Exhibition dedicated to the 75th Anniversary of Victory in the Second World War

«We won the Great Victory 75 years ago. Crushing Nazism has become a milestone in modern history that determined the present international order to a great extent. Looking back on the tumultuous war years, we can confidently state the great significance of the lessons we all learned from the past. One of these lessons is that only united can we efficiently deal with the challenges and threats that are common for the entire humankind.»

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s greetings at the opening of the “Stalin-Churchill-Roosevelt: Joint Battle with Nazism” archival exhibition, Moscow, April 27, 2020

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The Second World War, which began on September 1, 1939, was a difficult test for humankind. Despite their previous differences, the Soviet Union, Great Britain and the United States fought together against Nazi Germany and its allies.

Great Britain declared war on Germany on September 3, 1939. British troops fought in Europe, North Africa, Southeast Asia, and fought in the air to defend their country from air raids.

The USA fought a war with Japan in the Pacific Ocean in 1941-1945. At the same time, they participated in battles against the Axis powers in North Africa and Italy. In June 1944, US troops participated in the landing in Normandy. On April 25, 1945, it was with the American troops that the Soviet soldiers met on the Elbe.

The Soviet Union and Great Britain entered into an alliance treaty on March 26, 1942 in London. On June 11, 1942, the USSR entered into an alliance agreement with the United States.

The City-Twinning movement was initiated during the war. In 1943, the English city of Coventry heavily bombed and destroyed by the Luftwaffe and Soviet Stalingrad where desperate fighting was sustained for months until the enemy forces eventually surrendered, decided to build up friendship relations in the interests of peace and the future of people. The noble goals of the first twin cities have been widely recognized throughout the world.

Perm’s city twinning originated in the early 1990s. Among the first, official relations were established with the cities of Amnéville-les-Thermes (France, 1992), Louisville (Kentucky, USA, 1994), Oxford (United Kingdom, 1995). Then they were joined by Qingdao (P.R. of China, 2003), Duisburg (Germany, 2007), Agrigento (Italy, 2012).

During the war, the future twin cities - Perm, Oxford and Louisville - were not in the war zone. But each city has its own history associated with the war. This exhibition, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the Victory, tells about life in the rear in Soviet Molotov (the name of the city of Perm during the war), American Louisville and British Oxford. The exhibition is aimed at commemoration of the contribution of our countries and cities to the joint Victory over fascism.

Displays

How did we win together?

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