“The language of humanity is universal”: An interview with Guido Heisig, author of the book Silent Heroes, for the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

The story of every person who has faced war deserves to be heard. Art can not only preserve these stories, but also convey them to people, awakening empathy. This was discussed by the artist, author of the book Silent Heroes and German pilot Guido Heisig at the exhibition “Diaries of the Civilians: Voices of those who survived and those who did not”. This is a documentary project of the Museum of Civilian Voices founded by Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. The publication “Historical Truth” published a shortened version of the conversation. Please click here to read it: https://bit.ly/41mBpLJ

The Foundation has prepared a video interview with Guido Heisig, moderated by Natalia Yemchenko, Communications Director of System Capital Management and member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation: https://bit.ly/4hMobO0

The full interview is available on the Museum of Civilian Voices’ website: https://bit.ly/41nK6W6

This talk was dedicated to the importance of art in times of war. The participants discussed how artistic techniques and stylistic design can influence the reader’s emotions. For Guido Heisig, the combination of drawings and text became such a tool.

“The language of humanity is a universal language that everyone understands. Ultimately, this is what makes these stories special and touching. I see that people do not get tired of reading them, and the combination of sketches and texts evokes emotions. It’s not about politics, it’s about people, and it’s very important to give these stories “wings” so that they can fly further into the world”, – emphasises Guido Heisig.

According to him, art is not only a way of recording history, but also a tool for healing people. The thirty-five stories of Ukrainians collected by Guido can change the way Europeans perceive the war in Ukraine, to which they have already begun to gradually get used.

“People read the news, see information about attacks by missiles, drones, and the dead – and they start to get used to it, no matter how horrible it sounds. That’s why this book is a good tool to wake up the consciousness, to understand: these are not just numbers, it’s about people who live here and build a normal life despite everything,” says Guido Heisig.

The Museum of Civilian Voices founded by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation collects stories of Ukrainian civilians about the war. Its archive contains more than 130,000 stories.

Tell yours on the Museum’s portal https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/ or call the toll-free hotline 0 (800) 509 001.