History of Saint-Petersburg: Postcards of the besieged Leningrad from private collection are presented in Peterhof

The Museum of the Benois Family (the State Museum-Reserve “Peterhof”) hosts the exhibition “Stamps of Leningrad burn on the envelope”.

The exhibition dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Great Patriotic War, versatile are presented world-postcards of the besieged Leningrad from the collection of Nicholas Pavlovich Schmitt-Fogelevich (1925-2004). A collection of well-known local historian and filokartista, including more than 100,000 postcards, was admitted to the State Museum-reserve "Peterhof" in 2004, and since then is actively studied and popularized by the museum. 

Art postcard preserved for ancestors an illustrated story about the heroism of the defenders and residents of Leningrad. Postcards issued during the war in printing offices of Leningrad uniquely reveal the life of the besieged city. The city has 7 printing offices and publishing houses, which for the period from 1941 to 1945 released about 2,000 cards a total circulation of about 40 million. War, violating a peaceful life, disconnected people increased by several times the volume of postal correspondence. At a time when the country was experiencing an acute shortage of paper, the postcard has become not only a simple form of agitation and propaganda, but also to restore the lost in 1930s, the function of mailing. Eyewitnesses remember how impressive is the simple postcard that came from Leningrad to the front or to the rear of the evacuated to Leningrad.

The exhibition at the Museum of the Benois Family reveals the diversity of the blockade postcards, presenting thematic blocks "The army and navy in the defense of Leningrad", "Behind Enemy Lines", "Leningrad Military", "Wonderful people of our homeland," "Defenders of Leningrad", "Fire satire on enemy", introduces the literary and musical greeting cards of the wartime.

The exposition is complemented with the samples of military correspondence: letters-triangles, letters-secrets, documents.