Zaslavl. The DOT (pillbox) Museum.

By the beginning of the war, the pillboxes were in terrible condition. Many of them were not equipped, and the ventilation shafts were not working. That is why the Dot museum has collected everything necessary to demonstrate to visitors how these structures should ideally look.

The pillbox is located in a pine forest. The concrete structure rises slightly above the forest edge and goes deep into the earth. Reinforced concrete pillbox walls and combat coating (90 and 60 cm thick, respectively) They provided protection from shells from 122 mm howitzers, and at long distances from 152 mm howitzers. There are three cameras inside the pillbox. They serve as exhibition halls.

The creators of the museum tried to recreate in them the appearance of a typical pillbox during the Second World War. The combat situation is very well recreated in the three-embrasure pillbox. The point was armed with three Maxim machine guns on special machines of the Gornostalev system with a central water cooling system and one Degtyarev hand machine gun. The ammunition consisted of 28,500 rounds. A periscope was installed for circular observation of the enemy. Protection from chemical warfare agents during chemical attack and from powder gases during intense firing was provided by a filter and ventilation system. There is a cooling system. The point was provided with an original telephone coil via underground and ground cables, a radio station and other means of communication.

The documents and personal belongings of the soldiers are presented here. The Red Army soldiers, represented in the form of mannequins, "keep their combat watch" at the structures, which emphasizes the military atmosphere.

The garrison of the firing point consisted of twelve Red Army soldiers. 12 people per small structure consisting of three rooms, where soldiers were forced to sit for several hours on duty. The rooms are small, there are several small openings designed for guns. In pitch darkness and stuffiness, it was in such conditions that the soldiers had to defend their firing point. It's hard for us to imagine such a thing now, but during the war, no one even thought about convenience.

Zaslavl is currently the only city in Belarus with more than 10 machine-gun emplacements and three long-range artillery emplacements. Some of them participated in the battles near Zaslavl in June 1941 and have combat damage. Some firing points lasted from two to four days. They held back the enemy's advance on Minsk and inflicted considerable losses on it.

The pillbox is a real wartime facility that is more than 90 years old. Visiting the museum is impressive for both children and adults.

The Pillbox Museum once again reminds us of the heroism of the fighters, makes us appreciate the history of those who fought, who died and honor their memory.