#Exhibit of the Month

We find ourselves in the month of April, as we prepare to celebrate Easter-a moveable religious holiday rich in festive rituals and ceremonial activities that place this event at the very heart of Christian spiritual life. The spirit of the Resurrection is beautifully complemented by ten Easter-themed postcards from the heritage of the National Museum of History of Moldova, printed a century ago. These pieces were added to the museum's postcard collection over a decade ago following a successful acquisition; as the fund for Easter-themed illustrations is modest, we are in a constant search for new additions.

These postcards are "extraordinary" in terms of their postal, typographical, and chromatic effects-the primary reason for revisiting this genre of greetings. Unlike "classic" postcards, these are smaller in size (6.5 cm x 11 cm), made of cardboard (with the exception of one piece made of photographic paper in black and white), and feature "vivid" colors. Printed in Romania and Germany, they bear the marks of having been sent and circulated through the post.

The name of the holiday originates from the verb persach, meaning "to pass," a term adopted by the Jews from the Egyptians. It entered the Romanian language through the Byzantine-Latin form Paschae, signifying the "passage through death to life, the victory of life, and liberation from the bondage of sin." Easter is a holiday of tolerance and forgiveness, representing a bridge between the present and the past. The significance of this celebration is conveyed through its symbols, which are also featured on these postcards: Hand-painted eggs, the Easter Bunny and the Lamb, traditional sweet breads (cozonac and pască), biblical scenes related to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

The Easter table also features pască-a ritual food reminiscent of ancient, bloodless "reconciliation" sacrifices. Its preparation is the exclusive task of women, the givers of life, as the leavened dough is considered "alive."

The most significant component of the Easter holiday, however, is the Light. The Ceremony of the Holy Light is associated with the miracle of the light appearing on Easter Sunday at Christ's Tomb in Jerusalem. The candle, often depicted in these images, carries a powerful message; it is with the Resurrection candle that we return home after the midnight religious service. Furthermore, the Easter Bunny represents the rebirth of nature, so eagerly awaited after a harsh winter.

Unlike Christmas, when the announcement and ritual integration of the community into sacred time was the duty of caroling groups, at Easter, "one does not go from house to house." Instead, the ritual meal is organized within each family, symbolizing a direct communion with God.

Virtual Tour

Exhibitions

„Jewish Presence in the History, Culture and Memory of the Republic of Moldova”

October 12, 2021 – May 30, 2022

The exhibition "Jewish Presence in the History, Culture and Memory of the Republic of Moldova" exhibits the items of the Jewish cultural and historical heritage from the collections of the National Museum of History of Moldova.

The exhibition brings together various heritage items: documents, photographs, awards, works of art, books, clothes, memorabilia and other relics that recreate some aspects of the history of the Jewish community of Moldova and remind of famous figures who made a special contribution to the development of Moldavian culture, science and society on the whole.

The exhibits recreate aspects of the life and work of figures from various fields of culture and science: scientists, composers, architects, musicians, writers, sculptors, actors, doctors, etc.

Among the Jews who fully integrated into the Moldovan society, created and left their immortal creations to their descendants, there are sculptors Lazar Dubinovsky, Claudia Kobizeva and Lev Averbukh, architects Valentin Voitsekhovsky, David Palatnik and Valentin Mednek, composers David Gerschfeld, Solomon Loebel, David Fedov and Zlata Tkach, artists Moisei Gamburd and Ada Zevina, actress Ninel Kameneva, filmmakers Mikhail Izrailev, Eugeniu Vengre and Olga Ulitskaya, musical figures Maria Dailis (Braido), Lydia Babich and Gita Stratilevich, writers and playwrights Yechiel Shraibman, Liviu Deleanu and Leonid Corneanu, scientists Pavel Sovetov, Lazar Polevoy and Isaak Rafalovich, doctors Moisei Gekhtman and Dmitry Tumarkin, and many, many others.

The exhibition also presents documentary materials from the Museum of History of the Jews in the Republic of Moldova concerning the Jewish pogroms in Chişinău in 1903 and 1906; some of these testimonies were taken from the National Archives of the Republic of Moldova.

A separate compartment of the exhibition brings shocking pictures of the Holocaust and calls on the public to realize the need to know the truth about the crimes of fascism. Researchers estimate that about 6 million Jews, including 1.5 million children, became victims of the Holocaust. About 270,000 Jews died in ghettos and camps in Bessarabia and Transnistria.

This compartment reminds contemporaries that recovering the memory of Holocaust victims is a social desideratum that must be taken into account by any institution responsible for preserving historical memory.

The exhibition "Jewish Presence in the History, Culture and Memory of the Republic of Moldova" is part of the series of events planned in the Action Plan for the implementation of the Declaration of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova on the adoption of the Report of the International Commission on the Holocaust, chaired by Elie Wiesel.

The opening of the exhibition will take place on October 12, 2021, at 15:00, in room 1 on the ground floor of the National Museum of History of Moldova, 31 August 1989 Street, 121A.

#Exhibit of the Month

Easter-Themed Postcards

„Jewish Presence in the History, Culture and Memory of the Republic of Moldova”

October 12, 2021 – May 30, 2022

#Exhibit of the Month