The War Museum hosted an event dedicated to the research of family histories and the work of museum employees on identifying the places where soldiers died during World War II (WWII).
The event began with an opening speech by Volodymyr Ruhal, Head of the Department of Military Losses of Ukraine and Historical Memory. He highlighted the importance of honoring the memory of the victims of World War II and the ongoing russian-Ukrainian conflict, stressing that Ukrainians should not remain nameless.
Senior researcher Tetiana Pshenychna introduced the guests to the Museum’s documentary collection, which includes over 3 million records of servicemen who died or went missing. Using these documents, the museum staff developed the Martyrology search portal. This portal allows users to search for information about Soviet servicemen from Ukraine who did not return from the fronts of the Second World War, as well as those who were buried in the country.
The scholar explained the algorithms by which museum employees help modern Ukrainians find information about their relatives. Sometimes, only fragmentary data is available to establish the final resting place of soldiers.
Interestingly, current defenders frequently approach the Museum seeking information about their relatives who participated in the Second World War. According to Ms. Tetiana, this trend illustrates how historical continuity has become a vital aspect of self-identification for Ukrainian defenders.
The event participants had the opportunity to explore the documents archived in our institution. These aged papers are invaluable evidence not only of the losses suffered by the Ukrainian people during the Second World War but also of their significant contributions to the victory over Nazism.
