Museum of the Great Patriotic War
As a final stop on this tour, I think that the Moscow Museum of the Great Patriotic War was going to be quite obvious. The museum is also located atop Poklonnaya Hilll beside Victory Park. The construction of the museum began in 1986 and was unveiled in 1995 along with Victory Park. The museum, like many others, features a host of exhibits all pertaining to Russian participation in World War II. In keeping our theme of misrepresentation in focus, the topic of Jewish Red Army soldiers comes to mind. Many see the story of World War II being told in honor and glory for generals and political leaders, however there are those who believe that the time to give voice to the ordinary participants is long overdue. Namely, there were many Jewish people, victims and descendants, who felt as if their predecessors or loved ones who fought in the war were not adequately acknowledged. The narrative of the victimized Jew was incredibly prevalent, meanwhile the narrative of the Jewish war hero was never shared. A project, funded by that Blavatnik Archive Foundation, saw to it that the 150,000 Jewish Red Army soldiers whose lives were lost were specifically commemorated through an exhibit of research compiled by the Center for Jewish History in the United States (1). In this way, we’re seeing how the lack of representation has been rectified in one small case. However, one important thing to note is that this was not the byproduct of Russian sympathy. This project, funded by millionaire Leonard Blavatnik, was made possible by outside players. Russia still has a ways to go when it comes to acknowledging the truth in their history and making sure everyone is represented.
- Rudnitskaya, Anna. "Moscow Exhibit Gives a Voice to Jewish Red Army Soldiers." The Jewish Press, Omaha, Neb., 2010.http://search.proquest.com.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/docview/743891407?accountid=11311.