16 February 2023 press release

Beginning on 25 February 2023, the German Museum of Books and Writing will be turning its attention to Ukrainian culture and hosting the showcase exhibition “before/after”. This is a series of photos which documents the destruction of buildings and open places following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “before/after” was developed in 2022 on the initiative of the city of Mariupol’s Department of Culture. Contributions were provided by a number of photographers including Yevhen Sosnovsky, who lived and took photos in occupied Mariupol for more than two months. Following stops in Kyiv and Kolomyya (Ukraine), the images are now on display in Leipzig. The exhibition is presented in three languages – Ukrainian, English and German.

The invading Russian forces have been destroying Ukraine’s cultural sites and heritage since the very first day. In many places, cities and infrastructures lie in ruins. As preservers of cultural identity, museums and libraries have been hit particularly hard: the war has already laid waste to well over 500 institutions and areas of public life. Valuable testimonies to Ukrainian and European identity have been lost forever.

The German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig will be marking the first anniversary of the Russian attack on Ukraine by offering an insight into the staggering scale of the destruction. Featuring numerous images of museums, theatres, libraries, public spaces, sights and buildings of historical significance, the photo series “before/after” lays bare the devastating consequences of war. The photos also testify to the brutality of a war which has already caused irretrievable losses and currently has no foreseeable end. The heritage of a cultural nation right at the heart of Europe is threatened with extinction.

The photo series “before/after” was collated by Khrystyna Kozlovska. The writer from the Ivano-Frankivsk region in West Ukraine has been living in exile in Leipzig with her daughter since the spring of last year. In 2022, she spent six months working with the German Museum of Books and Writing and the German Institute for Literature in Leipzig with the support of a grant awarded by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media.
To mark the opening of the exhibition on Friday 24 February 2023 at 19:00, Khrystyna Kozlovska and Museum Director Stephanie Jacobs will discuss the background to the exhibition and the experiences Kozlovska has had in exile. The opening speech will be given by Olaf Hamann, head of the Eastern Europe department at Berlin State Library and coordinator of the Ukraine aid programmes of the German libraries.

“before/after“. Destruction of cultural sites in Ukraine
Showcase exhibition at the German Museum of Books and Writing in Leipzig
Duration 25 February to 31 May 2023

Tuesday to Sunday 10:00 to 18:00
Thursday 10:00 to 20:00
Public holidays (except Mondays) 10:00 to 18:00
Admission free
www.dnb.de/beforeafter

Background

The book has shaped our culture and civilisation like no other medium. For centuries our knowledge about the world and its peoples has been stored in books. The task of the German National Library’s German Museum of Books and Writing is to collect, exhibit and process evidence of book and media history. Founded in 1884 in Leipzig as the Deutsches Buchgewerbemuseum (German Book Trade Museum), it is the oldest museum in the world in the field of book culture, and also one of the most important with regard to the scope and quality of its holdings. The Museum also pays close attention to issues relating to the future of media in our networked societies.

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