15.10.2020.
Exhibition “War Image of Serbia in Second World War, 1941-1945” opened
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, a group of authors from the Military Archive, Military Museum, Historical Archive of Požarevac and the Media Centre “Odbrana” put on the exhibition “War Image of Serbia in the Second World War, 1941-1945” under the auspices of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Serbia and the City of Požarevac. The exhibition was opened today by the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Aleksandar Živković.
The exhibition where 160 archival photographs and 80 documents from 30 funds and collections of 13 cultural institutions from seven cities in the Republic of Serbia were presented, is the result of the research into archival materials, as the primary historical source and testimony about the events that marked the war years in the early forties of the 20th century on the territory of our country.State Secretary Živković greeted the guests on behalf of the Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin and emphasized that the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces participate in numerous activities to mark important historical events from the Serbian Liberation Wars, thus fighting against the revision of our national history.
– No matter which liberation war of our homeland is in question, the war image of Serbia is always the same – a small, brave country, drawn into war against its will, which stood tall in front of the tyrants, not in order to conquer what belongs to others, but to defend what was ours, in accordance with the ancient libertarian tradition. And it always emerged victorious from those wars. That is why the war image of Serbia is always the triumphant image of Serbia. Those first sparks of fight set off a storm of resistance of a free people who refused to be defeated and enslaved. Our role is not only to remember, but to constantly research historical truths, whose ultimate goal is to prepare us to respond to all the challenges that await us in the times to come - said State Secretary Živković and stressed that this exhibition says that we will not allow memories of the past to fade.
- For as long as our memory and the memory of the future generations last, the events recorded in the photographs displayed here, the testimonies of the four-year suffering of our people, will not be forgotten and will remain a part of our national being. We will not and cannot forget the innocent victims from the Belgrade concentration camps and other execution sites in Serbia and former Yugoslavia - State Secretary Živković pointed out when opening the exhibition.
The Rector of the University of Defence, Lieutenant General Goran Radovanović, PhD, Deputy Mayor of Požarevac, Slaviša Aleksić and the Director of the Historical Archive of Požarevac, Jasmina Nikolić, PhD, spoke at the opening of the exhibition.- The complexity of the issue covered by this exhibition certainly requires deeper and more comprehensive research by experts of various profiles. It is certain that historians have a lot more to say about the events that led to the fast capitulation of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, as well as about the years spent by the Serbian people under occupation, experiencing all kinds of suffering and facing the threat of physical extinction and spiritual and cultural genocide - said General Radovanović, adding that the authors of the exhibition, through their specific visual expression of the past, once again pointed out some of the most significant events from the war years, tough on the Serbian people but also on all anti-fascists on the territory of former Yugoslavia.
Noting that patriotism should be constantly nurtured and strengthened, which is also the purpose of organizing this exhibition that preserves the memory of those who gave their lives for the freedom of their homeland, Deputy Mayor of Požarevac Slaviša Aleksić pointed out that young generations should know that they must fight for freedom every day.
- This exhibition and similar events will help us understand that, although after every war we swear that there will never be another war, they still breaks out somewhere, in some parts of the world, bringing new victims and destruction. In order to learn historical lessons, that, unfortunately, we repeat over and over again, we need to put on exhibitions like this where we evoke memories and learn lessons - Aleksić pointed out.
At the opening of the exhibition, the Director of the Historical Archive of Požarevac, Jasmina Nikolić, pointed out that the exhibition is complete with decorations, war flags of the units of Yugoslav People's Liberation Army, military weapons and equipment, parts of war uniforms and clothes from the collection of the Belgrade Military Museum and that there is a special part of the exhibition entitled "Propaganda art in the decades after the war", which consists of exhibits from the art collection of the Central Military Club in Belgrade - thematic works by artists who created after the Second World War.- The displayed archival documents and photographs factually depict the activities of the Yugoslav partisans and the fight for the liberation of the country, the establishment of relations between the People's Liberation Army and the Red Army and their joint fight for the liberation of the country from the occupiers - said Jasmina Nikolić.
The exhibition "War Image of Serbia in the Second World War, 1941-1945" by Jasmina Nikolić,PhD, Mariana Mraović, PhD, Nataša Miloševic Dulić and Dragana Miloradović, PhD with a museological exhibition by Vuk Obradović and art exhibition by Jelena Knežević, is open in the Great and Small Galleries of the Central Military Club until 15 November.
