The Blavatnik Archive Foundation and the Rossotrudnichestvo Agency Debut New Interactive Exhibit in Paris: «Road to Victory: Soviet Jews in World War Two»
A new, interactive multimedia exhibition titled «Road to Victory: Soviet Jews in World War Two» will be presented at the Russian Centre for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Paris from January 30th through April 10th. The traveling exhibit, a joint collaboration by the Blavatnik Archive Foundation (USA) and Rossotrudnichestvo Agency (Russia), honors the 75th Anniversary of the Great Victory over Fascism.
While Jewish victimhood in the Holocaust is well known and documented, the participation of Jewish soldiers in service of the Red Army and its allies during World War II remains, until now, a largely untold chapter of modern Jewish history.
Approximately 450,000 Jewish soldiers fought in the Soviet Armed Forces and partisan detachments throughout the war. These brave men and women enlisted for both patriotic and personal reasons, fought in all branches of the most ethnically-diverse military in the world, and contributed significantly to the defeat of Nazi Germany. The exhibit brings to life the personal experiences of those who witnessed first-hand the enormous sacrifices required to secure final victory.
Eight interactive displays in French, Russian, and English present intimate, deeply moving details on the lives of Jewish soldiers during the war. The documentation, unseen anywhere else, includes video testimony, wartime letters and diaries, and photographs collected and organized by the Blavatnik Archive’s Veteran Oral History Project which has conducted interviews with 1,200 veterans in eleven countries. The touching individual stories are brought into clear historical focus through narratives, maps, and infographics, enhanced by musical accompaniments. A final display provides the names, biographies and portraits of over 1,000 Jewish Red Army veterans interviewed by the Blavatnik Archive over the years.
Marking the 75th Anniversary of the end of the war, “Road to Victory: Soviet Jews in World War Two” will be shown throughout 2020 in Paris (January 30th – April), Israel (May-August), and Berlin (September-October). The celebratory opening night of the exhibition on Wednesday, January 29th at RCSC in Paris will include representatives of French Veteran organizations (L’Union française des associations de combattants et de victimes de guerre, L’Union nationale des combattants, etc.); co-organizers Rossotrudnichestvo and Blavatnik Archive Foundation; the Director-General of UNESCO; representatives of local and international Jewish associations including the World, European and Russian Jewish Congresses; embassy officials; and leading cultural and academic institutions among others.
This exhibit and accompanying programs are made possible with the generous support of the Blavatnik Family Foundation, Rossotrudnichestvo Agency, Genesis Philanthropy Group, and the David Berg Foundation.
About the Blavatnik Archive
The Blavatnik Archive was founded in 2005 by the American and British philanthropist and industrialist Len Blavatnik. The Archive is a nonprofit foundation dedicated to collecting, preserving and disseminating primary resources that contribute to the study of 20th-century Jewish and world history, with a special emphasis on World War II. More information can be found at www.blavatnikarchive.org
About the Russian Center for Science and Culture (RCSC) in Paris
The Russian Center for Science and Culture in Paris is the representative office in France of the Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, compatriots living abroad, and international humanitarian cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo).
Founded in 1995, in accordance with the Agreement between the Government of the French Republic and the Government of the Russian Federation, the Russian Center for Science and Culture in Paris exists to support and develop relations between Russia and France in the cultural and scientific fields.
Every year, the Center hosts more than 100 cultural, educational, and social events: art exhibitions, presentations of Russian regions, forums, conferences, book salons, film screenings, concerts, etc.
Media contact: presse@crsc.fr