Liberation80: Museum Exhibits Accordion Documenting Troop Movements During War

Rimavska Sobota, May 2 (TASR) - On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War, the Gemer-Malohont Museum in Rimavska Sobota (Banska Bystrica region) is exhibiting an accordion that originally belonged to an unknown soldier, museum's PR manager Szilvia Toth told TASR, adding that the musical instrument is also evidence of troop movements, as it contains engraved names of 20 cities and towns through which its owner probably moved. The accordion, originally belonging to an unknown soldier, is being exhibited by the museum during May as part of an activity called 'The Object of the Month'. It is particularly interesting because of the engraved names of 20 locations, which, according to the museum, are remarkable evidence of troop movements during the Second World War. The first name recorded on the accordion is Rostov, dated 1943. "This is the city of Rostov-on-Don, which was occupied by the German army until its liberation in February 1943. After its liberation by the Red Army, the German soldier retreated with his musical instrument through the south of Ukraine, which is indicated by other locations recorded on the accordion, including Mariupol, Berdyansk, Kherson, Nikolayev, Kerch, Yalta, Sevastopol, Odessa, from where he probably continued to the territory of Slovakia," said museum ethnographer Ludmila Pulisova. Most of the names on the accordion are written in Latin, but in several different scripts, which could indicate that the musical instrument changed hands several times. The last recorded locations are unfortunately illegible. "While retreating, one of the retreating soldiers, the last owner of the accordion, saw a bicycle leaning against the wall of a mill. He decided to take it and offered the accordion to the local miller, Jan Martincok, in return. The latter didn't want to give up the bicycle at first, but eventually agreed to the exchange. The accordion thus passed to the miller's family and his daughter donated it to the museum in 2021," said Pulisova. am/mcs