Immersion into the past

Copies of paintings by Mikhail Savitsky, holograms, newsreel footage: what is worth seeing with your own eyes at the main exhibition dedicated to Victory Day

The Road to Victory exhibition is open to the public at the BelExpo International Exhibition Centre in Minsk until July 5th. Here, visitors can not only see over 600 unique exhibits dedicated to the theme of the Great Patriotic War, but also use various multimedia technologies to fully immerse themselves in the atmosphere of those difficult and heroic years. The exhibition is guaranteed to leave no visitor unmoved.

Road to Victory exhibition dedicated to Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 taking place at BelExpo International Exhibition Centre
in Minsk 

Prisoner 32815 

It will give you goosebumps and a whole range of emotions. The creators of the exhibition — Belarus’ Ministry of Culture and the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History — have aimed to show us, contemporaries, what our grandfathers and great-grandfathers went through during the Great Patriotic War of 1941–1945. Seven thematic sections, arranged in chronological order in the exhibition hall of the Minsk International Exhibition Centre, trace the history from the beginning of the war to the defeat of Fascist Germany.
A screen displaying copies of paintings from the series Numbers on the Heart by famous Belarusian artist Mikhail Savitsky, who was a prisoner in German concentration camps, attracts attention. In 1946, he managed to return to Belarus, where he lived until his death.
“The artist worked on the presented series of paintings in the 1970s and 1980s. In these canvases, Mikhail Savitsky depicted everything that he experienced first-hand. Next to the paintings, you can see QR codes with more detailed information about his works and what meaning the author put into them,” Ulyana Shish, a junior researcher at the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History, started a tour.  
We examine the painting Prisoner 32815 — an unofficial photo portrait of the artist himself. In the background are the main gates to Buchenwald, the German concentration camp. We learn that all concentration camp prisoners wore striped uniforms and wooden shackles on their feet. In the upper part of the uniform on the left was always a winkel — a triangular patch, the colour of which indicated why the prisoner had ended up in the concentration camp. Another mandatory element was the prisoner’s number, for the loss of which one was punished by death. ”Prisoners were also killed for any minimal transgressions,” added Ulyana Shish.
The colour palette of the paintings is very bleak. These works evoke different feelings in each visitor to the exhibition. The artist, in turn, wanted to show the horror and atrocities that people experienced in concentration camps.

Valuable newsreel footage

The exhibition is full of children with their parents, pensioners, and young people. Notably, not all of them are from Minsk. “I came from Gomel to wander through the mazes of this exhibition. I am impressed by the scale of the exhibition,” said Anna Kozlovskaya. “I especially liked the section dedicated to the liberation of Minsk. My grandfather also fought in the war, and I proudly tell my children and grandchildren about him. They know about the heroic deed of the Soviet people.”
Our attention is drawn to various holograms. Thus, within the theme of the defence of the Brest Fortress, one of the tragic episodes — the death of Commissar Yefim Fomin, who was captured by the Nazis on June 30th, 1941 and shot dead at the Kholm Gate — has been recreated using them.
“My grandfather, a front-line soldier, was mobilised into the railway troops, where he helped transport wounded soldiers, among other things,” recounted exhibition visitor Daria Mironova. “Thanks to the scale and diversity of the exposition, videos, music, various exhibits and weapons, it is easy to immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the war years.”
We meet Marina Rudkovskaya with her grandson David near one of the exhibits. “David is particularly interested in military equipment and weapons at the exhibition,” she noted. “I would like my grandson to know about the heroic deeds of our soldiers. Although he is only six years old, he understands everything. I told him about our great-grandfather, who reached Berlin and died on May 7th, 1945.”
Let’s continue exploring the exhibition. Here is a historical reconstruction of a partisan camp, where you can see how the partisans lived. It is not reproduced in its original size, but it is quite large-scale. We are watching footage filmed by front-line cinematographers. “During combat operations, the partisans also seized German trophies. Primarily, this was weaponry, ammunition, and food. But often, cameras were taken as trophies too, thanks to which many of the images that have survived to this day were made. Professional cinematographers also worked, filming both on the front lines and in occupied cities. You can see the faces and emotions of real people in the surviving footage. In total, you can watch more than 20 different newsreels in the halls,” reported Ulyana Shish.
Footage has also survived, filmed on November 7th, 1941, during the parade on Red Square in Moscow, which was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the October Revolution. We see Soviet troops, who participated in the parade, heading directly to the front from there.

  

Road to Victory interactive board   Yegor Yermalitsky           Multimedia stand connected to the Partisans of Belarus portal                                                                                                                     Aleksandr Kulevsky 

Come and See

We move on to the section of the exhibition dedicated to the major battles for Moscow, Leningrad, Stalingrad, Kursk… Nearby are metaphorical trenches, symbolising those that existed during the Battle of Kursk. You can see weapons that were used in 1943, various exhibits from excavations carried out in that area.
One of the screens is showing footage from Elem Klimov’s Soviet film Come and See about the tragedy of the village of Khatyn. Through tears, we are watching the most tragic scene of the film: the fascists drove the entire civilian population of the village into a barn, set it on fire, and began shooting at the people. “One hundred and forty-nine people died in Khatyn from bullets and fire, and 75 of them were children. Khatyn has become a symbol of the tragedy of all Belarusian villages,” commented Ulyana Shish.
On one of the exhibition’s information terminals, you can see photographs and brief information about the Heroes of the Soviet Union and participants in the partisan movement. If you hold a special speaker to your ear, you can hear their voices. We listen to the speech of Hero of the Soviet Union Aleksandr Azonchik, who organised a partisan sabotage group in August 1941. In the recording, he addresses the partisans, gives them instructions, and talks about victories at the front. 
Approximately 20 themed posters are displayed in the exhibition hall. Each of them features a lot of red, which was associated with the Red Army. The main function of all the posters was to maintain a spirit of unity among the people and encourage them to new victories.
“One of the most popular posters is Red Army Soldier, Save Us!. It depicts a mother and a child, who symbolise the entire civilian population under occupation, awaiting rescue by the Soviet troops,” explained Ulyana Shish.
In addition, the exposition features two projects from the Belarus Segodnya Publishing House. At the multimedia stand, connected to the Partisans of Belarus portal, visitors can find information about the fate of their heroic ancestors and fellow countrymen. With the interactive Radio Pobeda [Victory] player, one can listen to the most famous wartime songs. We are sure that those who cherish the memory of the most formidable and great days of our country are already familiar with the Radio Pobeda frequency — 96.2 FM.
Our route concludes with a section dedicated to preserving historical memory, where a model of the Victory Obelisk is placed in the centre. In the background are photographs of participants in the Great Patriotic War, including front-line soldiers, partisans, and underground fighters who made their invaluable contribution to the Victory.

“People of all ages visit the Road to Victory exhibition. Each shows interest in something specific. Young people more often use VR headsets and explore various interactive elements. Adults prefer the authentic exhibits, photographs, and newsreels,” concluded the employee of the Belarusian State Museum of the Great Patriotic War History. 

Yegor Yermalitsky

By Tatiana Semenkova