On 23 August 2024, the Museum of the Ninth Fort in Kaunas hosted the opening of the exhibition “Bakhmut. The Face of Genocide 1942 | 2022,” which became an important event for Lithuanian audiences. Organised by the Babyn Yar National Historical and Memorial Preserve with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers (UAPP), this exhibition is the Babyn Yar NHMP’s first exhibition project in European Union countries.
The project was the result of six months of close cooperation between Ukrainian and Lithuanian experts. The exhibition aims to bring the tragedy of Bakhmut to as wide an audience as possible—both the Holocaust of 1942, when more than 3,000 civilians, mostly Jews, were murdered in the city, and the deliberate destruction of the city by Russian forces in 2022–2023, which led to the devastation of more than 80,000 people’s homes.
The exhibition not only tells the story of the little-known events of the Holocaust in Bakhmut, but also draws parallels with the war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. It features unique documents and photographs from the collections of the Bakhmut Local History Museum, illustrating the chronology of the events of 1942. An important place in the exhibition is given to artistic installations that broaden perception and convey the tragedy’s emotional impact.
The contemporary genocide is presented through chronologically arranged images from Bakhmut, seen through the lenses of Ukrainian war correspondents—members of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers: Kostiantyn and Vlada Liberov, Serhii Korovainyi, Andrii Dubchak, and Heorhii Ivanchenko.
Distinguished guests spoke at the opening: Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Rostyslav Karandieiev (online), Minister of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania Šarūnas Kairys, Director of the Ninth Fort Museum Marius Pečiulis, Head of the Babyn Yar NHMP Roza Tapanova, Chair of the Seimas Committee on Culture Vytautas Juozapaitis, Deputy Chair of the Lithuanian Parliament’s Committee on European Affairs Emanuelis Zingeris, project curator Mariia Mizina, and artist Mykhailo Aleksieienko.
The exhibition “Bakhmut — the Face of Genocide 1942/2022” will run until 29 October 2024.
As a reminder, the exhibition, which tells how a beautiful industrial city in the Donetsk region became the site of two crimes by totalitarian regimes—80 years apart—was first presented in Kyiv.
This material was produced with the support of The Fritt Ord Foundation.
Worked on the material:
Topic researcher, text author: Vira Labych
Photo editor: Viacheslav Ratynskyi
Literary editor: Yuliia Futei
