NUJU photo exhibition dedicated to work of journalists in the war zone opens in German Fulda

A photo exhibition of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (NUJU) called Ukraine: Journalists in War Zones has opened in the German city of Fulda. The exhibition, which presents 28 works by Ukrainian photojournalists, is located in the premises of the Catholic Academy (Bonifatiushaus Fulda) and will last until February 28.

The opening of the exhibition was made possible thanks to the fruitful cooperation of the NUJU with the German Journalists Association (DJV, Hesse) and the local office of the Society for Security Policy (GSP). Among the presented photos are iconic works by Ukrainian photojournalists who document the realities of the war in Ukraine. In particular, the exhibition features a photograph by Yevhen Maloletka taken after the shelling of a maternity hospital in Mariupol, where pregnant Iryna Kalinina died along with her unborn son.

“When you see two lives fading away instead of a new one starting, it is simply unbelievable that some people deny the cruel truth of the Ukrainian war,” the Östhessen-News newspaper noted in its report.

During the opening of the exhibition, the director of the Catholic Academy, Günter Geiger, emphasized the importance of the work of journalists in wartime: “We invite you not only to learn about the realities of war but also to appreciate the enormous role of journalists who selflessly do their job.”

The head of the Hessian Association of Journalists, Knud Zilian, shared his personal impressions: “I could never have imagined two things: the reunification of Germany and the fact that there would ever be war in Europe again. And yet all this has become a reality.”

The National Union of Journalists of Ukraine was represented at the opening by Oksana Meleshchenko, a member of the Kherson regional organization of NUJU, who currently lives in Berlin. The journalist especially noted the works made in the Kherson region – photographs by Serhii Volskyi, Efrem Lukatsky, and Oleksii Filipov, which recorded the historical moments of the liberation of Kherson and the consequences of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.

“I only wish you to see these photographs of the war. I wish you not to hear them, not to feel them, not to breathe them,” Oksana Meleshchenko addressed the audience.

During the event, the words of NUJU President Sergiy Tomilenko were quoted: “Every day, journalists in Ukraine risk their lives to tell the truth about this war. They see their mission in being the eyes and voice of truth in this devastating war.”

The head of the local branch of the Security Policy Society, Michael Schwab, separately emphasized the importance of Ukrainian local media: “Ukrainian local newspapers are of particular importance. Some of them are printed for people living in the frontline zone and often do not have electricity or the Internet.”

It is worth noting that this exhibition has already been successfully presented in Paris and Brussels. Each photograph has its own unique story, drawing the attention of the international community to the events in Ukraine and demonstrating how exhausting war is for people.

Symbolically, the main cathedral of Fulda houses an icon of the Mother of God from the Ukrainian village of Striukove, Odesa Region – a gift from the Ukrainian family of Olha Kashchuk, transferred in August 2022. This icon, created, according to legend, by a mute monk in the 19^th century, survived the times of revolution and religious persecution, becoming a kind of symbol of the indomitability of the Ukrainian spirit.

NUJU Information Service