Ukraine’s museums in war: an interview with Olha Honchar9 min read
Olha Honchar is a cultural scholar and director of the Territory of Terror Memorial Museum of Totalitarian Regimes in Lviv, as well as a founder and coordinator of the Museum Crisis Center initiative, which emerged in the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Since 2022, she has been curating and organizing international events, forums, residencies, and educational programs covering the work of Ukrainian museums in the context of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Jonas Baake: Can you tell me about your role and work at the museum?
Olha Honchar: So, what do I do at the museum… Well, as the director, I manage all of our creative, logistical, and organizational processes to make sure everything runs smoothly. I seek funding for projects, represent the museum in the media and in various partnerships, and also form and assemble teams to create good projects. I set the general tone for our museum and our activities. Some people call me the chief curator of the museum, but my role is more conceptually and administratively oriented.
Portrait of Olha Honchar. Photograph Copyright: Yurko Dyachyshyn
It’s been more than a thousand horrific days since the full-scale invasion began. How has your work developed since then?
OH: It’s important to note that on the very first day of the full-scale invasion, we were all at work early in the morning. We packed our most important collections, hid them, and uploaded them online to digitally preserve our archives. Since then, over the past three years, we’ve been taking in collections from the Luhansk Museum in Starobilsk, which was evacuated for two years, and begun forming the “Victory Collection”. These are artifacts from the front lines, from our military, proving the presence of Russian troops on Ukrainian soil. Through these artefacts, we tell the story of the war. We’ve also been working on raising funds for the museum’s activities, particularly for the digitisation and preservation of our collections, as well as improving our infrastructure and security. We launched the Museum Crisis Centre project in partnership with the New Museum NGO, which helps museum workers across Ukraine continue their work. We also have the “Wounded Culture” project, where we document the work of museum professionals during the full-scale invasion. Over the past few years, we’ve participated in numerous international conferences and discussions about the war in Ukraine, the destruction of our heritage, how we’re fighting, and how we’re working. We’ve also held several memorial events with communities to reflect on everything that’s happening to us. So, the work over these three years has been very fast-paced and dynamic. Additionally, we have constant staff changes in our team, so there’s a lot of work to be done. But, for me, what’s very important is that, despite this terrible time when Russia is taking everything from us – not only our homes and loved ones but also our ability to work – I’m glad that I’m still in my profession, that we’ve adapted to the harsh realities of war. We are still museum professionals, and we haven’t lost our identity. Russia hasn’t taken that from us. After all, many people have lost their ability to work because of the war. So, there’s a lot of work, everything has changed, but we continue to develop. On the international stage, we’ve also become more visible and well-known, with more partnerships, greater prospects, and more opportunities to attract funding.
What role does oral history play in your current work? How did you adapt your methods or approaches in the context of “wounded culture”?
OH: It’s worth noting that, at the core of our museum, there’s oral history. Oral history interviews are featured in our main exhibition, and we’re still conducting them during the full-scale invasion. As for the “Wounded Culture” project, the interviews were adapted to focus on documenting how our colleagues from museums are working in the context of the full-scale invasion, how they are preserving heritage, and how they’ve experienced occupation from the perspective of their professional lives. Of course, for us, an important consideration is security. If people request that their interviews are not published or wish to remain anonymous, we always respect that because the war is still ongoing, and many of them are working and living near the front lines. This is very important for us to keep in mind. Also, these interviews can be very emotional because they document events that are happening here and now, and people’s accounts can evolve. One person might provide three or four different versions of what happened in a single day. So we have to be mindful of that as well. In the future, if there’s an opportunity to re-record some interviews, we will certainly do that. And, of course, we also understand the historical significance of this moment. What we are recording right now is history in the making for future generations. This is how we defend the truth in times when Russia not only destroys us but also constantly rewrites history and aggressively communicates its own version of the war in Ukraine.
Interview conducted by the “Wounded Culture” project in Odesa. Copyright: Wounded Culture initiative
Has the large-scale invasion changed public perception and interest in historical violence committed by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union?
OH: I think yes. People have generally become more interested in their own family history. It turned out that our grandfathers and grandmothers also survived such enormous wars and catastrophes, and there’s a search for what gave them hope and resilience. From that perspective, I think the interest in family history, personal history, and Ukrainian history has grown. People are now seeking answers as to why Russia is doing what it’s doing. So, yes, interest in these topics has definitely increased.
What is the role of digital tools for your work? What are the challenges?
OH: Let’s start with the challenges. Of course, we need funding and specialists to digitise collections, publish them, and share new knowledge. A lot can be done if there are grants or funding, especially from abroad, but these funds need to be properly secured and turned into projects. Then, of course, there’s the issue of copyright. How well is your content, your exhibit, digitised? How will it be protected in the online space? Digital tools are extremely important for us. We’ve digitised our collection, created a 360-degree tour, and made 3D versions of our most important exhibits. We’ve recently received new funding to continue digitising our collection and publish it online. For us, this is not just about preserving our exhibits digitally, because, as you know, no museum is safe from missiles right now. Unfortunately, we can’t provide air defence for every museum. Digital tools also provide a chance for promotion and international networking, allowing international scholars to access our materials. This is how we continue to promote our museum, because not everyone can currently visit Ukraine physically, but it’s still important to keep working. And for Ukrainian scholars, it’s also important because many archives have been destroyed, and there’s limited access to resources, some of which were closed even before the war due to COVID. But if museums publish their collections and archives, this allows scholarly work to continue.
Digitization with Skeiron. Copyright: Territory of Terror Memorial Museum
What are your plans for the future?
OH: Our plans for the future are to keep working. We have scheduled tours for this year, and we are hosting foreign visitors, schools, and other guests. We will also be holding our traditional events: International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, International Museum Day, Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Crimean Tatar genocide, Independence Day (of Ukraine), and many others. We have ongoing events, exhibitions, and thematic film screenings. And we’re going to keep working, working every day. And, of course, as much as possible, we hope to contribute to our victory through our daily work – by documenting the war and sharing it with the world. We are also involved in the restoration of the Roman Shukhevych Museum, which was destroyed by Russia. On January 1, 2024, in Bilohirshcha, near Lviv, we will be overseeing this project. Our plans are ambitious and optimistic, as much as possible in the current conditions of the full-scale invasion. It’s also important to support one another. Among our tasks is to work on making our museum more accessible, considering that so many people are traumatised right now and have lost limbs. Accessibility is not just about physical access but also about maximum inclusivity – adapting our tours for everyone.
How could international scholars support your work?
OH: I think the best contribution would be to research Ukraine’s history and debunk Russian propaganda myths about Ukraine. Scholars should visit us, attend our cultural, educational, and scientific institutions, and tell the world about us. They should conduct research on Ukraine’s role in World War II, which has often been downplayed, especially in European historical museums. There’s a narrative about the USSR that equates it with Russia, and then there’s the narrative about Nazi Germany. These two sides of the conflict are covered, but the experiences of other countries, including Ukraine, are often ignored. This needs to change. Furthermore, many artists abroad are listed as Russian artists, even though they are Ukrainian. Our colleagues are doing tremendous work to uncover this, and international scholars can get involved in that as well. Of course, initiating projects that research Ukraine and support the development of Ukrainian scholars is also a valuable contribution. There’s so much that can be done, and we would greatly appreciate your intellectual contributions.
Is there anything else you would like to share?
OH: Well, I’d like to finish by saying that very little coverage in the media addresses culture during war – how we preserve and create cultural projects, and how culture plays such an enormous, not only therapeutic but also supportive, role. Unfortunately, this isn’t widely covered in international media. It’s important to share information about this behind-the-scenes aspect of the war, which is vital for our resilience. This can be done on all levels. Thank you.
This article was originally published in Ukrainian and English on January 27, 2025 in Hypotheses.
