Letters of Victory

In many families, time-yellowed sheets with letters and postcards — frontline correspondence of relatives — are carefully preserved. In those years, letters were the main means of communication between people. What worried the soldiers in those difficult years, when each day could be their last? What did they ask their loved ones, what did they think about, what did they write about themselves?

The Postal Heritage Laboratory “Postal”, together with the Library of HSE — Nizhny Novgorod and the Student Council of HSE — Nizhny Novgorod, is holding the online marathon “Letters of Victory”, dedicated to Victory Day, the Year of the Unity of the Peoples of Russia, and the 30th anniversary of the HSE campus in Nizhny Novgorod.

The living voices of the authors of these messages will allow us to immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of the 1940s, to empathize with the aspirations of frontline heroes to defeat the enemy and, at any cost, return home with Victory.

The faces of some of the letter authors have been preserved in old photographs, which can be placed alongside the letters. Let us get to know them and, by hearing the voices of that era, learn what they wrote home about.

We invite you to take part in the online marathon and preserve historical memory!

Send stories about your heroes, along with scans of letters and photos of their authors, by June 22 (inclusive) to the email: agorodnova@hse.ru (Anfisa Gorodnova, Head of the Campus Library).

All materials will be published on the pages of the Library and the Student Council of the campus, as well as on the “Postal” website.

All participants of the online marathon will receive participation certificates.

Join us!