#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

"The German Colony of Emmental – Artistic Reflections"

September 17 – October 17, 2024

The exhibition "The German Colony of Emmental - Artistic Reflections," organized by the National Museum of History of Moldova in partnership with the Municipality of Pervomaisc, will be inaugurated on September 17, 2024, at 1:00 PM. It marks 210 years since the arrival of the first German settlers in Bessarabia, offering an artistic journey into the history and heritage of the German community in the region.

The Germans of Bessarabia represented the last wave of German emigrants who settled in "New Russia" following the defeat of the Ottoman Empire by Russia in May 1812. In the Appeal "To the Germans of the Duchy of Warsaw," dated November 29, 1813, Tsar Alexander I invited German settlers to establish themselves by the Black Sea, promising them land and freedoms. The immigrants came mainly from southwestern Germany and Prussia.

Over 125 years of colonization, this minority developed a prosperous community in Bessarabia, characterized by local autonomy and a strong Protestant work ethic. The German settlers lived in peaceful proximity with other ethnic and religious communities. In 1940, following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact (1939), 93,500 Germans from Bessarabia were relocated, primarily to occupied Poland. At the beginning of 1945, they were forced to flee and create new lives in a divided Germany.

The exhibition explores the story and legacy of the German settlers from Emmental (now Pervomaisc), one of the largest German colonies in Bessarabia, reflected in the paintings of Antonina Casap, a native of this village. The displayed works evoke rural landscapes of unique serenity, the specific architecture of German villages, portraits depicting the daily lives of settlers, the community's traditions and customs, as well as abstract compositions reflecting the dynamic cultural and social changes.

The exhibition discourse offers a new perspective on how art can interpret the history of a community. Each displayed work acts as a bridge between the past and the present, inviting reflection on how history shapes our collective and individual identities.

The exhibition "The German Colony of Emmental - Artistic Reflections" will be open to visitors from September 17 to October 9, 2024, at the National Museum of History of Moldova, 121A August 31, 1989 Street, Chișinău.