To mark the 120th anniversary of the birth of Olena Teliha, a writer, member of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists and fighter for Ukraine’s independence who was murdered by the Nazi occupiers at Babyn Yar, the War Museum hosted an interactive lecture entitled “Olena Teliha: Between Poetry and Struggle”.
Participants traced Olena Teliha’s life and discussed her role in the Ukrainian liberation movement, the power of poetry as a form of resistance, and her conscious decision to remain in occupied Kyiv despite the grave danger to her life. During the lecture, attendees examined materials from the Museum’s collection and read excerpts from Teliha’s poetry, letters and memoirs, gaining a deeper understanding of her personality and the historical context in which she lived.
The event also featured a presentation of the results of the All-Ukrainian Literary and Arts Competition “To Go On Further, All of Us Together!”, which has been organised by the Olena Teliha All-Ukrainian Women’s Society since 1998. Over the years, the competition has become an important platform for promoting the writer’s creative legacy among young people. The most recent competition, held in 2025, brought together more than 300 participants from across Ukraine.
A special feature of the programme was the presentation of animated videos produced by the War Museum and inspired by the works of Olena Teliha. The videos incorporated recordings made by competition participants and donated to the Museum’s collection by the Olena Teliha All-Ukrainian Women’s Society. Drawing on the best competition entries, the Museum’s animator, Danyil Pinko, created a series of animations that were shown for the first time at the Museum on the 120th anniversary of Olena Teliha’s birth. Through these works, Teliha’s words, voiced by young Ukrainians today, acquired a new artistic resonance while retaining the power and continued relevance of the meanings they convey.
The programme continued with a themed tour of the “Time Capsule” exhibition, during which participants learnt more about the lives of Ukrainians under Nazi occupation and the personal stories preserved by the War Museum.
The Museum extends its sincere gratitude to the Olena Teliha All-Ukrainian Women’s Society, particularly its honorary chair, Olha Kobets, and chair, Iryna Holovai, for their many years of work to preserve and promote Olena Teliha’s creative legacy, as well as for the trust they have placed in our institution. This fruitful cooperation has laid the foundation for new forms of museum interpretation that help young people today discover Olena Teliha’s life and work and engage with her legacy through contemporary forms of expression.
