The international museum professional event and exhibition space “Intermuseum 2026” was held in eight major cultural institutions in Moscow from 20 to 23 May 2026, dedicated to the meeting and networking of international researchers, museum professionals, curators and educators under the slogan “Museum – a space of the future” (as a link between future generations and the rapid development of new technologies).
The event also featured a lecture by Dr. Daniel Siter (researcher from Alma Mater Europaea University and the International World War II Research Center/MRC Maribor), who in his lectures presented research, museum and educational practices for preserving the memory of Soviet prisoners of war using the example of MRC Maribor and highlighted the institution’s international activities.
In addition to academic appearances and lecturing at conferences and symposia (for example, in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2025, in Moscow several times in 2024–26 – including on the occasion of last year’s 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials and in Vologda, Belgrade and elsewhere) and the openings of our exhibitions (Moscow, Belgrade, Niš, Vologda and Slovenia), we participate in commemorations and meetings with families and descendants of prisoners of war who died in Maribor. The last such meeting took place in November 2025 in distant Vologda, Russia, where we handed over rare photographs and archival documents to the niece of the deceased prisoner. We also answered her many questions that had remained unexplained for many years: who, where, how, when and why? Such, often emotional, meetings await us in Saint Petersburg and Tajikistan in the coming months.
Stalag XVIII D was not just a place of former suffering. It is a place where the past meets the future. We are aware that only by constantly warning, preventing the distortion of historical facts and spreading knowledge can we prevent the rise of extreme neo-Nazi ideologies. The responsibility stems from yesterday, but it lies with all of us today, here and tomorrow.
