Visit of the employees of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus to the interactive museum «Victory Train»

On July 5, 2025, the employees of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus and their family members were lucky enough to become visitors to the unique «Victory Train».

«Victory Train» is not just a museum, it is a portal to the past, immersing you in the atmosphere of the pre-war time, the fiery years of the Great Patriotic War and the long-awaited post-war revival.

Ten carriages – ten chapters of history, each of which reveals the tragedy and heroism of the people in the struggle for freedom.

We were given headphones with players, which became our guides on this journey through time. The voice of the audio guide, a young girl who followed in her father’s footsteps and became a locomotive driver, captures our attention from the first seconds. From her point of view, the story of the hardships of war, the pain of loss, the hope that, in spite of everything, continued to live in the hearts of people sounds.

Each carriage is a separate exhibition, a picture of the past that has come to life. Here is the pre-war time, filled with light, joy and anticipation of a peaceful life. And here is the war, mercilessly erasing all this into ashes, leaving behind only deep scars on the earth, in the souls and bodies of people. The contrast is so strong that it can be felt physically.

A special impression is made by the sculptures of people, soldiers, even animals, made with amazing realism. It seems that they are alive, that they are about to speak, tell about their experiences. Some details are so frightening that you involuntarily think about what people actually experienced at that time.

The atmosphere of those years is also created by unique special effects. For example, in the bath carriage you can feel the subtle aroma of soap, the smell of cleanliness. In others, there are various views in the windows: explosions, working people, changing reality. All this makes you feel the tragedy of the war more deeply, realize the scale of the losses. No less shocking were the exhibits dedicated to life in concentration camps. I was especially struck by the images of Japanese concentration camps, where monstrous experiments were conducted on people, and developments were made to create bioweapons. This page of history, probably known to many, evoked a feeling of deep horror.

When leaving the train, there was a feeling of relief and calm. At the end of the excursion, we were greeted by the warm evening sun, a blue sky without a single cloud, a cool wind. Everything was clean, beautiful, calm and peaceful. After what you saw, you especially clearly understand how well we live now: a peaceful sky above our heads. That we, fortunately, did not feel the hardships of war ourselves and did not see with our own eyes the pictures of those terrible events.

We only have memories that must be preserved so as not to repeat what happened in the past.

Information prepared by the daughter of the deputy head of the department of automated archival technologies of the student gymnasium No.41 of Minsk named after V.Kh. Serebryany Evgeniya Zhukovich.

1. Victory Train

2. Medical Car

3. Command Car

4. Defense of the Brest Fortress

5. Bath Car

6. «Peaceful Life»

7. «In the Trench»

8. Invitation Ticket to the «Victory Train»