The Hermitage. A Rescued Legacy

On Sunday 22nd June 1941, at four o’clock in the morning, German armed forces attacked the borders of the Soviet Union. That same day, 22nd June, Iosif Orbeli — Director of the State Hermitage Museum — signed the order for the evacuation of the museum’s treasures.

"During those harrowing years, the Hermitage demonstrated its symbolical role. What might have seemed as a routine work — preserving palaces and exhibits — became a symbol of culture (good) standing against barbarism (evil). These heroic feats, like any others when not accomplished in a single moment, comprise countless events, images, destinies and actions that may appear great or small depending on one’s perspective...", explained Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum.

The packing of exhibits continued around the clock. Within six days, half a million items had been dispatched on July 1, 1941 with the first evacuation convoy — a train comprising 24 freight cars accompanied by an anti-aircraft gun platform.

The second convoy departed Leningrad on 20th July, transporting 1,422 cases containing approximately 700,000 artefacts. The third planned convoy could not be dispatched as the blockade ring had by then closed around the city.

The German army’s encirclement of Leningrad on 8th September 1941 cut the city off from all overland routes, initiating an 871-day blockade that would ultimately take more than a million lives of civilians.

In this circle of fear and cold, the Hermitage transformed into a sanctuary for artists and scholars who persisted in their academic work while undertaking the vital tasks of cleaning, guarding, and preserving both the palace buildings and the remaining collections.

During the lecture we shall explore this topic.

Attendance is free of charge. Advance registration is necessary, please kindly submit a brief email including your full name to info_ia@spbu.ru.