“The basic cathartic experience is that any of these Ukrainian students who are here in Budapest now could have been on that wall,” Balazs Trencsenyi, lead researcher of our Democracy in History Workgroup said to RTL about the Unissued Diplomas exhibition.

The exhibition features symbolic diplomas issued posthumously to Ukrainian students – some who sacrificed their studies and aspirations for the sake of their country; some who died in the occupied territories, and some who became victims of Russian attacks on civil infrastructure – highlighting the ongoing price people in Ukraine pay daily for their freedom. It is presented in Budapest by CEU’s Pasts Inc. Center for Historical Studies, is on display from July 2-20, and has been organized by current CEU master’s, PhD and Invisible University for Ukraine students.

“They study, read, fall in love, listen to music, they do all the things a student in their twenties does, and suddenly they wake up to find their best friend has died,” Balazs Trencsenyi said.

Read or watch the full report (in Hungarian) here.