This doll was previously exhibited at the "Parade of Dolls" in Nizhny Novgorod, which ended on June 8, 2025, and was then donated to the Museum of the History of Belarusian Cinema, a branch of the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus. It was thanks to this gift that the showpiece became available to visitors of memorial complex "Khatyn".
The work by Daria Gorda is a profound artistic reflection on the tragedy of war and human pain, as shown in the film "Come and See". In the certificate attached to the showpiece, the author tells the story of the doll's creation:
"This requiem film remains in the memory for a lifetime and shows how the boy Flera changes under the influence of what he has experienced. The horrors of war leave their mark not only on the face - "the eyes are the mirror of the soul". Initially, both eyes were blue. I made a face with two sides: one shows what the boy was like before the war, the other reflects the face that changed after all the suffering that Flera endured.
The stand is a separate element, it shows what was left to us after the war: scorched earth and a barn burned down with people. This is what fascism left behind."
The doll, made with amazing attention to detail, makes a deep emotional impression on visitors. It becomes a kind of silent witness to the tragedy, a symbol of the pain and fear experienced by children during the Great Patriotic War.
The staff of memorial complex "Khatyn" express their sincere gratitude to the Museum of the History of Belarusian Cinema, a branch of the National Historical Museum of the Republic of Belarus, and to Darya Gorda for providing this unique showpiece, which enables us to take a new look at events that have no statute of limitations.
The exhibition "Look and Remember..." will continue its work until August 5, 2025. We invite everyone to visit the exhibition and touch the living memory of the past.
