WARS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD

The exhibition tells the story of the World Wars through the prism of local history, focusing on the lives of residents of the region who were directly affected by these global upheavals. During the First World War, almost half of the able-bodied male population of the Poltava region was mobilized, and residents of villages within the present-day Horishni Plavni community were no exception. Their names are preserved in lists of the dead and wounded, while a living voice of that time is represented by the letters of soldier Vasyl Ovcharenko from Keleberda, sent home during the height of the Eastern Front conflict. These letters are displayed alongside weapons, equipment, and everyday items from both opposing sides. Among the exhibits are Austrian circulation coins from the property of prisoners of war, fragments of uniforms of the Russian Empire army, and a representative selection of hand grenades from the period. The section on the Second World War covers the events of 1941–1943. The front line swept across this territory twice. From west to east, it brought bombing, chaotic retreat, destruction of infrastructure, and evacuation of agricultural machinery and collective farm livestock. This was followed by the Nazi “new order,” forced labor deportations, exploitation of communal resources, and repression of ideological opponents. From east to west came the bloody crossing of the Dnipro River, including the passage through the “Valley of Death,” which claimed more than 30,000 Soviet soldiers, along with further destruction. Among the exhibits are personal belongings of soldiers of the USSR and the Third Reich—weapons, equipment, and frontline everyday items—as well as material evidence of civilian life in the rear. These wars changed the world, but above all they changed people. The exhibition preserves the memory of those who lived through these trials on our land, helping us better understand the past and recognize one of the greatest values—peace.