Victory Day in Europe is celebrated as the day of formal surrender of Nazi Germany, marking the official end of World War II in Europe. The formal document of the unconditional surrender was signed in Berlin by Field marshal Wilhelm Keitel (Germany), Marshal Georgiy Zhukov (USSR), and General Arthur Tedder (Western Allied Forces) in 1945.
On May 9th, the representatives of the City of Kruševac – Mayor Ivan Manojlović and the President of the City Assembly Dragana Barišić laid wreaths on monuments in the Memorial Complex “Slobodište” and on the Red Army Monument near Rasina. Deputy Mayor Snežana Radojković and the members of the City Assembly of Kruševac were present, as well.
In tribute to the citizens who were executed during World War II, flowers and wreaths were laid by the Head of the Rasina Administrative District Ivan Anđelić, representatives of SUBNOR (Alliance of Freedom Wars Fighters Associations), Associations of Veterans of Serbian Gendarmarie, Battle Brotherhood, Heart of a Hero, Retiree Associations “Kruševac” and “Car Lazar”…
After paying respects at “Slobodište” Memorial Complex, the flowers were laid on the Red Army Monument near Rasina. As in the previous years, the Cultural Center of Kruševac organized an appropriate program:
“One can read the names of all members of the Red Army who fought for freedom and gave their lives far away from their motherland. Their names are written in this stone, and we will remember both them and their sacrifice forever. It is not a coincidence that in this year we again celebrate Victory Day in Kruševac, the city that is a Messenger of Peace, and city awarded with the Peace Medal. It is a way to highlight the importance of peace and peacemaking. That is why we will pay our respect and bow before the shadows of the victims who contributed to the great antifascist victory that was achieved 79 years ago.”
Besides the representatives of the City, numerous organizations and associations paid their respects to the brave Russian soldiers. Head of the Rasina Administrative District, representatives of the Army of the Republic of Serbia, Army Senior Reserves Organization, SUBNOR, Association of Disabled War Veterans, Socialist Party of Serbia, Immortal Regiment, Builders of Peace, Serbian – Russian Friendship, and other organizations that are centered around the traditions of freedom.
