«Without the Right to Forget»: Exhibition on War Victims Opens in Bishkek

Bishkek has opened a poignant historical and documentary exhibition, "Without the Right to Forget," in memory of the Soviet prisoners of war and victims of Nazi concentration camps during the Great Patriotic War. Hosted in the Cholponbay Tuleberdiyev Park, the exhibition serves as a solemn reminder of the immense suffering endured and the profound sacrifices made. It is a collaborative effort by the Eurasian Guild of Historians, the United Directorate of Bishkek Memorial Museums, and the Center for Historical and Cultural Heritage of the Kyrgyz-Russian Slavic University named after Boris Yeltsin.

The exhibition's design thoughtfully moves from the broad overview of the Nazi camp system across the USSR and Europe to specific regional examples and deeply personal stories. Visitors can explore maps of concentration camps, learn about the camp system in the Voronezh region, and discover the fates of Kyrgyz citizens who fell into captivity. Researchers have identified the names of approximately 2,400 natives of Kyrgyzstan who perished in these camps, a stark testament to the war's reach.

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Fatherland's history is not just dates; it is the enormous price of Victory. About 27 million people perished in the Great Patriotic War. On the occupied territories, more than 13 million civilians were killed, millions died of starvation and forced labor. This is a terrible tragedy that must not be forgotten.

Leonid Sumarokov, a candidate of historical sciences and head of the Center for Historical and Cultural Heritage at KRSU, emphasized the critical importance of remembering this history. He stated, "Fatherland's history is not just dates; it is the enormous price of Victory. About 27 million people perished in the Great Patriotic War... This is a terrible tragedy that must not be forgotten." Sumarokov also stressed the need to counter any attempts to portray the war as "foreign" to Kyrgyzstan, reminding attendees that the region was part of a larger country, faced invasion plans, and was only spared a wider front due to diplomacy and intelligence efforts.

From the perspective of 24.kg, this exhibition is vital for maintaining historical memory and national identity. It directly confronts the tendency in some quarters to distance contemporary Kyrgyzstan from the shared Soviet past and the sacrifices made during World War II. The organizers' goal is clear: to ensure that the price of victory is understood through human stories and individual fates, reinforcing the idea that this history is intrinsically linked to Kyrgyzstan's own heritage. The inclusion of specific details about Kyrgyz citizens who suffered and died in the camps makes the historical tragedy deeply personal and relevant to the local audience, fostering a sense of shared remembrance and national pride in the resilience shown during such a dark period.

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Kyrgyzstan was part of a large country, and the war directly affected the region. Plans for invasion of Central Asia were considered, and sabotage groups were being prepared. Only thanks to diplomacy and intelligence was it possible to prevent the expansion of the front to the southern borders.