Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) – rockets bomb skyscrapers, tanks roll, soldiers shoot soldiers, children crouch with fearful faces in the air raid shelter and in front of destroyed houses: A moving exhibition with drawings by children from the Ukraine war is in Germany for the first time in North Rhine-Westphalia to see Parliament. “I want peace,” says one picture.
The current images of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine are juxtaposed with numerous historical drawings by Polish children from 1946, who are dealing with their cruel experiences from the Second World War and the German occupation. The drawings show brutal mass shootings, robberies, deportations and concentration camps.
“The children are victims and witnesses of this terrible aggression and war crimes by Russia in Ukraine,” Ukrainian Consul General Iryna Shum told the state parliament on Thursday. According to official figures, more than 380 Ukrainian children have been killed and more than 740 injured since the Russian attacks began. The exhibition is “a reminder for all of us that the world should do everything possible today to end this aggression”.
For the exhibition “Mama, I don’t want the war” initiated by Poland, 100 works were selected from around 7,000 historical drawings by Polish children and 10,000 pictures by Ukrainian children. The pictures were mostly taken as therapeutic measures. Polish Consul General Jakub Wawrzyniak said: “Then, as now, the aggressors rob and rob these innocent children of their childhood, their zest for life, their security and unfortunately also their lives.”
Parliament Vice-President Berivan Aymaz said: “The exhibition is a wake-up call and reminds us to continue to support the people of Ukraine and to offer everyone who seeks protection from us the protection they need.”
The presentation will be shown to the public at the World Children’s Day family festival in the state parliament this Sunday and will be in the NRW parliament until September 30th. It then moves on to Brussels and to the United Nations in New York.
