#Victory81
#NeverToBeForgotten

🎖 #OTD in 1941, the heroic 73-day #DefenceOfOdessa ended as Soviet forces completed a strategic evacuation by sea. Throughout the brutal siege, an outnumbered garrison pinned down an Axis force of over 300,000 German and Romanian troops. By holding the line against massive odds, the defenders bought valuable time to rescue hundreds of thousands of civilians and vital industrial equipment.

🕯The fall of the city on 16 October 1941 immediately led to a horrific tragedy. Shortly after taking control, occupying Romanian forces, supported by German units, carried out a brutal mass execution. In a wave of senseless violence, they shot and burned alive an estimated 25,000 to 34,000 Jewish residents and Romani people, marking the start of a devastating campaign of genocide in the region.

🪖 By the time the city was liberated in 1944, only a tiny fraction of Odessa's Jewish community had survived. The extraordinary bravery of the garrison during the siege later earned Odessa the official title of "Hero City," ensuring its legacy of ultimate resilience is never forgotten.

#WeRemember
#WWII