Prague 4: Children’s testimonies about the war are shown in an exhibition at the town hall
The opening will be joined by Polish political scientist and publicist Maciej Ruczaj (right) and Prague 4 Deputy Mayor for Culture and Property Michal Hroza. Photo: Prague 4
7/12/2022 – 22/12/2022
The exhibition, which tells about the horrors of war through children’s eyes, can be seen in the vestibule of the Prague 4 Town Hall in Antala Staška Street in Budějovická. It presents extremely moving children’s testimonies about the war.
The exhibition contains, on 14 panels, historical drawings by Polish children from 1946, which are evidence of their experiences during the Second World War and the German occupation of Poland in the years 1939-1945, stored in the State Archives in Warsaw, and contemporary drawings by Ukrainian children, related to the current Russian aggression against Ukraine, collected on the portal Mom, I see war.
Polish political scientist and columnist Maciej Ruczaj, who is also the director of the Polish Institute in Prague and the deputy mayor of Prague 4 for culture and property, Michal Hroza (TOP 09), will open the opening on Wednesday, December 7.
“We want to show that war always looks the same in children’s eyes. Regardless of place and time, war is a great evil and the child is always a victim in it,” the creators of the exhibition state. “The similarity between historical and contemporary works is striking. Children draw tanks, planes dropping bombs, fires and explosions. He draws wounded and dead, destroyed houses, graves. They draw themselves and their families, draw evacuation and escape. But they also express hope and capture their dreams of a better future.”
Images and texts are combined into thematic groups: battle, occupation, family, repression, resistance, destruction, victory – hope. The exhibition will last until December 22.