#Exhibit of the Month

One of the great technical achievements that revolutionized the idea of time and space, opening a new era in the history of communication, is telegraphy. It is based on the transmission of electrical signals through a cable over long distances, allowing people to communicate instantly. The telegraph spread very quickly and a network of wires stretched around the world.

In 1837, the American painter and physicist Samuel Morse invented the first electromagnetic device for telegraphy, patented in 1840. To send messages by wire, Morse developed in 1838 a simple code of dots and dashes, which represented the letters of the alphabet, known as "Morse code ".

Both Morse code and the telegraph machine were improved over time, with the telegraph becoming the most widespread system of communication and information transmission for more than a century, until the advent of the Internet. The telegraph system consisted of a series of stations repeaters along the transmission line route. Each station had an operator who received and transmitted messages by telegraph. The Morse machine transmitted about 25 words per minute, which were recorded in code on a paper tape. The operator in charge of transmitting the message would decode it and write it on paper using a special typewriter.

In Bessarabia, the telegraph entered in 1860: on April 8, the Bender telegraph station began its activity, and on April 24, the one in Chisinau, following the construction of the first Odesa-Chisinau-Leova telegraph line. Currently, telegraph services have been discontinued. The only ones who still use coded communication are radio amateurs.

The Morse telegraph machine shown comes from the Osinoostrovsky electrotechnical plant, Soviet Union, and dates back to 1934. The exhibit was restored by Mihail Culașco.

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Events Archive

Opening of the exhibition "Reinhard Heydrich. The attempt. The death of Holocaust’s architect"

January 22, 2024

On January 22, the exhibition "Reinhard Heydrich. The attempt. The death of the Holocaust's architect". The exhibition brings to the fore the events of May 27, 1942, when Czech paratroopers Jan Kubiš and Josef Gabčík ended the life of Reinhard Heydrich, the architect of the Holocaust. This notorious event represented a crucial moment in the struggle against oppression and in the name of human dignity.

During the event, with speeches participated Irina Şihova, Director of the Museum of the History of Jews from the Republic of Moldova, Sergiu Prodan, Minister of Culture; H. E. Stanislav Kazecky, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Moldova; H. E. Vitalie Rusu, Ambassador of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration; Livia Ermurachi, Deputy Director of the National Museum of History of Moldova.

"It is a page about courage and resistance, a testimony to the fact that, even in those dark times, there were people convinced of the triumph of good and peace, of everyone's right to a free life lived in dignity, without discrimination, being ready to- and sacrifice his life for this", emphasized the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, Sergiu Prodan.

The exhibition event marks a special episode in the modern history of the Czech Republic and confirmed the support given by national and foreign representatives of the Zionist movement throughout interwar Czechoslovakia. Heydrich's assassination symbolized a turning of the wheel of history, emphasizing the importance of resistance and courage in the face of atrocities.

The exhibition is the result of close collaboration between the Institute of Military History Prague and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, with the support of the Museum of Jewish History of Moldova, the Embassy of the Czech Republic in Chisinau, the National History Museum of Moldova, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration of the Republic of Moldova.

"Regardless of race, ethnicity, religion or political vision, we are and must remain human," reiterated Minister Prodan, emphasizing the essence of humanity that transcends any border or difference.

The event is part of Holocaust Memorial Week 2024 and brings to the attention of the public defining moments of contemporary history, encouraging reflection on the fundamental values of humanity and the importance of perpetuating historical memory.