Testaments to memory

Text: Christina Henning

They will never complete their degree course, never celebrate their graduation, never hold any academic title: students who have been killed during Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. “Unissued Diplomas”, a project initiated by Ukrainian students, has recorded their stories and tells them using collages of texts and images designed to resemble a degree certificate. 23-year-old Ukrainian master’s student Yuliia Kotvytska co-initiated the commemorative project. She is studying international relations – global pol­itics and social theory at the University of Bremen on a DAAD master’s scholarship and belongs to a team of more than a hundred people working on the project. She is currently planning to stage an exhibition of the “Unissued Diplomas” in Bremen, in cooper­ation with the Bremen Senate Chancellery.

The diplomas that were never awarded tell the stories of 40 students: of a 17-year-old music student who was hit by a bullet when crossing a bridge; of a young mother who was studying landscape architecture and whose house was hit by a bomb; and of Hlib, a friend of Yuliia Kotvytska. “We were studying together in Kyiv. During breaks we would always talk about films and which we wanted to watch next,” she recalls. “He was one of the first to sign up for military service. He died at the front.”

By talking to the families and friends of those who were killed, the team gathered together their stories and documented them in exhibitions around the world. “This sparked a chain reaction,” says Kotvytska, explaining that many visitors were then inspired to organise an exhibition themselves, attracting even more attention to the project. By 2025, the “Unissued Diplomas” had been shown in more than 300 exhibitions in around 30 countries on five continents.

“I have experienced just how much power storytelling has. By giving a face and a story to those we have lost, we create a more profound understanding of what war really means,” says Kotvytska. “These are not just statistics; they are real stories, they are ­people’s lives.” Besides making the victims visible in this manner, the project also aims to raise funds for young people who have been forced to suspend their studies because of the war. “This is our way of expressing our gratitude – for being able to continue our studies abroad.”

When Yuliia Kotvytska thinks about the future, she hopes she will not have to pursue another project like “Unissued Diplomas”. However, until peace returns to Ukraine, she views this project as a form of resistance. “We commemorate lives that were not able to continue and that were taken prematurely – while at the same time celebrating the lives that the students did lead.” —

Get to know Yuliia Kotvytska in our video portrait – and get an impression of the “Unissued Diplomas”.