The Khatyn memorial complex - a shrine of national memory - is unique in that it perpetuates the memory of the inhabitants of Khatyn, the inhabitants of hundreds of burned Belarusian villages and civilians destroyed by the Nazis during the Great Patriotic War. On March 22, 1943, the Nazis burned the village of Khatyn and 149 of its inhabitants, of which 75 were children. In January 1966, the Central Committee of the CPB decided to create the Khatyn memorial complex. The opening took place on July 5, 1969. The complex consists of a number of separate elements.