Orenburg Shawls at the Museum of the Second World War

During the exhibition project “Orenburg Shawls from Prato to the Urals”, down products from Orenburg were shown in a wide variety of museums — some close in theme to the down-knitting craft, and some quite specialised. In the latter case, the Orenburg down shawl was usually not included in the main exhibition but displayed separately, so that as many visitors as possible could get acquainted with the work of Orenburg craftswomen.

A museum on the site of tragic events

One of these museums is dedicated to concentration camp prisoners and victims of fascism in Italy during the Second World War. This project is truly unique: the entrance to the exhibition hall is located on the site of real executions carried out by the occupiers. Where a wooden beam that has survived from the tragic 1940s opens the way to the main exhibition, Italian partisans who opposed Mussolini's regime were shot and hanged. According to historical records, 2 Soviet soldiers were among those executed.

Shawls as a separate exhibition

The Orenburg down shawl, fortunately, has nothing to do with these terrible events (we have written more than once about the role it played in the Great Patriotic War). Nevertheless, the museum's management decided to exhibit several items from the Shalnoy Orenburg artel.

As in other museums, the guests highly appreciated the down shawls and received them very warmly, even though they are not related to the museum's theme. Special thanks to the museum's management and staff for providing space for our products and, in effect, organising another exhibition on their premises.