#Exhibit of the Month

The work In Memoriam. In Memory of the Heroes Who Fell at the Nistru (1992) was developed within the Center for Culture and Military History and published under the auspices of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, the Bureau for Reintegration, and the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Moldova. Authors: Gheorghe Bălan, Vitalie Ciobanu, Gheorghe Cojocaru.

This work provides a retrospective of the events that led to the outbreak of the war on the Nistru, accompanied by photographs of the heroes who lost their lives in the battles to defend the independence and territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova.

On March 2, 1992, the political conflict in the Nistru region escalated into a true fratricidal war. Under the fabricated pretext of "defending Russia's southern borders," political adventurers from the former Soviet metropolis encouraged Transnistrian separatism by arming secessionist paramilitary groups. At the same time, thousands of mercenary Cossacks and prisoners released early from jails, along with tanks and missiles, were sent against Independent Moldova, in a desperate attempt to revive the fallen empire.

Russia's undeclared war against the Republic of Moldova left behind hundreds of dead and wounded, shattered families, and villages in ruins. More than 50,000 peaceful residents from the conflict zone were forced to flee their homes, seeking refuge from the horrors of war.

For the sake of freedom and the future, Moldova's defenders faced death, enduring the hardships and humiliations of war.

During the Nistru war, 198 soldiers of the National Army and 89 personnel from the Ministry of Internal Affairs lost their lives, while 40 combatants went missing without a trace, and nearly 300 were left disabled.

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Exhibitions

“Mommy, I don't want war!!!”

September 30 – October 31, 2022

In September 1939, World War II broke out. 83 years later, we say NO to war again! On the 30^{th of}September, at 12:00, in front of the National Museum of History of Moldova in Chisinau, the emotional Polish-Ukrainian exhibition "Mom, I don't want war!!!" will be opened.

Together with the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Chisinau and the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Moldova, we will open an exhibition that shows us the war seen through the eyes of children. We want to continue to support Ukraine and its citizens. This is how our countries express their support for Ukraine in these difficult days of the war.

The exhibition features historical drawings by Polish children from 1946, which record their experience during World War II and the German occupation of 1939-1945, as well as contemporary drawings by Ukrainian children about the ongoing war in Ukraine. The drawings can be found also on the Mom I see war portal.

The similarity between the historical drawings and those of today is striking. Children draw tanks, airplanes from which bombs are dropped, fires and explosions. They draw wounded and dead, ruined houses, graves. They draw themselves and their families, evacuation and escape. They also draw their hopes and dreams for the future.

The multitude of emotions transposed in the drawings: from fear and despair to hope and faith in victory, confirms one thing - children should not suffer because of the war, they deserve to be happy and loved.

The project "Mom I see war" was launched to show the war through the eyes of children in Ukraine and to draw the attention of the world community to the brutal invasion of Russia.

"This project brought together over 10,000 children's drawings about war and peace in Ukraine, created to capture what children experience during wartime and show the world how strong Little Ukrainians are."

Opening: September 30, 12.00, in front of the National Museum of History of Moldova.

Project supervision: Dr. Dorota Sadowska (University of Warsaw), Prof. Olga Kulinich (National "Taras Shevchenko" University in Kyiv), Mariusz Olczak (director of the Archives of Modern Documents)