Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia
 
20.10.2016.

Marking 72 years since the liberation of Belgrade



Memorial parade from London place to the Palace of Albania today has marked 72nd anniversary of the liberation of Belgrade in the Second World War, and the city manager Goran Vesic said that Belgrade is particularly proud today as it celebrates one of the most important events in our history.
 
Extending greetings on the Day of liberation of Belgrade on behalf of the City Assembly to all, Vesic reminded that on this day, 72 years ago, after 1287 days of the Nazi occupation, Belgrade was liberated.
 
"On this day, the great battle in which nearly 3,000 members of the People's Liberation Army and 940 members of the Red Army gave their lives for this city to enjoy in freedom," Vesic said addressing the participants in the memorial parade.
 
As he stated, the freedom we have today is the result of that battle and its victims, and it is our duty to remember all those people that were then either killed or wounded.
 
"It is our obligation to convey what happened in that year 1944 to future generations", Vesic said and stressed that Belgrade is today particularly proud.
 
Minister of Labour, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy, Aleksandar Vulin, congratulated everyone on the Day of the liberation of Belgrade and pointed out that the history of the Serbian nation was never written with the names of those who were waiting for the freedom or those who thought that it is possible to be on the side of the occupiers only until the evil passes.
 
"The history of the Serbian nation has been written and it is still being written, with the names of those who were on the side of liberty and who did not ask how much freedom costs", Vulin said.
 
Noting that 72 years ago the Serbian people enlisted itself on the side of the winners, alongside the biggest and the best ones, Vulin said that the death of the heroes must not be embarrassed with the lives of their descendants.
 
"It is up to us to keep the memory of them alive and to be worthy of the memories of them and their size", Vulin emphasized.
 
On the route of the parade from the London place to the Palace of Albania, there were five points on which the actors reconstructed some of the situations in which the army and citizens found themselves on 20th October 1944.
 
The event was attended by veterans from SUBNOR, citizens, and representatives of the city authorities.