On April 29, the representatives of the Embassy of Kazakhstan in the Netherlands participated in the commemoration conference of Turkic-speaking (Kazakh, Uzbek, Azerbaijani) soldiers who died in a concentration camp near Amersfoort during the World War II, DKNews.kz reports.
The program organized an excursion to the Field of Honor and held a lecture at the city library in Amersfoot, which was chaired by Remko Reiding, writer Burhanettin Karlak, and journalist Sharif Akhmedov.
As part of the event, the Embassy staff shared the story of Kazakh soldiers’ and people's heroism during the World War II. More than 1,200,000 people from Kazakhstan went to the frontlines and 500 soldiers were awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union. Among them were Bauyrzhan Momyshuly, who changed the flow of war, Panfilov division who have successfully defended the capital of the Union. Kazakh girls as Manshuk Mametova and sniper Aliya Moldagulova, also played a pivotal role in the eventual triumph. Moreover, Kazakh lieutenant Rakhimzhan Koshkarbaev was the first soldier to attach the Victory flag on the Reichstag.
Kazakhstan was the powerful arsenal of the front and its whole economy was restructured to focus on military needs. As President of Kazakhstan K. Tokayev noted, "It can be said that Kazakhstan played a key role in supplying the army during the World War 2. 9 out of 10 bullets were cast from Kazakhstan lead. We sent 1,500 wagons of clothing and foodstuffs to the front. In other words, our contribution to achieving victory was obvious.”
Moreover, the Embassy representatives presented the brief history of Kazakhstan. For example, discussions were hold on the legacy of the prominent members of Alash. Many stories of the brave warriors from our history were told. Among them was Sultan Beybarys, the ruler Egypt, whose cultural importance for the Turkic community was discussed.
They also bestowed Abay Kunanbayev's "Qara Sozder" writings, a book about the works of Shokan Ualikhanov, and a publication about the capital Astana to the Amersfoort library.
The event ended with an agreement to hold an annual commemoration of the soldiers buried in Amersfoort.
