Not so long ago, the ambitious "Memory Road" project started in Russia.
The unique multimedia museum complex for commemorating WWII participants not only from the Soviet Union, but also from France, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Mongolia, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Croatia, Algeria, and many other states will be opened for 75th anniversary of the Victory Day.
The worldwide scale to be given to the project. It will combine many photographs of frontline soldiers and employees of defence enterprises, partisans and residents of the besieged cities, cultural workers and military correspondents who selflessly fought and worked during the years of war, defending their homeland from fascist invaders.
The presentation of the project
Construction works are well underway in the temple area of the Main Cathedral of the Russian Armed Forces. Memory Road gallery framed by millions of microphotographs of WWII participants to be set up on the complex territory.
Decoration of anti-Hitler coalition allies hall
A separate hall will be provided for the anti-Hitler coalition allies exposition. In addition to the information collected from archives and family albums, the installation will include mock-ups of allied countries’ military equipment, various types of uniform items, state flags, numerous artefacts carefully donated to the museum by search and reconstruction teams of multiple states.
The key idea lies not only in multimedia and interactivity of the complex. Anyone is invited to take part in a particular project, as the preservation of the historical memory is one of the most critical challenges of our time. The uniqueness of the idea lies not only in the declassified military data but also connects archival information with real personalities. Here you can find your hero, whom you knew little, or vice versa, to immortalize the memory of him, or her. It goes without saying that our ancestors who defeated fascism deserve this.
WWII affected almost every family in Europe. People may become a witness of what was happening on front lines from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean by uploading photographs and data about their heroic relatives.
Uploading veteran's image to Memory Road website
After registering the minimum data set on the Memory Road website including, first name, last name, patronymic, year or date of birth, as well as photographs of your relative, the information is compared and automatically linked to the data already available on the site. Following the verification and combining all the documents, the user receives a link to the updated profile with all the attached documents.
Thus, any activist or history lover will be able to check out relevant information about their relatives (comrades) and even update their family archive. After signing up and linking the hero’s photo to his archival data some additional information is also provided including military awards and decorations, an operational record of a unit, and a map of military operations in those areas. It would be particularly interesting to learn about the feat of a person that he or she performed in the name of the Great Victory.
Significant efforts are currently undertaken not only to digitalize the photographs of that time. The English version of the website will be coming soon, so anyone will be able to use this service. There is also a support group that receives information from people around the world about their heroes and helps them to translate and download the information. If you do not have access to the Internet, full information can be sent to: Bolshoy Znamensky, 8/1, Moscow 119160, marked “Memory Road”.
Our knowledge about those events, as well as people who gained that Victory, must be carefully stored and passed on from generation to generation. Now it is possible not only by saving photographs, restoring and recording the heroic stories of our relatives and friends who lived at that time. Due to the Memory Road project, our generation is given a unique opportunity to learn more about the history and immortalize the exploits of our ancestors.
We urge everyone who has their heroes, who cares about the memory and legacy of World War II, who wants to save the fragile peace, to sign up on the Memory Road website, upload photos and take part in this project. A careful attitude to the memory of our ancestors is what distinguishes civility from ferity.
