and faces and families,» said Suzanne Flipse, head of a volunteer group in the Netherlands.
The story of prisoners of war from Kazakhstan and other Central Asian
countries is not merely part of wartime history. These are the stories of
people who defended their Motherland at the cost of their own lives. Many of
their names are still being restored, bringing them back from the historical
archives.
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