The Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War, which is one of the best museums in the world about the Second World War, was created before Victory Day.
Back in 1943, in occupied Belarus, partisans began to collect exhibits for the future museum, buried them in ammunition boxes in the ground, and sent them by plane to Moscow. And in 1944 on October 22, shortly after liberation, a museum was opened in Minsk in one of the few surviving buildings in the city - the House of Trade Unions. For Minskers, it became a symbol of a restored peaceful life - they went to the museum like a theater, on holidays.
The former museum guerrillas became the first employees of the museum. Having left the forests, they handed over their weapons to the museum and took up peaceful construction. They took trophies of the Red Army, went on expeditions to the fronts. One of these expeditions gathered future exhibits in Berlin, when there were still battles in it. And the museum has been in the present building since 1966, and to this day the collection of new exhibits that renew and enrich expositions and exhibitions has not stopped. In the museum's collection of fine arts, the collection of graphics is the most extensive - over 3 thousand items. Formation of the collection began immediately after the liberation of the capital of Belarus. The museum funds contain over 1000 sketches, caricatures, mini-posters from the life and struggle of the “people's avengers” made by the aforementioned authors during their stay in partisan units (1942-1944). It is also necessary to note here a unique collection of manuscript magazines (over 200), war sheets (about 2,000), wall newspapers (about 100 units). This “partisan encyclopedia” makes it possible to trace, convey the various aspects of the internal life of partisan formations, their study and life, to reveal human destinies, the essence of man himself, his feelings and thoughts in that “partisan war”. And all are rarities. One of the unique collections of the museum are battle banners. The first in the museum funds in 1944. home-made banners of partisan detachments and brigades of Belarusian people's avengers came from the Belarusian headquarters of the partisan movement. They make up a large part of the collection, which has more than 100 banners. The banner of the 56th Moscow Rifle Division is rare. Banners of such designs existed in the Red Army until December 1942. The museum’s branch is the memorial complex “Monument to Warriors-Internationalists” opened on August 3, 1996 at the initiative of the city club of reserve soldiers “Memory” and mothers whose sons died in the Afghan war. Located in the Trinity suburb - one of the oldest neighborhoods in Minsk. This is the first object of the city of Minsk, where the image of the old city is fully reproduced. The location of the monument is deeply symbolic - on the island, in the middle of the river. Svisloch, which is the natural decoration of this quarter. She has seen a lot in the centuries-old history of Belarus of grief and tears. That is why, rumor has dubbed him the "Island of Tears." The island is a symbol of Belarus, the Motherland, which preserves the eternal memory of its sons. The bridge connects the island of memory and our history with the present, with the quarters of the modern city.
Research work Research work is one of the museum's activities. Based on the study of stock collections, archival materials and the National Library, scientific references are being developed that supplement relevant topics on the Great Patriotic War.
The topic of Belarusians participating in the Victory Parade on June 24, 1945 is currently being investigated.
The development of materials on samples of military equipment and weapons of the Workers 'and Peasants' Red Army during the war period, exhibited next to the museum, is nearing completion.
Such topics as: "The activities of anti-fascist committees and organizations of Western Belarus 1941-1944gg.", "The participation of Belarusians in the partisan movement and the underground struggle outside Belarus."
On behalf of the Administration of the President of the Republic of Belarus, a historical reference has been prepared for the Auschwitz death camp.
Scientific reference library of the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War.
The reference library of the Belarusian Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War was created and began to be equipped at the same time with the creation of the museum during the war years as its structural unit. The first major receipt of books in the library took place in the autumn of 1944, when from the expedition to the headquarters location 1,2,3 For the needs of the museum, Belarusian fronts were delivered not only equipment and future exhibits, but also many books in Russian, mostly pre-revolutionary years of publication. The profile collection of the library was started by books and pamphlets published during the war: on the Heroes of the Soviet Union, speeches and reports of the leaders of the party and government of the USSR, the first generalized stories about the major battles of the war, the struggle of partisans, verses and military-related stories, many of which published in hot pursuit of events in small print runs and now represent unique copies of not only the library, but also the museum fund. Currently, the library has collected about 16 thousand copies of books, illustrated editions, magazines, newspapers, maps reflecting the history of the war, military construction, the history of military equipment and weapons, awards and insignias, combat routes of military formations and much more.
Museum Archive
The archive of the Belarusian State Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War is a structural unit that carries out storage, acquisition, accounting and use of archival documents. Thus, the place and role of the archive in the work of the museum from a normative point of view can be interpreted. In fact, the archive is an integral part of the museum - it captures the main milestones and manifestations of museum life. Conventionally, the entire array of archive documents can be divided into three historically and logically established groups:
1. Materials of an organizational and administrative nature;
2. Documents on personnel