World history: Exhibition “The First World War. The Great Patriotic War” in Kaliningrad

February 19, 2014, the Kaliningrad Regional History and Art Museum with the support of the Regional Ministry of Culture at the Kaliningrad State Technical University hosts exhibition "The First World War. The Great Patriotic War". The opening of this exhibition is held as part of the federal plan of events dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the First World War. This commemoration is of particular importance for the Kaliningrad region - the only region of Russia, where the fighting took place in that period. The Battle of Gumbinnen (now Gusev) on August 20, 1914 - the first battle on the Eastern Front of the First World War. It ended with the victory of Russian troops and the withdrawal of German units that had numerical superiority. The victory went to high price - thousands of soldiers and officers remained forever rest in this earth. As Winston Churchill wrote in 1930: "Very few people have heard of Gumbinnen, and hardly anyone will appreciate the amazing role it played…".

The exhibition, prepared by specialists of the Kaliningrad Art and History Museum, features rare photos, archival documents and posters from the Russian State Archive of Cinema (Krasnogorsk) and the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineer and Signal Corps (Saint-Petersburg). Unique materials tell about the beginning of the First World War, on the East Prussian operation, about the fate of the 1st and 2nd Armies, on the participation of the Russian Navy in this large-scale armed conflict. The exposition will reveal little-known facts about the life of a front-line, because the study of history, including from the perspective of everyday life makes it easier to feel the spirit of the era. The exhibition also presents sections dedicated to the heroes of the First World War and the participation of representatives of the Romanov dynasty in the events of that period.

The exhibition will run till March 19, 2014.