Museum “The Underground Partisan Movement”

The military history museum “The Underground Partisan Movement in Mykolaiv Oblast in 1941–1944” opened on April 29, 1975, in a late 19th-century building.

The museum exposition takes up one big room and focuses on details of the WWII landmark events unfolding in Mykolaiv oblast. The diorama “Concentration camp for prisoners of war in Mykolaiv Stalag-364,” painted by the artist Stepan Handziuk, is one of the main spotlights of the exposition and deserves special attention.

During the Nazi occupation, 110 underground groups and organizations and two partisan detachments operated on the territory of the oblast, and the museum exhibition gives an account of their determination and indomitability. The exposition ends with coverage of the offensive battles of 1944, preceding the liberation of Mykolaiv oblast and then the whole of Ukraine.

In addition, the museum houses the following exhibitions:

• “Holocaust: Photos of the Catastrophe” highlights the tragedy suffered by the Jewish people through posters and photo documents that give an idea of the scale of extermination of the Jewish population during WWII.
• “The Second World War” covers the events of WWII and the underground partisan movement in Mykolaiv Oblast. The exhibition demonstrates documents and personal belongings of Mykolaiv Oblast defenders and underground fighters, as well as photographs and records of the liberation struggle participants.
• “Small Arms of the Second World War” follows the history of the creation of weapons in WWII. The exhibition presents machine guns, pistols, shells, and explosives, which gives an idea of the extent and scale of hostilities of the time.
• “Armored Vehicles of the 20th Century” recounts the history and development of tank construction worldwide by demonstrating scale models built by the Naval test-bed simulation club.
• “OUN-UPA in Mykolaiv Oblast” highlights the OUN-UPA liberation movement in Mykolaiv oblast. It explains the composition and structure of the units that were active in the region. The exhibition also presents OUN underground movement members’ documents, personal belongings, and postcards.
• “The ongoing war…” portrays the defense of Mykolaiv Oblast and the south of Ukraine against Russian aggressors in the ongoing conflict. The exposition carries the aggressor’s army documents, food rations, weapons, and military uniforms.

The military history museum “The Underground Partisan Movement in Mykolaiv Oblast” is always open to visitors. The museum team would welcome joint awareness-raising events in cooperation with organizations and institutions.