On May 23 in the National Library of Belarus opened an exhibition "Respect for the History. National archive of the Republic of Belarus activity in the field of study of early texts ".
This exhibition is the joint project by the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus and the National Library of Belarus. The exhibition had been prepared within the framework of the celebration of the 85th anniversary of archive service of Belarus and the 80th anniversary of the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus, which is the main depository of materials on the history of Belarus (the 20th century). The National Archive of the Republic was founded on May 28, 1927 by the Central executive committee and the Council of People’s Commissaries of the BSSR, which adopted the foundation of October Revolution Central Archive. By the first years were defined the main fields of the archive activity: acquisition, safekeeping, use, and publication of materials. The particular attention was paid to publication of materials, but before and at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War the archive’s main objective was to reveal and study early texts. Only small forms of publications were performed. In the years 50th - 80th of the 20th century materials were published in cooperation with scientific, educational, and cultural institutions, under the control of the BSSR Main archive administration. In June 1995, the archive received materials of the former Communist Party of Belarus Central archive. In the same year the archive was re-organized into National archive of the Republic of Belarus.
Besides, a new archive materials publishing department was funded. Thus was opened a new page of the archive publishing activity. The exhibition presents over 100 publications by the archive (60 of them published between 1995 and 2007): collected materials, reference books, catalogues, and journalistic materials. The most volume complex of collected materials is dedicated to the history of the Great Patriotic War. These materials cover the following subjects: genocide of the BSSR citizens, life on the occupied territory, deportation in Germany, collaborationism, and partisan movement. A cycle of works on Belarusian ostarbeiters published by the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus is of a particular significance. Authors of this cycle, for the first time in the history of Belarusian archive activity, were rewarded with the BSSR State Prize. A number of editions acquaint visitors with the geography of international contacts of the archive: the Federal Archive Service of Russia, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Research of Wars Consequences (Austria), Association ’Saxon Memorials’ in commemoration of victims of political terror (Germany).
Furthermore, the exhibition presents original materials on the development of the archive activity, and rare archive materials on the history of Belarus. The exhibition reveals a valuable contribution, which made the National Archive of the Republic of Belarus to the development of historical science and study of early texts in Belarus.
The exhibition works from May 23, 2007 to June 4, 2007 (circular hall, the third floor).
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