The National Library of the Republic of Moldova mounted an exhibition centering on the deportations from Bessarabia. The exhibition titled “Broken Destinies: Deportations from Bessarabia” aims to elucidate the historical truth about the deportations based on testimonies of those who unjustly suffered, survivors of the Gulag or their descendants, to present and promote documentary works and memoirs from the Library’s collections, National Library vice director Veronica Borș has told IPN.

“Together with the start of the national renaissance movement, a radical change in the society’s attitude to the historical past occurred. The examination of archive documents that had been kept under lock until then showed how much the historical discourse was distorted under dictatorship and how necessary the recovery of the historical memory is for the future generations. The exhibition is a hymn of suffering and also of these people’s victory. It is a moral recompense for those who suffered to win,” stated Veronica Borș.

According to her, the exhibits include the memories of Eufrosinia Kersnovski, a noblewoman from Soroca who was deported to Siberia in 1941, who during 19 years worked hard to cut wood, to extract nickel ore, the four-volume book “Memory Book” with names of victims of repressions from Moldovan localities; the book “Thinking about you, my Bessarabia” by Vadim Ștefan, who is the co-founder of the Association of Former Political Detainees and Veterans of the Romanian Army in the Republic of Moldova”, books by Dumitru Crihan, Boris Vasiliev, Margareta Cemârtan-Spânu, Alexei Marinat, Nicolai Costenco, Serafim Saka, Anatol Petrencu, Valeriu Pasat, Alexandru Moraru, Viorica Olaru-Cemîrtan, as well as 20 relevant files provided by the National Archive Agency.

The exhibition consists of three sections: Testimonies about Siberian Golgotha; the Gulag in Memory of Contemporaries, and the Books of Longing and Sufferings. It can be visited in the central block of the National Library (78 “A”, 31 August 1989 St) during July 6 – August 6, 2022.

The inaugural event will include the screening of the documentary “Memory Expeditions: Siberia - Novosibirsk –Tomsk Logbook” about Bessarabian Romanians deported to the Russian region Novosibirsk.