--- title: "Mingir village will have a museum for 1946–1947 famine victims" url: https://moldova1.md/p/86848/mingir-village-will-have-a-museum-for-1946-1947-famine-victims published: 2026-10-04T15:30:00Z language: en author: "Redacția TRM" section: "Social" source: moldova1.md --- # Mingir village will have a museum for 1946–1947 famine victims > The residents of Mingir village, Hâncești district, are striving to preserve the memory of the more than 1,400 people who lost their lives during the famine of 1946–1947. Local authorities plan to set up a museum dedicated to the tragedy within the House of Culture, featuring archival documents, photographs, and other testimonies from that period. ![](https://storage.moldova1.md/images/c2144877-4efd-42a7-b1aa-c508e88c59dd.jpg) The residents of Mingir village, Hâncești district, are striving to preserve the memory of the more than 1,400 people who lost their lives during the famine of 1946–1947. Local authorities plan to set up a museum dedicated to the tragedy within the House of Culture, featuring archival documents, photographs, and other testimonies from that period. The project is seeking funding, while development work has already begun using resources available within the village. The famine deeply affected the Mingir community. According to local accounts, out of the approximately 3,000 people living in the village at the time, nearly half are believed to have died from starvation. Lilia Bordeianu, deputy principal for academic affairs at the Mingir gymnasium, says that preserving these accounts is particularly important for younger generations. *"The older generation lived through the horrors of the system; they experienced it firsthand. The younger generation can only learn about these things through stories, words, and the few surviving images or videos,"* stated Lilia Bordeianu. She believes that the artifacts to be displayed in the future museum will help children better understand the tragedy endured by the people of that era. *"I believe the exhibits in this museum will evoke a different response in the children, allowing them to feel a closer connection to the events of that time and the hardships those people went through,"* the deputy principal added. The famine of those years is also intertwined with the histories of families in Mingir. Lilia Bordeianu says that members of her own family were among those who lived through those times. *"I know people—my great-grandmother, who has since passed away, and my father-in-law, who is also no longer with us—who lived through those difficult periods,"* she recounted. At the same time, the community's collective memory is enriched by the testimonies of relatives of famine survivors, as well as by documents preserved in archives. Mihai Mircos, director of the Mingir Cultural Center, says that determining the exact number of victims is difficult because some people were buried without their deaths being officially recorded. *"There are people we haven't been able to identify yet because they were buried without the involvement of the town hall or a priest—clandestinely, in other words—so it is very hard for us to track them all down,"* stated Mihai Mircos. According to him, people of all ages died during the famine, but many children were among the victims. *"At that time, nearly half the village population perished. Children, the elderly, teenagers—but mostly children,"* the Cultural Center director noted. To honour the memory of the victims, 16 commemorative plaques have been installed in the village at the sites of former mass graves. The community has also organised an exhibition dedicated to the famine, which is being shown in other localities as well. While it is no longer possible to gather direct testimonies from survivors in every instance, some memories have been passed down to their descendants. Archival research has also identified official documents confirming the scale of the tragedy. "There are still grandchildren who remember the accounts of the deceased, but we have also managed to obtain firsthand testimonies from people through archival research," said Mihai Mircos. He also noted official documents about the famine victims in Mingir. "In addition, there are documents attesting to the tragedy—including reports from the prosecutor of what was then the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic to Moscow regarding the victims, including those from Mingir," added the director of the House of Culture. To preserve these documents and testimonies in a permanent space, local authorities plan to set up a museum within the House of Culture. However, the building needs major renovations, and authorities are currently seeking funding to carry out the project. "The museum will be located in the House of Culture. The building requires major repairs. The technical design for the renovation is already complete, but funds are needed, and we are looking for funding opportunities," Mihai Mircos stated. According to him, some work has already begun using local resources, with the remainder to be completed once the necessary funding is secured. The famine of 1946–1947 was one of the gravest tragedies to affect the territory of the present-day Republic of Moldova during the 20th century. According to data from the National Archives Agency, over 123,000 people died of starvation within a few months—approximately 5% of the population of the former Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic at the time. [Audio: https://trm.blob.core.windows.net/photos/aedc9c7b-3205-4937-b1b1-f46cd1f32baa.jpg](https://original.trm.md/video/definst/MP4:2026/10/3/03-10--26-Bogatu-Mingir-------PR.m4a/playlist.m3u8) **Author Svetlana Bogatu**