German diplomat meets with religious figures in Hrodna, commemorates Holocaust

July 1, Pozirk. Germany’s Chargé d’Affaires to Belarus Kathrin aus dem Siepen visited Hrodna to meet with Catholic, Protestant and Jewish activists.
Aus dem Siepen also visited a company “connected to Germany”, the German embassy said. “The laying of flowers at a monument near the entrance to a former ghetto was a particularly touching moment for us,” the embassy said.
The visit was one of “meetings, dialogue and memory,” it added.
On June 16, aus dem Siepen met with survivors of ghettos, concentration camps, the Second World War and the Holocaust at a reception hosted by the German embassy.
The reception came a day after state television channels broadcast a controversial interview in which Alaksandar Łukašenka appeared to downplay the Holocaust.
Katrin aus dem Siepen took over as head of the German embassy in Belarus in October 2025. Most European Union countries downgraded their diplomatic presence in Belarus amid a brutal crackdown on Łukašenka’s opponents following the 2020 presidential election. Hungary and Slovakia are the only two EU countries represented by ambassadors, while the other embassies are headed by chargés d’affaires.
EU diplomatic missions have kept a low profile in recent years with very few public events and even fewer interviews. Western diplomats have been in the crosshairs of the state propaganda with scathing media reports about them and relentless psychological harassment during rare public appearances.
Israel slams Łukašenka over Holocaust remarks, antisemitic comments
- EconomyVacancies for foreigners in Belarus continue to riseThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyNumber of teachers in Belarus down 13,300 since 2021The material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsEurope must stay true to its values and not yield to business interests, Cichanoŭskaja saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBorrell: Repression in Belarus has not stopped since 1994The material is available only to POZIRK+
- SecurityUkraine warns about minefields along border with BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics
- Security, SocietyLithuania scrambles fighter jets, closes airport over unidentified flying object from BelarusThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsBelarusian ambassador meets with Georgian Presidential Administration’s headThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsHuman rights groups identify 12 new political prisonersThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy, PoliticsBelarus-"DNR" cooperation discussed at Russian embassy without Belarus representatives presentThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsViolence widespread in Belarus’ jails and prisons, survey findsThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka warns Armenia against “rushing” into EUThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- PoliticsŁukašenka thanks Trump for “exposing” Western policyThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SecurityNumber of Belarus-based mobile relay systems for Russian drone attacks has greatly increased, Kyiv saysThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Politics, SocietyAt least 2,078 NGOs dissolved in Belarus since August 2020 – LawtrendThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyRubel up 1.3 percent against US dollar at cash exchange offices in SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+
- Economy
- Politics, Society
- PoliticsStatkievič: Belarus grappling with “cold civil war”The material is available only to POZIRK+
- EconomyBelarus' new car sales down by 5 percent in SeptemberThe material is available only to POZIRK+


