Russian crimes against Ukraine shocked the whole world. Including those committed against our culture and historical heritage. Bill Whitaker, an American journalist and author of the 60 Minutes program on CBS, made a documentary called “Heritage war” about how Ukraine is trying to defend its national heritage. The film’s protagonists are Ihor Poshyvaylo, director of the Museum of the Heavenly Hundred, and Milena Chorna, a leading analyst on cultural heritage at the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation.
In response to the question of why museum workers risked their lives to defend priceless collections in the face of armed, dangerous invaders, Ms. Chorna expressed the essence of our struggle for cultural heritage: “I realize that the value of these items is much higher than the value of my life. Because the scale of the impact of these artifacts on future generations is incomparable to the scale of the impact that I, one person, can have on culture.”
There are dozens of examples of such dedication by museum workers in the cities invaded by the Russian “liberators” – Chernihiv, Kherson, Melitopol, Mariupol, Kharkiv, and others. At the risk of their own lives, they tried to hide priceless works of art from the occupiers and transport them to safe places. And for this they deserve respect and admiration.
We sincerely recommend watching this movie. And never forget that there are people among us who are capable of sacrificing their lives to preserve our cultural heritage.
Допис створений в рамках проекту за підтримки Відділу преси, освіти та культури Посольства США в Україні. Погляди авторів не обов’язково збігаються з офіційною позицією уряду США. / Supported by the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy to Ukraine. The views of the authors do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Government.
